Over
the last month or so I and many others on the left of politics have been really
considering whether to join the Labour Party as supporters in order to vote for
Jeremy Corbyn as leader. It is easy to see why this would be a serious
consideration. Corbyn is anti austerity, anti-fracking, pro investment in
renewable energy projects, anti trident and of course favours nationalisation
of public services such as the Banks and the Railways.
So
what should non-labour member do? Well I have heard different opinions being
expressed. One being that as it is an internal Labour election, those of us not
members of Labour should just leave them to it and see what happens and just
build the anti-austerity movement outside Labour. I have also heard the
argument that there isn’t a short term solution to getting progressive policies
implemented and it is a ‘certainty’ that Corbyn will get ousted should he be
elected leader so there is no point in supporting him anyway. I’ve even seen it
suggested that if some of us join Labour to help make Corbyn leader, the
inevitable coup from Labour MPs will discredit those of us on the left and keep
the agenda of the Tories intact.
And
on this potential coup, yes it is true that Corbyn barely scraped enough
support by fellow Labour MPs to get on the ballot. Yes it is true that a lot of
MPs that nominated him won’t vote for him. And if you believe certain Labour
insider’s, there could well be a rebellion by right wing Labour MPs, who only
need just over 40 MPs to take down their leader. Corbyn could then be gone in a
matter of months and MPs could discredit him in the meantime by voting for some
of the government’s policies. If Corbyn did win the leadership election, his
role of Leader of the Opposition could be seriously undermined. These are
serious issues that have rightly been looked at when deciding whether to throw
our support behind Corbyn.
But
even if there is a coup, why does that mean the left wing of the Labour Party
will be discredited in the media and in the public’s eye? Yes the Murdoch press
will gloat bigtime in the split and chaos of Labour and will vilify Corbyn as
someone who can’t keep a unified opposition. However it could well be the case
that the general public have sympathy with Corbyn and distrust and dislike
those that bring him down undemocratically. And actually that could help political
parties like the Greens become more popular and get grassroots Labour members,
who have been frustrated and ignored for years by the leadership, to join,
Whatever
the risks of Corbyn winning the Leadership contest are, you can’t just not do
something because of the risks involved. Life is full of risks. At the general
election I voted for the Green Party in a Tory/Labour marginal seat and was
accused of splitting the vote and letting the Tories in. However, It didn’t
happen. Labour won the seat. But if it had happened, I would not have regretted
it because I knew that at the time the Green Party were the only party to offer
a clear and coherent alternative to the Government. Now
a Labour leader candidate is offering that, I’m not going to turn down an
opportunity to help build the anti-austerity movement. I want to see
progressive policies put forward so the poorest and most vulnerable in our
society can actually be helped. If that means I back a Labour candidate who
advocates those policies, then so be it. There is too much at stake for the left to be tribal and split on this as we are on so many issues.
He
may not even win in the end, but he has certainly opened up the debate and got
the anti-austerity message out into the mainstream media. And if he doesn’t
win, I WON’T be supporting Labour at all. I’ve made that clear from the start
of this. In the meantime, join me and many others in backing the only Labour
candidate who is offering that alternative to the Conservatives we really need
right now. #Jezwecan
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