Is Corbyn’s proposed economic policy cloud-cuckoo
impracticable? Quite possibly. But it doesn’t matter, because despite the best
efforts of Blair, the Labour leader still does not unilaterally make Labour
Party policy. And should he ever become Prime Minister, the Prime Minister does
not rule by diktat (despite the best efforts etc…) but is constrained first by
the Cabinet, and then by Parliament. Corbyn’s
loudly stated commitment to democracy both within the party and beyond will
make it harder for him to push through pet policies than any previous leader.
So it’s good that he’s flagging up a few policies that have been out of fashion
for decades – but they won’t become reality unless he can build a consensus for
them. It’s interesting, incidentally, to note that the same opponents who say
that a Corbyn government would be a disaster for the country are the same
people who say that he’s unelectable. You can have one problem or the other,
but not both.
Has Corbyn expressed verbal support for some frankly dodgy
organisations? Possibly, depending on your political stance on the Middle East and
your views on how people who perceive themselves as oppressed can legitimately
fight for their cause. But if so, he’s in the very good company of all the UK
governments who have and still happily support oppressive regimes and
dictators. At least, as far as I’m aware, Corbyn hasn’t actually sold anyone
any weapons.
Is a Labour Party led by Corbyn completely unelectable? I
have no idea; no one knows what the mood of the country will be in May 2020. It
is interesting though that those who claim so vociferously that Corbyn is
unelectable are the same people who had no inkling that Labour would be wiped
out in Scotland in 2015, and were so confident that he couldn’t win the party
leadership that they nominated him despite supporting other candidates (and did
so on the grounds that it would be good for the party to have a debate – well,
doesn’t the country deserve the opportunity to have that debate as well?). So I
don’t have much faith in their crystal balls.
Most senior Labour figures are still traumatised by what
happened in 1983. This is what they constantly refer back to as evidence that a
lefty Labour Party is unelectable. But it isn’t 1983 any more. By the time of
the next election, thirty seven
years will have passed since 1983. That’s two whole generations of voters who
weren’t even born when a resurgent Thatcher defeated Michael Foot (and it could
well be argued that, post-Falklands, she would have won even against a Blairite
Labour Party). However, it’s not just a
question of whether a Corbyn-led Labour Party would or would not be electable.
The guiding purpose of the Conservative Party is to rule; it
exists to win elections and exercise power to stop it falling into the hands of
anyone else. But wasn’t the Labour
Party supposed to be about more than that? Wasn’t it meant to be a campaigning
organisation? Surely this shouldn’t just be about winning the 2020 election.
That’s nearly five years away, and during that time there’s a massively
important job of work to be done.
It’s called opposition; holding the government to account;
asking the awkward questions, shining a light into the corners of its
decision-making. I’ve noted before that, in my view, the role of the Opposition
in British politics is greatly underrated. Governments will always be
governments; the delights of power and the constraints of office combine to
make governments tend towards the conservative and the authoritarian whatever
colour rosette they were elected under. But a good, strong and – dare I say it,
principled – Opposition can act as a check on this tendency. This country has
not had a decent Opposition since 1997.
A Labour Party led by Corbyn – principled, distinctive and
fearless – could be a revitalised
Opposition, and that, in itself, is a noble aim and a thoroughly worthwhile
achievement.
