What an utter waste of everybody's time. The Labour leadership election has resulted in another win for Jeremy Corbyn, who has slightly increased his lead, from 59% to 62%.
It's safe to say that Labour has had an utterly horrendous year. Electorally, it hasn't been great. Poor local election results in England, mediocre Welsh Assembly results, and a rout in the Scottish Parliament. And then over a quarter of a century of Labour foreign policy went up in smoke, as the British people voted to leave the EU.
This was the final straw for Labour MPs, who mounted a bid to oust Corbyn. First of all they no-confidenced him, which had... no effect. Next they tried to get him removed from the ballot in the leadership race... with similar results. And their final chance to get rid of him went wrong the moment they picked Owen Smith as their challenger. The internal debate has dragged on for months, with horrific abuse being hurled by both sides of the divide. For those of us who care about left wing politics, it has been like watching someone self-harm in public.
And all this pain and effort was for virtually nothing. Corbyn retained the leadership, by virtually the same margin as before. All that self-destruction was for nothing.
Despite all his cries of victory, things were not all plain sailing for Corbyn. He actually lost amongst the members who voted for him last year, by an impressive 63:37. His victory rested on the huge swell of new members he has brought into the party in the intervening twelve months. Owen Smith, for all he was a horrendous candidate, actually polled better than any of the leadership candidates last year, or indeed Ed Miliband in 2010.
But regardless of all that, this has to stop. Over the last year, the government has governed virtually unopposed. Labour's war with itself has not solved the problems in the party, it has only made them worse. And it has enabled the government to make the lives of millions of people worse. The Official Opposition has a job to do. It needs to start doing it.
It is now clear that, shy of a landslide defeat in a snap election, Jeremy Corbyn will remain as Labour leader until 2020. So, a truce is essential. The Labour MPs, the longer-term party members, and those towards the centre of the political spectrum, need to recognise that Jeremy Corbyn has tapped into a powerful reservoir of left wing support and enthusiasm. Fighting it has not worked. Indeed, much of their anger is justified, and should be what Labour is trying to address. Instead of trying to fight it, they need to find a way to work alongside it. It may offer a road back into government, no matter how remote that chance seems. Even if it doesn't, the centrists and moderates need to find a way to work alongside those people whose anger at the status quo is justified, and can be harnessed. Defections and splits may seem attractive, but they will make things worse, not better. When the SDP left Labour in the 1980s, they did not 'break the mould,' they let Mrs Thatcher back into government. Twice. Splitting the vote and letting the Tories back in will not help any Labour supporters, or Labour voters.
In return, the Corbynites need to accept that they are in control of the only left-wing political force in the United Kingdom that is in a position of assuming national power. This puts an enormous responsibility on them. Millions upon millions of people who need or want a left-wing government are relying on them to make it a reality. This means winning a general election. Everything they do must now be devoted to that aim. Preferring social movements and extra-parliamentary action is fine. But it is not what they are in control of. They are in control of a political party committed to the democratic road to power. True social progress is made not with the banner but with the ballot box. Those around Jeremy Corbyn are being tasked with delivering the next left-wing government. They must never forget that, nor act in a way that harms that.
Overall, the Labour party needs to accept it is a broad church. It contains a wide range of opinions and views. Ever since 1900, it has represented a coalition of interests. Indeed, it must be a broad based movement, to enable it to speak on behalf of all the people. So all the abuse, all the insults, threats, and derogatory remarks have to stop. Both sides have stooped to these levels in their struggle for control of the party. But the sexism, the racial slurs, the appalling anti-Semitism, the resurrection of political insults from different decades, the attacks on constituency surgeries, the threats of de-selection and sacking, have to stop. The people are watching. If you are seen as a repository for hate, they will not trust you with control of the country. And if you want to see where political hate can end up, the seat next door to mine is holding a by-election soon, to replace an MP shot dead in the streets.
If the two wings of the Labour party do not unite, then they will be destroyed at the next election. If they try to come together, there is just a small chance they will survive as a political force, and one day will operate the levers of power in the name of those who cannot speak up for themselves. Unite or die.
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