Tribune went to press before the Labour Leadership vote closed, but assumptions were that Jeremy Corbyn will have won again due to overwhelming support among the rank and file. Considered analysis of the state of the party under his stewardship is wide-ranging and reflected in the pages of this issue – from an attack on Corbyn’s competence by Paul Routledge to the view that New Labour has finally been put to rest by fellow-columnist Chris Williamson. In a grown-up, democratic party both views can be expressed without rancour.
Owen Smith is to be congratulated for having the guts to stand, though he was a fall guy for others too cynical to stand. Those who predict that Labour is now doomed are wrong as they ignore the resilience of the labour movement, but so too are those who predict that the Liverpool conference is a launch pad for government.
The TUC in Brighton has now provided the best template for taking on the Tories. There was precious little navel-gazing or score-settling there. Instead the comrades focused on the issues that really matter to working people: workplace conditions which force so many into poverty-stricken early retirement, corporate governance and exploitation, the abuse of zero hours contracts twinned with the “stratospheric” levels of boardroom pay and perks. Maybe Labour should go back to its roots as the political wing of the trade union movement. Just a thought. In Liverpool we will witness constant calls for “unity” from all sides. The big question is who’s “unity” will be the winner. Who are the masters now? Who are the has-beens, and who are the future?
In the spirit of unity, however, Tribune offers the following advice to the Leadership: Continue to condemn the demonization of Corbyn supporters, the charges of cultism and personality-worship, while accepting the evidence that there has been some degree of entryism as shown by Tom Watson, an elected asset to the Labour Party. Continue, if you like, to condemn the ‘purge’ as a shameful exercise in attempted gerrymandering which has ultimately proved to be counterproductive. And recognise that there are some whose behaviour has been clearly unacceptable and have no right to expect to retain their positions. Not just amongst the ‘rebels.’ Seamus Milne should go back to the Guardian, possibly to oversee the weather forecast. John McDonnell should take a back seat for a while and concentrate on his Exchequer brief. Momentum and Progress should both keep a low profile for the foreseeable future, or possibly forever.
Clearly there has to be some kind of rapprochement, and any kind of mass deselection is neither practicable nor desirable. Corbyn’s plan for Shadow Cabinet elections is a sensible compromise; in the circumstances it clearly isn’t possible for the PLP to elect the whole Shadow Cabinet as that would be seen by the majority of the membership as a capitulation.
It’s time to recognise both Corbyn’s appeal and his limitations and weaknesses and harness the former while working to counter the latter, strengthening the media and speechwriting teams, working to counter the negative image projected in the media rather than encouraging it. Overall, Corbyn himself has to recognise his weaknesses and be prepared to accept advice and assistance from a wider range of people in the party.
He should also get out more. Not the organised love-fest rallies in which the media focuses on SWP placards, but in genuine workplaces riven by insecurity over jobs, in shopping centres where mums struggle to balance meagre food budgets for their families, and even in pubs where the conversations – North and South – will be crucial in the next general election. In other words, ignore the Daily Mail. But get real.
