Tag: Jeremy Corbyn
No one won this General Election – and Labour’s internal wrangles are far from over
No party emerges with much credit from the general election, writes Robin Pettitt. Theresa May is diminished and she may not survive for long, even with the support of the DUP. Jeremy Corbyn captured 29 more seats but still lost the election, and his personal standing with voters remains poor and his problems with the […]
No ‘suicide note’: Jeremy Corbyn, not his manifesto, is what holds Labour back
Labour’s manifesto is not the hard-left document its opponents would have you believe, writes Robin Pettitt. It has little in common with the infamous 1983 ‘suicide note’, not least in its moderate stance on defence. The manifesto advocates gradual change and some of its ideas, such as a National Education Service, are innovative. What is […]
Who don’t young people vote? Self-confessed ignorance, and dislike of the mainstream
Consistently low turnout rates among young people are often interpreted as apathy. But this is not the case, argues Iro Konstantinou. They acknowledge their ignorance of politics and are unhappy with the citizenship curriculum, wanting it widened to include practical democratic issues rather than just party politics. Many regard social media activism and individual actions as more […]
Snap election a win-win for Theresa May: she’ll crush Labour and make Brexit a little easier
How could Theresa May resist breaking her word? Tim Bale says a new cohort of Conservative MPs will boost her majority and enable her to return from Brussels with a softer Brexit. The Labour party, meanwhile, will be annihilated, and the Lib Dems can hope for at most 15% of the vote. Centrists may take […]
New Labour and after: the toxic consequences of cynical party management
The New Labour years saw sweeping cultural change designed to replace the traditional internal Labour party democracy with a new organisational culture. Its effects are still felt today. Emmanuelle Avril explains how the struggles in today’s Labour have their roots in Blair’s brand of party management and Labour’s continuing (dys)function as an organisation. Ed Miliband campaigns in the West Midlands in 2015. Photo: […]
The trouble with Jeremy Corbyn: five tests the Labour leader is failing
Much of the Parliamentary Labour Party want to replace Jeremy Corbyn, and his popularity among the general public is low. Yet he was resoundingly re-elected by party members last autumn. Patrick Diamond assesses the Labour leader’s performance as an opposition leader according to five criteria, and concludes the risk of a Labour schism between ‘principles’ and […]
Losing Momentum? The power struggles that are hobbling the Corbyn movement
The Momentum movement faces two crucial problems, says Robin Pettitt. It explicitly allies itself with the Corbynite wing of the party. Yet it has also become a battleground for three groups: Bennites, a wave of new members, and the so-called ‘Trots’ or ‘entryists’. Meanwhile, the movement has been torn between a traditional branch-based structure and a […]
Brexit, Corbyn, Article 50: in 2017, we need to take back our parliamentary democracy
Brexit, Jeremy Corbyn’s election and Article 50: 2016 saw three profound shocks to the integrity of Britain’s parliamentary system, writes Robert Saunders. Together, they amount to a quiet revolution – potentially the most significant recasting of how Britain is governed since the coming of universal suffrage. Understanding how this has happened, why it matters and what […]
The Labour party, Momentum and the problem with intra-party democracy
The Momentum movement and the rise in Labour membership are, Jeremy Corbyn’s supporters argue, proof that the party is returning to its roots and embracing ordinary people’s concerns. But political scientists tend to be sceptical about intra-party democracy, because party members are usually more radical than the average voter. Fabio Wolkenstein says claims that Labour has […]
Book review: Blue Labour: Forging a New Politics, ed. Ian Geary and Adrian Pabst
Jeremy Corbyn has been re-elected leader of the Labour party. Yet the ‘Blue Labour’ strain – a tendency grouped around the social thought of Maurice Glasman that emerged within the party after the financial crash – is far from over . J.A. Smith reviews Ian Geary and Adrian Pabst‘s edited volume, Blue Labour: Forging a New Politics, […]
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