Jeremy Corbyn has entered the contest for the Labour Leadership. Corbyn is standing as a left, anti-austerity candidate. Does that negate what we've previously published?
No! It's not guaranteed, in fact it is perhaps unlikely, that Corbyn will get enough nominations from Labour MPs to make it onto the ballot paper. John McDonnell was unsuccessful un securing the necessary nominations in the last two leadership elections. Less Labour MPs were willing to publicly defend the party-union link than the 35 required to nominate a leadership challenger.
If Corbyn does make it onto the ballot then it is all but ruled out that he would win given the emptying out of the Party and its acceleration to the right. So fast has been Labour's march to the right that Miliband's weak election platform, which promised more cuts, tighter immigration controls, no measures to halt falling wages, or reverse the jobs massacre and which completely failed to inspire working class voters, is now seen as left-wing in the ranks of the Labour Party.
Will the affiliated trade unions back Corbyn? It's not guaranteed but if they don't and continue to support austerity-Burnham even after he has made it clear he doesn't want their support, then it should be obvious to everyone that there is no prospect of Labour ever being reclaimed as a tool to fight for trade unionists and working class people.
We now have the strange spectacle of Corbyn, the declared left winger in this contest, having to defend Miliband's programme and election campaign. Sorry Jeremy but a few token gestures, like raising the minimum wage to a few pence more than today's Living Wage, in 5 years' time, doesn't make Miliband's an anti-austerity programme.
Despite Corbyn's identification with Miliband's austerity election programme, I think TUSC should give him what backing we can, particularly in the affiliated unions. In return we ask that if and when he fails to halt the march to the right of Labour, that those who back him in the Party be prepared to accept the obvious conclusion that Labour can't be reclaimed as a party for trade unionists and the working class.
Instead of wasting time and energy on the Labour Party which, despite their efforts, is rapidly ditching the 'lite' part of Tory-lite, we invite them to join us in debating how to build a new party of the working class on the foundations already laid down by TUSC.
No! It's not guaranteed, in fact it is perhaps unlikely, that Corbyn will get enough nominations from Labour MPs to make it onto the ballot paper. John McDonnell was unsuccessful un securing the necessary nominations in the last two leadership elections. Less Labour MPs were willing to publicly defend the party-union link than the 35 required to nominate a leadership challenger.
If Corbyn does make it onto the ballot then it is all but ruled out that he would win given the emptying out of the Party and its acceleration to the right. So fast has been Labour's march to the right that Miliband's weak election platform, which promised more cuts, tighter immigration controls, no measures to halt falling wages, or reverse the jobs massacre and which completely failed to inspire working class voters, is now seen as left-wing in the ranks of the Labour Party.
Will the affiliated trade unions back Corbyn? It's not guaranteed but if they don't and continue to support austerity-Burnham even after he has made it clear he doesn't want their support, then it should be obvious to everyone that there is no prospect of Labour ever being reclaimed as a tool to fight for trade unionists and working class people.
We now have the strange spectacle of Corbyn, the declared left winger in this contest, having to defend Miliband's programme and election campaign. Sorry Jeremy but a few token gestures, like raising the minimum wage to a few pence more than today's Living Wage, in 5 years' time, doesn't make Miliband's an anti-austerity programme.
Despite Corbyn's identification with Miliband's austerity election programme, I think TUSC should give him what backing we can, particularly in the affiliated unions. In return we ask that if and when he fails to halt the march to the right of Labour, that those who back him in the Party be prepared to accept the obvious conclusion that Labour can't be reclaimed as a party for trade unionists and the working class.
Instead of wasting time and energy on the Labour Party which, despite their efforts, is rapidly ditching the 'lite' part of Tory-lite, we invite them to join us in debating how to build a new party of the working class on the foundations already laid down by TUSC.
UPDATE: No support for the only anti-austerity candidate (Corbyn) from the first 60% of Welsh Labour MPs to declare who they're backing...
ReplyDeleteWho are Welsh MPs backing for Labour leader? http://www.itv.com/news/wales/2015-06-04/who-are-welsh-mps-backing-for-labour-leader/