What if Labour Won in 2015
What if Ed Pulled it off
‘10 o’clock and we are saying that Labour are the largest party’ uttered an evidently astonished David Dimbleby. The BBC Exit Poll for 2015 had predicted that Labour would receive 328 seats, a narrow majority but durable. Ed would have to make some compromises,pull a few strings, hell he’d even have to get some of those hard lefties onboard. Still it beat being at the mercy of those Scottish Nationalists,or worse losing it to Mr Slick.
Results flooded in throughout the night. Labour victory in Hilling. Labour victory for Bolton West. Rossendale and Darwen even turned red, ‘that’ll make Jack Straw happy’ the next PM muttered as he wrote his victory speech. Ed never expected the night to be this good, like everyone in the room he was skeptical, he should have been. All they used to whisper was ‘Can he do it, can he really pull it off.’ Nonetheless that didn’t matter anymore he’d done it. All that campaigning, all the work, even what he did to David. It had been worth it.
The largest leap in progressive policies since the war followed in the months after the election. With the Tories in a bitter leadership election with Boris as the projected front runner, Ed was able to make good on his promises. Reversing the bedroom tax, restoring a 5op rate of tax and lowering university tuition fees. Needless to say not everyone was on the Miliband waggon. His various critics included Labour MP John Mcdonnell who called him ‘Austerity lite’ whilst Peter Mandelson the architect of New Labour labelled him “Anti Business.” Although that didn’t bother him anymore, none of it did. Criticism just didn’t quite affect him like it used to. The days when a picture of a bacon sandwich meant something were over. In the words of Harold Macmillan, Edward Samuel Miliband ‘Never had it so good.’
This never did happen, there was no Ed Miliband administration, there was no Labour majority. Ed just joined the array of Labour leaders that just didn’t quite make it to Downing street. The Labour party on the other hand headed towards an internal strife, so colossal it could’ve split the party. It may still.
Despite that at this moment-Probably somewhere in the Mediterranean- now he didn’t have to abide by frontline protocol, Ed’s probably wondering,what if he won. What if Dimbleby said Labour instead of Conservative when the clock hit 10:00.There is no real scientific way of knowing this alternate path obviously.However a few things are clear.It’s clear that there wouldn’t have been a BREXIT, for now at least and there wouldn’t be a Labour Party where 80% of it’s MP’s have no confidence in their leader. Alongside that there probably wouldn’t have been the need for Lord Ashcroft’s Call me Dave biography. Therefore Piggate wouldn’t have been widely known. Which would have saved me from some mentally scaring images.
Nevertheless, it would be incredibly unfair to pin the last 12 months of political chaos in the Labour Party on a leader that resigned well over a year ago.My piece is not intending to do this in anyway. I’m very much just trying to play hindsight. In all honesty Ed Miliband had no active role in what came after him especially the political firestorm in the Labour party during the summer of 2015.
Let’s be clear no one expected backbencher Jeremy Corbyn MP for Islington North to win 59.5% in the leadership battle that followed Ed. Least of all Ed Miliband who was the one who reformed the internal leadership electoral system that allowed Corbyn’s decisive victory. I’d be surprised if Ed would do the same thing if given another chance for obvious reasons.
Jeremy Corbyn and his movement have been monumental in evolving the party.You must pay credit where credit is due. The party now has well over half a million members. These numbers in a UK political party have not been seen for decades and Corbyn has a huge role in this. However unlike Ed,Corbyn has not been able to gain the support from many in the Parliamentary Labour Party. This has resulted in tensions growing within the party since his election last year. This tension reached it’s peak following BREXIT, in which over 40 shadow cabinet members resigned and a No confidence motion was tabled at Mr Corbyn, with 80% of the PLP stating no confidence in Jeremy Corbyn. This strenuous relationship between Corbyn and the PLP has created the current leadership election between Jeremy Corbyn and the supposed ‘unifying’ candidate Owen Smith.However as polls have shown it looks as though Corbyn will easily win this second leadership election.In spite of this the PLP seems adamant in their lack of confidence in his leadership.
This current situation is unsustainable, regardless of how anyone feels about Jeremy Corbyn and what he stands for (which I think a lot of the media fails to grasp.) If Jeremy Corbyn win’s again this summer which is likely, it’ll be hard for those that have not supported him since day 1 to stick around for round 2. Too many bridges have been burnt with various MP’s in the party, and while the likes of Owen Smith have condemned a split and are open to serving again in the front bench, how can the Party unify itself after all this. Will Mp’s simply bury the hatchet and toe the party line and go back on their word that Corbyn ‘isn’t a leader’ or forget when they screamed ‘Resign!Resign!’ in the chamber. Following Corbyn’s evident reelection it won’t be long till MP’s with no confidence in him will start to echo Bob Dylan’s All Along the Watchtower and ask themselves ‘There must be some kind of way outta here.’
Following the recent coup, the party won’t be able to put a blanket on the internal conflicts,the tea time conniving and the abuse online anymore. They’ve barley managed to do so for the past 11 months alongside juggling being her Majesty’s Official Opposition. Providing Cameron and the Government with an open goal in governmental matters that Joe Hart could even defend. It seems every single bad day for Cameron and the Government has been discarded for the next revelation in the 2016 Westminster saga. PLP vs Corbynites.
With a split genuinely on the table. One that will damn Labour to opposition for the next 10 to 20 years. It’s not hard to think about what could of been.
What if Ed Pulled it off.
