Labour has ceased to function – how can it change course?

In 2007, I stood for a Parliamentary selection. The local party had been divided for some time. It was generally genial and respectful but there was a lot of subterranean animosity. My sense (the arrogance of youth perhaps) was that a different direction was needed. To win would require an energetic campaign to dislodge the favourite. The problem with such an approach, though I hadn’t necessarily fully appreciated it at the time, was that petrol would be poured on the flames already there. 90% of members turned out to vote – such was the intensity of the campaign. I lost – just.

But the acrimony continued. There was a lot of raw feeling on both sides. Far from resolving matters, the selection brought issues to the surface. In fact, they continued for a number of years. Sometimes organisations struggle to reach beyond their internal divisions- precisely what happened.

Today, matters are even worse with Labour nationally. The party simply cannot move on from last year’s leadership election. In fact, things are getting worse. The PLP and the membership are fundamentally divided. This is disastrous when the PLP faces the public while members have the fundamental power. Quite simply, Labour is not functional as a political party.

The calculation of a significant portion of the PLP seems to be that open public warfare is the means of swaying the members away from Corbyn. They may be right. I suspect it is making matters worse. Members will be able to see how Corbyn is doing once election results start coming in. They will read the polls. It is not at all clear that if Corbyn is seen to have been nobbled by his own side things will end well.

The legendary Joe Haines has an eloquent and powerfully argued piece in this week’s New Statesman. He advocates an even more aggressive stance towards Jeremy Corbyn. A wise man in the constituency where I stood for selection counselled me in the heat of the race, ‘be careful, every aggressive action creates a counter-reaction’ (and I probably ignored him). The action recommended by Haines is that the PLP should elect its own Leader. Rather than resolving the disastrous situation, the fear must be that this would formalise the informal party versus PLP conflict. Instead of resolution, it could be simply the next step towards partition which, as I have argued previously, is now a realistic if not yet probable scenario.

So is this a counsel for inaction? I don’t believe so. It’s rather a counsel to avoid aggressive action. There are other ways to respond to the current predicament. Nothing changes until the party membership elects a new Leader – either following a resignation or a dethronement. So the wise strategy would seem to be to concentrate on the membership. Let Jeremy Corbyn lead and oppose him only in a calm and reasoned fashion. Don’t bicker on Twitter or through the media. Of course, we all fall short from time to time (!) but at least it’s worth a try. A calmer, more thoughtful tone should be adopted. Jonathan Reynolds MP has achieved this twice in a week- in well-judged piece on political economy in the New Statesman and in an impressive resignation letter. Encourage potential future leaders to better find their voice by focusing on the big issues of the time (there’s enough of them!) rather than internal Labour matters. Try to extend the conversation to existing and potential Labour members.

This strategy is designed to show a different way rather than become embroiled in a protracted and venomous internal battle. If Jeremy Corbyn is as bad as his opponents argue (myself included) then the contrast will be clear and a well articulated alternative could cut through. There are senior figures in the Labour Party with a million years more experience than I who perhaps advocate a different course. Yet I hope this alternative line is worth consideration nonetheless.

The current state of Labour is dire, dysfunctional, degenerate. Woe is us. It may not be revocable before the next election. But get it wrong and it may not be revocable at all. I desperately want there to be a proper alternative to Conservative rule. Everyone in the Labour Party does. In another electoral system Labour would already have split- a pretty redundant observation in fairness. If an alternative to Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership is going to address the country, it has to win the hearts and minds of Labour’s members.

It’s all too raw, hot, and confrontational at the moment. The pot is boiling over; yet the heat is being increased. Each side feels they have right on their side. But there’s only one winner in democracies – those who win the vote. ‘Electability’ is the mantra of the anti-Corbynites. Precisely.