Finding a Space in Party Politics

I arrived in this country over 10 years ago from a rather tall, slightly internationally-pedestalled, country called Sweden. Having been a political aware youth in my native country (and, predictably, a social democrat), I turned my attention to UK party politics upon arrival. I was soon baffled to realise that what was labelled the Labour party (or ‘New Labour’ as it then was) in this country was about on par with the Swedish conservative party’s policies back home, which I had grown up having such a distaste for. This realisation started to make me feel that UK party politics was probably not for me. And admittedly, I had not planned for London to in an oh-so-subtle way become my home, and Sweden my holiday destination, so therefore it did not seem to matter as much in the long-term.

I got into University in London and soon got hooked on higher education. Through the firm placement of a pair of critical sociological glasses on my nose, I began dabbling in various political bouts, trying to do my bit to contribute to the forwarding of what I believed to be progressive programmes. Becoming more active in campaigns, but staying on the peripherals of the official system, party politics still did not appear to me as a space where I could feel completely comfortable — probably due to the lack of a party that I felt I could put my name to while staying true to my ethical and political belief systems. I found myself constantly defending the Swedish model that I had left behind, though without any clear political routes to voice it through in this place that was rapidly becoming my new home.

And then came Corbyn, this unpolished, not-so-young, flannel-wearing politician who I had only noticed in passing previously. Being a dedicated researcher, I did my homework and read up about this Jeremy, and was positively surprised to find a record of a man who had been on the right side of every political debate in recent memory. He came across as a man of principles, and a man who did not spend his mornings polishing his facial façade and feeding pre-prepared PR-fodder to a hungry media flock, but a man who spent his days campaigning for change, protesting against inequalities, and speaking directly to communities in public gatherings of all shapes and sizes. He did not seem like a distant Disney-figure, or a political careerist who would whisper ‘yes’ to any foreign leader with a big enough charm attached to his explosive war-on-terror portfolio. He came across as a normal person (whatever that is) with his values in the right place, who has been fighting campaigns both on the streets and inside parliament from before I was a glimpse in my mum’s eye, and who was just doing his bit, standing up for what he believed in. He was someone who I could identify with politically and ethically. For the first time since arriving in this country I started to feel that maybe, just maybe, party politics was something that I could dare to start to engage with.

So I joined the Labour party, and started following the movement in and around it. I do not really watch TV, but I was easily getting a full explosive drama series on the news channel that would feed any potential TV-habit for years to come. What a spectacle the Labour party has produced and directed this past year! And so much irresponsible opportunistic behaviour! After the dreadful Brexit affair, when the Tories were in tumult, that is when the already-against-Corbyn-section of the party jumped on the chance to throw some freshly squeezed manure to fertilize the already infected Labour field. And by the way — not that I typically enjoy giving praise to Tory voters — but did anyone notice how Cameron was NOT personally blamed by his own party for loosing the Remain Vote, even though more of his party voted out than the Labour party followers? Stones were oh-so-quickly thrown in Corbyn’s direction (and arguably, they’re still very much flying).

The disgraceful timing of the failed coup was despicable, fuelled by egotistic ideals and opportunistic strategies. The Labour party is a huge party (now more than ever before), and yes of course everyone does not (and probably should not), agree on Corbyn and the leadership. But that’s the nature of the game, and out of respect for the common cause, you pick your moments for battle and this was the worst one possible. Consistently I hear (exemplified last night at a local Labour party meeting that encouraged me to write this blog blurb…) that Corbyn is unelectable, it is an ongoing echo: unelectable, unelectable, unelectable. Well here’s some basic party logic: the leader of the party will only be as electable as we make him! And undeniably, the more people who shout unelectable…well it’s not going to make him more electable now is it? Needless to say, electability is not a stamp on your forehead that you procure in a shiny supermarket (though in some neoliberal corners of the world they do seemingly try to stock it…), but it is a position that the movement behind a person creates through confidence-building and nuanced and ongoing debates about ideas and strategy implementation, through energetic collective campaigning, and ultimately via clearly and passionately outlining of the policies the party represents. It is the members’, it is our responsibility, to show how and why the Labour party is electable, on the basis of collective beliefs in a progressive policy-agenda. I have so far not met a single Labour supporter who say they reject Corbyn’s policies. Rather, the echo that keeps ringing is the tune of unelectability, which commonly comes down to a lack of a shiny media front. Well, the country is full of shiny media- horny people that are more than happy to play that role in the drama (Russell Brand might be available?). I for one is excited to have a politician who is not attempting to win the X-factor, but is pushing a consensus politics based on sound democratic ideals and values.

The other aspect of electability and appeal, of course, is about which voters we are talking about. The last general election had a voter turnout of 71%, and while this is an improvement on previous years (which some — fulfilling some fabulous British stereotypes — put down to good weather on the day!), it is still almost a third of the total eligible electorate that did not feel engaged enough to head out and use their vote. Whether you are a Corbynist or not, something that Jeremy has undeniably proved is that he can tap into the political interests of those who have previously not felt that party politics were for them. I know them well; I am one of them. I sincerely believe that if the party gets behind him, and Jeremy gets the chance to spend the coming years engaging with new voters — with those who do not feel the system is for them, who feel they cannot identify with big party politics — then Labour can tap into a wealth of votes that are just waiting to find a solid home shore. So let’s think critically about which voters we are actually talking about when we say that Corbyn is unelectable.

And while we are on the topic of appealing to voters — Does anyone actually believe that if Owen Smith took over the leadership role he would somehow spin some magic wand and suddenly re-engage the ‘lost’ labour voters who have moved in the direction of Brexit-type rhetoric and UKIP-styled ideals? The issues run much deeper than a frontman. The task of the Labour Party at this point, in order to re-engage with those traditional voters who for whatever reason feel disillusioned or left behind in the contemporary socio-economic mechanisms, must surely be to sensitively, plainly and forcefully visualise to the wider public audience that the processes that caused so much of the background factors leading up the Brexit vote are not rooted in immigration, in a lack of British sovereignty, or in some vague script of loss-of-control to foreign bodies. The root causes to what is creating desolation and destruction of the social fabric across the country are more accurately found in the decades of conservative policies that have systematically fostered a growth in inequalities, a crumbling welfare network, and a persistent spread of ruthless competitiveness and profit-making in the public sectors that inherently need to be built on a core philosophy of human wellbeing and societal cohesion. May that be in the systems governing health, criminal justice or education.

For the first time in my decade in the UK I can sense a public narrative developing that seems to resemble the form of social democracy that I grew up in and around, and that I learned to see as an essential requisite of an equal and prosperous society. For the first time I feel I have found a space in party politics that I feel comfortable with occupying. Corbyn is not a political messiah, nor is he a media-sassy shiny perfect human being (…I am making assumptions here!), but he is one person, standing together with hundreds of thousands others in the party’s growing membership body, who represents a different way of doing politics. The political ideology that he represents is, as we all know, not new at all — social democratic values have not at any point completely disappeared from our communities — but what is new is that he is leading a Labour Party comprising over half a million people, who are collectively daring to voice a loud and public dissent which chimes to the tune of social justice. This is something that not only should be celebrated (in my view loudly and colourfully!), but it is a progressive chance for united action that is too good to let slip. It is now up to all of us to collectively stand behind this new path that the party is on, and to take it as our personal responsibility to inspire those around us, who are not yet convinced that Labour offers a space for them, and move this country in the direction of a society less clouded over with injustices and gaps between the haves and haves nots, towards a brighter one built on the solid foundations of equality, tolerance and prosperity.