Where do we go from here?

With bookmakers already paying out on bets that Jeremy Corbyn will be elected leader of the Labour party on 12 September the time for moderates to start preparing for the battles that lay ahead is now. It will not be easy but it is imperative that we do all that we can to cushion the party we love against the forthcoming assaults from the hard left. These battles will be familiar to some: indeed for Corbyn the playbook will be exactly the same as it was almost four decades ago.

In an ideal world the moderates would seek to regain control of the important internal instruments of the party, namely the National Executive Committee (NEC). It is currently dominated by those on the left and serves as playground for those obsessed with structures and procedures — look at the mooted reform of Clause IV for example. Sadly we are about as likely to recapture influence over the NEC as Corbyn is to appoint Tony Blair as his foreign secretary.

To ready ourselves for the enmity that lies ahead, we must look to history as our guide. The first major clashes will occur over rule changes. Corbyn has already signalled his intent to return to shadow cabinet elections and even hinted at support for yearly leadership elections. While he has moved to distance himself from the reimplementation of mandatory selections there is nothing to suggest that the NEC would not seek to bring back the measure. More troublingly, his desire to grant full voting rights to registered supporters and affiliates could do this job for him and must be resisted strongly. Allowing an organised left to determine parliamentary selections would exacerbate the problems caused by the influx of unruly MPs that will form the bedrock of Miliband’s legacy.

Another major area of concern is around the forthcoming referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union. Corbyn is yet to take a firm stance on the issue while some on the left — notably Owen Jones — have already begun calls to leave. As progressives we must absolutely make the case that Britain should remain a member both within and without the party.

The same is true of our membership of NATO. Corbyn has been a longtime opponent and would lead calls for the UK to pull out, something we must resist. As a leading world power the UK has a duty to be a major player in international affairs, be it in diplomacy, defence or trade. It is a role that becomes ever more important in face of existential threats we face from the likes of ISIS. Senior Labour figures must prove that while their leader might seek to abdicate responsibility that they will not. We must not shy away.

Though Corbyn’s party will struggle nationally a move to replace him early on would be far too incendiary. This battle cannot be won within the first year of a Corbyn leadership, but it can be lost. Instead progressives must play to our strengths — our representatives in local and devolved government — and use this as an opportunity to prove Labour can still be a credible, effective force to help those in need. George Bernard Shaw once wrote: “If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you may as well make it dance.” Under a Corbyn-led party, this will be more applicable than ever.

In the 1980s we failed to demonstrate that. Liverpool was a prime example of how the party allowed itself to implode, succumbing to entrism from the militant tendency. This time around Liverpool will be one of the key ‘policy labs’ to demonstrate what Labour can do. Mayor Joe Anderson has already done some outstanding things over the last 5 years in regenerating Liverpool, attracting investment and driving the city forward in spite of 58 per cent budget cuts. With the government now pressing ahead on its devolution agenda, he will get the opportunity to show the country that the Labour party can still be there to help on a local level.

Using money from the city deal he secured as part of the switch to the mayoral model, Joe Anderson was able to rebuild 12 Liverpool schools cancelled when Building Schools for the Future was abolished, build 5000 new homes and create thousands of jobs and apprenticeships for local residents. With an increased devolution settlement, the city will really be able to kick on. A devolved NHS budget will allow the council to invest more into preventative care, easing the burden on local hospitals. A devolved DWP budget enables it to offer a bespoke service to help people back into work rather than a one size fits all policy passed down from Whitehall.

Up the road in Oldham, Jim McMahon has done some fantastic work turning his into a cooperative council, firmly embedding the party in local communities. The McMahon led council has shown itself capable of delivering public services which provide a better quality of service and save the public purse money too. The likes of McMahon, Anderson and Carwyn Jones, leader of the Welsh Assembly must elevate Labour in local government to the same level as Labour on a national level, demonstrating to the public that we can still be trusted once the Corbyshambles is through.

By doing this, when Corbyn has inevitably crashed and burned we must seize our opportunity to wrestle back control of the party. Only then can we truly hope to rebuild trust with the electorate on a level sufficient to return us to government.

In the meantime, it is of paramount importance that we keep the party as unified as possible. While Corbyn seems determined to relive the 1980s we must be resolute in ensuring moderates do not repeat their mistakes by avoiding splits and identifying early on the preferred candidate for leader. Part of building for the future will mean moving on from the labels of old. That is not to say we should forget the legacy of trailblazers like Tony Blair, but that we move forward and prove that we can build on the foundation that his Labour party laid without being associated with some of the more toxic aspects of his record. Blair himself married past and future to propel the party forward, a trick we must now repeat.

It will be a long climb back to power but it is not insurmountable. We face a more complicated route back than we did 36 years ago but there is enough talent across the country and in the parliamentary party to ensure we reach Downing Street again.