Fuck it, I’m joining the Labour Party
Anyone who knows me or has heard me drone on in the pub about politics knows I have a troubled history with the Labour party. Like so many of my generation, my political awakening came in on the streets in March of 2003, where I marched against a war anyone could see was bonkers and found that my local MP was actually marching beside me, shoulder to shoulder. I told Jeremy Corbyn on that day I was with him, whatever.
However, unlike other promises of solidarity made that year, mine didn’t prove as diehard. Most notably, I moved to Scotland in 2005 where the political context was quite different, and eventually became convinced of the radical case for Scottish Independence, although never by the disappointing neoliberal policies of the SNP. My falling out with Labour, ignited by Blair, was sealed by Scottish Labour’s parade of bland, narrow-minded politicians, who hounded people out of their party who wanted to talk about the possibilities of Independence and ran Glasgow City Council with a series of corrupt, incomprehensible decisions.
I joined the Green party after the Indyref in 2o14. Principally because I felt gutted and powerless, and I really admire Patrick Harvie. Since then, however, I’d not done much, and let it slide, which I was ashamed of. I did hand out some leaflets in May. I think the greens, especially in Scotland and at Holyrood, are a wonderful political force and I’ll be sorry to resign my membership and wish them all the best. But now I reckon there is a more important battle to fight.
I would be the first person to admit that Jeremy has disappointed me as a leader. He’s dropped a few balls, and he’s failed to score several open goals, which has been frustrating. However, I was very aware that he wasn’t exactly being given the fairest playing field or the proper support from his team. And for all the mistakes he has made, which we should rightly and constructively call him out on, it is patently absurd to blame him for the result of the EU referendum. This is all the Tories’ fault, and the longer we go on squabbling, the more we dilute that story.
I wanted to see what could happen if he was given a chance, and he wasn’t. I was wobbling about whether to continue supporting Corbyn when the coup started. I was gutted about the result and could see the possible need for a more charismatic leader. But as time has worn on, I’ve lost all sympathy for the plotters’ cause.
The first blow was the realisation that savinglabour.com was registered two days before Benn was fired. This, for me, is the smoking gun that just makes the whole thing reek of a spineless, dishonest assassination attempt, with undeclared ideological underpinnings. And what’s more — what I can’t understand that the rebels don’t see— is that it looks like one. Everybody will just see it as more dishonest Westminster-bubble-based squabbles immediately after a vote where 52% of the country indicated very clearly that they were sick to the back teeth of Westminster bullshit.
Secondly, they tell us that the principal problem with Corbyn is competence, and yet, they have just royally ballsed up a coup within their own party. It feels a lot like the anti-Corbyn wing of the PLP couldn’t run a piss up in a subsidised members-only river-terrace bar. Who are they to lecture on competence after the farce of the past two weeks?
Finally, they tell us that the other problem with Corbyn is credibility: that he’s unelectable, unstatesmanlike, an uninspiring public speaker. And their solution to this problem is: Angela Eagle. Be serious.
Most of all though, I’m shocked by Labour politicians who are unhappy that hundreds of thousands of people are joining their party. Surely that is the whole reason you started a political party, no?
What a fabulous open goal we have here! The Tories are about to ride the country down the maddest and most unnecessary path of political destruction ever seen in British politics. Boris and Cameron and Farage all know that Brexit is a poison chalice. We have started a movement here, friends, and we are hurtling towards a moment in history when that movement might really make a difference.
Yaaaaas!
One final point, and thanks for reading this far if you’ve bothered to.
Tales of aggressive conduct from Corbyn / Momentum supporters at CLP meetings make me very angry, and I want to see if my presence can help redress that balance, or even call out someone for poor, counter productive conduct. We should take Jeremy’s lead on this. Play the ball not the man at all times. Focus on the issues, avoid personalising debate at all costs. At every level. It’s not worth it.
Ultimately, on every side of this debate, inside the party and out, we all need to focus on staying as civil and as united in solidarity as we can throughout the whole process. If someone other than Jeremy wins, I will stay in the party. Whatever happens, I’m going to go to meetings, I’m going to take part in campaigns. I will keep working to make my corner of the party, and the nation, as decent, honest and human as I can. Equally, I pray that the PLP will change their tune, show some magnanimity and get behind Jeremy if he is the winner. I hope we can come together now, as a party and as a nation. I hope we can build something that works better.
I think, at least for now, that Jeremy is the only guy with integrity and the honesty to lead that process. I hope you’ll agree. Let’s do it.
(But I do think he should fire Seamus Milne).
