Labour’s right wing finally show us what they mean by electable

At last we have been given a glimpse of what electable looks like. Angela Eagle is to stand for the leadership of the Labour Party. The Labour Party already has a leader, of course, who was elected by around 60% of the party’s members. Unfortunately, this leader — we are told — is unelectable. Hence the need for brave Angela.

The term unelectable has been chosen rather arbitrarily by both the media and Labour’s right wing (a term that in a just world would be an oxymoron). They use it to signal to one another — and to those within what is quaintly termed the Westminster bubble — still clinging to the belief that neoliberalism is more than simply an ideology for bringing increasing misery to the great majority of the planet’s population that Corbyn doesn’t think like they do. It’s worth noting — again — that Corbyn won the election to lead the Labour Party. He won an election. Decisively. But we still need brave Angela.

Angela Eagle’s own constituency party supports Corbyn, as do the great majority of other constituency parties across the UK. Angela is very brave.

Those of the right in the Parliamentary Labour Party — the MPs — consider the membership to be either morons or in some way sinister devils itching to implement measures that would benefit the lives of this country’s citizens. The crime that we morons or devils have thus committed, of course, is to jeopardise the lucrative careers in business that many of those MPs are angling for when they grow bored of representing the minions that turn up at their surgeries and moan about austerity and food banks and zero-hour contracts and a lack of affordable housing.

So we have brave Angela swooping in to rescue the Labour Party from its members. Angela who voted to invade Iraq, which, given the verdict of the Chilcot report might seem an unpopular position. Angela who voted for university tuition fees, which might not be a big winner with students or many parents with students at university. Angela who is less than supportive of the ‘national living wage’ — but because it might impact business — which may affect the numbers of the low waged who might support her. Angela who supports the renewal of Trident.

It is clear that Angela is not an MP who would set an agenda to radically improve the lives of the majority. But that is irrelevant because Angela is electable. In other words, Angela is someone the mainstream media can connect with. Her policies are just variation on those of Theresa May, who will soon be occupying Number 10.

With brave Angela at the helm, the Labour Party can get back to the business of being the acceptable, more gentle face of right wing politics that was personified so well by Tony Blair.