Jeremy Corbyn enjoying his unpredicted success — Photo by Andy Miah [CC BY-NC 2.0]

“Where are we now?” — a new political landscape stretches out before us

Few saw it coming, I certainly had my doubts, but Labour’s performance in the 2017 General Election has created new opportunities for a socialist future.

James McRae
Jul 25, 2017 · 7 min read

[This article to be read in context with ‘Snap, Crackle and Pop’ published prior to the General Election]

Early in the evening of Thursday June 8th, I received a text from a friend: “You staying up late tonight?” read the message. “I doubt it”, I replied, “I’ll probably just have a couple of beers in front of the telly and then head off to bed.”

It had been an energising election campaign. I had canvassed for Labour, delivering letters throughout Brentford and Isleworth as part of my burning need to take action; to do something other than just post polemic on social media. Labour’s surge in the polls had put fire in my belly too but by election night the numbers were stuck stoically at 6–8%, on average, in favour of the Tories. I was predicting, quite sensibly I thought, an increased Tory majority of 70 seats.

At 5 minutes to 10pm, I was just easing the top off my first bottle of session ale. I felt awful. Sick in the stomach with tension, the adrenaline on which I’d been running during the last week of the campaign had by now completely dissipated. I was exhausted and gloomier than a British summer’s day.

I eased onto the sofa as David Dimbleby’s face materialised in the corner of the room. “It’s 10pm and that means I can now announce the results of the exit poll and what we are saying is…”


This General Election saw a Prime Minister supremely confident of burying the opposition only serving to bury herself. She remains in №10 for now but as George Osborne, former Tory Chancellor and now editor of the Evening Standard so gleefully proclaims, she is a ‘dead woman walking’.

When I read Labour’s 2017 manifesto it was like a book of revelation. Finally, here was a vision of Britain that made sense to me.

It remains to be seen how long the now minority Government can sustain itself in a fraught and controversial supply and confidence agreement with the DUP of Northern Ireland. The repercussions for peace in that volatile part of the UK remain unknown. Whether, even with their support, Theresa May will be able to pass any truly meaningful legislation remains in doubt but, whatever the future of the now diminished Tory Government, it is clear the General Election result has re-sculpted the British political landscape.

Labour did not win the election but increasing its national vote share and its number of parliamentary seats is no mere moral victory. Not now can a socialist manifesto be ridiculed or dismissed out of hand.

The swing to Labour in this vote confirms significant support for a transformation in British society. A firm foundation from which to build, the received wisdom that an election can only be won from the centre ground — a view endorsed by the press, the establishment and, yes, many within the Labour Party itself — has been blown out of the water quite literally overnight.


Most agree the defining factor contributing to Labour’s gains was the publication of the manifesto. Usually, manifestos are offered up almost apologetically to a greatly indifferent electorate who, in the main, have already made up their minds. Often they say little we don’t already know.

When I read Labour’s 2017 manifesto it was like a book of revelation. Finally, at 35 years of age, here was a vision of Britain that made sense to me. A vision that focused on education, healthcare and equality; that included fulsome policies and proposals without apology, spin or double speak. Some argued it wasn’t radical enough but its tone, its over arching theme of hope, was a breath of fresh air sweeping through the stuffy halls of Westminster.

Critically, the manifesto included an appendix of costings. Whether you agreed with the figures or not, you could hardly argue Labour hadn’t been upfront in how they intended to pay for their proposals. Especially as the Conservative manifesto offered no such detail. It was a concern when the Institute for Fiscal Studies poured doubt on the figures but they were equally critical of proposed Conservative fiscal policy. At worst, it was a no score draw on credibility.

A vision that focused on education, healthcare and equality; that included fulsome policies and proposals without apology, spin or double speak.

In the weeks following the manifesto’s publication, Corbyn went everywhere with copy in hand. He waved it about during the televised ‘Battle for №10’ and ‘Leaders Question Time’ programmes, audiences laughing when Theresa May suggested his sums didn’t add up. “It’s fully costed” shouted one audience member, a point I felt was well made.

At the televised leaders debate, at which Theresa May was conspicuous by her absence, Amber Rudd bludgeoned on about there being ‘no magic money tree’, neglecting the fact Labour’s manifesto costings simply outlined a redistribution of finance already accounted for.

The public responded to such a clear and forthright vision with positivity and hope, whereas Theresa May’s robotic mantras and aloof approach appeared cynical, inhuman, dishonest.

Young people and non-voters responded in droves; it would be their votes which would ultimately undermine Theresa May and the Government.


Remarkably, we have now experienced three upsets in Western elections within the space of two years. Commentators thought it unlikely the UK would vote to leave the EU, even more unlikely that Trump would become US President and practically impossible that a Corbyn led Labour Party would be anything other than an unmitigated disaster.

It’s a volatile time in Western politics. Clearly people feel beaten down by the society globalism and free-market capitalism has delivered them in recent decades. They are lashing out, both to the left (Jeremy Corbyn, Bernie Sanders) and to the right (Donald Trump, Nigel Farage). After years of neoliberal consensus, the fight for the future political zeitgeist feels very real.

Perhaps, for those predicting politics, memories are simply too long? Was it wise to believe an approach that failed so notoriously with Michael Foot’s Labour in the 1980’s couldn’t gain traction with an embattled public some 40 years later? Equally, was it sensible to reject Trump’s credibility, to ridicule those who supported him, when the deep hurt was clearly visible. It seems astonishingly arrogant given how much has changed in society that nobody could countenance a reaction to the neoliberalism of Blair, Clinton and co.

Perhaps our memories are too long? Was it wise to believe an approach that failed so notoriously in the 1980’s couldn’t gain traction with the public some 40 years later?

I remember making this argument when Corbyn was first elected Labour leader, many having no truck with such open-mindedness. Had Corbyn’s Labour been wiped out in the General Election, I would, I believe, have ceded to the naysayers — I never argued that getting into power wasn’t a priority as some on the left claimed, simply that we shouldn’t assume Corbynism was by default an anathema to such aspiration — yet his achievement has been wonderfully vindicating. Proof we should never surrender to cynicism nor received wisdom.

Some may argue we have only served to destabilise the country further and for what? The Tories are still in power, Theresa May still Prime Minister. Yet, this ignores the fact that Tory policy is now being undermined at every turn. Not only does May know she would find it impossible to pass some of the Tories more controversial legislation but the internal and external pressures to change tack are far greater too.

Her own MPs now sense austerity may have to be relaxed and suddenly the mainstream media recognises a desire for a different approach. Prior to the election, the left would decry the lack of coverage received by anti-austerity marches through London. Now they are marked by front page news.

Whether the collective political will of Parliament can dilute some of the more harmful elements of Hard Brexit as negotiations unfold in Brussels remains to be seen but no longer can the Europhobes expect to have everything their own way. We are living in a new era.

Yet, another election now would not guarantee Corbyn as Prime Minister. The polls have shown a further surge to Labour post the election but not enough to suppose a majority. As time passes and the prospect of a 2019 date for the next General Election becomes increasingly likely, we must remember the old adage that a week is a long time in politics. Two years, therefore, practically a lifetime!

The arguments will still need to be made. A rise in the youth vote today must be capitalised on to ensure a continued engagement tomorrow. Nothing can be taken for granted.

…we live in a country where the prospect of a socialist governing party is distinctly plausible

However, we should rightly be delighted the ‘narrative’ of necessary austerity and, more broadly, essential Conservatism has been exposed for the fiction it is. As Jeremy Corbyn returned to the Commons chamber to rapturous applause from his MPs, many of whom had sought to undermine him previously, it was both a vindication of his long-held beliefs and symbolic of a future that won’t only be shaped by those on the right and the centre of UK politics.

If nothing else, for the first time in a long time, we live in a country where the prospect of a socialist governing party is distinctly plausible. That alone is a remarkable, wonderful and, yes, unexpected joy. One that should convince us, no matter the barriers, nor the dire perceived circumstances, that fighting for what we believe in is always worthwhile.

Keep making the arguments, keep encouraging people and, most importantly, no matter how much you may be ridiculed for your beliefs, don’t give up. The future is up for grabs!

Revolution Sound

Revolution Sound is one man writing about politics and pop culture. [publication image is ‘Red+Green’ by Živko Kondić, licensed by Creative Commons]

James McRae

Written by

The poor man’s Dennis Waterman

Revolution Sound

Revolution Sound is one man writing about politics and pop culture. [publication image is ‘Red+Green’ by Živko Kondić, licensed by Creative Commons]

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