Left-Wing Participatory Group Threatens Labour Party in U.K
There is a new political group in the United Kingdom that is attempting to push the existing Labour Party further left. This group is called “Momentum” and on their website they list their main goal, which is:
To organise in every town, city and village to secure the election of a progressive left Labour Party at every level, and to create a mass movement for real transformative change.
Momentum stands very far left on the ideological scale and their main policy objectives include :
- Redistributing wealth and power from the few to the many;
- Putting people and planet before profit and narrow corporate interests;
- Ending discrimination, advantage and privilege based on class;
- Targeting growth not austerity, invest to create tomorrow’s jobs and reverse privatisation of railways, the energy sector and public services.
- Providing protection at work and strong collective bargaining to stamp out workplace injustice.
- Ensuring decent homes for all in public and private sectors through a big housebuilding programme and rent controls.
- Supporting workers and their trade unions defending the interests of their members, families and communities.
- Ending discrimination based on race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or age.
Momentum prides itself on being more participatory than the existing Labour party and wants to “increase participation and engagement at local, regional and national levels.” They claim to not be in opposition of the Labour party, but rather as a group that wants to help the party win and spur more involvement in communities.
A recent article written in “The Telegraph” reports on a leaked email between Momentum leaders which contains content that seems to go against this claim and reads:
“We all agreed that LP branches aren’t effective political spaces anymore and Momentum must be the replacement space until the LP is politicised”
The email that was leaked also threatens that Momentum will attempt to become a “party within a party” and adds to the fear within the Labour Party that this group is trying to replace moderate Labour politicians with more radical ones that closer follow their objective.
The current leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn has come under fire after the leaking of Momentum’s emails because he had previously backed the group and enjoys their unwavering support in return. Momentum’s main goal stated in the email is to expand democracy by allowing non-party members to have a “say” in Labour Party politics and to create more of a grassroots feel in the Labour party by increasing participation and holding small meetings and debates in local towns and cities. Unfortunately for the more moderate members of the Labour Party, a bottom-up growth of this participatory movement will likely leave them on the outside looking in and threaten their current position in British politics in favor of more radical politicians such as the aforementioned Jeremy Corbyn.
I believe the popularity of the Momentum movement is representative of the overall growing trend of dissatisfaction and lack of participation in western democracies. It is another example of political polarization in European politics because the movement is radically left-wing and is attempting to pull the party more towards the ideas of its ideological “leader” Jeremy Corbyn. Momentum threatens the more moderate establishment Labour Party politicians in the U.K and is often called “militant” and “dangerous” in an attempt to demonize it. Jeremy Corbyn has a tough decision to make. Is he going to stay loyal to his radical left-wing views and support the grassroots participatory movement of Momentum, or will he try to achieve his policy goals within the confines of the Labour Party and sacrifice some of his ideals for a more pragmatic rather than ideological approach?
