JEREMY CORBYN AND THE BRITISH LABOUR PARTY - A DESTRUCTIVE RELATIONSHIP?

The Labour Party's present leader is too heavily weighted in the past, and not suited to be a leader of the present or the future, but loves power too much to see clearly and act prudently.

Jeremy Corbyn, the British people and the world are being told, is earmarked to be re-elected as leader of the British Labour Party, by an increased percentage of the Party's member.

So, if the polls proved accurate, what should people make of that eventuality, which, except for the Corbynites within and outside of the Labour Party, would be perceived as a very unfortunate and probably disastrous event?

Should it, in the event it happens, be taken as an indication of Jeremy Corbyn's increased popularity amongst the British people? Certainly not. Should it be seen as indication that Jeremy Corbyn, for all his proneness to slipping on banana skins and avoidably punching himself in his face and head, and scoring own goals, as it were, is probably the most popular of the Labour Party's M.Ps who aspire for leadership of the Party? Probably.

Could this continuing clamour for Cobyn and Corbynism amongst the  neo-leftists, and the natural but partly misguided rebelousness of the young Corbynites, be a suicidal response to the political challenges which are facing the Labour Party and the British people in general? Yes, it is very likely to be the case.

The Labour Party's members have to decide on Owen Smith or Jeremy Corbyn as their new leader.

Thousands of people who are feeling disenchanted with the British political estate, and angry with the Tories emasculation of the country's welfare state. In their desperation and endeavour to do something to roll back the Tories' scorched earth policies, they are putting their faith in Corbyn and Corbynism. Believing that his reputedly 'radical policies' will be the antidote to the Tory's venom.


But, how successful can they and Jeremy Corbyn expect to be, if they, in choosing to go about their business the way they are doing, end up alienating just as many, if not more than the hundreds of thousands of new members flocking to join the Labour Party?  How many hundreds of thousands of  traditional Labour Party supporters and incidental voters are the Corbynites alienating and driving away from the Party?

There is still place in contemporary politics for a political party to target its appeal to only one sector of the population, and, more specifically, to the electorate. However, with the common societal sentiment, even if not the practice, gravitating towards the politics of consensus, no party which is not able to command broad appeal across most or all sections of the population, is likely to gain sufficient electoral support to form a strong government on its own. And, even more importantly, win the necessary consecutive terms office that it would need to implement and consolidate its political, economic and social programmes.

Is the Labour Party isolating itself and risking becoming irrelevant?

However brilliant Corbyn's Labour Party's policies are, except in sofar as the current Conservative government claims and implements them, they are useless, if the Party is not able to win the general election and try to implement them. After all, this is 2016, and, with centuries of political theories and practices having been formulated, developed and implemented,, it is unlikely that Jeremy Corbyn and his colleagues will have come up with anything original. 

At best, their policies will have been adaptations and versions of old policies, and, at worse, they are likely to be restatement of old policies. In other words, there is unlikely to be anything truly original, profound and very electorally appealing in these policies. Nothing that one could say, only Jeremy Corbyn could or can deliver this 'great policy.'

Consequently, it is really very despairing that Jeremy Corbyn has allowed himself to become bewitched by the clamour of these sycopants and 'entrists' who wants to make the Party their tactical and strategic home', but at the cost of consigning the Party to the political wilderness.

Yes, it is truly depressing, but, if that is the fate of the British Labour Party, then let it get on with it and die as painless a death or transformation as it can.


Of course, as with many things in living, there are alternatives, probably not all great ones, but better ones than that of relentlessly heading towards the precipice. Jeremy Corbyn could still stand down, although it now seems very unlikely that he will do so. There are another 3 years before the next British general election; time enough, you might think, for another leader to takeover the baton, and, providing he/she is able to command sufficient popular support from the electorate, strongly compete with the Tories.

The Labour Party as a kind of 'Brexited' island?