When I saw the exit polls, like so many labour activists, devastation struck. I was saddened and surprised, and many thoughts went through my head. What will happen to the future of our nation, the vulnerable, the youth, our NHS and the effort on climate change etc. . . But, I had to accept the nation has spoken and to some extent, the uncertainty is over.
But why was there such a large loss when the Labour Party stands for ‘the many, not the few’. Established the NHS, improved worker rights and cared for the most vulnerable in our society and came from the grassroots of our country.
Two prominent factors seemed to be pushing through, Jeremy Corbyn MP and the Brexit result.
Jeremy Corby MP
Caroline Flint who lost her seat in GE2019 said Jeremy Corbyn MP on BSkyB News on the Sophie Ridge show was a negative, even with armed forces families and did not see him as a leader. The ultimatum given to her by her voters was if she could guarantee that Jeremy Corbyn MP won’t be the Leader moving forward they would vote for her.
Speaking to a strong Jeremy Corbyn supporter after the results said, “I am devastated by the results and upset about the constant bad press and destruction of Jeremy Corbyn’s character. This should not happen and continuously toeing this line was wrong”.
Brexit
Brexit, this was the other reason which came up time and time again. The antagonism towards the labour party, frustrating Brexit and becoming a remain party overtly. This negativity was met with hostility made it hard to fight on the front line. Also, a point to note, there was not much change in the manifesto from the 2017 and 2019 election and the results in 2017 were nearly neck and neck. So, besides Brexit boiling over what was the difference in our message?
It seems that Jeremy Corbyn’s position to sit on the fence to unite the Labour vote, instead it united the Tory Party against us.
Also, in this General Election 2017, Caroline Flint lost her seat in Don Valley, which was a ‘leave seat’, she also voted for Boris Johnson MP withdrawal bill. And on the other hand, Richard Burgon MP for East Leeds won in the General Election 2019 which was 60% leave constituency.
My Conclusion.
To stop the continuous suffering, we need to stand strong. I believe there is no future for the Labour party if we water down our opposition to the conservative cuts, austerity, the inequality and the climate change challenge, which is on the way in the next few years.
The Labour Party will have to grow and regroup, start those community projects, soup kitchens, self-help movements etc. and return to the grassroots. Functional democracy requires strong opposition, and we won the argument, the debate has moved to austerity, corporate power, inequality, climate change.
In elections it’s not about winning the argument, it’s about winning the, votes and we did not do that. We should take the best bits of our manifesto and move towards the centre of the political spectrum and take the fight to the Tories. I am ready, are you?
Who should be our next Leader?
I believe it should be a female leader, someone from the north, with lenience to remain and can take the party more towards the centre. Producing a withdrawal agreement that protects businesses, the economy, worker rights and Climate Change. I have always believed we are stronger together.