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The Corbyn Project: a View from the UK Grassroots

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The Corbyn Project: a View from the UK Grassroots The Corbyn Project: a View from the UK Grassroots Heather Mendick (London) n the BBC documentary Labour - The rather than collapsed. Second, Stephen’s ISummer That Changed Everything, face signals the difficulties of changing about the 2017 UK General Election, the direction of an existing party whose there is a scene that became a thousand infrastructure, including its MPs, was memes. On election night, we see Labour formed within a different political culture. MP (Member of Parliament) Stephen Kinnock with other Party members in a cross Europe we have seen ‘the pub awaiting the results. The television Arapid capitulation of … social announces the exit poll predicting a democratic heavyweight[s] in times of hung parliament, not the Labour wipe- austerity’, dubbed pasokification after out that many professional politicians its first victim, Greece’sPASOK . PASOK, and pundits, Stephen included, had been the main party of power in Greece since anticipating. He stares blankly at the its democracy was restored in 1974, went screen, unable even to fake enthusiasm from being the country’s largest party for his party’s projected parliamentary with 160 seats representing 43.9 per gains. The voice-over remarks: ‘I’m not cent of the popular vote in 2009 to being sure what Stephen’s face is revealing its smallest party with just 13 seats and but perhaps he’s realising the Corbyn- 4.7 per cent support in 2015. Similarly, free tomorrow he’s been thinking about [i]n France, the incumbent Socialist might never actually come’. This scene Party polled a mere 6.4 per cent in the captures two things relevant to this 2017 presidential election - its worst- article. First, this is the moment when ever result - and won just 30 seats in the National Assembly (down from 280). In Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party avoided the Netherlands, the Dutch Labour Party the fate of our sister parties across was reduced to 5.7 per cent in the same Europe as our popular support increased year (a fifth of its previous vote). And in Germany, the Social Democratic Party Page 1 Hard Times 103 (1/2019) The Corbyn Project: a View from the UK Grassroots (SPD), the grandfather of the European and practices; and affiliations by the trade centre-left, achieved a new nadir in last union movement and socialist societies. September’s election, winning just 20.5 per cent of the vote and 153 seats. (Eaton In this article I discuss the experience 2018) of engaging with this infrastructure from a grassroots perspective. n contrast parties of the left that reject Iausterity have gained electoral support: The elected politicians Greece’s Syriza in 2015, France’s La France n Parliamentary Socialism, Ralph Insoumise (France Unbowed) and the Miliband argues Labour has never Netherlands’ GroenLinks (Green Left) in I been a socialist party because its MPs 2017, and since 2014, Podemos in Spain. are committed to top-down reformism, n the UK and Portugal, established or Labourism, over the bottom-up Ileft parties, the Labour Party and radicalism favoured by much of its the Partido Socialista, have revived by grassroots. He ends by asserting that adopting anti-austerity politics. In the this cannot change because Labour’s UK, there is a left insurgency similar to parliamentarians will never relinquish those in Greece, France, the Netherlands their veto over the leadership. Yet, in and Spain however not through a new 2015, they did. Previously, Labour’s party of the left but within our country’s leader was decided by an electoral college social democratic heavyweight. This with a third of the votes going to each, Corbyn Project has attracted hundreds the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP), of thousands of new members, expanded the membership and the trade unions. In the electorate and engaged many young 2015, this changed to One Member One people in electoral politics for the first Vote and the electorate included people time. Labour’s internal revolution has paying £3 to register as a supporter. Now parallels with the left insurgency in the MPs’ votes had the same value as those of US Democratic Party, perhaps because in rank-and-file members. But MPs could both countries, the lack of proportional still ‘protect’ the party from a socialist representation makes it difficult for leader as all candidates needed backing new parties to gain ground. In taking from 15 per cent of the PLP. In response to on and attempting to transform an a remarkable grassroots campaign, some existing party with over a hundred years MPs lent their nominations to Corbyn of history, you gain an infrastructure of despite supporting other candidates. elected politicians, including MPs like hey did this because they could not Stephen Kinnock, and thousands of local imagine him winning. As Corbyn’s councillors; a party apparatus of paid staff, T support grew, they launched vitriolic internal committees, and detailed rules Page 2 Hard Times 103 (1/2019) Heather Mendick “They fear you.” © Jon Southcoasting (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) attacks in the media against him and public comments criticising MPs. Yet his supporters. These continued after if we complain about MPs’ abuse, we we won culminating in June 2016’s are told their comments ‘do not go any attempt to undemocratically remove further than political discourse’ or that Corbyn as leader via mass resignations, complaints have been passed onto the negative press briefings, bullying and a whips without any discernible action. no-confidence vote supported by 172 Abuse aside, it is possible that the out of 229 MPs. This ‘Chicken Coup’ Corbyn Project will be destroyed by was resisted by mass demonstrations and Labour MPs who refuse to back a future actions coordinated by Momentum, the Corbyn government. This raises the successor organisation to the Corbyn for issue of the selection and deselection of Leader Campaign. Even after Corbyn was parliamentary candidates which are the re-elected leader in 2016 with increased responsibility of local parties. Momentum support and after Labour made electoral have campaigned for members to choose gains in 2017, the assault continued. Corbyn supporters to contest marginal One MP called Corbyn ‘a fucking racist Tor y-held seats at the next General and anti-semite’ and the Twitter hashtag Election. But this leaves in place the #TrotsRabbleDogs combines some of current PLP many of whom oppose the insults thrown at party activists by socialist policies, like nationalisation and members of the PLP during summer 2016. international relations based on peace and human rights. Do we trust MPs n the grassroots, people are angry. to fall into line? Do we support a few IOrdinary members are suspended local parties to deselect Corbyn’s most and expelled for social media posts or virulent opponents? Or do we attempt Page 3 Hard Times 103 (1/2019) The Corbyn Project: a View from the UK Grassroots mass deselections in the hope of creating death of the party they have known’. a fit-for-purpose PLP but risking bitter Although Labour has an extensive Rule and divisive battles that may split the Book, it requires interpretation and party and ruin our electoral prospects? staff often control how it is applied. In 2016, then General Secretary Iain hese questions apply - albeit less McNicoll obtained legal advice allowing Turgently - to local government. him to argue that an incumbent leader In Haringey council, ‘zombie Blairites’ is not automatically on the ballot if were attempting ‘to shove family homes, challenged, so Corbyn would need to school buildings and libraries into a secure MPs’ backing to stand again - giant private fund worth £2bn’ and to something they were unlikely to grant hand over control of this Development now they knew he could win! When Vehicle to a private company with a overruled by the National Executive, terrible track record on public housing McNicoll successfully advised them to projects. Local Labour Party members restrict the electorate, took some Party organised through Momentum to replace members to court to stop them voting, councillors who supported this policy and presided over a purge of left wingers ignoring whether they had backed by trawling their social media accounts, Corbyn. Initially a big media story suspending them en masse and removing about ‘hard left’ attacks on ‘moderates’, their votes in the leadership election. the new councillors are now in place and are no longer in the spotlight. Haringey’s ew of us who joined or rejoined targeted and policy-focused approach to FLabour to support Corbyn’s deselection may work at a national level. leadership had anticipated facing a vast bureaucratic apparatus of officers, The party structures meetings, conferences, rules, committees and delegates. Nor had we imagined he PLP are highly visible. Labour’s the extent of the resistance we would paid staff, committees and rules T face within our own party. Winning are not. At least until you bang up the leadership and piling in members against them. But Labour staff were as initially had little effect as the party’s disturbed by Corbyn’s win as MPs. As unchanged infrastructure persisted in Alex Nunns describes in his book tracing working against us. At a local level, Corbyn’s ‘improbable path to power’, people encountered dull report-filled at the special conference announcing meetings where they were treated with the 2015 leadership winner: ‘Party staff suspicion. Local Momentum groups wear sullen, sad faces to match the black sprang up around the UK, creating attire they are sporting, symbolising the Page 4 Hard Times 103 (1/2019) Heather Mendick spaces for people on the left to meet each local government, policymaking, and organise ways into the labyrinthine mobilising members, making our party Labour Party.
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