The Labour Conference
To think that this time last year there would be scenes of excitement at the annual Labour gathering you would have thought that you were in as parallel universe divorced from political reality. Yet for Conservatives this is the reality. The Hard left of the Labour party have won the internal struggle of internecine factional warfare that has been brewing since the labour leadership election of 2015 and the rise of Corbynism, have set the agenda. Although curiously Theresa May is ahead Jeremy Corbyn terms of leadership ratings.
From the conservative perspective there needs to be a fundamental response to ideas to challenge the hard left through dynamism and conviction. On Show at the Labour conferenference were the upcoming activists of momentum the new praetorians or enforcers of the of the Labour Movement. The centre-right needs to urgently need to find a set of economic and Social policies that that can help the Conservatives have to come up with practical alternatives that reduce inequality yet remain dynamic in the face of Labours increase in popularity and change of image with the public in recent months.
Chief among the raft of policies set out at the conference were the plans for nationalisation of key areas of public utilities such as water, rail and energy. The argument against this from a conservative perspective, has to be carefully calibrated as large majorities of the public have supported the principal of public ownership in recent years and a great many of Corbyn’s Younger supporters didn’t experience British rail or other publicly owned utiltilities . The Centre had not held and has collapsed, even Miliband. would seem, moderate in comparison to Corbynism which has made a garguntum comeback in recent months. The soft left of Labour represented by types such as Hilary Benn have been overwhelmed by the sheer influence that the membership has over the policy agenda within the PLP.
The McDonnell faction are presenting a Bunker Mentality with talk already surfacing of preparing for a run on the pound if they were to gain power which the gravity of the current political precariousness of the situation. For both Internal labour politics and chiefly the country at large not to mention the risk it would pose to Hard won economic Growth under the current government. There is also the threat that McDonnell feels from the City, media and the moderate labour wing that his wing of the PLP feel that they are under assault from.
As it stands the Left have been rejuvenated since the General election and have been given a newfound confidence, this much is evident from Jubilation shown by labour supporters at the Conference at Brighton. Yet behind this is the sinister crushing of internal dissent by figures such as John Mcdonnel and the Len Mcluskey Which moderate will the first to leave before they become deselected. We may be in a calm before the storm of the Labours skilful Brexit Contradictions coming apart, time will tell.
The Reformist 