A resurgence of the Left in the UK...?
Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana (MP) recently announced the creation of a new left-wing political party.
In a nutshell the new party is.... Socialist, anti-war, pro-welfare, pro-Palestine, green, progressive, anti-Starmer, inclusive, and redistributive.
However, IN TYPICAL LEFTIST STYLE there are already splits emerging even though it's barely established yet....
Zarah Sultana seems to be particularly up for a war with the mainstream Labour Party, she resigned her membership pretty recently over the two child benefit cap and has said on Twitter it's now a choice between "socialism or barbarism"
Jeremy Corbyn, perhaps it's his age, is a bit more mellow, saying that the party is going to offer a "real alternative" to Labour.
Is there demand for a Corbynite resurgence?
The Parliamentary welfare revolt and rising grassroots disillusionment are warning signs that Corbynism is far from dead within the Labour Party.
And there are plenty of disillusioned progressives, anti-war protesters, and Muslim voters, especially in marginal constituencies. MPs like Wes Streeting and Jess Phillips could quite possibly find themselves fighting to hold their seats if a "Gaza independent"-style uprising were to coalesce under Corbyn's banner.
And of course the Greens are natural allies, albeit with differences, and there's the rub....
Nevertheless, putting such a coalition together won't be simple.... the secular left and faith-based voters might find common ground on foreign policy and economic issues — but they are still deeply divided on social issues such as abortion and LGBTQ+ rights.
And then there is the question of organisation... with two leaders already showing their differences there seems to be little hope in putting together a nationwide operation that's going to be co-ordinated enough to compete in a 2029 election.
Final thoughts...
I see no real threat ATM from this party, but it's a sign that the Left in the UK isn't quite dead, yet.
A very interesting post! Of course, talk of the Left in the cradle of capitalism seems like fiction. And it is true that after Jeremy Corbyn announced the inaugural conference for autumn, in less than 24 hours, an amazing 200,000 people signed up. And some analysts guess that the new party could capitalize on 10-15% of the electoral base. According to surveys, the greatest level of support for a potential new party comes from those aged 18–29, with 33% saying they would back a new left-wing party — ahead of Reform UK (24%) and Labour (18%). So, either many people don't know what the Left is, or many people have been excluded from public policy, or some politicians want to break the Westminster consensus. Anyway, consensus within the new party is still difficult. Maybe Reform UK is perhaps the greatest beneficiary of this development.
it's easy to say you're gonna go with them 4 years away from a referendum. Personally I'm with the Greens as the most viable leftist option.
Probable split incoming with this i agree!
Any sort of extremist party may fracture as people argue over the 'true path'. Politics is about compromise, but some can't handle having their opinions put down. Being an idealist is all very well, but reality doesn't mesh with that. We are seeing the right win votes by promising the world whilst putting down minorities. The left tends to be more supportive, but needs policies that stand a chance of working. I have no strong wish to get too much into politics, but we need people who will fight for a better world. Yes, I am a bit of an idealist too :)
More comppromise, more new ideas, that's what we need!
Please God no! The UK is already going down the drain, right now! Right wing is the way to go!
I'm not sure either will do any good TBH!
The formation of this new left-leaning party is thrilling yet worrisome. On one side, it shows a real wish for change from progressive voters; on the flip side, internal disputes might hinder their initiatives before they even kick off.
We'll probably just see the left vote split!
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STOPGood luck to him it will split the labour vote, opening the door even wider for Nigel to get the keys to No10
Yup that is the most likely outcome!
We live in interesting times
Same thing is happening to lefties in the USA. They're losing ground. So their solution is to double down and become more lefty.
I guess that's entirely natural!