Saturday 4 March 2017

The Labour Party and Jeremy Corbyn - a reply to Owen Jones

Owen Jones has written an article this week in the Guardian calling on Jeremy Corbyn to stand down. I take what Jones says seriously but I think he is wrong.

Some may dismiss what Jones says by attacking the man and not the argument. Jones himself anticipates this - “The party’s warring factions now refuse to accept that differing opinions are expressed in good faith - there have to be ulterior motives, ranging from careerism to self-aggrandisement to “virtue signalling””. 

I completely accept that Jones writes in good faith. Equally, I do so too. Jones and I passionately want the same two things - to defeat this destructive Tory government and to elect a decent, progressive Labour government. The argument is not about the ends but the means.

Jones calls for “an agreement to be struck where Corbyn can stand down in exchange for  the guarantee of an MP from the new generation on the ballot paper who is committed to the policies that Inspired Corbyn’s supporters in the first place.”

There are two issues here - the policy and the leader.

I agree with Jones that Corbyn’s policies are more likely to win an election than those of his Labour Party opponents. As he says correctly of those opponents - “They had no compelling or coherent alternative (to Corbyn).” He writes that the “more perceptive among the ranks of the opponents recognise this. The less perceptive have become embittered nihilists, defined almost exclusively by hostility to the left.”  

It is a lazy and too common assumption that the Labour Party would be doing OK if only it had more centrist or right wing policies. This seems to be based on the example of Tony Blair. However, 2017 is not 1997. In particular, there have been two General Elections since the 2008 Crash and Labour has lost both of them. Labour’s underlying problems pre-date Corbyn. Labour lost almost 5 million votes between 1997 and 2010 (going from 13.5 million to 8.6 million). It was not Corbyn’s policies that led to a wipe-out in Scotland. 

If Owen Smith had been leader would he have even held Stoke?

Corbyn’s opponents fundamental claim is that they are the grown-ups, the sensible ones who know how to win elections. Yet they launched the shambolic, destructive and pointless coup last year just at the time when the Tories were on the ropes, which led to a disastrous plunging in Labour’s poll ratings which have never recovered since.

Since becoming leader, Corbyn has inspired hundreds of thousands to join the Labour party. Given the low level of political engagement in the UK, it is depressing how far from welcoming this, some sneer and belittle the fact.

Jones’ criticism of Corbyn is not about his policies but about his leadership qualities. He says Corbyn is ineffective and wants him replaced with a younger, more effective communicator (unnamed).

I have no problem with Jones’ idea in principle - (but I have two problems in practice). I support Corbyn not because of the man - although I admire him - but because of his policies. If someone else really could make them more likely to be implemented then it would make sense to support them. 

However - unless we are to have a dramatic announcement by a group of Labour MPs - Jones’ swap idea appears to be nothing more than pie in the sky dreaming. All the signs are to date that Labour MPs are doing everything in their power to ensure that a candidate with Corbyn’s policies will never be allowed to go on to the leadership ballot to be voted on by the membership.

The second problem with the swap idea is that it underestimates the power of the UK elite, in particular through its control of the media. We don’t know who Jones new, improved Corbynite leader would be. However, even if they had the political skills of an Abraham Lincoln or a FDR and the looks of Justin Trudeau, as long as they put forward policies that threatened the UK’s elite they would face the same tsunami of bile and distortion that Corbyn has had to endure and the same blocking of their positive message. 

The elite don’t need anything substantive to destroy a politician. The day before the 2015 General Election, John Humphries on BBC radio 4 Today merrily described the Sun’s front page, it was the picture of Ed Miliband eating a bacon sandwich.  I remember this because when I heard it, I felt a literal pain in my stomach. I know how this kind of subliminal messaging is very effective - that’s why the advertisers spend billions of pounds on it.

There is only one way for a Labour leader to achieve anything approaching fair coverage in the UK media. That is to make it clear to the UK elite that they are no threat to them. That is what Tony Blair did. He actually made an explicit deal with Rupert Murdoch.

The UK elite are trying to crush Corbyn and would try and crush any successor with the same policies. Do we take a stand or do we allow the word “electable” to mean “acceptable to Murdoch and Dacre and the rest of the elite”?

The road to social justice and a decent society is hard. Like the road to the vote and to human rights. 


Corbyn needs help with his communications. So, let’s help him. Let’s stand and fight together, Owen.  

32 comments:

  1. This sums up the situation perfectly. If Rupert manages to get rid Corbyn, I wonder what would be the reaction of those Labour Party members who signed up because of C's policies and ethics.

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    1. Replace him with a Blairite and I for one will be gone.

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    2. Do you think they have the ability to understand that ?

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    3. It would be like trying to appease a mob of sharks with a drop of blood.

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  2. I could give one immediate and valuable help to Corbyn, sack the entire communications team including Milne - all utterly hopeless. He will of course not take that oft given advice, and that is the tragedy of Corbyn: he needs lots of help, he cries out for it every time he opens his mouth, but lacks the ability, sense, political nous to take it.

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  3. Owen should really be attacking the problem (Murdoch, Dacre, BBC Bias), instead of the solution (Corbyn: honest,pricipled and democratic who is a threat to the status quo). Has Owen even signed and shared today's Hacked Off petition for example, that if acted upon, could actually make a huge difference to the public perception of Corbyn's Labour?

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    1. The Sun is The Bloody Rag of Hillsborough, and the persecutor of my friend (yes, still my friend), Tom Watson. The Times employs Oliver Kamm, the tormentor of my friend, Neil Clark. But try as I might to work myself up about Rupert Murdoch’s attempt to purchase the rest of Sky, I cannot bring myself to do so. What would such an acquisition make any worse?

      The BBC gives little or no platform to those who understand the lesson of the EU referendum result in the United Kingdom, and of the election of Donald Trump in the United States, which is that the workers, and not the liberal bourgeoisie, are the key swing voters. The BBC gives little or no platform to those who locate identity issues within the overarching and undergirding context of the struggle against economic inequality and in favour of international peace. The BBC gives little or no platform to those who welcome the fact that the EU referendum was decided by those areas which voted Leave while voting Labour, Liberal Democrat or Plaid Cymru for other purposes, and which have thus made themselves the centre of political attention, except, of course, on the BBC.

      The BBC gives little or no platform to those who celebrate the leading role in the defence of universal public services of those who would otherwise lack basic amenities, and the leading role in the promotion of peace of those who would be the first to be called upon to die in wars. The BBC gives little or no platform to those who have opposed from the start the failed programme of economic austerity. The BBC gives little or no platform to those who opposed Tony Blair’s privatisation of the NHS and other public services, his persecution of the disabled, and his assault on civil liberties, all of which have continued under every subsequent Government.

      The BBC gives little or no platform to those who have opposed every British military intervention since 1997. The BBC gives little or no platform to those who oppose Britain’s immoral and one-sided relationship with Saudi Arabia, and who reject the demonisation of Russia. The BBC gives little or no platform to those who have the real eyes to realise real lies, recognising that the truly fake news is propagated in support of the economic policies of neoliberal austerity and the foreign policies of neoconservative war.

      The BBC gives little or no platform to those who reject any approach to climate change which would threaten existing or potential jobs, workers’ rights, the right to have children, travel opportunities, or universal access to a full diet. The BBC gives little or no platform to those who seek to rescue issues such as male suicide, men’s health, and fathers’ rights from those whose economic and other policies have caused the problems. And the BBC gives little or no platform to those who refuse to recognise racists, Fascists or opportunists as the authentic voices of the accepted need to control immigration.

      Over-concentrated media ownership, especially by a foreign national who is not based in this country, is inherently problematic. But in the very great scheme that is these things, the biggest problem is not Rupert Murdoch. He already owns a lot of Sky, on which the much-maligned RT does indeed provide these platforms. He now also owns talkRADIO, on which they are provided by the much-maligned George Galloway, whom Murdoch has not sacked, and who is a friend and comrade of mine and of Neil Clark’s. As the proprietor of the whole of Sky, Murdoch might even do some good.

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  4. Excellent article, took the words out of my mouth. Opponents of Corbyn aren't suggesting a viable alternative, and why they would be treated any better by the media. Moreover, Corbyn in genuine as we can see from his long historic crusade and can't be bought for career advancement, how many politicians can say this. No-one comes close. The Tories realise that any left wing alternative to Corbyn would be even easier to defeat or change.

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  5. The evidence of media bias and manipulation is stacking up. Today in the Guardian it reports of "Watchdog to Launch an Enquiry into Misuse of Data in Politics" An earlier Observer report quotes Martin Moore of Kings College saying: "Undisclosed support-in-kind is extremely troubling. It undermines the whole basis of our electoral system, that we should have a level playing field". This I suggest to Owen is the problem we face, not Jeremy's bow to the Queen.

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  6. Rachel.lever.cine@gmail.com5 March 2017 at 16:34

    Actually it's not Corbyn's mostly unremarkable policies that his enemies hate, it's his character, his refusal to be bought or play ball, his track record, his integrity, his modesty, and the way none of this has gone to his head. It's a shallow cliché to say that any of that can be replaced by a younger model who could move into the establishment at the speed of light.

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  7. Two years ago, if any event were addressed by Owen Jones, then he himself was the event. But, like Peter Tatchell, he has now joined the long list of old left-wing star turns who resent having been made into supporting acts by a man whom they had spent decades assuming was the cloakroom attendant, yet who turns out to have an appeal beyond their wildest dreams.

    Jones’s insistence that anti-Trump events are only “official” if they are approved by him is the mark of a man who has quite taken leave of his senses. When I pointed out that his approach to certain previous military interventions and American Presidents made him an impossible spokesman or figurehead for the opposition to Donald Trump, then he blocked me on Twitter and unfriended me on Facebook, after the manner of a petulant teenager. He is utterly unused to criticism, and he reacts to it very badly indeed.

    His flip-flop on withdrawal from the European Union bespoke a lack of order or clarity in his thinking, and a certain opportunism that was also evident in the decision of his close friend, Clive Lewis, to resign from the Shadow Cabinet in order to vote against the activation of Article 50. Lewis is now the other key figure in the “official” demonstrations against Trump.

    But when Jeremy Corbyn departs the Labour Leadership, at the time of his choosing and not before the middle of the next Parliament at the absolute earliest, then he will be succeeded by one of three people. Those are all from the 2015 intake. In no particular order, they are Rebecca Long-Bailey, Angela Rayner and Richard Burgon. None of those is Clive Lewis, nor is any of them likely to engage the services of Owen Jones.

    Moreover, two of them are women, but neither of those women is Jess Phillips. Phillips has built a media career on the lie that MPs first elected in 2015, and especially the women among them, have not enjoyed preferment under Corbyn. But they have. So it’s you, Jess. It’s just you. Yet she is now dropping broad enough intends that she intends to stand for the Leadership this year. Well, bring that on, say I. For the sheer hilarity, bring it on.

    Although Phillips does at least have the advantage of being a member of the House of Commons, and indeed a resident of the United Kingdom. David Miliband is neither of those things. The attempted revival of the Transatlantic Torturer declared that Corbyn’s enemies included no sitting MP whom anyone might consider capable of becoming Leader of the Labour Party.

    Who cares what David Miliband says about anything? He was once beaten by Ed Miliband, and that is quite a feat. Big before Twitter and Facebook were, he was such an object of ridicule in his day that he would be drowned in the gales of derision these days. But he is a nasty piece of work. Whereas Phillips, Lewis and Jones are merely laughable.

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    1. I'm not a brilliant writer, but I appreciate brilliant articles. Thanks.

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  8. Glen Shakespeare6 March 2017 at 06:08

    How about attacking the BBC Owen? They've been firmly in Tory pockets actively campaigning for them since 2010 yet I hear nothing from people such as yourself who have a public voice denouncing this.

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  9. Unfortunately, you yourself are dealing wit a hypothetical, and I have seen this used time and again by opponents of change. That the media would attack anyone with leftwing policies. Well, yes, they would, but the point is Corbyn has not been effective at combating this, either in his media interviews, or at PMQ where he was mauled by Cameron and lets a poor communicator herself, Theresa May, off the hook time and again. That Ed Miliband was ridiculed is not news. His image was that of a bit of a dork, with a strange face, and he was seen as soft. The Paxman interview before the 2015 election was cringeworthy. Reminded me of IDS saying "never underestimate the power of a quiet man". You see it's not just Labour who gets ridiculed. The difference is the Tories went through leaders in quick succession until they found one who worked for the media and - most importantly - could be sold to the public. Labour will not get such an easy ride, but unless the leader can connect with the public, no matter how good the policies, they won't get elected. Corbyn is failing to connect. he's had two years and a government implementing monstrous policies. It's time for change, any change. If a rightwing leader gets in, Labour will get wiped out anyway. But they will definitely get wiped out if Corbyn stays and maybe any respect for his policies along with it.

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    1. He's had eighteen months of constant attack and undermining. He has had to spend his time fighting the tories msm and his own party. When has he been given the opportunity and support from the LP right wing? NEVER. Give him eighteen months with support and he could turn things around but not with constant undermining.

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    2. I'm not surprised that Anonymous has chosen that name. He has not looked at the situation. Jeremy has won 2 elections and is increasing his majority vote. Thousands of people have joined or re-joined because of Jeremy. He doesn't connect with the public? Talk to them, explain his policies, you will see the connection.

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  10. The problem with Owen saying what he is saying is that his opposition ( because that is basically what it is and how the media will portray it) to Jeremy Corbyn as leader will be held aloft by the elite and their media as an " even the far left don't want him" message, which is much more powerful than explaining why Theresa May and Rupert Murdoch hate him. If the elite and the mainstream media are opposed (for opposed read terrified) of JC and his message then what he is doing and how he is doing it must be right and must be a positive direction for power to be wrested from their greedy grasp, and in my book that speaks volumes about the man and his policies. So Owen, please, JC may well be the best thing that has happened to the left in years, so if you cannot support him, at least stop opposing him because you cause us, him and the cause great damage.

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  11. Superb piece and sums up the real problems with Mr Jones' arguments.

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  12. Excellent article and my sentiments almost entirely. The Almost relates to an addition to the CV for a potential Corbyn replacement. Yes they must espouse the same policies, and that includes the hard ones, Nuclear, Nationalisation, Brexit etc, and yes,they have to have the integrity and ethics to match, but they also cannot be drawn from the cespool of people that have openly attacked Corbyn and consistently tried to undermine him. I could not countenance say Tom Watson or Angela Eagle, for they have proven their duplicity in my eyes and I cannot unsee those faultlines, and a large section of the Labour public will feel the same as I do.

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  13. How anyone remotely left-wing can professionally write for the corporate Neo-liberal, zionist Guardian is beyond me. Owen Jones not a journalist of any integrity...

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  14. Where do we go from here how do we affect the press and mass media, we shout on Facebook we scream on Twitter and in blogs. We complain to the BBC, protest against the Sun and the Daily Mail etc and they feel no more than a breeze on their ugly mugs. Maybe we need to talk in the town centers and on the village green, I don't know, but how do we fight the false world projected by a press/media hell bent against a socially just message. This is a age old battle against a foes well versed in the lie and the twisted truth a fight for the minds of the scared and perverted fellow citizens who are already suspicious and primed to resist. I often feel hopeless, this is maybe also a primed response, and yet I do have hope and currently it is with Mr Corbyn's message and yes the man too but the message fist, things really can be better.

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  15. If Corbyn was replaced with a Blairites or Moderate or Centrists (all meaning same thing), I will definitely not vote Labour; may even vote Tory as it will be no different.

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  16. I think the Local Elections in May will be a real clue as to what is happening on the ground. Unfortunately, they are largely in the Tory shires so a huge number of Conservatives councillors will be re-elected, but last year, Labour performed considerably better than expected from the Opinion polling. I will be looking to see if there is a LD revival because the Conservatives majority resulted from winning LD constituencies in 2015 when the LD vote just imploded.

    Owen Jones doesn't seen to engage with these sorts of reality. His focus is on the ephemera of style, spin and a sort of mechanistic politics. I suspect that we have seen Peak Owen and his arguments, rather than Corbyn's policies, will be the ones found to be rather shallow.

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  17. There are a few in the LP who continue to play into the hands of MSM and their corporate counterparts that write articles like this or are asked for comments against the LP leader which only serve the TORY team. JC is TRUSTED by his supporters and what needs to be addressed are those in the LP who conspire by any means against him. JC is probably trusted by many other people outside the party but are disheartened by the stream of claims of disunity. Address the rotten apples or those who continue to promote disloyalty by writing the OJ or OS type articles or comments in same vein on twitter - that is music to Corporates and MSM. Of course the BBC has to be separated out for their blatant bias or lack of views from LP members who are often completely ignored.

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  18. The whole issue I have with Owen's position is that Jeremy was elected by the membership, twice. He therefore has a mandate for his policies and there is a mandate for the man. Labour's woes are simply because men like Owen Smith will not, for whatever reason, get 100% behind Corbyn and commit to the cause.

    All other arguments are hyperbole and distractions from this central tenet. Screw the PLP, the BBC and MSM and to some extent the dumb masses that allow Tories to gain power, despite their best interests.

    Corbyn is the man we elected because of his policies and his character and the firm belief that he is the man to deliver. Jones earns his living by writing, so immediately I question the veracity of his work. I do this purely because he is beholden to someone else for his coin.

    Lastly; What is the point of calling on another person to lead when various forces will ensure that Labour will be smeared, slandered, libelled and dismissed as impotent under any left wing face?

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  19. What does Crobyn's age have to do with anything? Isn't that 'Ageism'?

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  20. I have voted for Corbyn twice. Blair's and Thatcher's skill lay in manipulating the media and winning support for themselves. Corbyn, to his great credit, refuses to play this devious game. Fair enough; he has, however, overseen the creation of new, popular and fair policies.
    But the right policies are not enough. The leader needs to come over as an effective P.M. in waiting and Corbyn doesn't.
    A genuinely socialist Labour leader will never be popular with the media, but she or he must at least not be laughed at.

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  21. Do not forget this is really powered by the people, and as this is a socialist party,i dont believe Corbyn is being laughed at apart from tories and blairite agitators,people are still joining the labour party because of Corbyn,so ask your self do you think all this side line hate jc banter relevent.meaning the media tory or blairites.

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  22. i just cannot say enough that to win a election we have to attract outside of the party,i supported corbyn fto..but realised the day after, what a mistake i made...it may have been the party needed to elect him anyway..but the night he won he was followed by a camera crew who asked him questions..he ignored them,acted like they had no right to be there..we all know the media are hostile to us..but a labour leader must embrace this run to the camera with our message..this is not in corbyns dna, the way he has led the party since shows his limitations...loseing copeland is the final straw...the man is just not up to the job! good man as he is...i want andy burnham, if not ..someone in that mold..leftwing..but not as left as corbyn..but now understands the membership want a left wing radical agenda...but we must understand we live in a country that is conservative (with small c)brexit has changed everything..i wanted labour to stand for leaving the eu, i worked for labourleave..we warned the ref was lost weeks before..and were ignored..corbyn must take responsibilty for the state the party finds itself in...if we want to avoid a heavy defeat in 20..a new leader must be installed...and quickly

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