Still enveloped in their bubble of iridescent adolescent phlegm, the Labour Party now stands at 26 per cent in the latest opinion polls. Below the figure achieved under Michael Foot’s leadership in the 1983 general election, usually regarded as the lowest of all low points for the party. And Foot was battling against a Prime Minister who had just won a very popular war, as well as against a credible new party, the SDP.
Labour do not know how much trouble they are in, even now. It is very difficult to see a way out for the sensible or fairly sensible Labour members, especially the MPs. Pray that Corbyn fails while desperately holding on to their seats. They don’t need to pray for that, but many will not hold on to their seats.
They should surely get the hell out. One MP with a reasonably strong personal following should resign his seat and stand either as an independent or under the banner of a putative new party. The rest will follow. Yes, the Labour brand and the party’s money and infrastructure are important. But not all-important. The problem is what to coalesce around. I would suggest, if they fancy a bit of ideology, The Politics of Virtue by Adrian Pabst and John Milbank. Post Corbyn, post-liberal.
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