The Spectator

The next election will be a referendum – on Corbynism

The next general election will have been precipitated by, and will inevitably be fought over, Brexit. Yet it will also be the fiercest battle of ideas for more than a generation. Britain must choose between economic liberalism and a command economy, between a smallish state and a domineering one. This would be a crucial choice at any time, but the implications of Brexit make it more so. Jeremy Corbyn supported leaving the EU in 1975 for the same reason he can’t quite denounce Brexit now: a parliament that takes back control can be far more radical. And his Labour party has plenty of radicalism in mind.

Even though Labour occupies a lowly position in the polls, Corbyn remains overwhelmingly the main challenger to Boris Johnson and his warring Conservatives. We live in fast-changing political times: during the last general election campaign, Corbyn increased Labour’s share of the vote by more than any other leader of any other post-war party. To write him off now, after his astonishing progress in 2017, would be an act of reckless complacency on the part of the Tories.

It is Labour, rather than the Liberal Democrats, which has the electoral infrastructure to win a national election. Even if Corbyn cannot command a majority on his own he may be able to do so with the aid of the SNP, a party which will care little what pain it helps inflict on the rest of the UK so long as it wins the promise of a second independence referendum.

We have a good idea as to what a Corbyn government would look like because he has already produced one manifesto. We know that taxes would rise for the top 5 per cent of earners, with a new top rate of 52 per cent.

Already a subscriber? Log in

Keep reading with a free trial

Subscribe and get your first month of online and app access for free. After that it’s just £1 a week.

There’s no commitment, you can cancel any time.

Or

Unlock more articles

REGISTER

Comments

Don't miss out

Join the conversation with other Spectator readers. Subscribe to leave a comment.

Already a subscriber? Log in