Jeremy Corbyn – an exciting and positive future to be approached with caution

By Lucette Davies

As readers of this blog are probably aware I have had my own doubts regarding the selection of Jeremy Corbyn for the Labour Party leadership.  Prompted by a number of negative news reports and also the questions that I find myself being asked  relative to Jeremy Corbyn I thought I would write this blog post about why I now feel he deserves our support.

To press or not to press?

By Sally Patricia Gardner

To press or not to press? That is indeed the question. Jeremy Corbyn says he wouldn’t. Now, I am not sure how many people would press the nuclear button, but I wonder if he hasn’t missed the point here. Jeremy wants a nuclear free world. Don’t we all? And I would like a war free world, a hunger free world, a poverty free world, in fact, a perfect world. Wouldn’t we all?

 

Image by Paul Downey (view license details)

But wishing is never enough – remember that old adage: ‘If wishes were horses then beggars would fly’? It used to conjure up all sorts of pictures for me when I was a child, before I realised that it was grown-up way of putting me down. And you will know, if you have read my blog before, that I don’t want to put Jeremy down. It is my most heartfelt wish that all the people who voted for him to be our party’s leader are right, and my misgivings are totally unfounded.

So what am I on about? Let me say, first of all, that I was a member of CND for years. I wore my badge proudly, went on many of the marches, chatted with Bruce Kent and Joan Ruddock. Was totally committed to unilateral nuclear disarmament and believed that it was achievable and that we would pave the way for other nations to follow. But it didn’t happen, did it?

Nine countries now possess over 17,000 nuclear weapons between them. Another five countries host them.  Another twenty-three countries are in nuclear alliances. And some countries, such as Israel and North Korea, could have even more weapons than we are aware of.  Many of these weapons, especially in America and Russia, are primed for immediate use.

Sadly, perhaps inevitably, the world has moved on, and, in hindsight, I still think our campaign was morally right, but now it seems naive in the extreme.

Which brings me back to Jeremy refusing to press that button. Surely our best hope is that our enemies (and yes, we have plenty of those) don’t know whether we would press it or not? By declaring that we wouldn’t, we effectively negate our chance of negotiating for the disposal of these ghastly weapons. Who is going to listen to the minor power with no irons in any fire that we would immediately become?

This little island has always punched well above her weight. Against all the odds, the world listens to our voice. And we could claim to have saved the world at least once, I think. And perhaps we may do so again. Don’t throw away our chance of doing so, Jeremy. Keep them guessing. Sometimes it is necessary for even saints to just keep quiet.

 

An epitaph for New Labour

By Matthew Hynds

Dear old-New Labour, perhaps you would like to paint Corbyn-mania as a cruel blight that has struck your party, a little like the toxoplasmosis virus, which affects the brains of cats, and makes them suicidal. The truth, for you, is less palatable –  He is your monster.

The Labour Party needs to act quickly and restore faith in socialist ideals

By Patrick Thomas

 

Labour has a point to prove. Earlier this year, it suffered its worst political defeat for many years as optimistic left wingers lost faith in the party designed to promote values of socialist equality. This weekend, the seemingly never-ending and often calamitous leadership contest drew to a close and at midday on Saturday, the new Labour leader was announced. To regain the support of the masses, the party needs to provide hope, but also offer some suggestion that these hopeful ideals will be executed. In order to rebuild a broken party, its new leader needs to act, and act fast.

Power vs Principle: The fallacy at the heart of the Labour leadership contest

By Max Eckersley

Party centrists and right-wing media insist that voting for Jeremy Corbyn will make Labour unelectable in 2020, but politics isn’t so black and white. I’m a huge admirer of Steve Coogan, but the comedian was wrong when he wrote in the Guardian recently that Andy Burnham is the only credible candidate for Labour leader, because he’s the only one with a chance of winning the next general election while still offering a ‘radical leftwing vision’.

More ridiculous attacks on Corbyn, please!

By Matthew Hynds

How did this anti-Semitic supporter of Islamic jihad infiltrate Labour in the first place?

You can tell Jeremy Corbyn is doing well in the polls, because the mud slinging is getting good now. If any of it actually sticks, it will be by virtue of the sheer quantities of it that are currently washing over the Islington North MP, like a flash flood, while he stubbornly hangs on, and tries to distract the public from his sinister past by talking about policies, and other inconsequential matters.

Look out! A principled man might be our next Prime Minister

By Matthew Hynds

Principled politicians do exist in front line politics, of course they do. However, when Robin Cook died, their numbers shrank drastically.  After the 2003 land invasion of Iraq, Mr Cook resigned his Cabinet position as Leader of the House of Commons. To begin with, it looked like he might be the only person to take that step, until Clare Short rediscovered her moral resolve, and followed suit a couple of months later. Now, Jeremy Corbyn has emerged as the left wing, left field favourite in the battle for the Labour leadership.