1. After Corbyn: What should 'the Left' do now?
- Author:
- Nadia Whittome, Dan Frost, Madeleine Davis, James Schneider, Andrew Fisher, and Mary Robertson
- Publication Date:
- 11-2022
- Content Type:
- Video
- Institution:
- Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
- Abstract:
- In 2017, the Labour Left was on the march. Firmly ensconced in the Labour leadership after his surprise election in 2015 and his subsequent re-election in 2016, Jeremy Corbyn mobilised and inspired a diverse coalition of socialists and activists and easily brushed off internal challenges. Corbyn's Labour then unexpectedly deprived Theresa May of her majority in the general election. Five years on, however, 'Corbynism' has suffered several, seemingly fatal, setbacks. Divisions over Europe, the antisemitism crisis, and the stalling of reforms to further empower Corbynite activists were followed by the crushing 2019 general election defeat, and then by Keir Starmer's convincing victory over Corbyn's ally, Rebecca Long-Bailey, for the leadership. Today, Corbyn is suspended from the Whip and Labour's leadership consciously ditched parts of the 2019 manifesto. What now for the diverse left-wing movements that constituted 'Corbynism'? Will the Corbynite alliance hold together or fracture? Should those on the 'Left' try to control the Labour Party, or contribute to Starmer's leadership from a left position, or should they abandon it altogether? Should they instead look to trade union activism, single-issue campaigning, or direct action? On Wednesday 2 November 2022, the Mile End Institute invited a panel of Corbyn 'insiders', academics as well as the Labour MP for Nottingham East, Nadia Whittome, to reflect on these questions and the Labour Party's future after Jeremy Corbyn's leadership. In addition to Nadia Whittome, Dr Dan Frost was joined by @QMPoliticsIR's Professor Madeleine Davis, James Schneider, Andrew Fisher and Dr Mary Robertson.
- Topic:
- Reform, Domestic Politics, Labour Party, and Jeremy Corbyn
- Political Geography:
- United Kingdom and Europe