The limits and opportunities of the Corbyn campaign
Corbyn deserves our support, but we must recognise the Labour Party for what it is and build an autonomous social movement, writes Duncan Thomas.
Jeremy Corbyn is a fantastic politician, a committed man with sound principles. He has energised British society in a way that – outside Scotland – hasn’t been seen for a long, long time. His campaign has opened up spaces that seemed tightly closed, engaged people who had felt alienated for years and generally put the cat amongst the pigeons in a quite wonderful way. He has given us a once-in-a-generation opportunity to effect real change – but only if we know how to take it.
He needs and deserves all the support that we can give him. But we must do so as the Left and from the Left. Most importantly, we must remember and argue to others that political processes are driven by struggle; that the State is a complex institutional apparatus which must be subject to social pressure if it is to acquiesce to leftist demands; and that social mobilisation is a prerequisite to parliamentary success, if the latter is to be invested with any kind of radical potential. Corbyn’s entire campaign, despite its great importance, is secondary to this fundamental need for mobilisation in society.
As I have written elsewhere, although the green shoots of this mobilisation are certainly evident, we should not regard the Labour Party as a potential vehicle for such struggle. Corbyn has been isolated within it for decades; he still is now. Arguably, his campaign shows not that Labour can be “saved”, but on the contrary, reveals the overwhelming hostility of its upper echelons to left-wing or “progressive” politics. The huge contradiction between the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) and its active social base is now in plain view; the latter should not be under any illusions as to the lengths the former will go to in order to crush this rebellion, given that they have made their desire to do so perfectly clear.
Make no mistake, if Corbyn becomes leader of Labour, never mind Prime Minister, he will be attacked: by his own party, by large capital, by the media, by the state bureaucracy and very possibly by the Secret Services and other shadowy institutions. We should remember how this array of forces conspired to bring down Ramsay MacDonald’s Labour government, attempted to do the same to Harold Wilson and, as chronicled in forensic detail by Seamus Milne, smeared Arthur Scargill with the same kind of tactics we are beginning to see deployed against Corbyn.
Indeed, the lesson of history is simple and sobering: when a threat is identified, the various factions of the British establishment set aside their internecine squabbles to destroy it. We must be prepared for that to happen with Corbyn and develop the capacity to react to it when it does.
That means seeing him less as a leader and more as an ally, albeit an extremely valuable one. It means working with Labour activists from the left of the Party, but at the same time being aware of the limits of that avenue and developing our own autonomous capacities to communicate, organise and articulate demands. Such an independent and self-reliant movement will be far more resilient and carry far greater potential – and, as such, will in fact be far more able to offer Corbyn meaningful and lasting support than if it remains tied too closely to the structure of the Labour Party itself.
To his great credit, Corbyn seems well aware of the importance of this. He often talks about how he wants to transform the Labour Party into the heart of a social movement – and while he is vague about how that movement would function, who would be in it and how radical its demands would be, it is not really his job to figure these things out. It’s our job and, if we can’t do it, his leadership bid will go nowhere, whether he wins or loses. Only by developing autonomy can we ensure that our collective ambitions are not too closely tied to Corbyn’s personal fate in the Westminster bureaucracy and corporate press.
The real potential of Corbyn’s campaign will be decided by us and, indeed, he is only in the running because of us. Recognising the limits of Labour, therefore, is not “defeatist”, but realistic and potentially empowering. It means trusting in our own agency, not that of a party or leader, no matter how much we respect and admire Corbyn.
If, like the Scottish Referendum, his campaign can provide a point of focus for wider engagement and mobilisation, then it may open up real possibilities. Sometimes, such a catalyst is necessary to trigger a momentum that takes on a life of its own. If we can take advantage of that, then Corbyn and his allies can be real assets in parliament. Whether or not such mobilisation can happen to a sufficient degree is difficult to say. We all have responsibilities and pressures; we often feel powerless and isolated. All these things are real barriers that can stop us from becoming politically active. However, there is no other way. Progress is gained through struggle, or not at all.
There is no magic formula, but all of us must contribute what we are able, where we think it will be most useful, in whatever way motivates us to act and best utilises our skills. We should not feel guilty if we do not have the time or confidence to be in the front rank of every rally and meeting. However, we should try to understand how we can participate in building the society we want to live in, make realistic commitments and carry them through. Corbyn’s campaign can be a reference point, around which that process can grow.
To paraphrase a famous line, only if we each give according to our abilities will we all receive according to our needs. If our abilities extend only to casting a vote and attending a few hustings; if we are incapable of both supporting his leadership bid and moving beyond it; if our efforts peter out once “success” has been achieved with his election, then Corbyn will be a sitting duck and our hopes will go down with him.
This article was first published by rs21.
4 comments
4 responses to “The limits and opportunities of the Corbyn campaign”
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Interesting and thoughtful contribution.
It is incredibly refreshing and inspiring AND definitely without doubt unprecedented the HUGE growth in membership of the Labour party since the phoney General election, as a long long LOOOOOOOOOOOONG overdue healthy debate opens up about forward and creative thinking, viable and vibrant democratic Socialist Left political /economic /ecological alternatives to neo liberal austerity hell and damnation, ongoing imperialist war and mass murder, ever worsening global climate change and catastrophe with the still obscene reality of a World ruled by the threat of nuclear weapons of mass destruction and obliteration (Phoney Blair RIP).
All those groups and parties on The Left need to respect the fact that this is happening .
Most Left groups are not in anyway growing as Left Unity as a case in point continues to lose members to the Green party and Labour party over the last few months and registers neglible growth in return, if not serious decline such as is registered by other increasingly fragmented Left groups and parties.
There is a clearly now a strong demand for progressive change in some sizeable sections of the population, most importantly in Scotland with the hugely inspiring and growing movement for self determination and independence.
How Corbyn’s campaign intends to relate to this movement with the virtual annihilation of the Labour vote in Scotland at the General Election is quite crucial and remains to be seen.
However, we all still need to recognise(and effectively counter) , however unpalatable that may be, the massive support that went to the reactionary racist right wing UKip during the same General Election and the possibility that this may well be further extended and capitalized upon in the run up to the forthcoming referendum on Europe,whenever that is called, given the constant racist and reactionary media frenzy over the ‘migrant crisis’ and the more than favorable terms on which Nigel Fartarse is offered by most sections of corporate and mainstream media just as the Fascist right continues to rise dramatically in other parts of Europe/World.
What is needed more than ever across The Left and the Trade union movement is Left Unity in practice in my opinion.
The urgent need to genuinely debate and discuss with respect and move forward together, to form a clear and comprehensive, relevant sober assessment / radical rethink of what is ‘STRATEGICALLY’ possible in the forseable Future given the brutal Tory and Global neo liberal offensive we all face.
This seems to be happening within some sections of The Left such as The Scottish Left project, Left Unity, Counterfire , Socialist Resistance and to some extent rs21.
Far less evident is any kind of genuine rethink or openness to possibilities of necessary realignment amongst The SWP, The Socialist party (unless it’s possible to detect any kind of genuine and meaningful unity within the Election time only TUSC and it’s wholly dismal results???) or even the Cpgb (isnt it possible to turn the Morning Star into a well funded vibrant weapon for the Left and Trade union movement on a daily basis? or is it sadly destined to continue as it is, unheard of and wholly irrelevant to possibly 99% of the population) and other smaller groups intent of some kind of ‘revolutionary’ overthrow of an advanced capitalist imperialist state such as Britain.
In my opinion we need to learn to work far more together, as a COLLECTIVE whole in COOPERATION and COORDINATION, building and developing TRUST,solid links and SOLIDARITY (eg especially within the anti austerity movement,the anti racist/anti fascist movement,the anti war movement, the trade union movement in struggle in Greece and Spain and throughout Europe, with radical Left governments,progressive social movements and Trade unions in struggle throughout Latin America and the new and vibrant ‘Black lives matter’ civil rights movement and progressive Trade unions in struggle in the States etc etc) .
Creating shining examples of HOPE and impressive,imaginative and inspiring models of creative NEW collective left thinking and collective action and coordination, in terms of the struggle (15/30 million protesters on February 15 2015 was a brilliant example we should never forget) for Socialism drawing on the best from our rich traditions of struggle in the past.
Whether that is put towards building a ‘democratic revolution’ of sorts, which appears to be taking place in Scotland or creating a movement for radical political reform from below as is possibly beginning to be seen in the growing and vital anti austerity movement and more recently in the Jeremy Corbyn campaign movement remains to be seen.
The struggle continues !
The article makes some very good points and chimes with my thinking on it as well. I would say that the contradiction opened up between the new members and the bulk of the MPs cannot be resolved gradually. The point is that the MPs are those party members who most embody the logic of the parliamentary process (triangulation, accommodation, lack of principles, bending the knee to vested interests). Even if you kicked them all out in 2020 and replaced them with a new left wing batch the same logic and processes will kick in again.
We cannot forget what happened in the early 1920s and 1929 with the Labour MPs then. Why do people think it would be any different now?
The crucial question will be whether this new movement emerges as something new – a new party free from the right wing and with a radically different conception of politics – or whether it gets sucked into trench warfare in the Labour party where the bureaucrats will batter them down and eventually drive most people out.
The sabotage of the Blairites against a Corbyn victory should be fought by the Corbyn campaign organizing open meetings for Corbyn supporters in every city in Britain. Such a network would then be able to organise to remove the Blairites when they move to try to unseat Corbyn. Rallies are good but we also need open meetings of Corbyn supporters to organize the transformation of the labour movement by removing the Blairites from positions of power in the labour movement. If this is not done there is a real danger that the mass upsurge of support for socialist policies will dissipate. Advocating that new supporters join their constituency labour party is not sufficient. On its own this would tend towards atomization and demoralization. City wide pro Corbyn organization is necessary to organize the fightback against the careerists Blairites and their paymasters
In Glasgow the Corbyn campaign faces hostility from the powers that be in the labour party. It is hard to exaggerate just how moribund and right wing the leadership of the labour party is in Glasgow. If the new corbyn supporters dont organize the present leadership of the labour party in Glasgow will sideline and defeat them. Todays rally in the city centre is important. However the 700 seats where booked out within a few hours. A much bigger venue is necessary to accommodate all those who want to attend. It is disappointing that the organisers are telling those who dont have a seat booked to stay at home and watch the event on independence live- incidentally a media outlet controlled by nationalists as far as i can tell. What about a street meeting outside the venue? Is there pressure from the labour council to restrict the size of the meeting for reasons of public safety- an excuse they have used in the past to refuse permission for left rallies?
Any pro Corbyn movement will also face hostility and opposition from the Scottish nationalists and their leftist hangers on. It is noteworthy that the scottish left project is organising a conference in two weeks which claims to be aiming to unite the left in scotland and has leftist speakers form Quebec, the USA and Poland but no one from the Corbyn campaign. That should be no surprise since the SLP is deeply hostile to the british labour movement and its socialist potential. Indeed the all too real specter of the Corbyn movement is giving the SLP nightmares as the resolutely put their head under the pillow and hope that the Corbyn campaign will disappear.
The Labour party was virtually annihilated by the SNP at this year’s General Election,because thousands of people in Scotland quite rightly felt a deep sense of betrayal by the Labour party for supporting the deeply reactionary and imperialist UNIONIST BLOCK during the Scottish Independence referendum.
Not only that but Labour has lost thousands of voters and members to the SNP because of Labour’s unfailing support for neo- liberal capitalism and imperialist wars in Iraq and Afghanistan over the last nearly twenty years, coupled with it’s ongoing support for The Tory Austerity agenda and the continued implementation of austerity cuts by Labour councils throughout Scotland and for it’s continued support of the obscene Trident nuclear weapons systems stationed at Faslane both of which the SNP oppose.
The Scottish Left project is I understand it is for Scottish Left UNITY ,of those interested in both Socialism and the Self determination of the Scottish people.
Inviting A a speaker from the Jeremy Corbyn campaign to it’s launch conference wouldn’t really make sense given Jeremy Corbyn as I understand it doesnt support Self determination for the Scottish people.
How the Scottish Left project grows and develops remains to be seen.I personally wish it well.
To what extent the Labour party actually has a future in Scotland under it’s not so ‘ new’ Scottish leadership and in Britain under it’s soon to be elected ‘new’ Leader remains to be seen.
If Labour under whatever leader is unable to regain it’s former membership and voter support in Scotland then it is unlikely to win a General Election in Britain for the forseeable future but this is a consequence very much of it’s own making.
To what extent The Corbyn campaign finds a lasting and deep resonance in Scotland also remains to be seen given the rapidly and radically changing and changed political landscape in Scotland over the last few years and all the more as the Scottish parliamentary elections fast approach.
At the moment Corbyn’s support for the scrapping of Trident nuclear weapons and his determined opposition to austerity are areas which are clearly shared with the SNP ,which hints at areas where the two parties might potentially combine their efforts in the future should Corbyn win.