Yesterday’s local elections essentially confirmed the national opinion polls. Conservatives holding steady, gaining from a collapse in UKIP (surely wholly dead in the water now as the Tories have assumed their mantle), Labour just behind and the Liberal Democrats, as puzzling as ever, making little headway.
But the big issue is why Labour didn’t trounce the Tories. In the face of chaotic Brexit negotiations and some howling own goals such as Windrush they should have done. The reasons are several:
- Fear of the left-wing extremism of Labour has got through to a good proportion of the electorate
- Failing to offer a credible alternative to the Conservatives on Brexit
- Internal scandals, most notably anti-Semitism, which simply loops back to the perception of the extreme nature of today’s Labour Party
At the heart of all this is Corbyn, supported by a talentless front bench. He refuses to be bold on Europe and there is still a sense he feels the EU is a capitalist conspiracy. He fails to skewer the Tories in Parliament when they are sometimes hopeless. He has failed to tackle convincingly the extremism of his supporters (just read their twitter feeds) and the vile anti-Semitism that lurks in some corners of his Party. This is probably why the Tories regained Barnet alone.
Labour do not offer a convincing alternative to the Tories under Corbyn, many of whom would prefer one as an incentive to up their game. Had someone of Blair’s Opposition calibre been leader Labour would now be 20-30% ahead.
Even if they stay committed to a purer form of socialism it is time for Labour to recalibrate themselves without Corbyn. They need a sharper, more nimble leader dealing with the points above who, in the process, could at least lure one or two of the more able backbench MPs back into the fold.
Of course, except in helping to buy Theresa May time, these elections are a poor guide to the future. The pitfalls of Brexit lie threateningly ahead and the void in centre ground politics remains.
Inside Right Politics 