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    Owen Jones apparently agrees... Archived Message

    Posted by Ian M on December 13, 2019, 7:56 pm, in reply to "Galloway says 'I told you so'..."

    Obligatory swipe about a/s and portraying himself as embattled defender of Corbyn when he helped stick the boot in, probably more damagingly than most in the run up to 2017...

    https://twitter.com/OwenJones84/status/1205405662404055041

    Firstly, this is an absolutely devastating result. To those who fought and campaigned - full of hope, optimism, and determination - in however small or a big a way in this election, you are incredible and I'm in awe of you.

    Labour did not get hammered because voters didn't want higher taxes on the rich to invest in services and the economy, a genuine living wage, public ownership, scrapping tuition fees, or tackling the climate emergency, and anyone who claims it doesn't really believe it anyway.

    Labour has lost in Leave areas above all else for one reason: most of its supporters voted for Remain, and it can't win without them. But it definitely can't win without Leave supporters either.

    In 2017, Labour's compromise Brexit position worked because the country had not polarised on the issue to the degree it has today. Earlier in the year, Labour was losing Remain voters en masse. That's why it pivoted to backing a referendum.

    And here's the thing. Corbyn's most devout Labour opponents condemned him for not being Remain enough. But as Remain voters flock back to Labour, and Leave voters abandon the party, is it not obvious that this was not the cost free position it was presented as?

    When it's said "well actually Jeremy Corbyn was a bigger problem than Brexit on the doorstep" - why have Remainers returned en masse but not Leavers? Why did the party win Putney, but not Leave seats Labour has represented for decades?

    In my experience, the opposition to Corbyn on the doorstep in Leave areas was real and entrenched. But it had so, so much to do with Brexit. They said he was weak and indecisive. And that's because Labour felt stuck about how to satisfy its Remain and Leave supporters.

    I never thought Labour had any good options on Brexit, and thought backing a second referendum was a bad idea because it would antagonise Leave voters. But after the European elections, when Labour supporters defected en masse to the Lib Dems and Greens, there seemed no choice.

    Corbyn was always going to lead Labour into this election because he deprived the Tories of a majority in 2017 and increased the Labour share from 30% to 40%. Labour's domestic policies were key to that.

    Brexit was not the only thing that did for Corbyn since the 2017 election. But Brexit eclipsed all Labour's popular domestic policies, and the party's torture about how to satisfy Remainers and Leavers left it antagonising both.

    If people had a huge appetite for so-called "centrist" politics, they would have voted for the Lib Dems. In 1983, after all, the SDP-Liberal Alliance nearly got the same number of votes as Labour. But the Lib Dems are nowhere, so let's put that one to bed right away.

    Yes the leadership made big mistakes: including too long faffing about on Brexit (even if it had no good or easy options), not being decisive enough on antisemitism, or communicating radical policies effectively. Corbyn was also utterly monstered by a relentless vicious onslaught

    And no, I'm not going to regret being one of the only people with a media platform to defend the main opposition party. Joining the chorus of angry opponents would have achieved nothing except there being yet another angry opponent.

    All across Europe, Labour's sister parties are doing very badly, and they are not led by the left. There is a general crisis of social democracy and an upsurge of right-wing populism, and that's not unique to Britain.

    There will be a lot of time to reflect.

    What I'd finish by saying is: to those who fought so hard, and believed in a new society free of injustice, be proud of what you did, look after yourselves, prepare to fight, and never, ever give up.

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