Labour Party must unite behind new leader

The recent general election was the third such contest in four years. Inbetween, there has been the referendum on the EU and local elections. Now, there is the London Mayoral and Assembly elections coming up in May.

However, before we reach that point, there is the small matter of who will be the next leader of the Labour Party. The field has been narrowed down to three: Rebecca Long Bailey, Keir Starmer and Lisa Nandy.

The process to elect a new leader has been long and drawn out – some feel unduly so. There have been endless hustings, TV interviews and analysis.  Much of the media do not seem to realise that this is not the US or the X-factor. We are not electing a president, with a programme.

Labour members and affiliates are electing a leader who is mandated to carry out the party’s programme as agreed at the annual conference. Leadership candidates can express their personal positions but the actual programme is decided by the party.

This was one of the things that confused people about the position that the Labour Party took on the EU referendum. The conference decided on the position which was to be for a Labour government to negotiate a deal with the EU to leave and then for that offer to be put alongside the remain option in a second referendum.

The leader obviously has a big input on the decision but the final say was with the conference. Frankly, the party got it wrong.  The big difference between the party position at the 2017 and 2019 elections was Brexit.

At the earlier election, there  was a commitment to implement Brexit, in the last election there  was not. It cost the party dear, especially in the north, but it was as a result of the democratic workings of the party, that the final offer was made to the electorate.

There were other contributory factors to Labour’s defeat, not least the relentless attacks on the leader Jeremy Corbyn from the moment  he was first elected in 2015. These attacks have often carried more weight due to some in the party supporting them – particularly the Parliamentary Party.

The program being offered in 2017 was popular. It very nearly led to a majority Labour government. No doubt those in the Conservative Party and their supporters in the media saw that the program was popular and that their best chance was to double down on the vilification of the leader. This they did, and it worked – we now face a Tory government with an 80 majority, effectively able to do what they like for the next five years.

The program offered by Labour in 2019 was really an extension of the earlier offering. It could have been communicated better and putting in add-ons during the campaign did not help but the program was still popular. So the idea that the new leader, whoever it is should renounce the program is ridiculous. It needs to be develop and evolve. Features like the New Green Deal will prove to be ahead of their time.

What is needed now is unity. All parts of the party must get behind the new leader, if Labour is ever to form a government again. The sort of undermining that has been going on  for the past five years cannot go on – it is a betrayal of the public and those members of the party who strive selflessly year in year out to get Labour politicians elected at all levels.