If Labour won’t stand up for Remain voters, it’s time for a new party
http://www.economist.com/blogs/bagehot/2016/07/who-will-speak-48And beyond the transactional costs of leaving the EU, there is the shift in the character of the country’s politics that is undoubtedly now underway. Insinuations that immigration is, per se, bad, are hardening into a new common sense. Other European peoples are coming to be talked of as if they were merely negotiating opponents, even enemies, rather than allies and partners. The ugly wave of xenophobic attacks that has followed the Leave vote has attracted opprobrium from across the political spectrum, but it did not arise in a vacuum. Many Britons rightly worry about what is becoming of their country.
To be fair, voters who rejected Brexit are not entirely voiceless. The Liberal Democrats under Tim Farron have confirmed they will run in the next election on a pro-EU ticket; and picked up 10,000 new members as a result. The Scottish National Party under Nicola Sturgeon is pushing to ensure that Scotland’s vote for Remain is heeded. Sadiq Khan is lobbying to protect London’s access to the single market (how this can be done while the capital is still wired into the rest of the country’s economy is unclear). But as welcome as the Lib Dem initiative is, it is not clear whether Mr Farron and his seven fellow MPs are the force needed to stand up to Britain’s new, illiberal establishment. And Ms Sturgeon and Mr Khan owe their loyalty just to small minorities of the country.
The best existing hope of a strong, national voice for the 48%ers surely lies with Labour. If Mr Corbyn can be forced out, perhaps a new, moderate, pro-European leadership can reorient the party: seizing the opportunity to nab liberal Tory voters from under the nose of Ms May, say, or Ms Leadsom; challenging the new prime minister to negotiate in the interests of an open and prosperous Britain; and, yes, if circumstances change sufficiently, floating the possibility that Britain revisit its choice of June 23rd.
If not—if Mr Corbyn hangs on, or is replaced by another luke-warm Remainer—and unless the Lib Dems can pull off the sort of rise that, at the moment, looks unlikely, Britain needs a new party of the cosmopolitan centre. This might be a splinter from Labour (entirely possible, especially if Mr Corbyn’s opponents fail to unseat him this summer) or from the Tories (most of the party's One Nation sorts are lining up behind Ms May, though without a tremendous deal of enthusiasm). Or it may be something completely new: a fresh party, unsullied by the past, dedicated to keeping Britain open, tolerant and as close to the rest of its continent as possible.
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He couldn't have stayed an honest person if he hadn't acknowledged that, while Remain was the right choice, many of those voting Leave were driven by legitimate economic grievances. You're basically angry because he didn't make speeches that were passionately delusional, speeches that pretended the EU was Utopia and that EU austerity programs had nothing to do with any of the problems involved.
As I understand, LabourIN were upset that Corbyn wouldn't allow them to talk about racism or immigration on the stump-and he was right to do it, because all of them would have simply appeased the anti-immigrant demagogues. None would have denounced Farage or Boris for the anti-immigrant hate campaign they were running(I don't think Eagle or Watson or any of that lot denounced Farage's "Breaking Point" poster and battle bus graphic). Winning by appeasing the bigots would have been meaningless.
And let's face it, most of the shadow cabinet would have attacked him for doing the only thing that would possibly have won back the North for Remain...proposing a massive program of state investment to revitalize the Northern economy. They'd have instantly disavowed it and made Corbyn look like an idiot.
And none of the "establishment" figures you would prefer to be leader, such as Burnham or Eagle or Watson,
The percentage voting Remain among Labour voters was nearly identical to the percentage voting Remain among SNP voters in Scotland. Therefore, there is no reason to treat Corbyn as any more of a failure in this campaign than Nicola Sturgeon has.
If you want Corbyn out, follow the rules...get someone to challenge Jeremy, have the contest under the same rules as 2015(the only truly democratic way to have it)and accept that Jeremy is entitled to an automatic place in the contest as the incumbent. If you really think the party is turning against him, you should be willing to accept that as the only decent way to resolve all of this.
It's not legitimate to simply expect Corbyn to leave and then to have a contest in which only centrist status quo types(i.e., everyone who voted yes on the "no-confidence motion"
are permitted to run. You know Corbyn will never accept those terms and that the vast majority of Labour members would never consider the winner of such a contest the legitimate leader of the party.
So it's either accept the rules and proceed democratically, or do what you really want to do and form SDP Mark 2-if you do that, remember that it can't lead to anything different than what happened last time(other than a poorer showing, since the LibDems are now essentially extinct and thus can't offer anything close to a viable "alliance" .
