Corbyn and the Future of Labour: A Verso Report

Tariq Ali

The leadership election is coming to an end, with an expected victory for Jeremy Corbyn. He is given the mandate (again) to demand support from the Westminster rump that still resists his authority.

But even with this support, the future is no walk in the park. Since the attempt to force Corbyn to resign, followed by the extended contest, the polls have shown the electorate to be unenthusiastic about the Labour Party’s internal struggles. Widespread media coverage continues to drive home the message that the party will be unelectable in 2020 under Corbyn, when the next General Election seems most likely to occur. The collapse of the party in Scotland and the threat of future boundary changes make the prospects for success seem particularly dim. What is the Labour Party to do in order to present a credible alternative? There are no simple answers.

Corbyn and the Future of Labour looks back on an extraordinary year – in which the Labour Party and its membership changed almost beyond recognition – and offers a variety of prescriptions for what needs to be done. Already we have seen that the party is willing to move away from the centre ground for the first time in twenty years and beginning to offer an authentic alternative to the neoliberal doctrine of austerity. Perhaps the only thing the writers collected together here might agree on is that the road ahead is going to be hard.

Including contributions from Tariq Ali, Joanna Biggs, Rachel Shabi, George Monbiot, Jamie Stern-Weiner, Richard Seymour, Hilary Wainwright, Jeremy Gilbert, Alex Williams, Ellie Mae O'Hagan, Michael Rosen, Aaron Bastani, Lindsey German.

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