British Leftist Corbyn campaigns for Labour party leadership

This December 2013 video from Britain is called Jeremy Corbyn MP: Imperialism, War, and Resistance. International Anti War Conference, Stop the War Coalition.

Unless we abandon our addiction to military intervention, the world’s refugee crisis will never come to an end, writes JEREMY CORBYN: here.

By Luke James and Joana Ramiro in Britain:

Labour leadership: Corbyn can save Labour

Friday 5th June 2015

Within hours the ONLY anti-austerity leadership hopeful wins over more support than Creagh

by Luke James and Joana Ramiro

JEREMY CORBYN’S most senior supporter implores Labour MPs today to back the left candidate’s leadership bid in the “spirit of democracy.”

Mr Corbyn has already secured more nominations than shadow minister Mary Creagh, who has been campaigning for weeks.

Now shadow cabinet member and deputy party chairman Jon Trickett has called on colleagues to ensure that Mr Corbyn receives the 35 nominations needed to make it onto the ballot paper.

He told the Star: “We should have a candidate who’s going to contest the austerity consensus and will tackle deeply engrained inequality and class issues in British society.

“The whole party is stronger when every part of it is involved in the debate.

“Colleagues may not agree with every part of Jeremy’s vision, but surely everybody recognises that a voice such as his should be heard.”

Mr Corbyn sensationally stepped forward on Thursday evening, saying he wanted to give grassroots Labour members a voice in a “broad debate.”

Rivals Andy Burnham, Yvette Cooper, Liz Kendall and Ms Creagh all have well-established leadership campaigns.

But, minutes after Mr Corbyn’s announcement, his supporters began canvassing 30 MPs whom they had identified as sympathetic.

His team have revealed that 10 MPs have already pledged their support — putting him ahead of Ms Creagh, who has six nominations.

As well as Mr Trickett, 2010 Labour leadership candidate Diane Abbott, Socialist Campaign Group chairman John McDonnell and legendary backbencher Dennis Skinner are among senior MPs backing him.

The Islington North MP has also been boosted by the enthusiastic support of newly elected Labour MPs.

Leeds East MP Richard Burgon, Lancaster and Fleetwood MP Cat Smith and Norwich South MP Clive Lewis are all campaigning for Mr Corbyn.

And more than 1,000 people have signed an online petition calling on Labour MPs to ensure that the left candidate is on the ballot paper.

Mr Corbyn described the start to his campaign as “really encouraging.”

“Support has been pouring in from Labour Party members across the country who are desperate for a fully democratic election and policy debate,” he said.“All we are asking for is a truly democratic choice in this election.”

Mr Corbyn can also expect to be formally endorsed by some of the 15 trade unions affiliated to Labour before the close of nominations.

Unite’s position will be decided by its members following an open hustings event later this month.

However, assistant general secretary Steve Turner said yesterday that the campaigning MP’s inclusion was a welcome surprise.

“I’m pleased that Jeremy has put his name forward, to be honest with you,” he said.

“It’ll open up a whole new different debate internally within the leadership challenge right now, so I’m happy about that.”

But Mr Corbyn’s supporters were clear that they need the nominations of some MPs who have publicly backed Mr Burnham.

Mr Trickett said: “Andy Burnham has significantly more supporters than he needs to get himself onto the candidate list.

“And, therefore, there might be supporters of Andy, who in the spirit of democracy, should now think about switching to ensure there is a left candidate on the list.”

A source in Mr Burnham’s team said yesterday they would be prepared to help other candidates, but only by lending “one or two” nominations.

Mr Corbyn will have the chance to make his case to MPs at a hustings event for the Parliamentary Labour Party on Monday evening.

Nominations open the next morning and close a week later on Monday June 15, when candidates must have the support of 35 MPs to stay in the contest.

This June 2014 video from London, England is called Jeremy Corbyn MP – People’s Assembly Against Austerity March.

From daily The Morning Star in Britain:

Cat among the pigeons

Friday 5th June 2015

JEREMY CORBYN’S decision to put himself forward for the vacant Labour Party leadership could put the cat among the pigeons.

The North Islington MP is the very antithesis of a political opportunist, taking a stand on the basis of his firm socialist stance.

His record speaks for itself from the 1970s when, unlike many graduates who offer themselves to one transnational corporation or another, he trained as a union organiser with public service union Nupe, now part of Unison.

This early identification with the working class has exemplified his record as an activist and, since 1983, as an MP.

Corbyn has never drawn a line between the two activities, often finding his way to the House of Commons via a union picket line or a community protest.

His understanding of imperialism meant that he took his place in demonstrations against apartheid South Africa and defended the right of Cuba and Venezuela to choose their own path.

It also ensured that he joined other comrades in challenging his own party in government when it pursued illegal aggressive wars.

But times have changed. The parliamentary left has been culled.

Successive general election defeats left the Labour Party susceptible to the ministrations of the New Labour snake-oil salesmen who insisted that only their brand of pro-City politics, combined with bureaucratic centralism replacing internal democracy, could carry the day.

While history has pronounced its verdict on this anti-working class dogma, many disciples still hold sway in Labour’s parliamentary ranks.

Diane Abbott, Corbyn’s neighbour in constituency terms, pointed out at the outset of the leadership election that all those smiling for the cameras had two things in common.

All bar Mary Creagh had been special advisers and they all came from one wing of the party.

“Not a single one of the current candidates opposed the Iraq war, not a single one supports taking back the railways into public ownership, not a single one opposes ‘austerity-lite’ and not a single one opposes the welfare cap,” she said.

Abbott recognised that this bland uniformity, with a political wrinkle here and there between the chosen few, means that millions of Labour supporters will not have a horse in this race.

Without Corbyn lining up to offer an alternative, the current field is more likely to send the electorate to sleep than enthuse it.

Andy Burnham’s combative defence of the NHS in the election campaign encouraged hopes he may offer something different and there were suggestions, albeit unsubstantiated, that he was the unions’ favoured candidate.

Yet no sooner was he installed as front-runner than he reverted to classic New Labour triangulation tactics.

Believing that he had cornered the party’s left wing, he reached out to the right, telling The Observer that Labour must focus on regaining trust on three key areas — “our economic credibility, our relationship with business — which is linked to that — and, thirdly, immigration.”

No mention of any of the issues cited by Abbott.

Just a regurgitation of the New Labour gospel that the party’s salvation lies in greasing up to the City and blaming migrants for falling living standards, unemployment and homelessness.

If that is all Labour has to offer, it might as well jack it in now.

Corbyn believes that he can put forward a more credible and principled approach that would appeal to party members and the electorate.

Labour’s MPs should at least give him the opportunity by giving him the 35 nominations necessary to stand.

This video says about itself:

Iraq war inquiry cover-up | Jeremy Corbyn | Parliament 29/01/15

31 January 2015

Jeremy Corbyn MP’s speech in the parliamentary debate on the scandalous delay in publishing the Chilcot committee’s report on how Britain was taken into the illegal war on Iraq in 2003.

By rank and file Labour party member Michelle Ryan today:

To those people who argue we don’t need an anti-austerity candidate I say this — moving too far left didn’t cost us the election.

The same goes for a lack of focus on aspiration, anti-business rhetoric, or even nailing the lie we caused the economic crash.

We lost because we failed to inspire. Our offer to the electorate had been wishy-washy, even incongruent — for example talking about the cost of living crisis while also freezing child benefit.

We lost because we signed up to “our cuts aren’t as big as theirs” austerity.

We lost because Miliband listened to the anti-progressives in the party. And four of them are now standing for leader — four candidates who would rather pitch to the quarter of the electorate who voted Tory, than pitch to the third who weren’t inspired to vote at all.

Miliband was highly praised for keeping the party together, but at what cost?

Our petition — special thanks to Beck Barnes for her skilful wording and Naomi Fearon of Red Labour, for setting up the petition — had reached 5,016 signatures when we sent it off to the chairman of the PLP.

On the day we were due to send it off, we heard the left-wing MP Jeremy Corbyn had decided to stand to give the members a choice.

This was wonderful news, our campaigning had paid off. But that wasn’t the end. A new campaign is now gathering momentum, this time to ensure Corbyn gets the nominations he needs. People are writing to their MPs asking for their support and Stuart Wheeler has started a petition on change.org which I urge everyone to sign.

The membership have made it clear they want an anti-austerity candidate to be a part of this leadership debate. The Labour party must not let them down.