This video from Britain says about itself:
“Owen Smith’s a career politician” – Jonathan Pie
22 July 2016
Jonathan Pie focuses on working out how left “Soft Left” is, which is more left than Tory right but more right than Corbyn & tackles Owen “Pfizer” Smith.
From daily The Independent in Britain today:
Labour leadership election: Owen Smith refuses to dismiss ‘too many immigrants’ fears
These ‘too many immigrants’ fears for many decades have been central in the propaganda of the neonazi British National Party, of the National Front in Britain and in France, and of similar extreme right parties.
and questions Corbyn‘s patriotism
‘I suspect that Jeremy has got a rather more metropolitan sense of that and that’s not one I think is central to the Labour tradition’
Ashley Cowburn, Political Correspondent
Labour leadership contender Owen Smith has refused to dismiss the suggestion there are “too many immigrants” in Britain – as he questioned Jeremy Corbyn‘s patriotism.
Mr Smith, who is running his campaign against current leader Mr Corbyn on a “save Labour” platform, said that in some parts of the country “the way in which we saw rapid influx of – in particular – eastern European migrants after accession of those countries to Europe definitely caused downward pressure on wages”.
Asked whether there are “too many immigrants” in Britain, he responded: “I think it depends where you are”. …
It comes as Mr Corbyn fights a legal battle over his place in the contest, after he was automatically named on the ballot paper without having to secure nominations from the party’s MPs. If Michael Foster, a Labour donor who is pursuing the challenge, emerges successful it could mean the whole leadership race is scrapped and restarted. …
Mr Smith, who said he would meet the Nato target of spending 2 per cent of GDP on defence, renew Trident and be prepared to push the button to launch a nuclear strike if he was in Number 10, said: …
Asked if he was calling Mr Corbyn unpatriotic, Mr Smith said: “I am saying that I think it is something that is not core to his set of beliefs. He has got a set of liberal perspectives and left perspectives on things and nationhood and nationalism and patriotism aren’t really part of his make-up.” …
Many supporters of the Remain position in the Brexit referendum have dismissed all criticisms of the European Union as ´nationalist´ (which they are not). The main objection which the Blairite right-wingers have voiced against democratically elected Labour leader Corbyn, their pretext for their coup attempt, is that Corbyn should have campaigned more fanatically, and jointly with Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron, for European Union membership. Corbyn, while campaigning hard (according to ex-anti Corbyn Blairite leadership candidate Angela Eagle) for a Remain vote in the referendum, did not pretend that the EU was flawless, and did not campaign jointly with the Conservatives (Labour right-wingers campaigning jointly with Cameron against Scottish independence had gravely, maybe mortally, wounded the Labour party in Scotland). Corbyn has also said that the majority vote for Brexit in the referendum should be respected.
Owen Smith, on the other hand, has said to hell with what the voters said on the EU; have a second referendum (and maybe a third one, a fourth one, etc.) until the stupid unwashed electorate will at last be obedient to the Confederation of British Industry and will vote at last pro-EU (like the Irish electorate at last voted for the Lisbon treaty, after having voted against it). Now, that same Owen Smith says he is a British nationalist, so a ‘good guy’. While Corbyn is not a nationalist, so a ‘bad guy.’
Perhaps Mr Owen Smith tries to become leader of the wrong party for him (like in 2015, Owen Smith’s fellow Blairite Liz Kendall tried to become Labour leader, while it might have been better if she would have tried to become Conservative leader). Owen Smith for leader of the British National Party? Of the English Defence League?
Mr Corbyn’s leadership received a boost as Sarah Champion – one of the senior MPs who quit their front-bench roles as confidence in his leadership disappeared at Westminster – returned to her shadow ministerial role. …
But she has now returned to her post as a shadow home office minister, focusing on women, equality and domestic violence issues, and Mr Corbyn’s office urged other rebels to follow her back to the front benches.
Dear Kitty. Some blog 
Tuesday 26th
posted by Luke James in Britain
Tyrone O’Sullivan believes stalking horse Smith is ‘being used’
ONE of Wales’s most revered miners and socialists has snubbed fellow countryman Owen Smith to campaign for Jeremy Corbyn in the Labour leadership contest.
Tyrone O’Sullivan, an influential figure in the National Union of Mineworkers during the 1984-85 strike who shot to national prominence when he led a workers’ buyout of Tower Colliery, says he will repay the “real comradeship” received from Mr Corbyn during and after the famous dispute.
His endorsement for the Labour leader is a blow to Mr Smith, who has made his connection with the miners’ strike part of his campaign to appeal to Mr Corbyn’s left-wing supporters.
He said Mr Smith is a “competent MP” but believes he has been “used” by rebel MPs who would never back him for the leadership under different circumstances.
The 70-year-old, who remains chairman of the colliery, told the Star in an interview that it was a “dream come true” when Mr Corbyn was elected leader last summer.
The pair’s camaraderie goes back to the miners’ strike when they appeared on platforms together at events to raise cash for the strike fund in London.
Mr O’Sullivan recalled: “They were collecting £3,000 a week for us in Islington during the strike. It was incredible.
“We went back to Islington on the fifth and the 10th anniversary of the miners’ strike.
“And when we were buying Tower, Jeremy wrote to me and said what a marvellous way to go forward.
“I’ve always been a socialist. So when Jeremy became leader it was kind of a dream come true for me.
“In my later years in life, having suffered first under Kinnock and being sold out, to then have the Blair years, we now have hope.”
Mr Smith has spoken of the miners’ strike as his “political awakening” and made public a photo of him marching with miners at the time.
The Pontypridd MP has presented himself as a “radical and credible” alternative to Mr Corbyn. But Mr O’Sullivan said: “What I can’t understand is how he can let himself be used as a stalking horse — a person of his intelligence.
“If Jeremy dropped dead tomorrow he (Smith) wouldn’t be in the top 10 that the present Labour MPs would put forward to lead the party. Why can’t he see that?”
He added: “He’s the MP for Pontypridd, an area where workers have struggled for 30 years and that MP then starts to rebel against socialism — probably the best socialism we’ve had in a lifetime.
“To take on the man who’s creating that, I just don’t understand it. I thought he had more to him than that. But some people just want glory, don’t they.”
“I believe one day Owen could have a serious position in the Labour Party. I don’t think he’ll ever be leader.”
Research published by Cardiff University last month found Mr Corbyn was both better known and had higher support than Mr Smith in Wales.
Anecdotal evidence also suggests the Labour leader could beat Mr Smith in his own backyard in the contest, according to Mr O’Sullivan, who lives near Swansea.
He said: “It’s so positive for Jeremy. My two daughters, who have voted Green most of their lives, 35 and 39: as soon as Jeremy was elected, they joined the Labour Party.
“People have passed me in the street and said: ‘Mr O’Sullivan, I know you’re in the Labour Party. Isn’t it wonderful about Jeremy, I’ve joined the Labour Party.’
“The people who support Jeremy are doing it for change. For once in their life, they can trust someone in politics.”
http://morningstaronline.co.uk/a-4157-Jez-gets-backing-of-Welsh-NUM-legend#.V5eOAqKZ0dU
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Tuesday 26th
posted by Luke James in Britain
JEREMY CORBYN’S fight for survival as Labour leader was boosted yesterday when he welcomed back one of the MPs who quit his shadow team last month.
Sarah Champion resigned as shadow Home Office minister for preventing abuse and domestic violence amid an attempted coup against Mr Corbyn’s leadership.
She was one of more than 60 MPs who stepped down as part of a rolling campaign of resignations designed to force Mr Corbyn out and avoid a second leadership election that he is likely to win.
But the Rotherham MP has delighted grassroots members by seeking a return to the post.
In a letter to Mr Corbyn sent yesterday, she said: “Dear Jeremy, I would like to formally retract my resignation and ask to be reinstated to my role as shadow Home Office minister for preventing abuse and domestic violence with immediate effect.”
Labour confirmed shortly afterwards that Mr Corbyn had been “pleased” to accept her request.
A spokesman for the Labour leader told the Star: “We welcome anyone back. The important thing is that we oppose the government and get on with the job of opposition.
“Anyone who wants to return would be welcome.”
Ms Champion’s decision comes days after Mr Corbyn launched his re-election campaign by offering a “hand of friendship” to MPs who had quit the Labour front bench.
“It’s the job, it’s the duty, it’s the responsibility of every Labour MP to get behind the party at that point and put it there against the Tories about the different, fairer kind of Britain that we can build together,” he said last week.
Even challenger Owen Smith has confirmed he would rejoin the shadow cabinet if Mr Corbyn is re-elected.
Ms Champion, when she resigned last month, described Mr Corbyn’s position as “untenable” following a vote of no confidence in him by MPs.
“I can assure you I’ve not joined any coup, just think Jeremy’s position is no longer tenable if we’re to be effective,” she wrote on Twitter.
Ms Champion had not made a statement about what changed her mind before the Star went to press yesterday.
http://morningstaronline.co.uk/a-b945-Champion-rejoins-Corbyns-team-in-resignation-U-turn#.V5eOiaKZ0dU
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Wednesday 27th July 2016
posted by Lamiat Sabin in Britain
Bercow rules Labour leadership aides were within their rights to enter errant MP Malhotra’s office
A LABOUR MP who accused Jeremy Corbyn’s aides of entering her office without permission weeks after she’d quit the shadow cabinet was told there was no basis to her complaint yesterday.
Commons Speaker John Bercow told Seema Malhotra — who quit her post as shadow chief secretary to the Treasury in the bumbling bid to unseat Mr Corbyn — that the behaviour in her complaint did not breach parliamentary rules.
The Feltham & Heston MP demanded Mr Bercow investigate after accusing an aide of Labour leader Mr Corbyn and shadow chancellor John McDonnell of violating her security, describing the incident as “illegal access.”
Mr Bercow replied: “Having taken advice, I am satisfied that there is nothing in your letter or in the information subsequently elicited by the deputy Serjeant at Arms which would justify regarding these events as a possible breach.”
The office manager who had keys to Ms Malhotra’s office thought the room was unoccupied after the MP had resigned from the front bench in June, Mr McDonnell said.
He accused critics of picking on his and Mr Corbyn’s staff and called on Ms Malhotra to apologise for stress she triggered in claiming Commons staff members had disregarded privacy “on more than one occasion.”
He said: “It’s only right and fair that Seema now apologises for the stress she has caused to my staff over the last few days.
“As I said on the Andrew Marr Show on Sunday — the Labour Party needs to unite and actions like this which are only being used to try to undermine Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership must stop.”
Meanwhile, a Labour donor’s bid to keep Mr Corbyn off the ballot paper in the coup-triggered leadership contest reached the High Court yesterday.
Michael Foster is suing Labour general secretary Iain McNicol in a representative capacity, claiming that the national executive “misapplied” rules to allow Mr Corbyn to defend his position without needing to obtain nominations from MPs.
The decision to let the incumbent leader remain on the ballot was not made on a “reasonable” interpretation of rules, Mr Foster’s lawyer Gavin Millar QC said.
The ruling, which could force Mr Corbyn to seek nominations from hostile MPs, is expected tomorrow.
Martin Westgate QC, for Mr Corbyn, said the national executive’s conclusion was “plainly right” and should not be interfered with by the courts.
Mr Mark Henderson, counsel for Mr McNicol, argued that the rules were not ambiguous or open to serious doubt.
The NEC took legal advice before voting 18 to 14 that Mr Corbyn’s name should go onto the ballot paper without him needing to obtain backing of 20 per cent of Labour’s MPs and MEPs — equating to at least 51 nominations.
Ballot papers will be sent out from August 22 and the result will be announced at a special party conference in Liverpool on September 24.
http://morningstaronline.co.uk/a-6634-Another-slur-bites-the-dust#.V5j3MqKZ0dU
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Saturday 30th July 2016
posted by Will Stone in Britain
Corbyn’s CLP nominations dwarf those of pretender Smith
JEREMY CORBYN is far ahead of rival Owen Smith in winning support from local Labour parties, which are overwhelmingly nominating him to remain leader.
As of last night, a massive 51 constituency Labour parties (CLPs) had nominated Mr Corbyn compared with just 12 for Mr Smith.
So far, Mr Corbyn has the backing o 81 per cent of CLPs who have made a nomination.
By the end of last year’s contest he had the support of 39 per cent of those that weighed in. Hundreds of CLPs have yet to vote and will do so in the coming weeks.
So far, Mr Corbyn is faring better outside London, securing the support of 92 per cent of the nominations.
Shadow business secretary Jon Trickett told the Star: “It’s an early indicator of the strength of support behind Mr Corbyn.
“I believe those who voted in the last leadership election don’t like what has happened.
“This is a plea for unity from the party to get behind the elected leader.”
Many of the CLPs who nominated Mr Corbyn this time either didn’t vote for any candidate in last year’s contest or had backed Andy Burnham or Yvette Cooper.
Young Labour national committee member George Aylett pointed out that of the 51 CLPs that have nominated Mr Corbyn so far, only 21 did so last time.
Although the CLP nominations have no bearing on which candidate is finally elected leader, they are a good indication of how Labour members and supporters might vote.
Ballot papers will be sent out from the week beginning August 22 and the deadline to vote is a month later on September 21.
The result will be announced at a special conference in Liverpool on September 24.
Last night, Mr Corbyn’s leadership campaign continued in York, where he spoke at an open-air rally in St Helen’s Square.
He will address another open-air rally at the Rose Bowl in Hull from 1pm today, followed by a campaign event at New Dock Hall in Leeds at 7pm.
On Monday, Mr Corbyn will address a Communication Workers Union rally, where the union is expected to endorse his bid to remain Labour leader.
Postal workers, engineers and call-centre staff are among the workers who will be represented at the event at the National Union of Teachers headquarters in Hamilton House, Mabledon Place, London.
http://morningstaronline.co.uk/a-0709-Local-parties-swing-behind-Jez-to-stay#.V5xPYKKAb6g
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Friday 29th July 2016
posted by Conrad Landin in Britain
Judge tells vexatious rich boy: Yes Corbyn’s on the ballot, No you don’t have a case, here’s your court bill
A HIGH COURT judge threw out a multimillionaire’s legal attempt to scrub Jeremy Corbyn’s name off the Labour leadership ballot yesterday.
Former showbiz agent Michael Foster, who notoriously heckled Mr Corbyn at a conference fringe event last year, argued that Labour’s national executive committee (NEC) had misinterpreted the rules and should have forced Mr Corbyn to seek signatures from 51 MPs.
But Mr Justice Foskett ruled that party rules were “entirely clear” and that the nominations threshold only applied to “potential challengers,” not the incumbent.
Reacting after the judgement, Mr Corbyn branded the case “a waste of time and resources” which had distracted from the opposition’s task of holding the government to account.
“I welcome the decision by the High Court to respect the democracy of the Labour Party,” he said.
“There should have been no question of the right of half a million Labour Party members to choose their own leader being overturned.
“If anything, the aim should be to expand the number of voters in this election.
“I hope all candidates and supporters will reject any attempt to prolong this process, and that we can now proceed with the election in a comradely and respectful manner.”
Earlier this month Labour general secretary Iain McNicol offered the NEC legal advice that Mr Corbyn should have to seek nominations, but reps voted the other way by 18 votes to 14.
Ironically, Mr McNicol was initially the only named party in defence of the party’s agreed position of not requiring Mr Corbyn to seek nominations.
Mr Corbyn then challenged this and won the right to be named as a “second defendant,” after NEC members sent a legal letter to the party arguing that it would not be proper for Mr McNicol alone to represent a position he personally disagreed with.
Speaking after the decision, Mr McNicol said: “We are delighted that the court has upheld the authority and decision of the Labour NEC.
“We will continue with the leadership election as agreed.”
Mr Foster, who did not apply to appeal, will now face a hefty bill after the judge ordered him to fund the legal costs of both Mr Corbyn and Mr McNicol.
Shadow lord chancellor Richard Burgon said: “I’m glad a millionaire’s attempt to use the courts to rob Labour members of their democratic right to vote to keep the party leader has failed.”
Train drivers’ union Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan also welcomed the High Court decision.
He said: “The judge saw this for what it was — a specious and sneaky bid to prevent the Labour Party coming to a democratic decision and electing the leader.
“As a member of the Labour Party I’m proud to be backing Jeremy and as a trade union we know he is the best man to lead Labour into the next election.
“Jeremy is the democratically elected leader of the Labour Party and we think he will be elected again this summer.
“I wish some people, in the Parliamentary Labour Party and elsewhere, would spend less time undermining him and more time turning their collective fire on the Tories.”
http://morningstaronline.co.uk/a-cb26-Jeremy-stays,-Foster-pays#.V5xQA6KAb6g
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Saturday 30th July 2016
posted by Morning Star in Features
Far from a wild fantasy, IAN SINCLAIR says Corbyn’s vision strikes a chord
A COMMON refrain among the elite and mainstream media commentators is that “Jeremy Corbyn’s politics are fantasy,” as the headline to an Observer column by Tony Blair put it in August 2015.
Similarly, just after Corbyn began his campaign to be Labour leader in June 2015 the Guardian’s Polly Toynbee argued the Islington North MP was “a 1983 man” and “a relic.” A vote for Corbyn “is ignoring the electorate,” Toynbee argued. Before she stepped aside in the current leadership contest, Angela Eagle went one further, arguing Corbyn “doesn’t connect with Labour voters.”
The latter criticism is easily dismissed — Corbyn was elected with the biggest mandate of any Labour leader in history, and a YouGov poll conducted before Eagle dropped out found Corbyn has the support of 54 per cent of the party’s members, with Eagle second on 21 per cent and Owen Smith trailing on 15 per cent.
But what about his politics and policy suggestions? How do they sit with British public opinion?
Like Corbyn, a 2014 YouGov poll for the Centre for Labour and Social Studies (Class) found “a majority of the UK public believes the gap between the rich and the poor is bad for society and the economy,” according to the centre’s director Steve Hart.
To tackle income inequality, in January 2016 the Labour leader suggested maximum pay ratios — a policy backed by 65 per cent of people quizzed by YouGov/Class.
He also pushed for all companies to pay a living wage — supported by 60 per cent of people according to a 2013 Survation study — and stripping private schools of their charitable status, a decision the YouGov/Class poll found was backed by 55 per cent of respondents.
Turning to health, in contrast to Owen Smith’s 2006 Wales Online interview supporting private-sector involvement in the NHS, Corbyn believes in a publicly run NHS — along with 84 per cent of the public, according to a 2013 YouGov poll.
In May 2016 shadow chancellor John McDonnell said Labour’s plan was to build 100,000 new council houses a year. “More social housing” was the top answer — given by 58 per cent of respondents — when an April 2016 Guardian Cities poll asked people about solutions to the housing crisis. McDonnell also said a Labour government would give councils the power to impose rent controls — a policy supported by 60 per cent of British people, including 42 per cent of Tory voters, according to a 2015 YouGov poll.
Corbyn supports the nationalisation of the railways, a position backed by 66 per cent of the public, including a majority of Conservative voters, according to a 2013 YouGov poll. He also believes the Royal Mail should be publicly owned, a position supported by 67 per cent of the public, including 48 per cent of Tory voters, according to the same poll.
On foreign policy, Corbyn was a key figure in the peace movement that opposed the deeply unpopular Iraq war, speaking to the biggest protest in British history on February 15 2003. On Afghanistan, Corbyn opposed the war and supported the withdrawal of British troops. Polls from 2008 onwards consistently found the British public supported the withdrawal of British troops.
On Trident, Corbyn’s lifelong commitment to scrapping Britain’s nuclear weapons is shared by a significant minority of the population — an impressive level of opposition when you consider the British Establishment and three main parties have historically supported the retention of Trident.
On the issues where Corbyn’s politics don’t reflect public opinion, arguably these are often surrounded by significant levels of media-generated misinformation. For example, polls note the majority of the public support a benefit cap of £20,000 nationwide — a cut Corbyn and many charities working on poverty strongly opposed.
At the same time a 2012 TUC/YouGov poll found widespread ignorance about spending on welfare. Asked what percentage of the welfare budget was spent on unemployment benefits, the average answer given was 41 per cent — the correct figure is 3 per cent. Asked what percentage of the welfare budget was claimed fraudulently, people estimated 27 per cent — the government estimate is 0.7 per cent. The survey found that public support for the then coalition government’s plans to cut benefits was highest among people most ignorant of the true figures.
What all this polling evidence shows is that many of Corbyn’s political positions command the support of large sections of the British public, often a majority. And importantly, the polls highlight that many of his positions receive significant levels of support from Tory voters.
However, a new London School of Economics study highlights the problems Corbyn’s Labour faces in reaching the general public. Analysing press coverage of Corbyn in September and October 2015, the survey found “an overall picture of most newspapers systematically vilifying” the leader of the biggest opposition party, assassinating his character, ridiculing his personality and delegitimising his ideas and politics.” Noting other left-wing leaders also received negative press attention, the authors of the study note that “in the case of Corbyn the degree of antagonism and hatred … has arguably reached new heights.”
Whether Corbyn will be able to successfully articulate his popular politics and policies in the face of continuous attacks from the overwhelmingly hostile media, many Labour MPs, the Tory government and wider British elite — and whether he and his team are up to the job in getting the message across — these are different and difficult questions which we will find out the answers to soon enough.
• Ian Sinclair is the author of The March That Shook Blair: An Oral History of 15 February 2003.
http://morningstaronline.co.uk/a-3926-Public-backs-Corbyns-left-wing-policies#.V548M6KAb6g
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Saturday 30th July 2016
posted by Morning Star in Features
by Chris Williamson
DESPITE what you may have read elsewhere, the Labour Party is in rude health. For the first time in decades, we are a mass movement party offering a bold prospectus to the country. Sadly one tiny branch of the party is struggling to come to terms with that fact.
The tiny branch in question is the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP). I was a member of this influential branch for five years from 2010 until 2015.
When I first joined the Labour Party in 1976, this tiny branch had the right to select the leader of the party without any recourse to members. Then in 1981 the party established an electoral college to elect the leader, which diminished the role of this small but important branch. But the PLP still held 30 per cent of the vote, with 30 per cent going to constituency parties and 40 per cent to affiliated trade unions.
Then the previous Labour leader, Ed Miliband, proposed that the Labour Party should introduce a one-member one-vote system to elect future leaders. His proposal was overwhelmingly agreed by delegates at a special conference at the Excel centre in London on March 1 2014.
In his opening speech at the special conference he told delegates that: “It has always been movements and people that change countries and change our world.
“As prime minister I want to change this country, but I can only do it with a movement behind me.
“It has always been this way. Workers’ rights at the beginning of the 20th century. The National Health Service after 1945. The principle of equal pay for women in the 1970s. The minimum wage in the 1990s. Gay rights at the 20th century’s end.
“All of these things happened not because leaders made them happen but because people and movements made them happen.
“Today if you vote for these reforms you will be voting for Labour to be a movement again.”
That decision deprived the PLP of its special status in electing the party leader, but nearly every Labour MP enthusiastically backed Ed Miliband’s plan. Only the leaders of the three biggest affiliated trade unions sounded any notes of caution.
I remember standing in a PLP meeting listening to Ed Miliband telling MPs that his reforms could lead to Labour becoming a genuinely mass party with 400,000 members, or more. When he sat down, he was cheered to the rafters by many of the selfsame people who are complaining that Labour has now got too many members.
It seems many Labour MPs haven’t quite got over the fact that they are now members of a genuinely democratic political party. That should be a cause for celebration, but for some reason a number of Labour MPs don’t see it that way and have forced another leadership contest 10 months after the previous one.
The unsuccessful coup attempt that preceded the leadership challenge was an inexcusable fit of pique that has baffled, angered and alienated hundreds of thousands of members and millions of supporters.
Furthermore, the ongoing refusal by the majority of the PLP to take up positions on the front bench, to hold the government to account, means that they are effectively refusing to do their job. In any other profession this would lead to summary dismissal for gross misconduct.
The petulant behaviour of the PLP has already brought the party into disrepute and in less than two months they must come to terms with whoever is elected leader of the party.
If it is Jeremy Corbyn again, they need to stop the sniping and start selling Labour’s message of hope that Corbyn’s policy agenda represents.
They should celebrate the fact that Labour’s membership is touching 600,000 and is still growing — a number Ed Miliband, and those cheering him in that PLP meeting two years ago, could have only dreamed about. But it is now a reality. Labour’s members are a huge asset and should be nurtured not neglected and insulted.
People have been inspired to join in huge numbers because of Corbyn’s integrity and his policy agenda. He won the Labour leadership last year because he offered an alternative to austerity and the stale old politics of the last three decades.
His plans to ensure a future Labour government would make the economy work for everyone, not just the top 1 per cent, was a refreshing change to the austerity-lite that Labour previously offered.
His commitment that a future Labour government would build council houses and regulate private-sector rents struck a chord with millions affected by the housing crisis.
His pledge to scrap tuition fees and reintroduce student maintenance grants was greeted with acclaim by everyone who is dismayed by the commodification of higher education.
His promise to renationalise the railways and take a stake in the utilities is hugely popular with the vast majority of the British public who are sick of being ripped off by these privatised industries.
His determination to substantially increase the minimum wage, invest in high-tech manufacturing and stop corporations offshoring skilled and semi-skilled jobs is acknowledged as plain common sense.
His guarantee that a future Labour government would repeal the anti-trade union laws, clamp down on tax avoidance and stop British dependencies being used as tax havens would improve the living standards of millions.
And his resolve to renew the nation’s infrastructure, create a million green jobs and eradicate fuel poverty is welcomed by campaigners, trade unions and businesses alike.
Jeremy Corbyn is offering the prospect of a new consensus; a consensus that works in the interest of the majority of the British people. That is why he is being traduced by the Establishment, which wants to preserve the status quo.
But I believe his innovative and hopeful policy agenda will once again secure him the Labour leadership, and enable him to go on to be a great reforming prime minister. That is why the PLP must accept the decision of the Labour membership this time or find another job. If they continue to sabotage Labour’s efforts to build a fairer, compassionate, secure and prosperous country, history will judge them even more harshly than Ramsay MacDonald.
• Chris Williamson was Labour MP for Derby North from 2010 to 2015.
http://morningstaronline.co.uk/a-d886-One-small,-noisy-branch-should-not-get-to-decide-Labours-future#.V548raKAb6g
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