Labour Under Corbyn by Prapimphan Chiengkul

Author:Prapimphan Chiengkul
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9783030602628
Publisher: Springer International Publishing

Conclusion

This chapter has argued that the dominant material, institutional and ideological structures of the British political economy created seeds of dissent that partly grew into grassroots support for Jeremy Corbyn in 2015. Nevertheless, the dominant historical structures, characterised by economic neoliberalism, conservative ideas and political institutions, continued to provide a ‘frame of action’ that severely limited the possibility of a radical left-wing Labour Party winning power. In addition to Labour’s strategic errors during the 2019 election campaign, the UK’s preoccupation with Brexit stole the limelight away from the party’s radical reform agenda. Ultimately, Johnson’s Conservative Party was more successful at creating a new right-of-centre ‘hegemonic bloc’ based on the propagation of populist Brexit narratives. Nevertheless, Labour under Corbyn was able to propagate alternative economic ideas and policies to a certain extent. It also challenged political norms through the promotion of extra-parliamentary forces and grassroots political mobilisation. To achieve broad-based political support, it is suggested in this chapter that Labour might need to pay more attention to people’s identities and values in addition to their economic interests.

This chapter has also pointed to the importance of political narratives and the interconnections between ideas and material realities, which relates to one of the main arguments of this book - the Labour Party necessarily needs to engage in consistent ideological challenges to the status quo if it wants to drive progressive socialist changes in society. Nevertheless, it is important to make a clear distinction between structural contradictions and dominant crisis narratives. As Chapter 4 discusses further, structural problems in the British political economy are unlikely to wither away after Brexit. The post-Brexit and post-coronavirus economy might also create a climate where Labour’s alternatives to neoliberal economics could be more relevant than ever.

The next chapter discusses in detail Labour’s attempts under Corbyn to challenge the neoliberal economic status quo and push for a new economics that works for the majority, with goals such as job creation, social care and environmental sustainability. It also discusses the future for Labour and for the Left in light of the 2019 General Election defeat.

References

Allen, Nicholas, and Judith Bara. 2019. “Marching to the Left? Programmatic Competition and the 2017 Party Manifestos.” The Political Quarterly, 1–10. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1111/​1467-923X.​12638.

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