By 03/10/2017 0 Comments

Strike Could Force Another Election

A letter published in today’s issue of the Leicester Mercury by Tom Barker

Some important insights were made by Fraser Nelson, former editor of The Spectator magazine and apparently one of the more far-sighted Tories, in Thursday’s Telegraph, where he  described how the Tories have lost control of British politics.

One of the critical mistakes he makes, however, is his belief that “the next election could be some way off”. If Corbyn and the trade union movement was to go on the offensive, this need not be the case.

A 24 hour general strike could defeat the Tories, who are already in disarray, and could propel Corbyn into Number 10. Corbyn and his supporters would then be given the opportunity to test his programme in deeds as well as words.

But the issue of the Blairite MPs and councillors, of which there are many in Leicester, still remains unresolved. If Corbyn was to be elected as PM he would face a two-pronged assault by the capitalist class — from inside and outside of the Labour Party. This could be mitigated if he built on the recent gains by the Labour left and backed mandatory reselection — a democratic process that allows members to chooses their parliamentary candidates.

Another general election in the next year is now a distinct possibility. This does not just pose the issue of which party will run the country, but the parliamentary representatives of this party. If Corbyn supporters fail to oust the Labour right before then, their ability to implement his programme will be made infinitely more difficult.

Barker article

Posted in: Industrial Action

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