BECAUSE OF THE vagaries of the first past the post electoral system, Britain's Labour Party swept to a landslide victory with just 34 percent of popular vote. Despite efforts by the Starmer camp to attribute Labour's success to its centrist policies, Labour got less of the popular vote than Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party did in 2017, when it won 40 percent of the vote. It also only managed to secure the same share of the vote that Labour did in 2019. But despite getting just a third of the vote, Labour still won two thirds of the seats.
In the end, Labour's resounding victory had little to do with either Keir Starmer or Labour's centrist policies. This was an election that Labour not so much won but the Conservative Party lost. It attracted just 23 percent of the vote, its lowest support in a century. It was a massive drop from 47 percent share of the vote it won under Boris Johnson in 2019.
There's no real enthusiasm for the new Labour Government. It has come to office at a time when discontent with the political establishment is an all-time high, not only in Britain but in other western democracies as well. In Britain, only 60 percent of people voted - the lowest total in two decades.
Economist and commentator Grace Blakeley commented a few weeks ago that a Keir Starmer-led Labour Government would recommit itself to the continuance of austerity. Nothing that Starmer has said suggests that Blakeley is wrong. And the furtherance of austerity can only exacerbate Britain's deepening economic and social problems. Blakeley observed:
'When Keir Starmer is elected prime minister and utterly fails to deal with any of the challenges the country is facing, popular anger at our political class is likely to rise. While parties such as the Greens will benefit to some extent, far-right parties and fringe groups could also sweep up millions of voters seeking to deliver a kicking to the entire political establishment.'
It's worth noting that the combined vote of the Conservative Party and Reform Party was 37.9 percent. This is ominous for a Labour Government that fails to deliver for the working class it claims to represent. Starmer has talked often of his 'changed' Labour Party but if 'change' turns out to be merely 'business as usual' than Starmer and his centrist Labour Government is in for a rough ride.
Most notable was former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, standing as an independent, winning the Islington North seat for the eleventh consecutive time. Corbyn secured 49 percent of the total vote and defeated the Labour candidate by over 7,000 votes.
Corbyn ally and fellow socialist Zara Sultana was re-elected Labour MP for Coventry South by an increased majority of over 10,000 votes. She was first elected in 2019 with a majority of just 401.
Sultana laid down a challenge for Keir Starmer in her acceptance speech:
'This election shows people are crying out for change and I say to my party: We must deliver it. That doesn't mean tinkering around the edges. It means transformative policies to fix the crises the Tories have left us with.'
Other victories for the left included four pro-Palestine independents winning in four previously Labour-held seats. Their victories were a direct consequence of the Labour leadership falling to adequately respond to Israel's genocidal war in Gaza.
The Green Party won four seats, including co-leader Carla Denyer defeating the Labour candidate in Bristol Central. It also came a close second in a number of other seats.
Commentator Owen Jones says that Labour threw the kitchen sink at Bristol Central 'because it feared that if the Greens won there, it would set an example that other voters would follow at the next general election.'
0 comments:
Post a Comment
Comments are moderated.