U.K. Labour Party Elects Socialist Jeremy Corbyn as Leader By Jenny Gross
http://www.wsj.com/articles/jeremy-corbyn-elected-leader-of-u-k-opposition-labour-party-1442055355
Longtime leftist lawmaker draws on grass-roots disillusionment, now faces task of resolving main British opposition party’s divisions.
LONDON— Jeremy Corbyn, a leftist former union organizer, was elected the leader of the U.K.’s Labour Party on Saturday, a result that signals a more socialist direction for the country’s main opposition and could herald a realignment of British politics.
The 66-year-old lawmaker, long on the margins of British politics, secured a convincing victory with 59.5% of votes, winning 170,955 more than his closest rival. Mr. Corbyn’s antiausterity, antiwar and egalitarian message energized thousands of grass-roots supporters who had become disillusioned with the party.
Mr. Corbyn will now have to try to unite a party that is deeply divided, a situation laid bare by infighting during the leadership contest. Following the party’s crushing defeat in May’s general election, Labour members and politicians have battled over whether to tack left or claim the center ground in the footsteps of former Prime Minister Tony Blair, who led the government between 1997 and 2007.
Immediately after the results were announced, several of Labour’s senior politicians said they were stepping down, a reflection of the challenge Mr. Corbyn faces in holding his party together. A Labour spokesman said the party would announce a new so-called shadow cabinet in due course.
ENLARGE Mr. Corbyn, who has been in parliament since 1983, defeated more-centrist candidates Andy Burnham and Yvette Cooper, both former government ministers, and Liz Kendall, the candidate whose policies are considered closest to those of Mr. Blair. The former prime minister was among other prominent politicians who publicly warned that a party under Mr. Corbyn would be too far to the left to win a general election.
Labour’s dilemma echoes those faced by other European center-left parties that have struggled to articulate a distinctive response to the financial crisis and its aftermath.
“It’s an extraordinary day for British politics, well beyond the Labour Party,” said Tony Travers, a politics professor at the London School of Economics. He said Mr. Corbyn’s rise is a reflection of voters’ frustration with conventional politics and their yearning for simpler answers, such as an end of austerity and an end to the country’s participation in foreign wars.
In a speech immediately after the results were announced, Mr. Corbyn nodded to the need for unity and praised the three other candidates. He referred to Labour’s election defeat as a tragedy and pledged to reinvigorate the party by tackling inequality. “The fight back now of our party gathers speed and gathers pace,” Mr. Corbyn said.
Mr. Corbyn’s unexpected ascent within the Labour Party has happened at the same time as the rise of American antiestablishment figures such as Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, a socialist candidate for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination, and Donald Trump, the billionaire businessman and reality TV star who is leading the field of candidates for the Republican nomination. Both candidates have tapped into widespread discontent with mainstream politicians with their straightforward, alternative messages.
A divided opposition could be welcomed by Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron. Under Mr. Corbyn, the Labour Party may struggle to present a united front on its policy objectives, such as on welfare and public services.
However, Mr. Cameron’s center-right party, which has only a thin majority in parliament, now faces a newly energized opponent. Mr. Cameron has been seeking to build parliamentary support to extend British airstrikes to Syria, but Mr. Corbyn, a staunch pacifist, opposes military action against Islamic State extremists. Mr. Cameron has already suffered one embarrassing parliamentary defeat at the hands of Labour in 2013, when parliament voted against military intervention in Syria.
Mr. Corbyn’s win could also embolden rebellious lawmakers in Mr. Cameron’s party. If they don’t feel Labour is a coherent opposition party, they may feel less pressure to toe the party line.
Jeremy Corbyn’s Policies
- Foreign Policy: Opposes airstrikes against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, and would scrap the U.K.’s nuclear deterrent, Trident.
- Europe: Supports staying in the EU, but in a bloc that is reformed. Opposes the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, a free-trade agreement between the EU and the U.S.
- Economy: Advocates an end to austerity, higher taxes for the rich and the re-nationalization of some industries.
- Monetary Policy: Recommends the Bank of England prints money to finance investment in new homes and large-scale infrastructure projects, a proposal he has dubbed “people’s quantitative easing.”
It could also complicate Mr. Cameron’s policy on Europe, which is to seek reform in Britain’s relationship with Brussels and then lead a referendum campaign in the U.K. for the country to remain in the EU. Mr. Corbyn has said he isn’t happy with the current state of the EU and will push for Britain’s exit if unsatisfied with the reforms Mr. Cameron achieves from Brussels.
Defense Secretary Michael Fallon said a Labour Party under Mr. Corbyn presented a serious risk to the nation’s security. “Whether it’s weakening our defenses, raising taxes on jobs and earnings, racking up more debt and welfare or driving up the cost of living by printing money—Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party will hurt working people,” Mr. Fallon said.
Despite the ideological divisions in the party, academics said they didn’t think Mr. Corbyn’s election would lead to a split given that a divide in the early 1980s kept Labour out of power for 17 years. Mr. Corbyn, a white-bearded vegetarian who regularly votes outside party lines, entered the race late, barely managing to enough support from members of parliament to get his name on the ballot. Many lawmakers watched in surprise as polls put him comfortably in the lead, and he became one of the dominant British political stories of the summer. More than 400,000 people voted in the leadership election.
‘The fight back now, of our party, gathers speed and gathers pace’
Mr. Corbyn’s policies center on raising taxes for the wealthy, cracking down on tax evasion, scrapping the U.K.’s nuclear deterrent and renationalizing some industries. He is a fan of the late Venezuelan socialist leader Hugo Chávez and has referred to Hezbollah and Hamas, militant groups the U.S. considers terrorist organizations, as “friends,” which he said he did to promote peace.
In the hours after his election, he attended a rally to pressure the government to take in more refugees. “We want to live in a society where we don’t pass by on the other side of those people rejected by an unfair welfare system,” Mr. Corbyn said. “Instead we reach out to end the scourge of homelessness and desperation that so many people face in our society.”
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