The Future Of Labour After The Brexit
Jeremy Corbyn took the political crowd by surprise when he waltzed to victory in last years Labour party leadership contest. So what’s the future of Labour? He was initially ranked as a massive outsider, deemed too far left and therefore, undermined by many of his colleagues – which remains very much the case to this day. So much so, his compatriots recently voted, in a vast majority, that they had no confidence in his leadership going forward following Brexit vote.
The ground rationale came down to the commonly held view that Corbyn, did not put enough effort into the referendum campaign to stay in the EU. For the most part they point out his big losses (that should’ve been easy wins) in Labor held areas that many saw as safe havens for a remain vote, many see his reported disconnect with Labour voters as a direct cause of the unprecedented loss in the Referendum.
Corbyn vs Smith
Going against Corbyn now is, Owen Smith. He’s held an MP position for Pontypridd since 2010, by 2012 he found himself in a shadow secretary role within Wales and as of recently, he has been at the centre of the Labour Cabinet resignations over Corbyn’s leadership.
One of the key areas that is currently separating Smith and Corbyn is their view or mention of the EU Referendum. Corbyn has been quoted as saying “The British people have made their decision. We must respect that result and Article 50 has to be invoked now so that we negotiate an exit from European Union… There must be the best deal possible in order to ensure strong industries in Britain stay strong and strong industries that have big export markets protect retain those export markets. But we are in some very difficult areas.“; a view that many would say is relatively reserved for the scale of the issue.
On the other hand, Owen Smith has made more of a storm about the referendum and article 50 as a whole. His view remains that further voting or clarification needs to be established before anything. Particularly due to the number of deceiving campaigning that occurred on the build-up to the vote. He is adamant on uniting the Labour party again after some have labelled it as deeply divided for the last few years.
This vote is more paramount than some may think, the chosen candidate will effectively be fighting the corner for key Labour values and voters views, and with such a task ahead the right candidate is essential. If the Labour party wants to challenge the choices that the Conservative party has made, then they will have to select the candidate with the tenacity to fight for Labour in the long run.
So what now? Currently the ballot papers are being sent out to all Labour party members with a deadline of the 21st of September set for the ballots to be sent back. On the 24th of September the official result will take place at a conference in Liverpool.
Whilst, Owen Smith has the support of his compatriots, the members and unions are said to be a lot more favoured to Corbyn. Will Smith’s promises trump the widespread support for Corbyn? Only time will tell.