Its Nationalism Stupid

Boris, Brexit, Trump & Jeremy Corbyn

If you voted Conservative in the UK elections in December 2019 you are not going to be exercising too many brain cells working out how we ended up with a Labour Party at sea and a Tory government with a huge majority. Basically, you won and it was down to Brexit.

If you were desperate for a Labour government or a hung Parliament you might well come to the same conclusion albeit in reverse. However, analysis of the result within the Labour Party is as divided as the country which, despite Boris Johnson’s assurances, is not going to heal anytime soon.

Its plain that many communities in parts of England and Wales felt betrayed by Labour’s position on Brexit as we approached the election. They felt unable to support a party that they believed treated their democratic decision, to leave the European Union, with disdain. Of course the majority of Labour’s members were in favour of remaining within the EU. But though the membership should have a major say on Labour policy, they don’t have the responsibility of enacting policies, nor is there any mechanism for ensuring the membership overall reflects Labour support across the country.

However, when voters were asked what were the decisive factors in abandoning Labour, the majority of those questioned gave the Labour leadership as their answer. Basically they didn’t like or trust Jeremy Corbyn and so couldn’t vote for a party of which he was the leader. Cosmetically this echoes what happened in the 2016 elections in…