No, I’ve not overnight become a huge Corbyn fan! But I did hear his biographer on TV the other day, and he made some good points that have made me think.

For one thing, he was democratically elected by his Party. Yes, his performance in the referendum was rather luke-warm, but he was known for being a eurosceptic when he was elected so what’s changed?

Secondly, he has started to stop the flow of the working classes away from Labour and into the arms of UKIP. This has been going on since Blair was in power, and though I’m not a Labour supporter I worry about the direction UKIP takes these people in.

Thirdly, something’s got to change! A divided Labour Party will never be able to help form the progressive alliance that is needed to stand up to the Tories come the next election. An Owen Smith victory would not unite Labour; with members who backed tuition fees and the NHS internal market rubbing shoulders with some of the militants Kinnock thought he’d got rid of, a Smith victory would be as unifying as a sticking plaster over a chasm!

No, for the good of the country, the Labour Party needs to split. The part of Labour that Corbyn leads can go back to what old Labour did best and what it was founded to do; represent the Trade Unions and the interests of the working classes. Meanwhile, those within Labour capable of a wider vision of society and who tend to be more co-operative in behaviour can form a progressive party akin to the US Democrats. Together with the ‘back-on-the-rise’ Liberal Democrats and maybe the Greens, an opposition coalition capable of re-claiming the centre ground of politics could be formed which could provide a real challenge to the Tories at the next election.

But for that to happen, Corbyn needs to win. Alas, I haven’t a vote! But if a lot of the new joiners to the party are Corbynites, maybe I don’t need one………

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