Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsLeft Out
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 September 2020
This is a thoughtful, and balanced, account of the crazy political situation that unfolded in the UK – and specifically the Labour Party – from the 2017 election, when Theresa May gambled, and failed, to get the majority she needed to push her Brexit deal through the commons, to the 2019 election, when Boris gambled, and won.
In 2017, Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour had a surprising success against May. Rather than celebrating, divided Labour officials in Southside were horrified, while ‘The Project’ felt as though they could touch power. Buoyed by the fact they had performed more positively than expected, The Project wrote their wish-list of internal reforms. However, Corbyn was clear that when/if he became Prime Minister, he would not live in No. 10. This was going to be a different kind of politics. ‘Not socialism in one country, but socialism in one corridor,’ as a wag dubbed the Project.
It is clear, though, that not everyone was amused, as was shown by the initial horror that Labour had done better than expected in the 2017 election. The Labour Party was divided and at war with itself. This book takes us through attempted coups, distrust, questionable rhetoric, splits, plots and intrigues. There are accusations of anti-Semitism, accusations of bullying and, at the heart of the matter, Labour’s inability to come up with a workable Brexit stance. Corbyn comes across as a fairly nice guy, but seemed unable to make decisions or take control. Rather than engage, those that worked with him said he had a tendency to withdraw.
Of course, with Parliament at a stale mate, what unfolded was, another, election. By this time, Corbyn no longer had the element of novelty, the Lib Dems had a new leader and, of course, so did the Conservatives. I live in one of the few Conservative London boroughs and the Labour Party canvassed us heavily. Week after week I saw groups of Labour supporters, cheerfully heading out; inspired by Twitter, and student politics; imagining they would win. What those in the Labour hierarchy, and the majority of the population, could see, was that Corbyn was not electable. Had they had a different approach to Brexit, things might had been different, but the idea of another referendum was anathema to a population weary of infighting and stalemate.
Indeed, those in the Labour hierarchy had known that the 2019 election would be a disaster for months. While some refused to accept that voters – especially those in the North – would vote Tory, others knew that it would be difficult to avert disaster. There is also much about the planning, and plotting, which went on even before a vote had been cast for a new leader of the Labour Party. Overall, this is a good read if you are interested in politics and the demise of the ill-fated Project.