26 June 2016

Corbyn Must Go!

(updated 1230 EST)

Suddenly with the possibility of a general election this Fall the British Establishment is determined to see Corbyn gone. If it was just the Conservative Party picking a new leader (Boris Johnson) that would be one thing, but increasingly it's looking like a general election. That means there's a possibility Labour could come into power. This is further exacerbated by the sharp divisions within the Conservative Party. The country may look to new leadership.

This is the British Establishment's nightmare. They don't want Corbyn as a Prime Minister. He's already too close for their comfort. The military has already hinted of mutiny. This was a huge story that has not received proper play. He's that hated even though thus far he's pretty much caved on everything and has been a disappointment to commentators on the Left. It's a kind of hysteria, but Corbyn (for them) is over the line and unacceptable. He's perceived as too liberal and not properly committed to Anglo-American imperial project.

Shadow cabinet ministers are resigning. His leadership is collapsing. It's a coup within the Labour Party. The premise? Corbyn didn't fight hard enough against the Brexit.

That's rot and rubbish. They've been gunning for him for some time. This is just the convenient excuse.

Political parties are in the end anti-democratic and self-serving. We've been seeing this play out in the United States and now this British example makes it all too clear.

One of the great ironies in this Corbyn debacle is that his chief opponent seems to be Hilary Benn, the son of the late Tony Benn one of the leaders of the Left-wing of the Labour Party. He was introduced to many American audiences in Michael Moore's film 'Capitalism: A Love Story'.

Hilary his son has departed from the politics of his father and now leads a Right-wing pro-Establishment, pro-militarist faction within Labour. It is Hillary in the capacity of Shadow Foreign Secretary that has led the charge against Corbyn.

Corbyn got wind of the latest coup machinations and sacked him. One wonders if down the line there won't be some revisionism with regard to this episode? Will Corbyn be viewed as the instigator and troublemaker, the egotist that forced out Benn? It will be Corbyn's actions that caused the party to rally against him.

In reality they were already moving against him. The Brexit crisis simply accelerated the process. Corbyn's sacking of Benn might in the end help Benn and relegate Corbyn to the dustbin. Time will tell but one thing is clear, British politics are in a tempest.

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