Banking on Corbyn

Despite the machinations of oligarchs, vitriolic attacks by war-mongers and ruthless propaganda by the corporate media against Jeremy Corbyn, he has been successful in revitalising the dormant Labour Party, helping it to clinch 261 seats in the recent British polls.

Corbyn fell short of gaining majority in parliament but the results definitely stunned those who were preparing to write the obituary of left-leaning politics in the UK. His victory has triggered a ripple of excitement across Europe, creating a ray of hope for those want to follow pro-people policies and resist vehemently the merciless attacks of austerity and neoliberalism.

The socialist leader did not just fight the Tories but also had to face multiple fronts simultaneously. During his bid to win the top slot in the party, he had to face a smear campaign from the corporate media. However, disregarding all slurs and insults, he demonstrated a dogged determination to speak for the voiceless, mobilising the masses that were at the bottom layer of social stratification.

Corbyn’s alleged outdated political ideas prompted thousands of young people to throng his camp. He won party elections with an overwhelming majority but soon after his election as the head of the Labour Party, the war-mongers from the Blair camp (Blairites) and the right-wing group inside the party started hatching conspiracies against him, forcing him to fight for party top slot again. The party workers lost no time in crowning him as their chief, stunning his detractors.

Then sections of the British establishment started hurling indirect threats at him, creating a doomsday scenario in case of a Corbyn victory in the polls. A British general told an English newspaper, on the condition of anonymity, that the country might face a coup if Jeremy Corbyn were to win the elections. All these tactics did not deter people from voting for Corbyn and his pro-people programme.

Corbyn’s campaign did many favours to the British people; it managed to result in not only the Tories facing a drubbing but also scuppered the chances of far-right groups gaining a foot-hold on the country’s political landscape. The Conservatives, who secured 331 seats in the 2015 polls, just managed to win 318 seats and have been unable to form government on their own.

While the right-wing Democratic Unionist Party clinched 10 seats, its ideological sister UK Independent Party with its anti-people agenda was routed out. In 2015, Ukip had secured over 12 percent of votes. Corbyn did another favour to the UK by mobilising the highly depoliticised youth across the country, prompting them to throng the polling stations. Their estimated turnout is said to be 69 percent – a huge increase compared to the 43 percent achieved in 2015.

The results clearly indicate that people are fed up with austerity, war-mongering, invasion and aggression and ruthless attacks of the corporate world on the toiling masses. The Conservative and Blairite camp both followed policies of war and aggression – covert and overt. According to one statistic, the anti-Corbyn camp intended to pump around GBP 205 billion into the trident missile system. This is in addition to the over GBP 35 billion that the UK has wasted in various wars since the fall of the Berlin Wall.

The policy of war and aggression adopted by the Blairite camp and its Tory successors created a sense of fear among the people, triggering a wave of Islamophobia that threatened the social fabric of British society. Instead of giving up this policy, the state chose to spend more on defence and policing and less on social welfare. It spent less than GBP 2000 million on policing in early 2001 which rose to GBP 14000 million in 2010, while the defence budget for the year 2017-18 is GBP 47 billion, one of the highest in the world.

This is happening in a country that houses more than 250,000 homeless people and where council housing has shrunk from 3.67 million in 1994 to 16,43,000 in 2015. How will the masses afford expensive housing in a country where 4.8 percent of the population is jobless and wages have stalled for decades? The country also needs          8,000 more GPs, 20,000 more nurses and 3,000 more midwives for its National Health Service.

The question is: if the UK directs mammoth spending towards wars and aggression and the insecurity and terrorism that is caused by this policy, then how will it generate resources to address the problems that a common Briton faces in day-to-day life? These were the issues that were picked by Corbyn. From illegal war against Iraq to cuts on social spending, he raised every question that matters for a common man. At the same time, David Cameron asked the handicapped to work and Theresa May, who may be willing to upgrade the Trident missile system by pumping billions of pounds, reminded the masses that there is apparently no magic money for social welfare.

Although Corbyn did not win the majority, he can still benefit the British people and people across the world. He might be instrumental in raising the issue of British covert support to jihadis in Libya and Syria, something that has radicalised many Muslim Britons. He can dash the hopes of the current occupant of the Oval Office and his tedious acolytes who are planning to push the world towards another conflagration by provoking North Korea, hatching conspiracies against Iran and arming the conservative kingdom to the teeth.

He can muster support for scrapping the Trident and diverting the huge resources that get wasted on programme like this on health, education, housing and other basic amenities of life. He should also recover over GBP 850 billion, doled out to banks on the pretext of a bailout. This money could be used to increase the wages and pensions of the working class that has not witnessed any substantial rise for decades, as well as hire more fire fighters, nurses, general physicians and midwives which the country badly needs.

The writer is a Karachi-based freelance journalist.

Email: egalitarianism444@gmail.com