Jeremy Corbyn

Conspiracy theories are on the rise in politics these days. Traditionally conspiracism has tended to be associated with the right but – increasingly in the UK – it’s coming to characterise sections of the left. Conspiracists see the world in terms of shadowy groups of individuals controlling finance, the media and institutions. Insofar as they oppose capitalism, it’s not through a critique of basic social relations: no, it’s because sinister forces (often characterised as finance capital or just “the bankers”) are in control. This kind of thinking has nothing to do with Marxism even when it...

As Solidarity goes to press on 22 January, Labour has put down an amendment in Parliament which at first sight seems to call for a new public vote on Brexit. It seems to cut through the messing-around with rival Brexit formulas, all of which have a majority against them in Parliament, in the electorate, and especially in the labour movement. It seems to say, at last: Brexit is no good. We need a new public vote which can reassess with what we now know, and vote firmly to remain in the EU, with the understanding that Labour will work with the left and labour movements across Europe to change...

Last week Solidarity published an open letter to Jeremy Corbyn from Sacha Ismail, an organiser of the new Labour stop-Brexit campaign Labour for a Socialist Europe. The conclusion of that letter becomes even more urgent after the parliamentary vote on 15 January. We say again to Corbyn: Now you should campaign boldly for a “People’s Vote”, and advocate a vote against Brexit. The argument that a second referendum would be undemocratic and — if the vote went against Brexit — would amount to cheating the victors of the 2016 referendum out of their democratic victory, actually makes no sense, if...

Latest polling, in early January, shows the Tories 6% ahead - their biggest lead since the 2017 general election, and at a time when the Tories are in chaos. Individual polls are at best accurate to within a few per cent each way. But a moving average of all recent polls, pooling the random variations, shows that a general election today would probably see Labour's vote go down 6% and the Tories win an absolute majority: http://www.electionpolling.co.uk/polls/general-election . Supporters of the Labour leaders claim that their "triangulation" on Brexit is necessary to avoid Labour losing pro...

“I think we need to respect the referendum. As I say, I think that there is a deal which can be struck within Parliament that brings everybody together, that respects the views and wishes of communities whether they voted Leave or Remain” —Rebecca Long-Bailey, Shadow Secretary for Business, Sky News, 16 December. Comrade Corbyn! The 2016 referendum vote that the UK should withdraw from the EU, after 45 years membership, plunged Britain into a prolonged political crisis. Today, less than three months before Britain is due to leave, that crisis has not yet been resolved. The 2016 vote plunged...

Mark Fischer in his book Capitalist Realism outlines the titular concept, summed up in the phrase “it is easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism”. In a recent Twitter outburst, this is the concept Novara co-founder Aaron Bastani reached for in retort to people reacting to his tweet about trade under a Corbyn-led Labour government: “Bilateral trade deals under a Corbyn government: Brazilian food & coffee; Cuban healthcare workers; Venezuelan gas. All while helping them in value-added areas like pharma, hi-tech manufacturing & aviation. Cheap mojitos, a well staffed NHS...

Above: Moishe Postone, Robert Fine, Michael Heinrich Harry Pitts and Matt Bolton, authors of the book Corbynism: A Critical Approach, published in September 2018, talked with Martin Thomas from Solidarity. A review of the book can be found here S: Tell us first how you came to be interested in this sort of thing, and writing this sort of book. P: I′ve always been politically active, but not particularly consistently. I first became politically aware in opposition to the Iraq war when I was 15. My involvement with the Labour Party started in 2008 in one of Labour's only traditional strongholds...

An interview with the former Labour MP Alan Simpson about Brexit, free movement and climate change. Read the left case against Brexit, a piece by Grace Blakeley, here. On Brexit, the reality is that Parliament is gridlocked. The Tories have no majority to get anything through. Labour’s response has to be much clearer. Initially ambiguity was sensible. If you’re not in the negotiations, you can’t say much about the details. That was when Labour set the six tests. That position doesn’t hold as you get close to the negotiation deadline. I see it in trade union terms. Your negotiators negotiate...

“E-Useless: Corbyn Hits Out At ‘One Way’ Brexit – We can do better than this, Labour leader says” was the front page headline in the 19 November Morning Star. Predictably, the pro-hard Brexit (sorry, “Lexit”) paper liked Corbyn’s interview on Sky News’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday (18 November), in which he’d opined “We’ll vote against (May’s) deal because it doesn’t meet our tests.” For those who lack a photographic memory, Labour’s tests include obtaining the “exact same benefits” as EU membership — a comment once made by David (“thick as mince, lazy as a toad”) Davis when he was Brexit minister....

On 9 November Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn told the German news magazine Der Spiegel that “we can’t stop Brexit”. But Labour can. The Tories and the DUP are divided about May’s sketched-out soft-ish Brexit deal. If Labour MPs vote solidly against May’s deal, it probably can’t get through Parliament. That reflects the fact that May’s proposals are unpopular — in surveys, 73% of the think the negations are going badly. The “hard” Brexit formulas favoured by the Tory right are unpopular. A “no deal” Brexit is more unpopular still. Although a lot of people are still shrugging and saying that Brexit...