TO CHANGE OR NOT TO CHANGE?

On Friday the Campaign Against Antisemitism launched a Change petition addressed to the Parliamentary Labour Party.  It lists various incidents that Corbyn has been involved in over the years with the obvious conclusion that the Labour Party is now led by an anti-Semite and he needs to go.

We shared the petition earlier today on Facebook with the aim of helping it reach 25,000 signatures.  It's not far off now.  However, not everyone was enamoured with it, several of our followers pointing out that they are perfectly happy with Corbyn where he is!

It's a valid point, agreed.  The longer he is in charge the further the party lurches to the left and the more unpalatable it will be to the average British voter.  Arguably it also increases the likelihood of a split, but that point is addressed at the end of the petition:

"The hour is now.  Jeremy Corbyn must go.  To achieve this, only 52 Labour MPs need to propose a challenger, or Labour MPs could propose a vote of no confidence, or set up their own political party".

"Set up their own political party".  This is actually being mooted in some press circles and Chuka Umunna is being proposed as a potential leader of the breakaway group (even though Chuka couldn't handle his last leadership campaign and famously quit the race after just three days).  Any split though would leave Corbyn in charge of old Labour, but perhaps mortally wounded.

In any case a Change petition won't affect him.  Change petitions, despite the name, don't change much at all.  It's probably the first time such a petition has been shared on our page, but if it attracts maybe a hundred thousand signatures what it will do is achieve some publicity and keep the media's attention on Jez.  As we are fast approaching a no deal Brexit all the publicity will drain from Labour's anti-Semitism and, if the UK economy takes a short term hit, the focus will turn towards the government.  Therein does lie a potential catastrophe as the door may swing open for a Corbyn government if people are beginning to feel the pinch.  It's unlikely, but however small the prospect is terrifying.  This is literally the nightmare scenario, but that's another story for another day.

Even if Corbyn was forced out, there is still disaster ahead for Labour.  His troops are slowly but surely turning the party into a communist outfit and dissidents are being forced out, either of their own volition (John Woodcock) or by deselection.  A centrist successor to Corbyn would have a horrid time trying to wrest back control from the red reds!

So it doesn't really matter, either way Labour is in trouble.