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| Jeremy Corbyn victory: Guardian panellists' verdict | Jeremy Corbyn victory: Guardian panellists' verdict |
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| Polly Toynbee: ‘There is no going back’ | Polly Toynbee: ‘There is no going back’ |
| A new party is born, a volcanic eruption inside the membrane of the old. The ancien régime is dead. Whatever happens now, whatever happens next and after that, there is no going back. Those who did not back Corbyn need to abandon yearnings for yesteryear. | A new party is born, a volcanic eruption inside the membrane of the old. The ancien régime is dead. Whatever happens now, whatever happens next and after that, there is no going back. Those who did not back Corbyn need to abandon yearnings for yesteryear. |
| That means putting their shoulder to the wheel to help construct an anti-austerity alternative to the unthinkably savage cuts Cameron and Osborne plan. Corbyn’s basic analysis of the damage has been right, well backed by economists from Paul Krugman to the FT’s Martin Wolf. Shrinking the state smaller than the US is not what people want, nor letting the open market rip so all the gains flow only to the 1% – and we can borrow to invest in construction. Osborne may well be confounded by his own hubris. | That means putting their shoulder to the wheel to help construct an anti-austerity alternative to the unthinkably savage cuts Cameron and Osborne plan. Corbyn’s basic analysis of the damage has been right, well backed by economists from Paul Krugman to the FT’s Martin Wolf. Shrinking the state smaller than the US is not what people want, nor letting the open market rip so all the gains flow only to the 1% – and we can borrow to invest in construction. Osborne may well be confounded by his own hubris. |
| Labour’s divide has mainly concerned how to gain power, against the megaphones of the rightwing press. The party has never had the self-confidence to make the full-throttled contemptuous denunciation that Osbornomics deserves. Corbyn’s victory speech was a powerful summons to his flag few even slightly to the left could disagree with. | Labour’s divide has mainly concerned how to gain power, against the megaphones of the rightwing press. The party has never had the self-confidence to make the full-throttled contemptuous denunciation that Osbornomics deserves. Corbyn’s victory speech was a powerful summons to his flag few even slightly to the left could disagree with. |
| For the party to hammer out a policy to unite around, all sides need to compromise. “Modernisers”, who so singularly failed to modernise their own message and caucus into bitter cabals will do themselves grave political injury. But how far will Corbyn compromise, above all on foreign policy? Any prevarication on the EU and Nato would be a deal-breaker that would pull the party apart. None but a tiny of handful of MPs could ever back a Brexit, or the knee-jerk anti-American anti-Natoism of Corbyn’s previous politics. The party needs to change, MPs need to change – and Corbyn needs to change too. | For the party to hammer out a policy to unite around, all sides need to compromise. “Modernisers”, who so singularly failed to modernise their own message and caucus into bitter cabals will do themselves grave political injury. But how far will Corbyn compromise, above all on foreign policy? Any prevarication on the EU and Nato would be a deal-breaker that would pull the party apart. None but a tiny of handful of MPs could ever back a Brexit, or the knee-jerk anti-American anti-Natoism of Corbyn’s previous politics. The party needs to change, MPs need to change – and Corbyn needs to change too. |
| For experienced old hands, however, uniting behind Corbyn will take the willing suspension of disbelief that he can defy the normal laws of political gravity. The iron fist of our wicked electoral system means he must sway some who voted Tory in the 100 seats he must win. The young, the poor and non-voters will not be enough. Let’s see if his authenticity and unconventionality can reach beyond already left-leaning people. Let’s hope with the sheer force of conviction and the essential rightness of his anti-austerity message, Jez can. | For experienced old hands, however, uniting behind Corbyn will take the willing suspension of disbelief that he can defy the normal laws of political gravity. The iron fist of our wicked electoral system means he must sway some who voted Tory in the 100 seats he must win. The young, the poor and non-voters will not be enough. Let’s see if his authenticity and unconventionality can reach beyond already left-leaning people. Let’s hope with the sheer force of conviction and the essential rightness of his anti-austerity message, Jez can. |
| Matthew d’Ancona: ‘The shortest suicide note in history’ | Matthew d’Ancona: ‘The shortest suicide note in history’ |
| If the 1983 Labour manifesto was the longest suicide note in history, then Jeremy Corbyn’s acceptance speech was one of the shortest. | If the 1983 Labour manifesto was the longest suicide note in history, then Jeremy Corbyn’s acceptance speech was one of the shortest. |
| Unlike Tom Watson’s thoughtful remarks, this was the angry, garbled bellow of a protester, an activist and a rebel – not a newly-designated leader of the opposition who must win hundreds of thousands of votes that conspicuously eluded Ed Miliband in May. | Unlike Tom Watson’s thoughtful remarks, this was the angry, garbled bellow of a protester, an activist and a rebel – not a newly-designated leader of the opposition who must win hundreds of thousands of votes that conspicuously eluded Ed Miliband in May. |
| The funny thing is this. I was all set to warn the Tories not to be too smug about the veteran leftwinger’s victory, not to assume anything about its significance. I had watched with guarded respect as he transformed himself during the campaign from a laundry bag with a beard into a cuddly tribune of the people. He was evidently tapping into more than a weariness with austerity: a yearning for authenticity, a desire for Labour to reclaim its moral sinew, perhaps even the germ of a British Syriza. | The funny thing is this. I was all set to warn the Tories not to be too smug about the veteran leftwinger’s victory, not to assume anything about its significance. I had watched with guarded respect as he transformed himself during the campaign from a laundry bag with a beard into a cuddly tribune of the people. He was evidently tapping into more than a weariness with austerity: a yearning for authenticity, a desire for Labour to reclaim its moral sinew, perhaps even the germ of a British Syriza. |
| So when senior Tories guffawed at their prospective good fortune, I had wondered privately if they were making a big mistake. Their analysis was that Corbyn would deter precisely the voters he needed to attract with his deference to the unions, with his street-fighting tone, with his insistence that Islamic State terrorists and US soldiers were morally equivalent. What, they asked, did he have to say to those who believed that wanting to get on in life was no crime? | So when senior Tories guffawed at their prospective good fortune, I had wondered privately if they were making a big mistake. Their analysis was that Corbyn would deter precisely the voters he needed to attract with his deference to the unions, with his street-fighting tone, with his insistence that Islamic State terrorists and US soldiers were morally equivalent. What, they asked, did he have to say to those who believed that wanting to get on in life was no crime? |
| “We have to frame him fast, before he can define himself,” one cabinet member told me last week. The Tories, this minister said, had to move fast to destroy Corbyn and to colonise the vast centre ground that he would surely vacate. My instinct was that of the Zen master. We’ll see. | “We have to frame him fast, before he can define himself,” one cabinet member told me last week. The Tories, this minister said, had to move fast to destroy Corbyn and to colonise the vast centre ground that he would surely vacate. My instinct was that of the Zen master. We’ll see. |
| Yet Corbyn seemed determined to hurl himself into precisely the bear-trap dug by his enemies. His first act as leader, he declared, would be to go to a demonstration. He railed against the media. He bowed to the might of the unions. He heaped praise on Ed Miliband, far beyond the requirements of courtesy. By the end he seemed to be planning a global revolution, as if he had been wheeled that very morning on a trolley from Speakers’ Corner. | |
| Has nobody told him how brief is the period in which the electorate will be remotely interested in him? They will form an impression extraordinarily fast and, in most cases, stick with it to the general election of 2020. This was an almost comically bad start. I sincerely hope that Labour feels collectively good about what it has just done, for private satisfaction is all its decision will achieve. | Has nobody told him how brief is the period in which the electorate will be remotely interested in him? They will form an impression extraordinarily fast and, in most cases, stick with it to the general election of 2020. This was an almost comically bad start. I sincerely hope that Labour feels collectively good about what it has just done, for private satisfaction is all its decision will achieve. |
| Rafael Behr: ‘An event off the political Richter scale’ | Rafael Behr: ‘An event off the political Richter scale’ |
| There are now two Labours. All parties are coalitions of sorts, with factional schisms and ideological disputes. The tectonic fault between “New” and “Old” never went away under the leaderships of Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and Ed Miliband. It would rumble periodically, rattling the windows of any political project built upon it, but the party would then carry building on the unstable ground, hoping to avoid “the big one”. Now it has happened. Jeremy Corbyn’s victory – in the first round, with 59.5% of votes cast – is an event off the political Richter scale. | There are now two Labours. All parties are coalitions of sorts, with factional schisms and ideological disputes. The tectonic fault between “New” and “Old” never went away under the leaderships of Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and Ed Miliband. It would rumble periodically, rattling the windows of any political project built upon it, but the party would then carry building on the unstable ground, hoping to avoid “the big one”. Now it has happened. Jeremy Corbyn’s victory – in the first round, with 59.5% of votes cast – is an event off the political Richter scale. |
| The rules of the leadership contest, awarding a vote to anyone with £3 and an opinion to spare, have altered not just the political orientation of Labour but its character as an organisation. | The rules of the leadership contest, awarding a vote to anyone with £3 and an opinion to spare, have altered not just the political orientation of Labour but its character as an organisation. |
| Blairism is buried beneath the rubble and a different structural and cultural divide has been revealed. It is between established Labour, as represented in Westminster, in parliament, in the Brewers Green headquarters; and insurgent Labour, a complex hybrid of organised coup by dogged old warriors of the left and spontaneous, organic uprising by idealistic new recruits. | Blairism is buried beneath the rubble and a different structural and cultural divide has been revealed. It is between established Labour, as represented in Westminster, in parliament, in the Brewers Green headquarters; and insurgent Labour, a complex hybrid of organised coup by dogged old warriors of the left and spontaneous, organic uprising by idealistic new recruits. |
| Yet Corbyn won comfortably among members and trade union affiliates too. This is the first thing that the majority of MPs who are not Corbyn supporters have to deal with. The huge mandate is indisputable. It is also volatile. | Yet Corbyn won comfortably among members and trade union affiliates too. This is the first thing that the majority of MPs who are not Corbyn supporters have to deal with. The huge mandate is indisputable. It is also volatile. |
| The passion and urgency of Corbyn’s supporters gives the new leader powerful moral leverage over his reluctant colleagues in parliament, but it doesn’t necessarily broaden his room for manoeuvre. | The passion and urgency of Corbyn’s supporters gives the new leader powerful moral leverage over his reluctant colleagues in parliament, but it doesn’t necessarily broaden his room for manoeuvre. |
| His orders from the ground are to march to a familiar drum of anti-Tory protest. His acceptance speech showed no flicker of intent to alter the beat. There was personal praise for defeated rivals, with especially warm words for Liz Kendall, but there was no hint that a wider political agenda – tilting towards those parts of the public yet to catch the Corbyn bug, for example – will be indulged. | His orders from the ground are to march to a familiar drum of anti-Tory protest. His acceptance speech showed no flicker of intent to alter the beat. There was personal praise for defeated rivals, with especially warm words for Liz Kendall, but there was no hint that a wider political agenda – tilting towards those parts of the public yet to catch the Corbyn bug, for example – will be indulged. |
| And why should it? After victory on such a scale, few leaders feel much obliged to compromise with the scattered forces of the roundly thrashed. Unity will be the watchword for Corbyn’s leadership in the coming weeks, but that will mean unity through loyalty, not necessarily tolerance of dissent. | And why should it? After victory on such a scale, few leaders feel much obliged to compromise with the scattered forces of the roundly thrashed. Unity will be the watchword for Corbyn’s leadership in the coming weeks, but that will mean unity through loyalty, not necessarily tolerance of dissent. |
| Tom Clark: ‘Humility is precisely what is appropriate now.’ | Tom Clark: ‘Humility is precisely what is appropriate now.’ |
| Momentous events, and Jeremy Corbyn’s stunning conquest of the Labour party is surely one, can produce many emotions. Humility, however, is rarely among them. But humility on all sides is precisely what is appropriate now. | Momentous events, and Jeremy Corbyn’s stunning conquest of the Labour party is surely one, can produce many emotions. Humility, however, is rarely among them. But humility on all sides is precisely what is appropriate now. |
| At the beginning let it be said that we commentators and media pundits deserve the first slice of humble pie. None of us saw this coming. Spending too much time, perhaps, talking to professional politicians and to each other, we missed the anger and the desperation for change which we now know was pulsating through the broader Labour community out in the country after May’s unexpected outright Conservative win. | At the beginning let it be said that we commentators and media pundits deserve the first slice of humble pie. None of us saw this coming. Spending too much time, perhaps, talking to professional politicians and to each other, we missed the anger and the desperation for change which we now know was pulsating through the broader Labour community out in the country after May’s unexpected outright Conservative win. |
| Humility is required, too, from the Labour establishment, and particularly its Blairite wing. For years, they have wittered on about Big Conversations, Movements for Change, and community activism, but at no point have people been mobilised into getting active in Labour politics on anything like the scale that Corbyn has achieved this summer. | Humility is required, too, from the Labour establishment, and particularly its Blairite wing. For years, they have wittered on about Big Conversations, Movements for Change, and community activism, but at no point have people been mobilised into getting active in Labour politics on anything like the scale that Corbyn has achieved this summer. |
| Likewise, on foreign policy, modesty is needed. Corbyn critics can point to some silly postures, and some platforms that he shouldn’t have shared. But the self-appointed “grownups” need to understand just how dismal their own record is. It is not just Iraq, but also Afghanistan and Libya that the western alliance have left in flames. | Likewise, on foreign policy, modesty is needed. Corbyn critics can point to some silly postures, and some platforms that he shouldn’t have shared. But the self-appointed “grownups” need to understand just how dismal their own record is. It is not just Iraq, but also Afghanistan and Libya that the western alliance have left in flames. |
| There will likely be even less of an appetite for humility today on the part of a triumphant hard left than there is on the part of Labour’s resentful right. But Corbyn will only survive if he can demonstrate some too. His immediate job is to head up a parliamentary party which has little confidence in him. | There will likely be even less of an appetite for humility today on the part of a triumphant hard left than there is on the part of Labour’s resentful right. But Corbyn will only survive if he can demonstrate some too. His immediate job is to head up a parliamentary party which has little confidence in him. |
| A surefire way to build a bit of respect in the country, is to put the government through the mill in the Commons, including by inflicting defeats on the floor of the house. It could be done, but it won’t without discipline. And a serial rebel can only hope to impose any discipline within the ranks through conciliation and compromise. | A surefire way to build a bit of respect in the country, is to put the government through the mill in the Commons, including by inflicting defeats on the floor of the house. It could be done, but it won’t without discipline. And a serial rebel can only hope to impose any discipline within the ranks through conciliation and compromise. |
| Even harder for the Corbynistas is to understand why it is so many MPs are so terrified. Maybe some of them are, as the far left always says, self-serving careerists without a principled bone in their body. Most of them, however, are not. | Even harder for the Corbynistas is to understand why it is so many MPs are so terrified. Maybe some of them are, as the far left always says, self-serving careerists without a principled bone in their body. Most of them, however, are not. |
| They are simply people who were tasked with knocking on doors in May. In doing that, they found that too many voters were not prepared to trust Labour with their taxes. They see no reason to believe that Corbyn’s oppositionist brand of politics is going to win the missing trust back. | They are simply people who were tasked with knocking on doors in May. In doing that, they found that too many voters were not prepared to trust Labour with their taxes. They see no reason to believe that Corbyn’s oppositionist brand of politics is going to win the missing trust back. |
| Corbyn won the votes of 250,000 people. In its way, that is an extraordinary achievement. But in May, after years of stagnation and cuts, David Cameron notched up just over 11.25 million. Unless Corbyn can now turn some of his talk away from his own band of loyalists, to address the concerns of this much bigger group, then today’s victory will soon enough be followed by defenestration or defeat. | Corbyn won the votes of 250,000 people. In its way, that is an extraordinary achievement. But in May, after years of stagnation and cuts, David Cameron notched up just over 11.25 million. Unless Corbyn can now turn some of his talk away from his own band of loyalists, to address the concerns of this much bigger group, then today’s victory will soon enough be followed by defenestration or defeat. |