Roy Hattersley couldn’t be more wrong about Jeremy Corbyn
|
Version 0 of 1. I have always had the greatest respect for Roy Hattersley, not least because we have very similar political views and our trajectory across the party, from bogeyman of the left to bogeyman for the right is almost identical. But his tirade against Jeremy Corbyn does neither his reputation nor the Labour party any good at all (Moderates can save Labour by fighting from the inside, 14 September). I do not share Corbyn’s political views, but a readdressing of the party away from Tory-lite towards a more radical liberal philosophy was long overdue. And the point is that Corbyn’s majority in the leadership election was a knockout blow supported by party members, only a tiny proportion of whom are likely to have been rightwing entryists. If it is true that thousands have joined the Labour party since his victory then that is evidence of a larger number of people looking for a greater change than Labour has offered at any recent election. Had that change been on offer in May, the SNP would not have swept Labour aside and Ukip would not have attracted as many Labour voters as it obviously did. I too oppose certain of Corbyn’s policies and beliefs, but the watchwords must be “working together” to produce radical policies that the country will support rather than a watered-down version of the philosophy of a government which, in reality, a majority in the country opposes.Les SummersKidlington, Oxfordshire • After the froth of the past few weeks leading up to the Labour party leadership election, how pleasant it is to read Roy Hattersley’s calm and reasoned message to the moderates in the party on how to reassert themselves as the main body of influence for the future. It is really incredible how the party allowed itself to be hijacked by its extreme left wing by a leadership electoral system that did not take account of the fact that the real power to make electable policy and produce a party ready for government lies with the MPs in parliament. Without the total support of its MPs, any party inevitably becomes unelectable. It is a great pity that a party that has so much to offer in reasoned and sensible argument as a counterbalance to our government lies split and discredited by the electorate. It is time for the voices of the majority of Labour MPs to be heard.Ron AustinHadleigh, Suffolk • Roy Hattersley thinks “half the Labour party” is opposed to Jeremy Corbyn’s policies. If this is based on the leadership election results, he couldn’t be more wrong. I didn’t vote for Jeremy, because I didn’t think he could manage the complexities and compromises of party leadership, and deliver a victory. However, I certainly supported his policies, and every single party member I know who didn’t vote for him prefaced their views with “I support everything Jeremy says but…”. It has been depressing for me, as a lifelong party member, to find my views more in line with the Greens and Scottish Nationalists than my own party, and, most significantly, to have no way of getting my voice heard in developing policy. How can Roy say “Corbyn seems to imagine he has a mandate to impose his will on the Labour party” when in fact he has said just the opposite? I understand your frustration at the prospect of being out of power for even longer, Roy, but please acknowledge the very real reasons why Jeremy managed such a huge victory.Sheila HutchinsTregony, Cornwall • What a strange piece by Roy Hattersley. Yes, “refusing to serve in the shadow cabinet is self-indulgent nonsense”, though in fact it is worse than that: it is a cynical attempt to make prophecies of electoral defeat in 2020 self-fulfilling, while pretending to play no role in that defeat. As for the weird statement that “Corbyn seems to imagine that he has a mandate to impose his will on the Labour party”, it seems that Rip van Winkle has just woken up, having missed the entire campaign. The idea that policy is “the private property of the leader” was born with Tony Blair. Everything Corbyn has said suggests that he is endeavouring to put the party back in the driving seat; and everything the old guard has done suggests they are scared to death of the responsibility for saying what they mean. Yes, Yvette Cooper should have been shadow chancellor; but at least we now have one who (unlike the caretaker) will be distinguishable from George Osborne.Richard GravilPenrith, Cumbria • Come on, Roy. You are a journalist as well as a retired politician, and you know perfectly well that facts and opinions are quite different. It is not a fact that Corbyn “is incapable of leading the Labour party to victory”. That is merely your opinion. And you got it terribly wrong in 1992.Chris BirchLondon • Roy Hattersley’s “carefully cultivated image”, wearing a suit and tie, will no doubt appeal to the old, wealthy conservatives among us, and is as much proof positive of expecting the poor to “pay for the bankers’ blunders” as an open-neck shirt is “proof positive of integrity”. Jeremy Corbyn’s open-neck shirt and carelessness of dress suggests that he is in a hurry. And a good thing too. The young are facing a future world where climate change is inevitable, housing is unaffordable, rail fares are expensive and the NHS and education system are overworked and underfunded. It is time for a change, and they have a spokesman in Jeremy Corbyn.Mia BeaumontLondon |