Despite the almost-daily revelations about anti-Semitism in the Labour Party, which have reached all the way to the leader’s door, Corbyn remains all-but unassailable for now, most MPs and senior party aides say.
But the crisis has exposed a split at the very top of the Labour movement which — if not contained — poses a genuine threat to the Corbyn project, some senior figures now believe.
For some of the key power brokers close to Corbyn on the left of British politics, socialism is the goal and politics — with all its messy compromises — is the method of getting there. For Corbyn, however, the journey is as important as the destination and he has repeatedly proved unwilling to compromise long-held beliefs for the sake of what he considers short-term political gain.
The ongoing battle over how to deal with the scandal of anti-Semitism in the Labour movement exposes this fundamental split at the top of the party, with Corbyn refusing to bend even as his closest allies urge him to listen to his MPs who are urging him to get tougher on rogue elements of the left guilty of playing down the concerns of British Jews.
By refusing to take a harder line to bury accusations that Labour is institutionally anti-Semitic, Corbyn has opened up a split with his grassroots supporters in Momentum, who have called for tougher action amid concerns the crisis has undermined the party’s chance to pull ahead of a Conservative Party tearing itself apart over Brexit.
Corbyn’s authenticity and conviction may yet prove the Left’s eventual ticket to power — it was a key tenet of his surge in support in the 2017 general election and his brand of politics is increasingly seen as a beacon of electable socialism across the Continent. But his uncompromising nature could also be the greatest obstacle it faces, some of his supporters now fear.
Principles before party
For now, though, Corbyn appears safe.
Under his banner, the party’s socialist left is closer to power than at any time in its history.
For Corbyn’s closest and most influential allies on the left — Jon Lansman, the leader of Momentum, and John McDonnell, his shadow chancellor — this is the most important fact in British politics today. Everything else, including Brexit, is secondary.
To them, Corbyn is the key to power, the man who has found a way to cut through to the British public as the incorruptible, straight-shooting morality warrior of the left.
But what if this changes?
What if Corbyn goes from asset to liability for those who have spent their life working for the socialist revolution?
This is the greatest danger to Corbyn as he seeks to quash the growing revolt in the party over his handling of revelations of anti-Semitism, according to some of the most influential figures on the left of the Labour Party who spoke to POLITICO on condition of anonymity.
The stirrings of discontent have already started.
On Wednesday, Momentum — the grassroots organization set up to defend Corbyn’s leadership — withdrew its support for the Corbynite candidate at the center of the anti-Semitism scandal who is seeking reelection to Labour’s ruling body following his “deeply insensitive” comments about Jews. Peter Willsman claimed some of the allegations of anti-Semitism against the Labour Party were made up by Jewish “Trump fanatics.”
In the New Statesman, well-connected Labour watcher Stephen Bush said this puts Momentum “on a direct collision course with the Labour leader’s office,” reporting that in a WhatsApp conversation Lansman criticized Corbyn’s handling of the crisis, saying it had been tactically mishandled.
The rights and wrong were secondary — this was about the political impact.
Principles before family
For Corbyn, though, it is the political impact which must come second. This is the core of his own self-image, even if it means opening himself and his party to accusations of anti-Semitism.
According to Lansman, who has known Corbyn since the 1980s, the Labour leader is an “ethical socialist,” who is unshakeable from his core convictions, no matter the personal or political cost. “He is not really ideological,” Lansman said. “He is certainly less ideological than John [McDonnell]. But he’s also less compromising.”
Fundamentally, Corbyn’s politics are rooted in a sense of political morality, not economics, Lansman says.
When it comes to his handling of the anti-Semtisim scandal, this explains why Corbyn is immovable, regardless of the costs.
Despite the obvious PR benefits (leaving aside the morality), Corbyn has — at the time of writing — refused to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of anti-Semitism in full. Corbyn’s allies say this is because the guidelines restrict the capacity to criticize Israel.
For his entire career, Corbyn has campaigned for the Palestinian cause, just as he has for Irish republicanism, Cuba and Venezuela.
On these issues he is unshakable.
The most extreme example of Corbyn’s ethical fundamentalism came in the education of his children.
In 1999, the then Labour backbencher split with his second wife, Chilean national Claudia Bracchitta, after he refused to sanction sending his son Benjamin to a grammar school (a state secondary school that admits pupils based on academic ability) even though the local comprehensive was on education watchdog Ofsted’s failing list for the third year running.
Corbyn refused to bend on his principles and the pair split up after 12 years of marriage. His wife released a statement leaving no doubt as to why they had split. “My children’s education is my absolute priority,” the statement said.
Corbyn lost the battle of his son’s schooling but stayed true to his principles. He sacrificed his marriage to avoid the charge of hypocrisy.
Some believe he would be prepared to do the same again.
Original Article
Source: politico.eu
Author: Tom McTague
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