On Saturday, Jeremy Corbyn romped to a stunning victory in one of the most incredible, and potentially game-changing, moments in the history of UK politics. No party leader in this country's history has ever had as unequivocal a mandate to lead their party as was given to Corbyn by a party selectorate that had swelled to thrice it's size since Labour's electoral devastation in May. There aren't enough Trotskyists, entryists, and ill-behaved tories in the UK to try and sweep away the scale of the victory. Make no mistake: New Labour is dead.
Corbyn's victory, the stuff of dreams or nightmares depending on who you ask, was just that: a dream, back when he first announced his candidacy. Originally a 100/1 outsider, Corbyn was only meant to widen the debate and ensure the Labour left had a voice. He was never supposed to actually win. But even before the result was announced, the result was in no doubt. Corbyn's authentic, grassroots campaign was latched onto by followers in their masses, blending a perfect storm of idealism, frustration with the Westminster establishment, and a deep desire for something new and something better. A tidal wave of unbridled optimism to which his opponents had no answer.
So, what happens now?
It would be fair to say that Corbyn's first few days as the new leader of the opposition have been mixed. The Conservatives wasted no time laying in to the new leader, with even some who despise Corbyn questioning the almost absurd hysteria of the ensuing anti-Corbyn, anti-Labour rhetoric, both for it's fear-mongering sentiments, and for it's likely futility as a tactic, given the ridiculousness of it's claims (no one is going to believe that a 66 year old vegetarian who rides a bicycle is a genuine "threat to your family's future" except people who were never going to vote Labour anyway. It's what's called "preaching to the choir").
However, Corbyn has had some stumbles, most of them self-inflicted. He has actually assembled a very talented shadow cabinet, and women making up more than half of it is a historic moment in UK politics, and should be applauded. In addition, his creation of new shadow cabinet posts, especially in the case of mental health, has been universally praised by even his most ardent critics. Ultimately though, these noteworthy and positive moves have been totally lost in the shuffle by two intertwined misjudgments on Corbyn's part: the lack of women in so-called senior roles in the shadow cabinet, and the appointment of John McDonnell as shadow chancellor.
The first has been somewhat blown out of proportion, The Guardian going so far as to call it "abysmal". It's not an unjustifiable reaction, but it has been somewhat hyperbolised by various media outlets and commentators, with indeed many self-avowed feminists in the press and on twitter coming to Corbyn's defence on the matter. Corbyn can rightly point to some very high-profile female shadow ministers, such as Heidi Alexander (Health), Lucy Powell (Education), Angela Eagle (Business and First Secretary of State) and her sister Maria Eagle (Defence). However, ultimately it is true that all three of the so-called "great offices of state" went to men, and the situation is particularly exacerbated by the selection of John McDonnell as Corbyn's shadow Chancellor.
It is worth pointing out that Labour knows better than any other party the negative impact of a leader and chancellor not seeing eye to eye. Tony Blair's tempestuous relationship with Gordon Brown often undermined a lot of the good work that Blair's government did, and Ed Miliband's oft-reported disagreements with Ed Balls stood in the starkest of contrasts against the united front of Cameron and Osborne that has formed the bedrock of Cameron's government to date. It is vitally important that the leader of the party and the chancellor/shadow chancellor be singing from the same hymn sheet. That said...
Selling Corbyn to the public alone would not have been impossible. Difficult, certainly, but not impossible. But McDonnell has a reputation for being hard to work with and is even further to the left than Corbyn is. A strong, moderate, likable shadow chancellor (Angela Eagle would have been the perfect candidate) would have made Labour much more welcoming to the increasingly neglected center ground of British politics, and with McDonnell in the role, the job becomes ten times more difficult. Unlike Corbyn however, McDonnell has put his best foot forward, issuing what even the most hard hearted cynic would have to call a sincere sounding apology for his previous statements on the IRA (a much called for apology too) and pledging to tackle the deficit that George Osborne has spent the past 5 years fetishising (economics be damned). We will see.
In any event, with the exception of PMQs, it has been a week to forget for the new leader of the opposition. He was let off the hook somewhat by the bungled Conservative response that has seen the party slip 2 points in the polls, but Cameron is unlikely to make that mistake again. Corbyn will need to improve, particularly in his public image and his handling of the media. I think he has it in him. But an uphill battle has only been made more difficult after this past week.
Still: things can only get better, but that's hardly an inspiring campaign slogan. He has 1,690 days to come up with a better one.
