OpinionOct 1 2015

Vision but no detail

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Jeremy Corbyn’s resounding victory in the battle for leadership of the Labour Party can be an historic moment. The emphasis by the mass-circulation media of his ‘extreme’ left-wing credentials is a contradiction and should be ignored, since Mr Corbyn has spent over 32 years as a member of parliament and so, by definition, believes in parliamentary democracy.

The ideological tussle between Mr Corbyn and his Oxbridge-educated, post-Blair rivals is more sophisticated and subtle than such crude analyses. Broadly it is between having a principled vision and putting grabbing the reins of government first. Principles without power are useless, goes this reasoning.

But, from the understanding of ordinary people, Mr Corbyn’s vision-driven principles may have a firmer foundation since they are based on informing the electorate of the other possibilities which have now become part of the consensual conversation.

Whether he is right or wrong, in a free market of ideas he certainly deserves the right to be heard. And if, as he implied in his victory speech, he is now the leader of a movement’ then he has to defend his ideas.

All over the developed world there is a movement towards the political mavericks, people who are not career politicians, those who reject the notion that political power resides in the so-called middle ground.

Taken at its face value, this means that policies and visions are out, and all there is left are the photogenic qualities and oratorical skills of the rivals.

So, apart from broad brush beliefs – anti-Trident, soft on the EU, pro-trade unions, etc – nothing is known about what Mr Corbyn really thinks apart from going through the archives to dredge up speeches he made 30 years ago.

He has made a sweeping criticism of the bankers, but that is not an analysis; he has also called for a ‘people’s quantitative easing’, but did not put any flesh on the bones. Britain is going through a terrifying pensions crisis, but that did not form part of the much-televised debates or Mr Corbyn’s town hall speeches.