How Jeremy Corbyn was actually the Grinch that saved Christmas
The uncertainty that dogged Britain since David Cameron first proposed a referendum on Brexit, which increased as his successor Theresa May dithered and prevaricated and continued right up until Thursday’s poll, has evaporated, writes Piers Akerman.
Opinion
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Jeremy Corbyn, well done. You, personally, saved Britain.
You saved it from a hateful government you might have led had not the British people seen right through your promises of free universities, free homes, nationalisation of industries and greater welfare.
Your, some say, Trotskyite ideology — others just call it Communism — and your habit of cosying up to hate preachers and supporters of terrorism as well as your weird conspiracy theories about capitalism which morphed into a vile anti-Semitism, delivered an epic result to the British Conservatives led by Boris Johnson.
It was Labour’s worst result since the 1930s. It wasn’t just a landslide, it was a demolition.
On Friday night I dined with three British women — Baroness Meta Ramsay, Dame Louise Ellman and Joan Ryan — all of whom have had distinguished careers within UK Labour, including holding ministries in the Blair government.
Dame Louise and Ms Ryan were among the Labour MPs who quit the party primarily because of Mr Corbyn’s anti-Semitic views but also because of the hard-Left direction their party had taken under his leadership.
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Baroness Ramsay, who told me she had barely heard of him until he became leader, has stayed within the party because, as she said, someone needs to help it rebuild.
Each of these prominent politicians doorknocked for Labour MPs and each told the same story about the reception they received in the Labour electorates in which they campaigned.
“I’m not voting Labour this time because of Corbyn,” they said they were told on doorstep after doorstep.
“It’s nothing to do with Brexit, it’s Corbyn.”
Dame Louise and Ms Ryan felt the Labour Party had left them, but they would rejoin should a reformed Labour once again espouse the policies it used to champion.
Prime Minister Johnson, a former colleague of mine at The Times, will deliver Brexit and by the end of next month Britain should have regained the sovereignty stolen from it by unelected bureaucrats in Brussels.
The uncertainty that dogged Britain since prime minister David Cameron first proposed a referendum on Brexit, which increased as his successor Theresa May dithered and prevaricated and continued right up until Thursday’s poll, has evaporated.
Prime Minister Johnson has the capacity to remain in office for five years — just as our Prime Minister Scott Morrison could — if he delivers the substantial program he has promised once Brexit is out of the way.
He cannot exist on solely delivering that policy. There are pressing social policies that need addressing. Fixing the expensive National Health Scheme, reforming the education system, and restoring public safety through better policing are priorities.
After two dud prime ministers, it may be a case of third time lucky.
Mr Johnson, unlike his immediate predecessors, has the ability to connect with his party’s core constituency.
He is more Tony Abbott than Malcolm Turnbull. The British Conservatives, like our Liberal Party, win most elections. Tony Blair, like Kevin Rudd, was something of a unicorn. Rare.
The question for Mr Johnson now is whether this election, Corbyn and Brexit considered, will be seen as a voting anomaly or whether it will be the catalyst for a lasting voter realignment.
The parallels with our May federal election were obvious.
No one knew where former Labor leader Bill Shorten was going to find the money to fund his promises and no one knew where the British Labour leader was going to find the cash to underwrite his handouts. Neither listened to the voters, either.
As one former Labour MP said during the British campaign: “If we take no notice of people when we have a referendum, they’ll take no notice of us when we knock on their doors.”
Just as our election left the ABC and the rest of the lazy Left-leaning media looking stupid, along with the opinionated wealthy, so too the British result left the BBC’s commentators at a loss for words and ensured it was a bad day for activists and a bad day for virtue-signalling UK actors.
Scott Morrison recognised the forces at work when he congratulated Mr Johnson and acknowledged the “quiet Britons” behind the victory.
US President Donald Trump also decided that the result was a favourable omen for his election next year.