The defection of seven British Labour MPs to form a new centrist group is emblematic of the degeneration of the party under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, its astonishing shift to the hard-left of politics and is symptomatic of the fracture of major parties around the world.
The archetypal left-right party divide is breaking down. This is a particular challenge for centre-left parties, including Bill Shorten’s Labor Party. Many socially conservative, low-educated, working-class voters are drifting to far-right parties. Many progressive, highly educated and often affluent voters identify with the Greens.
Moderate centre-left and centre-right parties in Europe are falling apart, giving way to extremist parties on both ends of the political spectrum. In the US and Asia, anti-establishment populists have gained power. Only in France has a new centrist party emerged from the wreckage to be a viable political force at elections — but Emmanuel Macron is struggling to unite the country behind his agenda.
The British Labour split is not analogous with Australian Labor. The seven MPs cited among the reasons for their defections: the party’s tolerance for anti-Semitism, its culture of bullying and intimidation, its confused response to Brexit and the left-wing takeover of the party.
Led by Corbyn and his Marxist shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, Labour has terminated its Blair-Brown legacy and embraced a big-taxing and big-spending program of redistribution, re-regulation and re-nationalisation. Class warfare and the politics of envy are its watchwords. Corbyn has given degrees of support to terrorist organisations.
Chuka Umunna, once seen as the hope of those nostalgic for a centrist New Labour revival, has invited MPs from other parties to join them and move beyond the “old-fashioned politics” of the past. The new Independent Group will occupy the “sensible centre ground”.
In 1981, four former Labour ministers — Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Bill Rodgers and Shirley Williams — split from the party because of the influence of militant activists and unionists. The “Gang of Four” went on to form the centrist Social Democratic Party and merged with the Liberal Party to become the Liberal Democrats in 1988.
Labour was then led by left-wing intellectual Michael Foot. The hard-left, sympathetic to firebrand MP Tony Benn, were trying to take over the party. But Foot was a leader in the broad Labour left tradition whereas Corbyn became leader with the support of the hard-left which has infiltrated Labour.
The latest defections could have huge ramifications. More MPs could split from Labour while some Conservative MPs, opposed to Brexit, might join them. The Liberal Democrats are eager to work with the rebels. The SDP had an alliance with the Liberals before they merged. A divided Labour Party is manna from heaven for the beleaguered Theresa May.
The seven Labour MPs showed courage and principle in leaving the party. It is surprising that so many MPs have stayed so long under Corbyn’s retrograde leadership. Whether the seven rebels succeed in creating a new centre force in British politics is uncertain. But throughout the world, the centre is not holding.
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