Liz Kendall Was Right

She couldn’t be “agnostic” about Jeremy Corbyn becoming Labour leader.  She was worried that the Labour Party will never get elected with a man who isn’t a suave, smarmy wanker who serves powerful economic interests and pretends to give a shit what anyone else thinks or wants.

Kendall’s real problem with Corbyn, she explained, was that he was offering “easy answers”.  Because developing consensus, debating with people who vehemently disagree with you and asking the disenfranchised to join in is a piece of piss, obviously.  Whereas doing exactly what you’re told and serving the Established Order is really, really difficult. 
Her problem was really the same as Cameron’s, Blair’s and the papers’: he will make the Labour Party ‘unelectable’, will consign them to defeat.  He will make them seem less like useful idiots and more like an Opposition.
This is because Kendall was aligning herself very clearly with The Political Class, and in that world, the constituency is clear, and it isn’t the electorate – at least not when understood as all the people who could, or will, vote.

The Electorate is the target of advertising, which is the principle activity of The Political Class.  The Political Class are given policies to sell to The Electorate (the actual electorate, as in, voters).  The Electorate, in this process, are not permitted to make or influence policy, their role is to be spectators of the process.  The Constituency is not The Electorate.
The Constituency comprises those who actually matter, who must be pandered to, assuaged or encouraged with policy and press.  In olden times, these would have been the landowning gentry, whereas these days….it’s the landowning gentry and the oligarchs who run The City of London.

Corbyn does make Labour ‘unelectable’, since he is gently, and carefully, reminding everyone that, at least in the economic system we endure, Labour (not the party) and Capital are natural adversaries.  And that the Labour Party’s historic role is to represent Labour in this conflict.  Which makes him a threat to those who would like us/you not to think about that.

The Labour Party, (officially since 1994, debatably a long time before that) renounced its role as The Representatives of the Working Class and decided instead to serve The Constituency while placating the most important part of The Electorate; the part that didn’t already vote Labour but might, if they were given enough sweet words to seal the deal.

The Working Class is not just unrepresented in this case; it is un-representable.  As ever, The Working Class will fend for itself.  Out of necessity, out of desire – either or both, it’s all the same.  As ever, The Working Class cannot afford the illusions and grandeur of others, and will therefore do well not to trust those who claim to represent it.
We’ll take those assurances in writing, thanks very much.
On a legally-binding contract.

“Agnostic” was an illuminating, and (for me, at least) entertaining choice of word; it was as if Kendall feared Corbyn the way the Roman authorities (or the Pharisees) feared Jesus of Nazareth – as a messiah, one who will free his people from tyranny.
Perhaps Corbyn is similar to Jesus, in that although others think he will try to lead “his” people to freedom, by telling them exactly what to do, he is actually saying to his followers that it is largely up to them, and that their methods, like their success, is a result of what they collectively decide to do.

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.”

John 14:12 (King James Bible)

 

What is really scary about Corbyn for some in the Labour Party is his idea for formulating policy in a wide-ranging attempt to reach consensus among party members, and inviting new members to join and participate.  For the Parliamentary Labour Party, this anathema: it is democracy.

 

Democracy is a Greek word, describing a system of government by the whole population – or the “eligible” population.  On the terms of The Political class, the “eligible” population has always been as small as possible, and always shrinking.  In the original, idealistic definition, a community would gather, decide how to run their affairs and elect from among their number people who would carry out the agreed policies.

 

Mass movements have, over the centuries, pushed governments closer to Representative democracy, mostly by practising actual Democracy.  (Representative democracy is, at its best, where someone we like tells us they’ll do something we like and then The Electorate votes for them and complains impotently when they don’t do it.)

 

What Labour Party MPs fear is not being allowed in the (Parliamentary) club.  If you break the rules, you’ll be kicked out.  One of the rules that Corbyn broke this week concerns the exclusive Nuclear Club; Corbyn broke the cardinal rule by expressing a sane and honest view.

 

If we had genuine Democracy, we probably wouldn’t have a £100billion nuclear submarine we can never ever use without destroying everything that exists, while struggling to feed and house ourselves. 

If we had Democracy, maybe we wouldn’t need a mild-mannered veteran lefty MP to patiently explain to us what it is.

If we had Democracy, Liz Kendall might be free to do something useful.

If we had Democracy, there wouldn’t be a Political Class. 

 

So, some Labour MPs are terrified of losing their invitation to Rupert Murdoch’s infamously debauched yacht parties. 

Some, including Liz Kendall, are afraid that they’ll lose all the floating voters that supported Labour for the first time in 1997, and that all the work to entice them is being undone by all this Democracy rubbish.

 

But what they’re really afraid of is the same thing all governments and governors are afraid of: the governed.