It seems like the diversity of Jeremy Corbyn has been going on for a lifetime.. but Corbyn shows no sign of backing down and why should he? He’s only getting stronger.
The recent Labour election between Jeremy Corbyn and Owen Smith showed this significantly, and that if anything, Corbyn’s getting more people on his side despite the ongoing battle he faces with mainstream media and rebel MP’s.
Here are last months Labour election results in detail
Voting figures
How members voted
Corbyn: 168,216
Smith: 116,960
How registered supporters voted
Corbyn: 84,918
Smith: 36,599
How affiliated supporters voted
Corbyn: 60,075
Smith: 39,670
In each category Corbyn takes the lead. However, although Corbyn may be getting stronger, his job has never been harder.
He needs too:
- Try to re-unite his party
- Draw up a coherent policy platform
- Reinvigorate Labour in Scotland
- Improve his personal standing
- Stop traditional supporters from drifting to UKIP
- Find a way of winning over Tory voters in marginal seats.
Time will be on his side having just won a marginal result in last month’s election. We expect rebel MP’S will be also be under pressure from their constituency parties to show some loyalty and are in no rush to mount another challenge anytime soon.
An issue that Corbyn so clearly pointed out in his acceptance speech from Election day, that although he has a responsibility to try to bring the party back together, there is also a responsibility on the whole of the party to “respect the democratic choice that has been made”.
Corbyn made a clear call during this speech for a national campaign against the reintroduction of grammar schools- one of the few issues around which the Parliamentary Party is united.
He needs to work to Labour’s strengths and at the moment that’s mass membership. The membership currently stands at over half a million, which is a staggering amount more than Conservatives and Lib Dems combined.
He’s won over the Labour membership but now it’s time to win over the nation. What will the “unelectable” yet unbeatable man do next?
