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| U.K. Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn |
Called by Prime Minister Theresa May to grab a huge majority, she instead found herself and her Tory party reduced to a minority government.
Why? Her arrogant campaign inspired few, it seems. Polls showed her party started the campaign in April 20 points ahead of Labour. She ended up barely two points ahead last night, and now her leadership has been badly damaged. It's unlikely she'll lead the Tories into another campaign, I predict.
But the main reason why: Jeremy Corbyn's highly effective campaign. Where May's Tory campaign bored Britons, Corbyn's campaign to govern "for the many, not the few," resonated. His longtime activism and obvious integrity connected with Britons looking for major change. Although he didn't win outright, he emerges from this campaign stronger than ever.
Corbyn's campaign was the latest example of a left-leaning leader inspiring the public with an unabashed progressive agenda designed to help the working and middle classes in these trying economic times.
This follows similar success in British Columbia where the provincial NDP ran a similar campaign and reduced the governing conservatives there to a minority government and now seem poised to form a NDP minority government with the support of the Green Party.
This article by Owen Jones in the Guardian nicely sums up the state of affairs for the left:
"This was about millions inspired by a radical manifesto that promised to transform Britain, to attack injustices, and challenge the vested interests holding the country back. Don’t let them tell you otherwise. People believe the booming well-off should pay more, that we should invest that money in schools, hospitals, houses, police and public services, that all in work should have a genuine living wage, that young people should not be saddled with debt for aspiring to an education, that our utilities should be under the control of the people of this country. For years, many of us have argued that these policies – shunned, reviled even in the political and media elite – had the genuine support of millions. And today that argument was decisively vindicated and settled."
Bernie Sanders was clearly on to something with his campaign in the U.S. last year. It's too bad Democrats didn't embrace him. I'm now of the opinion it's highly likely he would've prevailed against the insidious Donald Trump had Democrats not picked the flawed Hilary Clinton to lead their presidential ticket.
There are some major lessons here for progressives that need to be absorbed. Serving elites and insiders against the interests of ordinary people will get you defeated and your party destroyed. Justin Trudeau better take note.