With Jeremy Corbyn stepping down as leader of the Labour Party, and deputy leader Tom Watson resigning, the biggest question facing the party is how will take its top two jobs and lead its renewal after the recent election defeat? Here, Philip Proudfoot and Ashok Kumar argue that only by having Ian Lavery as deputy leader can Labour win back the North.
Following Labour's defeat in last week's general election, and the collapse of the vote in the North and Midlands, there has been a revival of Blue Labour and debate about the white working class and the need for Labour to regain their votes. Eleanor Penny argues that the only viable option for Labour is a vision real economic offer of revival, combined with a true story of where power lies, not a pandering to bigotry and xenophobia.
At the general election, the Labour party attempted to fight a deeply ingrained narrative about Brexit with appeals to economic interest. It offered “money in your pocket” in opposition to deeper values. It didn’t work. Thursday's defeat raises serious questions about the party's strategy and direction.
Regardless of whether Boris Johnson manages to win the UK General Election on December 12th, the Conservative Party is in deep and possibly existential crisis – a consequence of the long-term effects of neoliberalism on the state, the party, and the ruling class itself.