1. No one is cowering. The fear has gone
“This lot aren’t full of fear. That’s the real difference”: thus muses one of the most intelligent veterans of Labour’s battles since 2010. The observation is both simple and acute. New Labour always claimed to be brave, radical, “best when at our boldest” (Tony Blair, Labour conference, Blackpool 2002). Gordon Brown wrote a (rather good) book called, simply, Courage. Yet the modernisation project was essentially the product of fear: fear of defeat was its core motive, just as soothing the fear of the voters was its primary objective. In 1997, the late Philip Gould’s mantra was: “Reassurance, reassurance, reassurance.” Of course, Corbyn and John McDonnell have sought to dispel some aspects of their tabloid image and to soothe the anxieties of middle Britain. But the deeper impression left by the new leader’s nonchalant style and the shadow chancellor’s confidence is of a party no longer apologising for its instincts, its history and its idealistic plans, no longer playing by the old rules. Remember the Democrat super-strategist, Bruno Gianelli, in The West Wing? “I’m tired of working for candidates who make me think that I should be embarrassed to believe what I believe, Sam! … We cowered in the corner, and said, ‘Please. Don’t. Hurt. Me.’ No more.”
All this swagger may be entirely misplaced, of course. But – whatever else one says of it – Corbyn’s Labour party is certainly not cowering. Matthew d’Ancona
2. Jeremy is not going to ban meat
A rare vegetarian in politics, Corbyn raised concerned bleats and clucks from the livestock sector when he appointed an even rarer political vegan to the farming brief. Kerry McCarthy had previously said she’d rather people didn’t buy meat at all, and talked about treating meat like tobacco. Were steaks and sausages going to be a victim of Labour’s revolution? Now, however, she says that if people are going to be buying beef and lamb she’d rather it came from Britain than having been shipped across the world. It might sound like a sell-out in the face of the stubborn agricultural lobby, which she is now going to have to befriend, but – if you think about it – she hasn’t actually reneged her preference for people to do without meat. As a veggie myself, I rather admire that. But McCarthy is surely wise to avoid thrusting vegetarianism on to voters’ plates. As with McDonnell on the economy yesterday, who kept shtum about quantitative easing, she has shrewdly kept the most controversial of her thoughts to herself. The Corbyn-era Labour party promises “honest, straight-talking politics”. But in politics, as in life, you can respectably stick to the truth without uttering every last thought on your mind. Tom Clark
3. The true test of the new politics is PR, the other PR
Indefatigable warriors at their many meetings, including an early breakfast today, the Electoral Reform Society has been at it relentlessly since 1884, unassailably right, despite Nick Clegg’s appallingly bungled AV referendum. Now a new glimmer emerges on their horizon.
Might this at last be the moment the dinosaurs of Labour relent and adopt proportional representation? In order to show that it gets the anti-politics mood, it must break open the unpopular two-party system to allow in new parties. McDonnell was always a vehement reformer, but Corbyn has a more ambivalent record. However, he has appointed Jon Trickett to conduct a constitutional review, with a good chance Labour may end up on the side of reform. Of course Labour should split between social democrats and socialists, in alliance according to their strength. Of course John Redwood and Ken Clarke shouldn’t have to endure one another in the same party. But woe betide any splitters under our imperious system that forces such uncomfortable bedfellows to pretend they belong in the same party. New, fresh, listening to alienated non-voters? The true test is whether Labour opts for proportional representation. Polly Toynbee
4. Party boundaries could become flexible
Corbyn announced today that he will go to Manchester this coming weekend to address a rally outside the Conservative party conference. This is a break with the convention that at this time of year the parties allow one another to set out their stalls unhindered by their opponents. In Britain we are so used to this way of doing things that it is hard to imagine anything different. But this isn’t the way that all political cultures behave, and it’s worth asking, especially in an era of supposed “new politics”, whether our way is the only way. In Italy, rival party leaders sometimes attend one another’s conferences, not as protesters in the streets outside but even as invited guests inside the hall. Since Britain seems to be moving increasingly towards multi-party politics, it might make sense to consider this approach. So why doesn’t Corbyn issue a public invitation to the other parties to send their leaders to attend his 2016 conference speech, and announce that he would accept their invitations if they were to reciprocate? Martin Kettle
5. It’s not about the guy on the platform
Tony Benn used to bang on about “ishoos”, but if ever a political personality seemed irrelevant, it’s now. Think about it: Corbyn only ran for the leadership because it was Buggins’ turn; at any event where he headlines, it’s the supporting speakers who do the best turn; even now you can’t remember a single phrase he’s ever uttered.
None of this is a criticism of Corbyn, but it does reflect a failure on the part of swaths of the media, who have gone down the usual route of digging for dirt on the new guy and searching out dissent. Fine, but the most important new political fact is the unprecedented wave of support that has latched on to Corbyn: the hundreds of thousands who joined Labour, the thumping majority that handed him the leadership, the huge sections of the country that have tuned out of Westminster droid-talk. The big test for the new Labour leaders is how far they’re able to channel the frustrations of the people who have swept them to power, while still mollifying the established arbiters in the media and beyond.
All of which makes this week in Brighton rather odd. Party conferences are always weird melanges of loyal door-knockers, lobbyists, journalists and parliamentarians enjoying a few days of stolen glamour. Most of these have been pushed to one side. They’re certainly not where the energy is at now. Aditya Charkrabortty
