THE mere thought of a “new party of the left” sent many into a kind of meltdown.
Indeed, that word, “meltdown” is becoming the common parlance with which to describe the attitudes and actions of an ailing political and media establishment to events they neither control nor understand.
Such lashing out is rarely, if ever, rational. On the one hand, a party led by Jeremy Corbyn – or the “Magic Grandpa” in the words of the once widely respected Andrew Neil – is surely pie in the sky adventurism. On the other, it poses a substantial threat to the Labour Party, and will float Nigel Farage into Number 10.
You could feel the sense of entitlement and relief when Zarah Sultana’s announcement of the founding of this new political force was followed by public revelations of some of the internal rifts about how to go about such a project – cue the clapped-out “People’s Front of Judea” jibes.
There is no point in denying that the backdrop to this development has been partially interrupted by various leaks to the press, before the thing has been formally launched.
But all of that is secondary to the underlying fact that there can be no doubt a mass constituency for the kind of politics it represents exists. And it is this reality which adds to the mounting sense of unease, which goes beyond the electoral sphere, among an increasingly brittle ruling class.
So much so, that the state has come to proscribe a non-violent protest group as a “terrorist organisation”. Over the weekend, the Reverend Sue Parfitt (below), 83, was detained for holding a placard which read. “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action,” as a consequence of this. She was, farcically, arrested by Met Police officers for offences under the Terrorism Act.
Yes, the same legislation that is purportedly designed to tackle the likes of al-Qaeda. Is this really where Yvette Cooper believes the threat to the people of the United Kingdom comes from? Or, in fact, is it far closer to the truth to say, quite obviously, that this has nothing to do with security and everything to do with clamping down on Palestine solidarity activism?
Consider for a moment, that had Sue been holding a sign saying “I support genocide”, she would be free to do so. Every part of the movement has encountered the sharp end of the state, not just those who have taken part in direct action.
Leading figures in the Stop the War Coalition and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign have also been arrested and charged for organising huge demonstrations, no matter how peaceful they were and are.
This, of course, is not the sign of a confidence, but of grave weakness. It could not be more serious. Whatever is said in public, the UK Government knows full well the scale of the atrocities in Gaza, and their participation in it.
They can take losing an argument about sundry domestic affairs. But here we are talking about genocide, the worst of all crimes against humanity.
It is quite simple: they cannot allow for there to be a popular, impactful and organised current of opposition which, crucially, is determined to hold those responsible to account.
Don’t for a second underestimate just how upending this is for our society. So much so that the government are willing, in a fit of reactionary panic, to shred civil liberties and rights in the process of defending their position on the matter, while demonising their opponents.
Any student of history knows it never ends well for the powerful when they overplay their hand. When there is a need to resort to force and repression, it only underlines the fact that the ideological line has irrevocably collapsed. Some have a keener sense of this than others, such as The Times, whose editorial stance is to oppose applying terrorist status to Palestine Action.
There is, then, a sense of desperation and hysteria about it all. Which is where we return to the potential of a left party. Because it is this issue which has generated the conditions for rupture with the Labour Party, and the politicisation of a whole new generation of campaigners.
Meanwhile, the links between imperial foreign policy and declining living standards are being made in the process. In the same way as extra-parliamentary protest has been demonised, a party which could represent it in parliament will be smeared and shunned.
That is one of many reasons why developments around party formation must be hand in glove with the mass movements which give rise to the political atmosphere required to launch such an initiative in the first place.
Corbyn would never have become leader of the Labour Party had it not been for the anti-war and anti-austerity campaigns. And the same is true today for any emerging electoral vehicle.
This means a break not just with the Labour Party, but also with the Labourism which elevates parliamentary politics above all else. Overcoming the notion that working-class organisation and social movements are subordinate to electoralism and elections is not an optional extra. It also means learning from experience, and in Scotland, treating the differences in the political terrain here seriously.
I will offer some perspectives on these issues in the coming weeks and months. Politics today is fluid, and explosions in activity and insurgency can come into the scene quickly.
We have seen this on the radical right with the rise of Reform. But these things can also go up like a rocket and down like a stick.
Creating lasting organisation in not easy. It requires clarity of ideas; the ability to navigate a complex period; internal cohesion and much else.
But the big picture is that the foundations of politics are changing. Boxed in, shrill and dogmatic, the status quo seem ill-equipped to deal with this and with the multi-dimensional crises they are wedded to.
Perhaps that is the one constant in an otherwise volatile and unpredictable world. So expect more meltdowns, at the very least.
