Jeremy Wainman, 56, is an NHS commissioner from Pontefract, West Yorkshire
The morning after June’s remarkable general election, in a post-results haze, I read Owen Jones’s insightful and passionate commentary piece Jeremy Corbyn has caused a sensation – he would make a fine prime minister. It didn’t change my view of the politician, who I voted for in both Labour leadership elections, but it did help crystallise my thoughts on his election success.
Before the vote, my view of Corbyn was that he had a “Marmite effect” on the electorate – I saw the general election as offering an opportunity for Corbyn to prove himself to doubters. Jones, as he explained in the piece, “thought people had made their minds up about Corbyn, however unfairly, and their opinion just wouldn’t shift”.
He went on to say: “I wasn’t a bit wrong, or slightly wrong, or mostly wrong, but totally wrong.”
For a long time now, I have considered why people vote one way or another in general elections. I think it comes down to this: they talk from their hearts, but vote from their heads. Broadly speaking, I think most of us would like to be regarded as more socially minded, which should manifest as more votes for the Labour party. When it comes to reality of the ballot box, however, our heads take over and our voting becomes more aligned to self-interest.
Social policies cost money and a Labour government often overspends – or that is what we seem to believe. So the presumption seems to be that a socially minded government will see us all worse off. The alternative is a more selfish but seemingly more financially sound Conservative option.
I really admire Jeremy Corbyn, and not just because he seems to share my socialist views or because I believe he has reset the Labour party back to its true values. It’s more because he is honest and not political, in that forked-tongued sense.
However, he carries the weight of former Labour governments’ failure to balance the books, used by the Conservatives to attack the Labour party and suggest it is unable to manage the economy. While Labour made major inroads against the Conservatives at the election, I still believe that the party will not achieve a majority government until this issue is properly addressed and voters feel confident enough to vote with their hearts.
But Jones’s article asked a wider question, too. Even with a popular leader, what will it take to make Labour electable? In the case of this election, I think support from the parliamentary party from the get-go would have made all the difference. As it was, I’d argue that Corbyn was never really given a proper chance.
My own professional background in business informs my views. I don’t believe that businesses have to be privately run in order to be successful – I’m a big believer in public ownership. And as a current NHS employee, I see the real-world effects of political decisions almost every day. And in these two areas, I thought Labour’s manifesto showed a great deal of promise.
I’d love to see a proper, strong Labour government that’s as good for people as it is for the economy, and given the chance I think it’s something we may well see soon.
