The Labour Bees Are Abandoning Their Hive
The UK is in a post-Brexit turmoil: Scotland is set to leave the UK, Northern Ireland may reunite with the Republic of Ireland, and the value of the pound is dropping faster than Charlie Sheen can say "winning" after doing a line of coke.
So, how are Labour MPs responding to this tumultuous time?
One might think that this would be a time for unity in the Labour party, a time to pull together, protect voters, speak calming words, and put forward a positive vision of an EU-free Britain. Sadly not, the response of several navel gazing MPs, spearheaded by Margaret Hodge and Ann Coffey, was to express a motion of no confidence in the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. However, it is Mr Corbyn who seems to be one of the few Labour MPs who actually understands what is going on in the country for the average Joe.
Yesterday, 172 Labour MPs voted in favour of the no confidence motion; 40 voted against. It came to shadow chancellor John McDonnell to urge his fellow MPs to "play by the rules" and trigger a formal leadership contest.
This seemingly short-sighted political move is the very reason why the "New Labour" brand is hated throughout the country. It's MPs putting themselves before the people simply because they don't seem to like the idea of Labour redefining itself as a left-wing party again.
Corbyn is standing proud though and has said "I was democratically elected leader of our party for a new kind of politics by 60% of Labour members and supporters, and I will not betray them by resigning". This is what a party leader should be like, standing strong against the dour-faced opposition and overcoming obstacles tossed by people unable to accept nuance - a stark contrast to David Cameron it seems.
It is worth asking why they would do this now? The answer is simple, it is the establishment trying to wrangle back control from the people; support for Jeremy Corbyn is still incredibly strong amongst Labour party members.
Now is a time when everyone should be working together, united in the idea of making things better and keeping control of our democracy.
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