Assem Allam, a millionaire, owner of Hull City football club, and Blairite donor to the Labour Party, has reportedly stated that he will help fund right-wing MPs who wish to leave the Labour Party for the Lib Dems or form a new political party. The Blairites and their big business backers should be encouraged to leave, and the unions should step up their support for Corbyn.
Jeremy Corbyn’s election as leader of the Labour Party has enthused millions of people fed up with austerity, war, and privatisations. Celebrations took place all over the country upon the news of his landslide victory. However, most of the 232 MPs in the party are not so happy. In their words, the return of socialism on the agenda represents a “disaster”, as they recognise that their cushy careers are under threat. What they want is a party that is safe for big business, friendly to the bankers, and which poses no threat to the establishment. In a word, they want to be Tories with red ties.
Some of these MPs are turning towards the Liberal Democrats, a party that faithfully entered into coalition with the Tories to implement austerity on behalf of the capitalists. It is telling that these MPs would consider themselves at home in such a milieu. Tim Farron, recently elected leader of the Lib Dems, told the Evening Standard that he had received “various unsolicited texts” from well-known Labour figures. He said he had received approaches from “People who have been members of the [Labour] party for as long as I’ve been a member of mine who feel that they don’t recognise their party anymore and feel deeply distressed”.
The Financial Times reported that they are aware of at least one senior Labour figure discussing with a Lib Dem counterpart about the long term potential for creating a new party.
Although such plans are likely to be at an early stage, this reflects the incompatibility between the left-wing, anti-austerity programme of Corbyn, which rests on working class support; and the programme of the Blairites, which rests on the support of big business and seeks to sever the party’s working class links. At some point in the future, a split between these trends is inevitable.
Assem Allam, a millionaire and owner of Hull City football club, has previously donated money to both the Tories and the Labour Party. During the conflict between Ed Miliband and Unite over the Falkirk selection process, Allam offered to increase his donations to the party, providing Miliband “stood up to Len McKlusky”, Unite’s General Secretary. It is clear that he has his own interests – and the interests of his class – at heart, not those of ordinary workers.
Alarmed by the victory of Corbyn, Allam has offered to fund Labour MPs who wish to defect to the Lib Dems, or even launch a new party, akin to the SDP in the 1980s. “I will do anything I can if I am convinced they can form a strong opposition,” the millionaire donor has said.
The irony is lost on him that precisely the MPs he is trying to court are the ones who offer no opposition to the Tory government, since they too support cuts and abstained on the Welfare Bill. It is Corbyn and his supporters who are the only ones offering any sort of opposition to the Tories and their austerity, and it is for this reason that they are incredibly popular.
As defenders of Corbyn, we wish any right-wing Labour MPs a pleasant and speedy trip on their journey to leave the party. The sooner these agents of big business leave, the better. Similarly, millionaire donors can happily keep their money, if it means liberating the Labour Party from the influence of big business. The trade unions should respond with increased financial support for the Party, and every effort should be made to get unions such as the FBU and RMT that have supported Corbyn to now affilate to Labour.
However, despite the assistance offered by millionaires such as Allam, most of the right in Labour realise that their struggle at this stage is within the Labour Party, as they seek to discredit and crush Corbyn in the hope that they can reclaim the leadership in the not too distant future.
We therefore place no confidence in these Blairite MPs to all leave by their own accord. They are sharpening their knives already. Only by organising the large number of Corbyn supporters for a resolute struggle within the party can we kick out this fifth column intent on sabotaging Corbyn and his programme. Armed with a clear socialist programme, however, our movement could sweep away the careerist right wing that has infected the party for decades. This is the only real way to defend Corbyn from the onslaught of attacks, and would prepare the basis for a serious campaign to transform society along socialist lines.
