The shadow foreign secretary showed yesterday what an effective, coherent opposition should look like
I have been a member of the Labour Party for fifteen years and never have I witnessed anything like yesterday.
MPs had a grave decision to make – to support military action against ISIL in Syria or not.
The debate started on a poor note. The prime minister failed to give a clear explanation of his figure that 70,000 moderate Syrians were ready to provide the boots on the ground needed to back up air strikes.
His decision not to apologise for his remarks that those opposed to military action were somehow ‘terrorist sympathisers’ was also an error of judgement that diminished the standing of the office that David Cameron holds.
Then came Jeremy Corbyn – head down in his notes, he simply faced a barrage of noise from the Conservative MPs, failing to answer head on his views about the air strikes currently taking place in Iraq against ISIL, strikes undertaken at the invitation of the Iraqi government itself.
The new, honest politics obviously did not extend to answering a straight question with a straight answer. The sight of deputy leader Tom Watson with his head in his hands said it all.
But then came Hilary Benn. Since agreeing to serve under Jeremy Corbyn Benn has been placed in a difficult, if not impossible position. He was forced to clear up the mess created by Corbyn’s failure to provide leadership on the UK’s place in the EU, and over Syria he has been propelled to play the statesman role that the leader of the official opposition is incapable of doing.
Benn’s speech last night was well and truly electrifying. The passion, the energy and the clarity that he brought to the argument was the kind of speech that neither Cameron nor Corbyn could deliver. It was a speech of a prime minister in waiting.
Jeremy Corbyn sat stony faced throughout, not even able to muster a ‘well done’ on the delivery of a great speech to his shadow foreign secretary.
The Labour Party now faces a crunch moment that it has to confront head on. Yes, Labour members voted overwhelming for Jeremy Corbyn to lead the party but sometimes reality has to hit us.
Jeremy Corbyn is not a prime minister in waiting. His poll ratings are tanking further (if that were possible) among those voters who ultimately decide who governs the country.
His inability to present a united front on crucial security issues would pose severe difficulties of the UK’s position in the world if he were, by some fluke, ever to make it to Downing Street.
But worst of all has been his attitude to his parliamentary colleagues. Yes, he called for an atmosphere of tolerance as MP after MP has faced abuse for supporting military intervention in Syria, but it was he that sent Labour MPs to face the wolves last weekend, leaving them to stew. It was shameful.
Members of the parliamentary Labour Party and the country as a whole know the truth. For all his admirable qualities and principles, Jeremy Corbyn cannot and will not win a General Election. Hilary Benn showed yesterday what an effective, coherent opposition should look like.
Air strikes over Syria are now being undertaken in defence of democracy. In the UK our democracy is in peril thanks to the absence of a credible opposition to hold the government to account.
The Labour Party cannot go on like this. Something, and more specifically someone, needs to change and change now.
Ed Jacobs is a contributing editor at Left Foot Forward. Follow him on Twitter
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127 Responses to “Comment: Hilary Benn showed us what Labour is missing”
Ringstone
Right, so everybody but you and those that agree with you are “evil Tories” blind to the facts and in hock to the banksters and military industrial complex? Must be right to be both right and righteous.
For the hard of thinking, can I remind you that Cameron was criticising Putin because Russian bombing was targeted in support of Assad and not against Daesh, disproportionately targeting those factions also opposed to Daesh. Distasteful as many may be, my enemy’s enemy is my friend.
“A week ago Benn was arguing against the bombings himself”: you object to someone changing their mind on new information and due consideration? You’ll fit in well with Corbyn’s Labour, he’s not changed his mind or had an original thought in thirty years.
Darren Cahil
Getting a standing ovation from the Tory frontbench? Hilary Benn is doing ‘opposition’ all wrong!
janlog
I’m sure if I read this enough times it will start to make sense.
Lo Five
Just came over to see if this website os a reliable source of news for a left leaning constituent like myself. The answer is obviously no, bye.
Raife Keller-cooper
there are two reasons to vote pro war in syria: (1) you’re an idiot because you think that despite all evidence to the contrary, despite everything that has happened before in iraq and lybia etc.despite no plan, no exit strategy, no purpose, no real side to join, no real side to fight, this one will be magically different.
or (2) because you’ll make money out of it.
There has been no new information since Benn made those comments. Cameron saw to that by speeding up the vote because the tide of opinion had turned against him. I’m absolutely fine with “U turns” in general, but i think these particular u-turns reveal hypocrisy and untrustworthiness.