Brighton, United Kingdom: Britain’s main opposition Labour Party opened its annual conference under blue skies yesterday, but new leftist leader Jeremy Corbyn can expect a stormy debut with MPs divided on key issues.
The 66-year-old, whose policies have been compared to those of Spain’s Podemos and Greece’s Syriza, has been a thorn in the side of the party establishment during 30 years on the backbenches.
But he must now try to unite the party over the future of Trident — Britain’s nuclear deterrent programme — the European Union, Syria, and welfare reforms.
His fiercest critics are the centrists loyal to the “New Labour” project of three-term prime minister Tony Blair.
His staunchest supporters are the grassroot supporters who swept him to a stunning victory earlier this month in a rejection of Blair’s reforms.
Corbyn’s first test will be outlined later yesterday when a formal decision will be taken on whether to debate Trident today.
Pacifist Corbyn, who is against renewing the programme, has said the party vote will dictate Labour’s policy on the issue, but he could suffer a damaging defeat as many senior MPs and unions are pro-Trident.
He played down fears of a high-level rift on Sunday, and hinted that he could allow the shadow cabinet to remain split on the issue. “We are going to come to an accommodation of some sort,” he told BBC television.
“There may end up being a difference of opinion. Is it so disastrous that politics has two opinions?”
However, he admitted that he did not know how the party would proceed if it voted against the shadow cabinet’s wishes on the subject.
All eyes will be on Corbyn when he makes his keynote speech tomorrow, where he is expected to shun the usual conventions.
“I don’t do a lot of personal,” he told The Observer newspaper, revealing that he wouldn’t appear on stage with his wife or talk about his upbringing. It is also likely to be much shorter than recent speeches.
“I doubt he’s looking forward to the leadership speech, he’s not a great orator,” former Blair policy strategist John McTernan said.
Members will be keen to hear Corbyn clarify his position on the European Union.
The long-time eurosceptic recently said he would likely campaign to stay in the bloc in a referendum planned before the end of 2017.
The party has welcomed around 150,000 new members since the leadership vote was thrown open to the public, and their resounding endorsement of Corbyn is something the new leader hopes to harness as he does battle with dissenting MPs.
AFP
