From the Extreme Centre to Your Party

Ten years ago, I wrote The Extreme Centre. It was a critique of ‘democratic politics’ after the financial crash of 2008. Nothing had changed in the aftermath of the crisis and the book was sharply critical of the convergence of centre-right and centre-left political parties in the Western world, what Bill Clinton referred to in the 90’s as triangulation (before becoming slightly discredited by his own personal triangulation). This ‘extreme centre’ was the political outcome of neoliberalism and the economic doctrines attached. The result was to severely restrict the space available for any serious political alternatives.

I argued at the time that the extreme centre embraced the entire Western political landscape: Republicans and Democrats in the US, New Labour and the Tories in Britain, socialists and conservatives in France, assorted coalitions in Germany, a ‘virtually identical’ Scandinavian centre-left/centre-right, all ‘competing in cravenness before the Empire. In almost every case the two/three party system morphed into an effective national government’ (p. 121).  There was bound to be an opposition, and the Left had to break decisively with this type of politics if it was going to occupy that role. Ultimately it failed to do so.

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The rise of the far-right parties in France, Germany, Britain and Italy has now eclipsed traditional extreme centre politics. It is the far right that is the pole of attraction today and its successes in some countries have pushed the extreme centre rightwards, including in Britain. The Starmer government and the overwhelming bulk of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) has supported the genocide in Gaza, privatised solutions and assaults on social rights and traditional social-democratic policies at home. In the global sphere, Starmer is an ever-loyal lapdog, repeatedly disgracing himself and disabusing anyone paying attention of the delusion that Britain is a sovereign state.

The failure of the last three Labour Prime Ministers to break with the Thatcher consensus is largely responsible for today’s social and economic crises. Bathing in that filthy water has meant that the seas and lakes around these islands are polluted with the sewage of privatization. This did not happen spontaneously. As I argued in The Extreme Centre in 2015:

‘Unemployment was ruthlessly held above three million for ten years, enabling the Conservatives to push through a programme of social re-engineering – deploying state resources to crush the unions and initiate the privatization of public utilities and housing, in hopes of creating a nation of “property-owners and shareholders” – that transformed the country’ (p.19).

Where the Tories led, Labour followed. But the Thatcher promise to create a nation of entrepreneurs and homeowners was contradicted by the figures. A million people had their homes repossessed between 1990 and 1996, and by 2009 nearly one million houses were in negative equity (pp.22-3). All of this has resulted in an increasingly alienated public with little motivation to vote at all. Tony Blair’s electoral triumph (the extreme centre writ large) in 2001 already belied a serious decline in voting with a decrease in turnout of 12 per cent from the 1997 election (p. 32). Labour’s 2024 victory with Starmer at its helm was delivered on equally dismal terms.

Both the British extreme centre parties began to collapse a decade ago. The Tories tried to refurbish their image by bringing in people of colour to disguise their reactionary policies. This has been useful in exposing the cruder aspects of ‘identity politics’ but accomplished little else. Labour witnessed a mini-insurrection when Jeremy Corbyn declared his candidature for the leadership in 2015. His appeal was based on left, social-democratic politics and the younger generation responded by joining the Labour Party in droves, determined to push Corbyn to the top. This development, unforeseen by anyone (including Corbyn) created a huge political crisis for the system. Conservative and liberal media, backed by a debased PLP that included a thuggish element, showered Corbyn with abuse and tried to bully him into resigning but failed. Corbyn fought the 2019 election under extremely adverse circumstances and his much-derided vote was in fact higher than that of Brown in his last election. He resigned as leader and over 150,000 people left the Labour Party in response. That Corbyn had made mistakes in an attempt to create a less unfavourable balance of forces inside the party is undeniable. While these errors demoralised some supporters, they were not the reason for the electoral setback. Suspended from the party by Starmer on the utterly bogus accusations (slanders) of being soft on antisemitism (i.e. defending the rights of Palestinians), he was never allowed back. He proved his mettle by standing as an independent and retaining his seat in parliament, one of the few bright moments of the last general election: a firework in the rain.

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That was the time to launch a new party. Better late than never. The fact that almost a million people (including myself) have registered their interest in joining Your Party is a huge tribute to all those who continue to struggle against the genocide in Palestine and the reactionary pro-rich policies at home. These movements and an undiminished historical memory regarding the way Corbyn was treated by all the establishments in this country has created the first real opportunity for the Left since 1945. Labour’s monopoly on representing the underprivileged has been broken. The dual-leadership of Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana is a great idea, uniting different generations. Zarah has been in the forefront of opposition to the war in Gaza, has resigned from Labour rather than vegetate in limbo, has publicly declared she is an anti-Zionist and mocked those who accuse her of antisemitism. The spirited pre-formation debate taking place in Sidecar at present is healthy and encouraging. This is an opportunity we must not let slip away.

A few thoughts and questions regarding what needs to be done or seriously discussed:

1.    Program: I think the new party should have a simple Ten Point Charter that incorporates the anti-capitalist and antiwar views held by most of those eager to join. These should also include democratization measures similar to those for which Tony Benn used to argue so forcefully: A referendum on the monarchy, the abolition of the House of Lords, the most democratic form of proportional representation and the reform of the judiciary. Withdrawal from NATO is essential.

2.    Structure: The question of how to democratically organise the new party is essential. One solution could be a federal structure with strong constituency level bodies affiliating to the national party. These bodies should elect delegates to regional and national conferences and have the right to recall a sitting councilor or MP if there is a 60 percent vote locally to do so. A federal structure would also encourage community work and campaigning outside of election periods. It would also allow local branches to develop their own culture and to adapt procedures and activities to local needs. If we have representative local structures affiliated to Your Party, the same principle could be extended to Scotland and Wales.

3.    Communication: How the party communicates its politics is more or less obvious. The internet revolution favours us as we have seen on Gaza. However,  I would strongly support a daily online paper on the model of the French Médiapart – a proper newspaper, not a Pravda. A daily online paper would have to analyze ruling class policies and maneuvers, expose the endemic corruption at work, take investigative journalism seriously. Such a paper needs a core of well-trained and experienced journalists, which certainly exists within the new party.

4.    Elections: The new party will only survive if it is headed by a truly democratically elected leadership. One person, one vote would therefore be ideal but how can it be put into practice? Internet voting poses considerable challenges (the Podemos experience in Spain was a disaster) and can be interfered with and manipulated. A federated structure as outlined above may offer a solution. Personally, I am in favour of a US-style primary system with modifications for selecting MPs and Mayors. The election of a National Committee by the Conference should be on a rotating basis. The party must also develop a democratic policy for forming electoral alliances. Electoral pacts in local and general elections will remain a serious matter as long as we are lumbered with first past the post. Where possible, we should favour these, but usually local branches will be in the best position to decide and should be free to do so.

5.    Discipline: We must not forget the lessons of the Corbyn period in Labour. There will be attempts of one sort or another by the state/media nexus to damage and divide and to play on our weaknesses (the Scottish Socialist Party experience was instructive). Some element of party discipline is essential.

What remains of the extreme centre? Little more than the remnants of decomposing political parties. Labour’s total capitulation to capital and empire has transformed into an instrument of conservative politics. A break has long been necessary. The new formation being prepared in the UK offers real possibilities. Even before the actual formation of the Party, opinion polls are revealing a real enthusiasm for change. The new party is the first serious attempt from the Left to break from this political economic consensus that has wrecked the country. We must do our best to ensure its success.