Thread by @docrussjackson

Given our antiquated electoral system, imho the most likely route to removing the Tories from power is still to elect a Labour Govt. But I can also see how UKIP pulled the Tories & 'the centre' a long way to the right, so I'm not averse to a left-wing party led by @jeremycorbyn.

Inevitably, this tweet arouses strong feelings from two (broadly speaking) camps in particular:

1 the 'Starmer's @UKLabour are Tory lite'
2 the ONLY way to dislodge the Tories is by supporting Labour.

While sympathetic to both these views, I'm up for a bit more nuance on this..

It wasn't just UKIP who pulled 'the centre' to the Right - Farage & Tice's (no-deal) 'Brexit Party' was formed in November 2018 & (arguably) not only pulled the Tories even further right, but many (mistakenly) believed it would split the Right's vote & help the Left at #GE2019.

Despite some support from George Galloway & the Revolutionary Communist Spiked lot, & despite Farage's promise to field 635 candidates, including himself, in the end the Brexit Party candidates stood down in Conservative-held seats, & ended up with just 2% of the vote & no MPs.

But the media coverage of the Brexit party's policies & opinions was amplified & it saturated news bulletins/papers & popular political discourse: as Giovanni Sartori observed decades ago, minor parties can still serve a critical function through their ‘blackmail’ potential.

This article discusses the impact of Nigel Farage/the Brexit party on #GE2019, & on Britain more generally, arguing his impact was both direct – on votes & seats – and indirect – on the policy agenda.

blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpol…

It's worth reiterating that under our antiquated FPTP electoral system, at #GE2019 the Conservative share of the vote under Boris Johnson went up only 1.4% across the country, almost unchanged from May’s 2017 result, which resulted in a hung parliament.

Farage’s decision to compete in Labour seats, but not Tory ones, was arguably decisive for the #GE2019 outcome. The entrance of UKIP & the Brexit Party also shaped British politics by mobilizing authoritarian-populist forces, polarizing the UK & the policy agenda around Brexit.

Minor parties can & often do impact the policy agenda indirectly, by forcing the mainstream parties to adjust their stances/discourse in response to 'new' concerns - in the case of UKIP/Brexit Party, by parroting & foregrounding the divisive issues of nationalism & immigration.

I appreciate that I articulate some very strong opinions on political issues (!) but I'm increasingly attracted to the spaces where thoughtful, reflective & relatively open-minded people can have more nuanced discussions & hopefully learn from each other.

https://twitter.com/docrussjackson/status/1505692701559296000?s=20&t=ftjFbWw4SZrfv-91iXarfQ

I'm open to having my opinion shifted on whether or not it's a good or bad idea to push for a new, national, Corbyn-led political party. I'll listen to anyone who offers considered & respectful responses. But if you're rude, I'll just block you, as life is too short. 👍