So, Jeremy Corbyn has announced, sort of, that he may be launching a new leftwing party. As a spectator of the Labour Party, I watched Labour in 2017 sing "Oh Jeremy Corbyn" and get carried away by the Leader's presence at Glastonbury. Oh what a wonderful time Labour members were having as they deluded themselves that Corbyn would lead them to victory and a socialist utopia, unencumbered by reality, would be created. And then in 2019, Labour imploded. The rest, as they say, is history.
This has set me thinking about where Labour members in Gateshead stand about the current state of Labour and the possibility of a new leftwing party appearing on the political landscape. Maybe some Labour members will conclude that a beneficiary of a Corbyn party would be Reform. Best not to give it any support as, by supporting Corbyn, they could be helping Farage to win seats. Others may want to relive 2017, confident that they could ride a tidal wave of socialism into power. They would have a warm feeling of socialist purity in their stomachs, a happy time to be had, whatever the consequences politically, just as was the case a few years ago.
I dispute the suggestion that a Corbyn party would only benefit Reform. In Gateshead the battle for the council is between Lib Dems and Labour and both sides tend, though not exclusively, to represent safe seats. Not many change hands. If Labour's vote were split, the hurdle to winning Labour-held seats would be lowered. The main beneficiary of that in Gateshead would be the Lib Dems.
But, would any Labour councillor be tempted to throw in their lot with the Corbyn Party? That's the big unknown. Nevertheless, in the video above, filmed in 2018 at a Gateshead cabinet meeting, you can hear the then deputy leader of the council, Cllr Catherine Donovan, ranting away about the wonders of Corbyn. There was an exchange with me in which I point out how deluded the Corbynites were. Events proved me right and Catherine wrong.
The question now is, are any of the Labour councillors in Gateshead ready to jump ship and rejoin Corbyn? Pragmatism or principles? I suspect pragmatism will prevail but I also expect quite a few Labour retirements next year.