The Labour leadership election victory of Jeremy Corbyn came as a surprise to few. Despite some setbacks in recent weeks, the Corbyn election machine has been rolling forward and the size of his win means that his leadership cannot easily be questioned. But does a Corbyn-led Labour Party mean for those in public affairs?
It is critical to note that despite what the Conservative Party and many in the media may say, his victory does not confine Labour to irrelevance. They are the main opposition party, their MPs chair select committees and they run councils the length and breadth of the country.
Corbyn does though signal a change from the way that the Labour Party has operated for over 20 years, if not longer. The scale and and speed for change remains to be seen. Corbyn knows that as well as putting forward a radical agenda he needs to keep his Party together. He also needs to build his appeal to the wider-electorate.
But there are some early considerations for those in public affairs.
- Check your stakeholder list – as Corbyn puts his Shadow Cabinet together, some familiar faces are already missing and a number of new ones are beginning to emerge. If the belief was that Ed Miliband’s party was ‘anti-business’ then given the names of some of those already announced, not least John McDonnell as Shadow Chancellor, the charge will be even more relevant under Corbyn. Some of the new Shadow Cabinet have made their outright scepticism towards business known for a very long time. Others may be considered more approachable and they could be the focus for engagement.There is also the need to think about those who will have an influence on the party – think tanks, experts, academics etc. Some early ideas need to be gathered from media reports during the leadership campaign, for instance the signatories to the letter supporting Corbyn’s economic policies. It may be through these bodies, rather than via direct engagement, that a genuine policy debate can take place.
- The role of the media – sometimes politicians listen to some well-placed media coverage. It is doubtful whether Corbyn’s Party will. They will be under constant attack from large parts of the media. The media outlet will need careful consideration as will the target of any media coverage.
- Party members – will become an increasing part of any engagement with the Labour Party. Rather than being a centralised policy-making machine, those in public affairs will need to dust off their Party rulebook. The democratic element of policy-making will come to the fore. That means, for instance, knowing and understanding the role of the National Policy Forum. Policies will need to be tracked as they will change, not least in sectors such as energy and transport. A more inclusive approach has been promised which may cross political parties and open opportunities for groups and organisations that have previously found themselves excluded from the work of political parties.
- Party conference – rather than the series of set-piece speeches that it has become in recent years, there is a real danger that the Labour Party conference could become more interesting, with debates and votes taking place. Whether this will play well with the electorate or not, remains to be seen.
- Don’t forget how it may change others – whilst the Conservatives are busy highlighting the dangers of the Corbyn-led party, there is a good chance that they will react in policy or approach terms. So whilst the focus should be on Labour, those in public affairs also need to look for changes across the other parties as well.
It is, of course, too early to map out completely how to engage with this new Labour Party. There is little doubt that it will be radically different and that its leader will be like no other we have seen in modern politics – the antithesis of well-honed and practised key messages and identikit politicians.
How this works electorally has yet to be seen but the size of his win means that there is a constituency out there for Corbyn-style politics. Critically, his nearly 60% of the vote has bought him time to introduce reforms and change the Labour Party.
Maybe ‘New Labour’ has given way to ‘One Labour’?