Elected as the Labour leader on Saturday, Jeremy Corbyn received almost 60% of the vote in a landslide victory.
Despite the criticism and abusive warnings from Tony Blair, Corbyn achieved a bigger win than even he managed back in 1994
Politics.co.uk reports: The scale of Corbyn’s victory was the final insult to the man whose repeated interventions in this race did more to secure Corbyn’s win than anything the man himself did in recent months.
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And that scale should not be underestimated. It was the biggest win for the Labour left in its history. Even Ken Livingstone’s defeat of Frank Dobson in 2000 pales in comparison. And it was all done in the face of massive opposition from the Labour establishment and almost every newspaper in the country.
As a result the Labour party is now irrevocably changed. It is no exaggeration to describe today’s outcome as a revolution. The era of Blair and Brown and their followers is now well and truly over. New Labour is not just dead, but cremated and blown before the wind.
So much for all the talk about £3 ‘entryists’ stealing the leadership. Corbyn won massively among full members. pic.twitter.com/KrPBlhtmIX
— Adam Bienkov (@AdamBienkov) September 12, 2015
In the coming days, weeks and months, Corbyn will cement his power within the party, bringing in loyal allies both in front and behind the scenes. Party structures will be altered and policy-setting procedures changed in order to fundamentally reshape Labour in his vision. For all the talk of ‘bringing the party together’ this is unlikely to be a gradual change of heart. This will – to paraphrase Blair – be full-scale heart surgery.
There are many dangers to such radical change. Further resignations of shadow Cabinet members are certain and defections are also possible. The attacks on Corbyn and his party both from inside and outside the party are likely to be brutal and relentless. No former Labour leader will have ever faced a more difficult task than Corbyn faces now.
Is he up to it? We should find out very soon. Within just one week, he will have to form a new shadow Cabinet, carry his party through a number of difficult votes and face David Cameron at prime minister’s questions. Every slip-up he makes will be magnified and pored over. Every word he utters will be analysed and denounced.
Tony Blair also came under fire on social media after Corbyns victory…
During the campaign, Blair had ridiculed those in the party who said their heart was urging them to support Corbyn.
“When people say: ‘My heart says I should really be with that politics’, get a transplant,” Blair said.
Those words have now come back to haunt him as Corbyn supporters took to Twitter to troll Mr Blair in the wake of his victory.
Hahaha @tonyblairoffice that is a lot of heart transplants
— Olivia (@Ms_OliviaL) September 12, 2015
Will it be Jeremy Corbyn who now performs a ‘heart transplant’ on the Labour party?
