Jeremy Corbyn is the current leader of the Labour Party in the United Kingdom. Furthermore, he is the current Leader of the Opposition in the United Kingdom, having outperformed expectations to strengthen not just his own position but also that of his political party in the recent elections.
Here are five things that you may or may not have known about Jeremy Corbyn:
He Is a Democratic Socialist
In his own words, Corbyn is a democratic socialist, meaning that he supports the social ownership of the means of production but seeks to promote his position through democratic means. This is in stark contrast with Marxist-Leninist socialism, which tends to be non-democratic in nature. In more practical terms, Corbyn’s political stance translates to support for the reversal of recent cuts to public services, the reversal of recent cuts to funding for social programs, and the renationalization of public utilities.
He Is Anti-War
Technically, Corbyn is willing to support a war provided that he feels that there is sufficient justification for it, with one example being the use of the British Navy to enforce the British ban on the Atlantic slave trade in the 19th century. However, he has high standards for what counts as a justified war, with the result that he has opposed the war in Afghanistan, the war in Iraq, military intervention in Libya, and military intervention in Syria. Unsurprisingly, Corbyn is anti-nuclear weapons as well, though he is practical enough to have allowed a free vote for Labour MPs when the issue of replacing Trident came up in 2016.
He Has Been an Euro-Skeptic in the Past
Most people who pay attention to Brexit will know the existence of right-wing Euroskeptics, but it is important to note that there are left-wing Euro-skeptics as well, as shown by Corbyn’s expressed sentiments along said lines in the not so distant past. In the lead-up to the referendum in 2016, Corbyn campaigned for the United Kingdom to remain in the European Union, but since that time, he has made moves suggestive of support for Brexit, though it is uncertain whether that is because of his personal beliefs or because of Labour’s political considerations.
Famous for His Rebelliousness as a MP
In recent times, Corbyn’s leadership has been plagued by internal conflicts in the Labour party. This can be seen as rather ironic, seeing as how Corbyn was famous for his own rebelliousness when he was still just a MP and nothing else. An attempt to dislodge him through a vote of no-confidence in 2016 fell flat when he managed to increase his vote share, though recent events make it clear that the tensions have not subsided altogether.
Turned Out to Be a Pretty Good Campaigner
Labour’s internal conflicts was one of the main reasons that Theresa May announced the recent election in an attempt to strengthen her political power by shoring up the Conservative majority at the expense of what had seemed to be a weakening Labour party. Unfortunately for her, her campaigning skills were not up to the task, whereas as it turned out, Corbyn had plenty of experience with political fighting from an inferior position. As a result, Theresa May has been reduced to a majority of just 13 MPs, which is unreliable because critical components of her coalition are fundamentally incompatible. For example, the leader of the Scottish Conservatives Ruth Davidson has a same-sex partner who just happens to be Irish Catholic, whereas the Democratic Unionist Party is a unionist political party that loathes the idea of same-sex marriage. As a result, there is a reasonable chance that Britain will return to the polls at a not too distant time in the future, which could see Corbyn being propelled to the position of Prime Minister.
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