Yesterday's events were a long time coming. 12 MPs at the last counting resigned from the Shadow Cabinet. It was not of a matter of if, but when. The damage they have done is irreparable.
The country is still reeling from the shock of the EU Referendum result. People are still in shock and they refuse to believe it. 3 million people have signed a petition to try and hold a second referendum.
In these uncertain times, the country needs leadership and direction. People voted against the EU for a number of reasons. One of the was to say enough. Enough of the neoliberal market forces that cost jobs in the UK and impoverish communities. Enough of the self-imposed austerity that decimated already impoverished communities. Enough of the Westminster elite that promises and never delivers. Enough of the political choices that drive wealth to the few, leaving the many behind. The north and the south west of England voted out to show they are still here and that they still matter.
In this, they needed Labour. The only party that represents people and not a small wealthy elite. They needed Labour to voice and express their anger. They needed Labour to hold the Brexiteers to account so that they deliver their pre-referendum promises or unmask them for the liars they are. Within 48 hours post-referendum, almost every prominent figure of the Leave campaign has denounced the pledge to repatriate £350 million and spend it on the NHS.
Instead of a united Labour to rise above and reassure the public we get a mutiny against the leader with the biggest personal mandate of all Labour leaders ever. The attack was self-serving and egotistic, borne out of personal ambition that a drive for the goodwill of the country. In this time of need, 12MPs have failed the Party and their members.
Was Jeremy Corbyn at fault for not convincing enough Labour voters to vote Remain? If he was at fault for trying to convince people ravaged by poverty to support Cameron, the man who inflicted poverty and indignity to them, then surely others are. Margaret Hodge should be at fault as well for failing to convince her constituents to vote Remain, the one of only three London boroughs to vote out. All other MPs in the Midlands and the North should be at fault for their constituents voting Out. They represent them, they are responsible for them, they should know.
The chickens came home to roost. In an election where every vote counted, every vote did. People revolted against a ruling party that has driven them to the ground for decades.
Let us be clear on one thing. The current situation is purely of a Tory making. If anyone is to be blamed for this, it is the Conservatives. It was David Cameron's idea to hold the referendum when only a fringe minority was asking for it to appease his own party. It was Boris Johnson a previously declared Europhile that supported Brexit to further his own political ambitions and force a Conservative leadership election. If their country's economy and global standing has to be sacrificed in his quest of become Tory leader, so be it. It is the Conservatives' prominent figures that campaigned on promises they have denied making within 24 hours of the election result.
Yet, instead of making this abundantly clear, we saw the tree and lost the forest. We blamed the Labour Party leader against the people actually at fault.
The situation at the Labour Parliamentary Party has been a long time coming. We have moved so far to the right, that socialism is now considered a dirty word for some in the Labour Party. The PLP has not yet recovered from Jeremy's election on a platform of ending austerity, of looking after the workers again of ensuring those left behind the last 3 decades are actually again heard again. People were taken for granted and MPs sitting on safe seats still take them for granted. The Labour party has lost millions to far right UKIP. It has lost Scotland. It has lost Opposition in Scotland. Yet, some still act like they represent the majority and fail spectacularly to understand the people the Labour party represents.
The Labour Party's strength is its base, its people, the hundreds of thousands of their members. The PLP is representing them and takes its power from them. To ignore their mandate on the Leader of the Labour Party is to ignore them.
In a time where the country is craving leadership and unity, some MPs have shown none and they have prevented their Leader form showing any. For them it is preferable to lose an election than win an election with Corbyn at its helm. They are looking for a scapegoat to blame their own shortcomings.
A day of reckoning has come. I am not certain though, it is for Jeremy Corbyn.