Corbyn, Momentum, and the death of bipartisanship

A few weeks ago a prominent, and one of my favourite, MP’s was killed in cold blood by a right wing fanatic. It was a horrifying event, one that should never be forgotten or repeated. And yet despite this, it is the Corbynite group that is the most terrifying force in politics right now.

It’s sheer insanity, nothing more, nothing less. The country has never been more divided, geographically, culturally and socially. And yet apparently its definitely appropriate to smash in a couple of windows and send death threats to people who disagree with you, all whilst claiming to be better than those people.

It is the Corbynite group that is the most terrifying force in politics right now

My problem with Corbynites is not what they believe in. That, in of itself, could never be a problem, even though I am a devout moderate. My problem comes from the immoderacy of of fanatical belief, the the argument that anyone who has a separate belief is morally wrong, intellectually inferior, must be punished; must be stopped.

It’s the last one that frightens me the most. The ‘must be stopped’. It makes me sit and wonder, when will the next murder happen? When will someone else die for someone else’s beliefs? When will it be justified with ‘the greater good’ like a surreal parody of Hot Fuzz?

My problem comes from the immoderacy of of fanatical belief, the the argument that anyone who has a separate belief is morally wrong, intellectually inferior

I’m not claiming that all Corbynites are potential murderers, although metaphysically, I suppose everyone is. Nor am I trying to suggest that Corbyn supports any of the extreme actions of his followers; I suspect the opposite holds true. No, what I’m saying is that the hard left has as much potential terrorism as anyone else; they’re just much more willing to ignore it.

The simple, irrefutable fact is that right now, the majority of Britain is not aligned with Momentum. We’re a country of centre -right moderates. Everything reflects this – polls, elections, the EU referendum, even.

The hard left has as much potential terrorism as anyone else; they’re just much more willing to ignore it

And Labour really don’t seem to care about that. It’s protest over the people, and ultimately, party over protest. To have an unflinching view is not an achievement; that’s simply dogma.

A group willing to ignore the will of the people because of their perceived intellectual superiority is simply a group of dictators. It can’t be anything less, because it’s certainly not democratic. Now, people want to ignore democracy because they believe that democratic outcomes are a mistake. They are very, very wrong. We’ve never really had any good dictators in this world; I very much suspect that that will never change.

To have an unflinching view is not an achievement; that’s simply dogma

This is an era of severe, unadulterated partisan politics. It doesn’t really matter what you believe in; it matters who you vote for. And that’s relatively fine, if you accept that what comes with that is an undeniable and inescapable dichotomy. And if you accept that, everyone will hate that dichotomy as well.

At least, right now, the Tories are giving some scope to allow people different views. Call them amoral, call them what you like, but they’re not telling people what to believe. Corbyn is; Momentum is. And sod the lot of you, because we know better.

At least, right now, the Tories are giving some scope to allow people different views

I don’t want Momentum. I don’t want death threats and bricks, slurs and sexism, all hidden behind a thin veneer of sickening moral superiority. It doesn’t matter what I want. It doesn’t matter what the ‘thick’ general public wants either. It matters what Momentum wants. And because of that, because of everything, I am genuinely, actually, afraid.