Why I will be voting for Labour in today’s election
This election cycle marks a once-in-a-generation opportunity for seismic change in how we view Britain on the global stage. An incumbent prime minster Boris Johnson, hellbent on delivering a ghastly Brexit to bring an end to the three-year impasse, is ahead in the final polls. Meanwhile, a Labour leader in Jeremy Corbyn doesn’t let Brexit overshadow the contentious issues facing our domestic politics, creeps up from behind. One promises meek proposals in a bid to seduce voters with simple yet effective stump speeches, whilst the other promises radical change for a socially democratic Britain to prosper.
The Labour party as I know it has changed considerably since the neoliberal years of Tony Blair from 1997–2010. Corbyn has revolutionised leftist politics and ran an attuned, although highly controversial, people-powered leadership for the sake of his party and the electorate. He has promised the abolition of austerity in its entirety by; revitalising our public services, appropriately funding the NHS to levels needed, providing free broadband for the nation and investing in one million new industrial jobs for the sake of a greener and cleaner environment. Not only that, a Corbyn-led Labour party pledges to call a second referendum on Brexit to conclude a crisis fuelled by lies and smears by a right-wing populist Johnson government.
Whilst in the throes of opposition, the Labour party has witnessed debilitating cuts on local governments, dilapidated high streets due to online consumerism, an NHS in dire straits and a Brexit withdrawal agreement that threatens an industrious workforce and environmental securities. With Trump delivering a catastrophic administration across the pond, Johnson tries to mirror this by espousing “tough on crime” and migrant-bashing dialogue to win over socially conservative voters. With the polls predicting a narrow Tory majority, I fear the worst for my future and the position of my country.
I believe, that under the fifth richest economy in the world, no-one should go hungry or sleep on the streets. Not one of the four million children living in poverty should have to face a future with the same hardship. No one should have to endure an increasingly polluted planet that is set to exacerbate as the years go on, bringing in famine and civil wars in other parts of the world. For our country to strive, rich in multicultural and trade unionist history, a Labour government with Jeremy Corbyn at the helm is the sole option to defeat these barbarities.
A Labour party soaked in socialist ideology finally calls for the emancipatory politics urged by its predecessors before the Blairite years. Although grappling with claims of antisemitism and a subsequent investigation by an equality commission, Labour can prove its anti-racist roots by eviscerating all antisemitism once it holds the keys to Downing Street. Corbyn has vowed to fight the pervading racist tropes that have scourged his leadership, and being prime minister would give him significant powers to do so.
When I head to the ballot box today and put a cross next to my local Labour candidate, it marks my yearn for a just and equitable society and my nod for Corbynite politics under a broad-church institution. I want a final say on Brexit and a hopeful future for my generation and its offspring. If we all believe in the art of progressivism and being able to fend off revolting populism that grows internationally, a Labour party governed from the left brings us a glimpse of prosperity.
Tactical voting may be crucial in ridding Johnson of a majority, whether that be by voting Liberal Democrat or SNP, but a socialist party dedicated to relieving us from such gross conservatism has the only chance to form a major party government or coalition. I ask voters to vote with their hearts, their traditions and their roots if they are my age or similar. We have a generational chance to end this nightmare.
