With recent voting trends showing a shocking increase in support for the far right amongst the UK and the significant potential for the ultranationalist extremist Reform Party (along with several other extreme minority groups that are even further to the right) to form the next government, one would assume that the left are all in agreement on one thing: the need for the to come together and present a true socially conscious alternative. To some extent, this is true, however the sectarianism amongst the different left wing parties, as well as the infighting that takes place within individual parties themselves, conflict can arise with regard to this. This largely relates to their individual methods and the ways in which they appeal to a specific demographic and work around a niche. As a result, this is clear to see when looking at the recent implosion of Corbyn and Sultana’s new party, and Sultana appearing to have gone under fire for her exclusion of socially conservative people from the running of the party, and the conflict that has been observed both inside and outside of the party regarding her methods. This post will observe the importance of unity amongst the UK’s political left, and the means by which division amongst them can be reduced, as well as hint at the potential possibility of success in the formation of a coalition government between the main leftist political groups and how to achieve this.
With the left wing and far left spanning a broad range of ideologies, several of the parties that consider themselves as such may appear to have more dogmatic and theoretical emphasis compared with other regions of the political spectrum. This can be observed through a supposedly more academically inclined demographic better versed in political theory, perhaps, therefore, appealing less to much of the UK’s less politically engaged working class population, and so establishing a clear class divide amongst voters. This appears to also directly contrast yet be heavily reflective of the demographic characteristics of the far right in UK politics, as well as their means of gaining voters. With an emphasis on fear and anger demonstrated through putting the blame onto other minority groups, as opposed to devising means of adapting to and working around the issues posed by the current political situation, this presents for a lack of intuition and for an unempathetic stance to be clearly evident amongst these individuals, considering that the social influence of antagonised minority groups would prove to be unlikely to support their own vested interests. This is likely what most attracts originally apolitical individuals or those who feel that they cannot relate to any other political theory, yet look to supposedly strong leadership by individuals who misguidedly appear to have found the solution to the social issues that affect them (although the conclusions they have come to appear to quite obviously lack nuance and be merely centred around manipulation through group mentality, and the spreading of misinformation). This can thus prove to falsely represent true working class orientated values, as well as unfairly represent the UK's working class population collectively, further presenting an interest in leftist politics and the theory behind them to remain somewhat elitist. As a result, this can be reduced by presenting these values in a way that is more palatable to a wider audience with less emphasis on ideology and political jargon. This can be demonstrated by putting greater emphasis on working class issues, grassroots initiatives, and simple apolitical priorities that would appeal to any individual looking for improved standard of living. While I do not wish to advocate for the making radical left groups appear more moderate (in fact I would even go so far as to consider the rise in support for centrist liberal political parties as dangerous as the increasing support for the right- as in they are too broad in their supporters and so could be either extremely socialist liberal, or purely socially conscious conservatives thus being more inclined to decide their policies based on what makes them most electable, therefore failing to bring about any real change), or the welcoming of socially conservative individuals into political leadership, I feel that this is fundamental in achieving successful revolution of existing systems and power structures.
Equally, reducing the sectarianism amongst the political left, in that clear conflict with regard to policies, methods and leadership has caused further division and greater infighting amongst individuals involved with leftist populist political leadership has been a large reason for their implosion. Considering the clear similarities and overlap between these political groups’ core values and the demographic they attract, it would make considerably more sense to unite them and encourage them to collectively collaborate on policy, as well as it being clear that in doing this, the significantly greater number of voters and potential seats gained by individuals on the left would be so much greater than for those on the right and far right. As can be seen with the political compass shown above in this post, many of the main leftist and left leaning political groups in the UK (although varying with regard to the extent of their liberal characteristics and whether they put greater emphasis on social or economic policy) are very much concentrated within the same quadrant, the overlaps between each of them being very obvious. This could thus provide potential for a coalition government between several of these groups to perhaps be effective in uniting the left and increasing their parliamentary representation.
All in all, the key issues with the division and polarisation of the left and their under representation amongst specific demographics appear to largely be reflective of cultural and socioeconomic differences between the left and right wing voters, and their lack of unity amongst each other. This I feel can be effectively rectified by resolution of conflict through reduction of sectarianism and the finding of common ground between the parties and the voters, so as to allow for their accessibility to previously liberal and right leaning voters, and to limit internal conflicts and infighting which may potentially hinder their ability to gain support from the public.
