Open letter to a departing member

Open letter to a local member who has resigned to join the Labour Party following Jeremy Corbyn's election.

Dear XXXX,

I am sorry to hear of your decision though I do understand your reasons. Corbyn's election is an exciting event that offers hope to all of us who oppose the neoliberal religion and the brutality of the current government. It's reasonable to hope that Corbyn will be able to turn the Labour Party into a party of social justice and ecological responsibility. But it is a hope and far from a certainty.

For Corbyn faces huge problems within his party. Few Labour MPs - not even all his shadow cabinet - actually share his views. There's even a large number of party members in the country who do not. And because so many of his views eg on NATO, Trident, austerity, war, monarchy and Israel, are 'principled' (I won't say extreme as I share most of them!) his leadership will create many occasions for dispute.

The trade unions, his most eloquent supporters, have generally not accepted the central green insight - that the Earth is finite and cannot provide unlimited goods for everyone. In July, for instance, Unite urged the government to allow another runway at Heathrow. Understandable, sure, but not green. The extraordinary surge that brought Corbyn to his current position is not green but red. I can, just, see him riding a wave of popular support to reverse austerity and discipline the banks. But to stop coal burning and protect biodiversity?  I just don't see it.

urged the government to move swiftly and implement the recommendations of the Airports Commission for Heathrow expansion. - See more at: http://www.unitetheunion.org/news/government-urged-to-give-green-light-to-heathrow-expansion-to-boost-jobs-and-the-economy/#sthash.BsvaRNQn.dpuf

urged the government to move swiftly and implement the recommendations of the Airports Commission for Heathrow expansion. - See more at: http://www.unitetheunion.org/news/government-urged-to-give-green-light-to-heathrow-expansion-to-boost-jobs-and-the-economy/#sthash.BsvaRNQn.dpuf

urged the government to move swiftly and implement the recommendations of the Airports Commission for Heathrow expansion. - See more at: http://www.unitetheunion.org/news/government-urged-to-give-green-light-to-heathrow-expansion-to-boost-jobs-and-the-economy/#sthash.BsvaRNQn.dpuf

A really astute leader - another Wilson perhaps - and one who had rebelled less often against his party might be able to keep everyone on the same page. But here his lack of leadership experience will be a serious disadvantage.

There's also a more worrying reason. I don't think his commitment to ecological responsibility is very deep. His paper on the economy speaks repeatedly of growth, eg "Faster growth and higher wages must be key to bringing down the deficit." That's just not consistent with the needs to address climate change and for global economic justice - aims that I'm sure he thinks he supports.

He has also suggested the re-opening of some South Wales coal mines. Now I know that he qualified this with words about sustainability but it's probably the least green energy policy that I can think of. I'm sure he will abandon it but that he should even suggest it is revealing.

So while I see why you want to be part of the change within the Labour Party I won't be joining you. I wish you luck as you take your green values to the rather ungreen Labour Party. I hope you will find ways to make them real.

I'd just ask that you ask yourself once a year - Is the Labour Party actually the right vehicle for those values?

Best wishes,

David