Have you ever known a politician speak at a music festival?

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVGFi8balOM]

Jeremy Corbyn addresses Glastonbury and gets rousing cheer from the crowd. This is the leader of the UK Labour Party. There is no way any other UK politician in recent history would have been able to carry this off.

The bearded 68 year old has real counter-cultural chic these days. Labour dominated the youth vote in the recent UK election as JC appeared on the front cover of The New Musical Express and was backed enthusiastically by London's Grime (hip-hop) scene.

Its because his ideas represent an divergence from politics as usual that have dominated politics over the past few decades. Other Labour politicians compromised with neo-liberalism and represented a soft compromise with Conservative opponents. For decades both parties chaced only affluent middle class swing voters as the country has become more unequal. This has especially hurt the young who now have to pay big tuition fees and are frozen out of the property ladder. Corbyn directly addresses these issues and has created a new wave of left-leaning support which previously did not see the point in voting in elections.

Corbyn also has authenticity. Who wants the political equivalent of an FM radio 'indie' band when you can go listen to some classic rock.

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windinhishair · 61-69, M

I'd vote Labour if I was in the UK. Bernie Sanders is our equivalent in the US and he could pull it off too. Unfortunately, I'm stuck with Trump over on this side of the pond.

Burnley123 · 41-45, M

@windinhishair: Our Conservatives are still in power and we still have Brexit. Corbyn has done remarkably well though and even exceeded the expectations of most of his supporters.

I joined the Labour Party two years ago because of him and I'm really glad that I did.

Do you think that the Sanders wing can change the Democrats?

windinhishair · 61-69, M

@Burnley123: I think they already have. Right now we have our hands full dealing with the dishonesty, dysfunction, and daily attacks on democracy. When that battle is won, perhaps years from now, we'll get back to moving forward as a nation of democracy for all.

Burnley123 · 41-45, M

@windinhishair: I hope so. There does seem to be a divergence between the Sanders wing and the Clintonite wing. I would be on the former side of course.

Labour and the Democrats had a lot in common. Both moved to the right in the 90s as a result of defeats to Reagan Thatcher. Both have divergence between their corporate funded establishments and base etc. Obviously you need to work together against Trump but beating him can't be the end of the issue. I don't think you can truly beat the right by offering politics as usual anyway.

windinhishair · 61-69, M

@Burnley123: Many similarities indeed. We'll never go back to politics as usual. I think the left has learned that we are much closer to an authoritarian regime than anyone thought possible, and the old adage that all it takes for evil to prevail is for good people to do nothing isn't just an adage. We're living it. But we've had the wake up call, and people aren't going to forget it, at least in my lifetime. Diligence moving forward will be the order of the day. While you aren't experiencing the authoritarian aspects that we are, there are many similar issues.

Burnley123 · 41-45, M

@windinhishair: I agree. I also think it helps that Sanders and Corbyn both have such young supporters. They are the future. Also neo-liberalism is choking on its own contradictions.

You are seeing this sharp divergence as a slow-burn fall out of the 2007/08 financial crash. None of this is coincidence and everywhere has a declining centre being eaten by an emergent left and/or authoritarian nationalism. Its a slow-burn 1930s. I am both hopeful and worried. May we live in interesting times.

windinhishair · 61-69, M

@Burnley123: It has been very interesting watching all of this happen. I first became aware of Sanders in the 1980s when he was the Mayor of Burlington, Vermont. I heard him on the radio and said to myself that there was a man telling the truth. I've watched his rise to the House and then Senate and Presidential Candidate, and he hasn't changed a bit. He is absolutely authentic. It is no wonder he attracts the support that he does.

The financial crisis was the final straw as the middle class here, and I presume in the UK, almost disappeared, and we became a nation of haves and have-nots. You certainly can't blame people for choosing a conservative path when their leaders promise a better life. Unfortunately, for the most part it is a false choice, based on contempt for others and assigning blame to other racial, ethnic, or religious groups.

Having read quite a bit about the 1930s, watching history unfold now is like watching an old black and white newsreel. If more people would only read and understand history, we'd be in better shape, but I suppose we have to learn the same lessons again, the hard way.

Burnley123 · 41-45, M

@windinhishair: Agree. I was born at the start of Thatcherism and came of age under Tony Blair's New Labour. I have always been on the left and never felt represented. Generation X are the least political and I was always an outlier. I am pleased that generation Y are changing the game.

windinhishair · 61-69, M

@Burnley123: It is a good thing to see so many young people engaged in politics. The future is in good hands. It will take a great effort to craft the world they want to live in, and as the current situation shows, that effort is never-ending, and things we thought we'd learned 80 years ago we must learn all over again. But life is not worth living without effort, and a personal responsibility to leave the world a better place when your time is up.

Burnley123 · 41-45, M

@windinhishair: Indeed. Good chat. TTYL

windinhishair · 61-69, M

@Burnley123: Cheers. Have a great day tomorrow.

Tibicina · 56-60, F

@windinhishair Poor you. Mind you, we're stuck with the Tory Party in the UK. Hoping we don't have to wait another 5 years to get Jeremy as our PM.