'On the face of it Labour has changed - but what lies beneath is more than Jeremy Corbyn' - Mark Oaten
Jeremy Corbyn will stand as an Independent in the upcoming General Election
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This week Jeremy Corbyn will be handing in nomination forms to stand as an Independent in the Islington North Constituency.
It’s a seat he has represented for over 40 years as a Labour MP. Now all that’s about to change.
It’s a remarkable fall from grace and he will no doubt look back nostalgically at the days when concertgoers chanted his name at Glastonbury and a wave of enthusiasm for the left winger swept the country after he became Labour Leader.
Fast forward five years and his isolation is complete.
After its disastrous 2019 election defeat, the Labour party had a choice.
Swing left in the face of another Tory majority or take the Blair approach and re-brand with New Labour mark two.
Enter Keir Starmer, the safe face of Labour.
He will be delighted that Corbyn is standing as an Independent, what a perfect symbol to show the party has got rid of the mad left and lurched to the centre.
It's "the others in his party Keir Starmer needs to worry about," writes Mark Oaten MP
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Corbyn was a gift to the Tories that they will miss this time around.
Many moderate Conservatives tempted to switch to the Lib Dems were simply too scared it would let Corbyn in.
I remember canvassing solid Lib Dem voters who were so fearful of a left-wing Government that they were going to hold their noses and back Boris.
Now that fear factor has gone.
Starmer is the ideal brand ambassador for post-Corbyn Labour. So dull and bland that nobody can take offence.
The Tories will spend the next five weeks warning voters that Labour has not changed. But it’s going to be hard to make it stick.
Claiming Labour will put up taxes and be bad for the economy is simply not going to wash with voters still suffering from high interest rates following the Liz Truss budget debacle.
On the face of it, Labour has changed. But what lies beneath?
Can they get through the campaign saying nothing and offending nobody or will a trade union or maverick candidate show Labour's true colours?
I remember Paddy Ashdown telling me being Leader of a party during an election campaign was like carrying a rare crystal vase from one room to another - you just want to get to the other side without it all smashing around you.
Starmer will be holding that vase and I doubt he will drop it.
It’s the others in his party he needs to worry about.
Elections are often turn-on moments when the script is off.
So far it seems Labour's lurch to the safe centre ground is nearly complete and it comes at a time when the Conservatives face calls to abandon that ground and move further right.
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Jeremy Corbyn will be handing in nomination forms to stand as an Independent in the Islington North Constituency
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It is the perfect backdrop for a Labour victory. But I sense a problem.
Will voters think Starmer is a left-winger dressed up as a moderate? No. But will they think he has no values and will simply say what is needed to win? Yes.
The acceptance of the Tory defector Natalie Elphicke is a prime example. A confident and principled Labour Leader would have simply said thanks but no thanks.
A 20-point lead is a very expensive vase to drop.
Having Corbyn and his fellow lefties out of the party makes it much more likely Starmer can indeed get over the finishing line intact- but any sniff of old-fashioned socialism in the next few weeks could make things a bit more nerve-wracking.