So yesterday Theresa may surprised everybody she announced a general election that’s
right ladies and gentlemen, the biggest extravaganza in Britain’s borefest politics is on June
the 8th when we can change the face of this country forever six weeks not long six weeks
one month after the local elections one year after Brexit referendum two years after the
last general election in May 2015 why only six weeks why so short after all parties can
barely print manifestos people can barely register to vote well I’ll tell you why
it’s because she’s a weak useless politician with little charisma even fewer ideas she’s
guarded and cosseted by a craven media and British establishment who are desperate desperate
for nothing to change in the face of everything changing from Scotland to Ireland Europe to
Britain’s failed turgid useless economic model which doesn’t provide much for anybody
these days they want it to to stay the same and she’s the face of that only it can’t
and just like that with that short run in that was compounded of course when she refused
to take part in any hustings leadership debates with the other leaders of the parties why
has she done that?
because she’s weak she’s brittle any possibility of being exposed to the British public must
be immediately walked away from okay the more we see of Theresa May the more the British
public won’t like her that’s why you’re not going to see much from her on your television
over the course of the next month and a half but put that to one side put how terrible
and dreadful she is to one side what is absolutely beyond contestation is that this general election
offers an amazing opportunity quite frankly between two distinct political offers
on the one hand you have the British prime minister Theresa May who in her voting record
and her tenure as home secretary is a xenophobe and a racist of the first order
she has zero to offer on the big problems which affect you: housing, pay, public services
you want more money in your pocket?
she ain’t gonna do it okay she ain’t gonna do it
she’s only out there in politics for the wealthy for the 1% she’s craven herself
to the powerful on the other hand you’ve got Jeremy Corbyn
he’s actually serious about taking into public ownership (imagine that) key industries
like energy, rail, key industries why? because he wants them to serve the people
rather than be subordinated to profit he doesn’t want you to be a cash cow for
the rich he wants you to enjoy quality excellent services at the cheapest possible price
and who could disagree with that right?
in addition to that he’s been a socialist and he’s championed human rights his entire
political career okay so we’ve got two really distinct offers
on the plate May and Corbyn
Barbarism and Socialism so what I’d say to progressive, socialists
on the Left, they’ll be looking at the polls they’ll be looking at the bookies odds and
they’ll be saying Corybn has no chance this is terrible this is a nightmare scenario we’re
really neck deep in this well look if Corbyn won this general election
if Labour were to form the next government that would be the biggest political upset
since the second world war and I include Clement Atlee in 1945 I include François Mitterrand
in 1981 it would be unparalleled as a blow to the global order os of course his odds
are going to be terrible what you think he’s gonna be in a limousine driving to parliament
and the bookies you know are throwing confetti after him and saying “the guy’s odds on
to win” that was never going to be what this looks like
regardless we have six weeks now to talk about creating a completely different
kind of economic and social model okay
it’s once in a generation once in a lifetime you get a mainstream politician talking to
the country allowing us as socialists as communists as radicals to catalyse different kinds of
conversations about how to run society so if we do nothing these next six weeks let’s
do that because quite frankly the alternative on offer of borders of poverty of misery of
public services being privatised and outsourced more and more as years go by really is too
grim to think about this might not be the solution to all our
problems but the conversations we have in the next month and a half may lead to the
beginning of something else we really haven’t got a choice