Terms take four to five years, then the Right wins.
That – with a few exceptions – has been the pattern of politics in Europe since the financial crisis. Outside the European periphery and in the United States, the high watermark of the Left is 32 per cent – enough for Antonio Costa, of Portugal, to take power in a coalition. Costa was the Left’s most successful politician – the second-most was Ed Miliband.
The social and industrial base of left politics faces a period of at worst crisis and at best transition.
So what future for the Left? That’s the theme of a series of linked pieces on the New Statesman, from trade unionists, MPs, academics and think-tankers will tackle the question of what future – if any – the left has in the 21st century. In Britain, is it within the Labour party? Or outside it? Does the route to salvation for the British Left lie in electoral reform?
In a mixture of new works and pieces from our archive – never before seen on the web – we tackle this question all this week.
Nadine Houghton Trade Unions are more important than ever
Liam Young The future of the left is here – and it’s Jeremy Corbyn
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