Putting morals into politics - Corbyn's Mission Impossible

Jeremy Corbyn outside 10 Downing Street (Image: Islington Tribune)

I like this quote from Canadian novelist, John Ralston Saul as quoted in his philosophical essay named 'The Unconscious Civilization': "Whenever government adopt a moral tone - as opposed to an ethical one - you know something is wrong." You can argue that this is a transition Britain may be heading towards. I'm thinking more of a potential Jeremy Corbyn Labour government from 2020.

The thought of Jeremy Corbyn entering 10 Downing Street as Prime Minister has both delighted and horrified people in equal measure. He's only been leader for three weeks and already we've been given so many mixed messages about a man who has been an MP for 32 years and has largely spent this time out of the limelight. He has plunged into the spotlight and despite being reluctant to expose himself personally to the media hounds, he must now surely be aware of the task he has ahead of him.

Corbyn cannot please everyone, he can acknowledge that. During the leadership campaign, I didn't like the way in which the system worked that led him to win ever so convincingly, despite the fact he won among current Labour Party members. The way people in their thousands easily spent £3, claim they 'support Labour Party values' and get away with voting for the Islington North MP. Certainly, a portion of these were former Labour voters who wanted their party back, but others were affiliated with the Green Party who ran away from Labour during Tony Blair's reign, and the Conservative voters who felt Corbyn isn't Prime Minister material and their vote would get the Tories in government 'for another generation'.

Whether the sceptical Conservative voters can see the future or not, they cannot deny how much attention Corbyn has received over the summer and no doubt for the foreseeable future. The press maybe looking at him as a person and politician in a more negative light but I can see Corbyn has a plan - a hugely ambitious plan - to, in his words, introduce a new kind of politics.

It is hard to see at this current moment what he means by 'new kind of politics'. Corbyn defines it simply as politicians forming a sort of government that is kind, caring and genuine, and that our society can reflect on that. In his eyes, for far too long, Britain hasn't offered such. When he was first MP, Margaret Thatcher was heading towards the halfway stage of her 11 year stint as Prime Minister. There was plenty of hostility at that time - the fragile future of the coal mining industry, uncertainty in the Falklands to name a couple of things that was up in the air between 1982 and 84. As time progressed, the war in certain Middle East countries, which UK partly funded, fuelled, military intervention in Bosnia and former Yugoslavia for example in the 1990s, then the war on terrorism after 9/11 in 2001 that then led to the financial crisis that many countries haven't still recovered from.

Jeremy Corbyn has been a back bencher for this long and all the atrocities around the world, that Britain was (directly and indirectly) part of, was everything that the new Labour leader stood against. It has taken him 32 years to conclude that, apart from the abolishment of Apartheid and the fall of the Berlin Wall, society isn't kind, it isn't caring - and someone, i.e. him, can change that. He is against Trident renewal and nuclear weapons that has seen so many countries suffer - his ambition is to really be a revolutionary, a pioneer in World Peace - his version of World Peace.

I admire Jeremy Corbyn's vision, I really do and I strongly believe that he can achieve this massive goal. It's an international goal which I hope he has a mandate to show how he goes about his conquest. It's going to be a Mission almost seemingly Impossible, however. He needs the backing of the United States, a country he's been critical of in the past. He needs the backing of NATO in which he wants UK to leave. He needs the backing of the European Union in which we don't know of his personal stance on whether Britain should remain a part of. He needs the backing of the United Nations that I believe should be acting on Corbyn's vision. Basically, he needs to make friends with the World - and as he is an unknown man, a man with only a reputation recognised by one side of the political spectrum.

Corbyn's international goal has received many plaudits and hence an overwhelming majority of Labour Party members voted for him three weeks ago. But this has overshadowed his domestic policies, which has divided opinion. His primary policy here is that he is anti-austerity and wants the nationalisation of the railway, energy companies and banks; taking from the rich through higher taxes and giving it to those not as fortunate. He despises the cuts to public service which is music to the Union's ears - their leaders have voiced their pride in helping him to lead the party today. It is also music to the nurses, fire officers, police officers' ears. In their eyes, while the private sector continue to receive the investment, they are left out somewhat under-resourced and undervalued. They need someone like Corbyn to say the things they want to hear.

These policies are high on morals which I respect and very brave considering politics isn't usually considered this way. However, applying this in Westminster is an even bigger task than delivering World Peace. Too often he has been against government policy - he reportedly voted against 500 Labour policies while Tony Blair and Gordon Brown were Labour Prime Ministers. He has claimed to be the moral MP, voted for rights for humans and has fuelled many people's thoughts that politicians are immoral and criminals. Is being an anti-politics politician the moral way to get into power? It's worth a try but I'm just unsure if the public would be voting for more than 600 MPs in 2020 who think the same. I fear he's fighting a losing battle.

There is no doubt Corbyn is an opposition to the Conservatives who are into privatising everything they touch and cuts to essential services, however at what cost? Is Britain even ready for this change? We've not seen change this dramatic in a very, very long time. I haven't actually made up my mind about Corbyn. I've been critical of him before he won the leadership election, however, seeing the choices he's made, it's really too soon for me to make a final judgement. Jumping on the anti-Corbyn bandwagon is ridiculous at this stage. We are either all behind him, or all against him. For the Conservatives, you can tell the vast majority is in support of their Prime Minister, that's how he makes his decisions so quickly. Corbyn has to unite, and that comes from closer to home before heading international with his vision.