Jezza still has a long way to go...

Corbyn a day after the 8th June 2017 general election

Jeremy Corbyn has exceeded many people's expectations. He wrote off every commentator who predicted a dramatic defeat for the Labour Party he led in the general election last month. Since then, his fame has risen beyond his wildest dreams with praise aimed at his positive campaigning and the empathetic handling of the recent attack in Manchester and the tragedy at Grenfell Tower. And who can forget his performance at Glastonbury, worthy of a Grammy nomination? Because of all this, Labour now leads the Conservatives in some polls, should there be an election right now.

That said, I feel Corbyn-fever must be contained. 'Our Jezza' has a long way to go to convince the majority of the public that he is the right man to lead a government and the country. It is really difficult to clearly view his chances of walking into 10 Downing Street with a mandate simply because of the current Prime Minister, Theresa May's apparent lack of popularity. For him to even imagine winning an election right now would be political suicide - he cannot afford to be complacent or excited by his surge.

Corbyn has done really well to mirror the campaigns of Bernie Sanders in the United States and Justin Trudeau in Canada. While Sanders didn't succeed in his bid to become President, he bought a new, refreshing dynamic to a system that has been busting for change. Corbyn learned from that and transformed his image to the point of impressing critics from his own party. This must not only be commended, but respected too.

Tory and Lib Dem coalition lasted full parliament

We cannot determine when the next general election will be. Some commentators predict as soon as this October, due to its current arrangement. But many thought the Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition between 2010 and 15 (led by David Cameron and Nick Clegg, pictured) wouldn't last. Regardless of whether this government agreement will run its five year course or not, Corbyn has lots to do before even thinking about leading another election campaign.

Firstly, Corbyn must unite every Labour MP to hold the current Conservative government to account. The current parliament differs to that of the Tory-majority Theresa May part-led for the 12 months previous to the election just past. She now has the DUP - Democratic Unionist Party - of Northern Ireland to work closely with. Politically, they, led by Arlene Foster, are similarly aligned to the Conservatives, but both don't hold the same beliefs. If you explore these further, and I'll use an example of one of their prominent MPs, Nigel Dodds, he voted against the £9,000 tuition fee increase and against the rise in VAT from 17.5% to 20% in June 2010. The party is also anti-abortion, where many Tories are pro-choice.

It is somewhat clear that both parties differ when it comes to higher education, taxing and - to an extent - the welfare state. Would these policy areas be put to one side during this parliament in order to avoid internal conflict? With their arrangement, the Tories rely on DUP to vote for their proposed policies, or the 'deal' they made goes up in smoke. Labour need to highlight these and push their thoughts on how these differences could result in May making dramatic compromises to promises she made in her party's manifesto.

Of course, with the DUP at the centre of British politics, this has brought Northern Ireland back at the heart of discussions. I'll explain on what this means for the EU exit later, but it's fair to say this part of the nation was the elephant in Corbyn's election campaign room. His reported associations with the IRA during the 1980s was under intense scrutiny. Despite him condemning 'all conflicts', including that of IRA, it didn't stop the papers twisting words. Because of their influence, I know Labour lost crucial votes. The DUP opposed the IRA, yet chose not to be involved in the final Good Friday Agreement in 1998 that led to the end of bloody conflict in Ireland.

Even if Corbyn was ashamed of his IRA links, I suggest he emphasises his honesty about it and rise above it if anyone were to press him on the issue. I would also suggest him to convince Sinn Fein - who are considered his allies - to end their nearly 100 years Westminster boycott and hold DUP to account in the House of Commons.

Corbyn has a duty to hold this authority, and because of the increased support he has within his party, compared to 12 months ago, this gives him the affirmation to do so. His authority must be clear and honest - and this should continue throughout the debate on Europe coming up. Last week, 49 Labour MPs defied Corbyn by voting against his wishes to abstain from an amendment in the Queen's Speech which determines the type of EU exit some sought. Chuka Umunna, among others, want a 'soft Brexit' which would result in Britain having near full access to the Single Market and Customs Union.

Arlene Foster (Image: Belfast Telegraph)

Personally, I thought Corbyn was right to abstain. While I find it paramount Britain has effective access to both Market and Union, seeing as the EU exit negotiations have only just begun, we have absolutely no idea what will come out of it. Theresa May doesn't, Brussels representatives are none the wiser. This amendment vote was ill-timed, and if Corbyn had that true internal authority and credibility, he would have set a timetable whereby this campaign Umunna championed was set much later in the negotiating process, once we have an idea where Britain's positions lay. It certainly rattled the Tories a little. I'm sure that also the DUP will want to keep the government on their toes too. While their MPs are 'Leave' voters, they want a 'soft' border between Northern and Republic of Ireland, so Theresa May is wary of the waters she's treading on.

This Conservative / DUP agreement has so many holes and nobody is more aware of this than May or Arlene Foster. They know this EU exit must go to plan and they know either (or both) must compromise on their beliefs. The Tories have most to lose and DUP politicians are fully aware of this. Whether Corbyn can maintain his momentum - without distraction from that Momentum, who are another matter altogether - he'll have to just keep going.

Corbyn needs to realise supporters of SNP, Liberal Democrats, Greens and Plaid Cymru wouldn't tactically vote the way they did on 8th June in every election. Labour can't rely on them as easily as they did before. Whenever the next election will be, should Jeremy Corbyn remain opposition leader, Labour should up their campaign ante from the replication of Bernie Sanders, and towards that of Emmanuel Macron's stunning victory in France earlier this spring.