LONDON (Labour Buzz) - There comes a time in every politician’s life when their moment at the top comes to an end. What they do in this time, is often extremely interesting and tells us a lot about the kind of person they really are. Tony Blair for example, decided to cosey up to the Murdoch’s, Nick Clegg set out to shill for Facebook while a former member of the independent group for a change decided to stand up for the rights of hard-pressed debt collectors.
Jeremy Corbyn has started a Peace Project. The Corbyn Project will launch in January and aims to bring people together in support of environmental justice, peace and internationalism. It was said the former Labour leader, aims to ‘create a future which works for the many, not the few.’
“The aim of the Peace and Justice Project will be to bring people together for social justice, peace and human rights in Britain and across the world,” said Corbyn. “It’s there to create space, hope and opportunity for those campaigning for social justice and a future that works for the many, not the few.”
The project will launch with a global conference on January 17 featuring Labour peer Christine Blower, the Unite union leader, Len McCluskey, and the Labour MP Zarah Sultana. It has received widespread backing from figures on the left.
“While we spend billions of dollars making war around the world, we spend virtually nothing making peace,” Andrew Feinstein, Director of Corruption Watch UK, in a promotional video.
“We need new ideas, we need new policies we need new voices who are going to stand up for this,” added Andrew Scattergood, Co-Chair of Momentum and firefighter.
Rafael Correa, the former president of Ecuador also welcomed the initiative. “Coronavirus has shown again how neoliberalism is incapable of dealing with the huge crisis our societies face. Now, more than ever, we need to be united in our struggles across the world against neoliberalism and inequality.”
Equally notable is the silence on these issues coming from the centre. With Starmer pushing Johnson in the polls, and Biden about to become President centrists are on the rise. However, at a time when people are crying out for change, they more than anyone, are standing in the way.
People hoped that the pandemic would be a chance to reset the system. Only a tiny minority want a return to normal after the pandemic. They hope for a world in which the poor are supported, the climate protected and in which the economy works for everyone.
What they’ve got is a world which looks likely to double down on the inequalities of the past. A recent report found that rich countries were hoarding the vaccine. The study from the People’s Alliance found that while wealthy nations such as the US had bought enough vaccine to inoculate their population many times over, poorer nations could go without a vaccine throughout 2021.
Calls for the vaccine to be made universal have been ignored, despite the UN’s commitment that healthcare should be a right for everyone. Pfizer will make millions. The rich will have vaccination on-demand while the poorest and most vulnerable will be abandoned.
Meanwhile, calls for peace are ignored. Arms sales to Yemen continue in this country with minimal opposition. Frightened of losing socially conservative voters, the current leadership of the Labour party seems terrified of standing up for social justice or even the environment.
We’re left in a strange situation where Boris Johnson has made more positive statements on the environment than his ‘progressive’ opponent.
There will be those instinctively shy away from this project because of the name above the door. But they are proving to be part of the problem. The Project for Peace addresses issues which affect everyone, the climate, poverty and healthcare among others.
The pandemic has provided an opportunity for a reset; to promote another way of doing things. It is vital that we take this chance because if we do not the results can be catastrophic. Poverty is rising everywhere. Two-thirds of people struggle to make ends meet through the month. Having a job no longer guarantees you’ll stay out of poverty.
The climate is collapsing. Despite all the bold talk from the Paris Climate Accords, which the US promises to re-join, progress is slow. Most countries are way behind on its targets to meet net-zero.
Even so, many of these issues have been pigeonholed as ‘left-wing issues’. That’s a damning assessment of everyone else because it often seems as if it’s only the left who is talking seriously about them.
The good news is that public sentiment is behind campaigns such as this. Even as the establishment seeks to close the door on progress, people are demanding action on the climate, better conditions and more equality.
It’s time these people were given a voice and brought together to share ideas. Jeremy Corbyn’s Peace Project is just one of many initiatives designed to do that. As such, it should be welcomed with open arms. That so many people will scoff and turn their backs is a sad indictment of where progressive politics has got to.
If nothing else, we should applaud a politician who has shied away from the usual root of cashing in to do something which genuinely benefits people and the planet.
You can find out more about the project by following it on Twitter: @corbyn_project.
(Written by Tom Cropper, Edited by Klaudia Fior)