A move to the left

The stock exchange tumbled and sterling took a dip on the world markets all because Jeremy Corbyn looks set to be named leader of the Labour Party. There is concern in business circles, and meanwhile the Conservatives have the champagne on ice and are ready to celebrate. But why is there so much concern about Corbyn? In Majorca, the anti-austerity far-left party Podemos won 10 seats in the Balearic parliament at the last local election. Now, some of their policies make Corbyn look like a Tory but at the end of the day it was the democratic process. A substantial number of people living in the Balearics thought that Podemos could do a better job than the mainstream parties. It is the will of the people. Like it or not. If Corbyn is elected, it will have been the will of the majority of Labour Party voters. After years of recession and cutbacks perhaps politics needs to change. In Spain we are seeing the rise of the smaller left-wing parties and in Britain a man, who is very much to the left of former prime ministers Gordon Brown and Tony Blair, looks set to be elected. In some ways the recession is to blame. The get-rich-quick-policies of the past which led to the crash left many feeling disenchanted; the system appeared to be broken. Before the crash socialist parties were moving to the centre; now they are moving to the left. Changing times but at the end of the day it is the will of the people and the electorate.