So the morning after the night before. Stoke won. Copeland lost. A feeling of elation at holding off the fascists of UKIP and of intense disappointment that in Copeland at least it appears that some turkeys really do vote for Christmas (or in this case the closure of their own medical facilities.)
We know that feeling of disappointment. We felt it in 2010, when failed neo-liberal policies let a ConDemNation take over our country. And again in 2015, where a failure to recognise the failings of 2010 and to offer a genuine alternative to austerity led to a Conservative government for the first time in 18 years.
But what did we do? Did we mope? Did we throw in the towel and allow the Tories to ride roughshod over us and the disadvantaged and downtrodden of this country? No, we stood back up, we organised, we campaigned and we voted in to the Labour leadership a man of courage and conviction. A man of principle not patronage. He has been battered and blown by the machinations and manoeuvrings of the hard right of Labour, ever since. But he still stands strong, he still continues to espouse the principles that we all believe in. That the wealth of this nation should be shared more equally and that we should help lift up those who fall not kick them back down as they try to rise.
For too long the neo-liberal hegemony has been allowed to espouse the infallibility of the "market", despite crash after crash showing that far from being infallible it has inherent weaknesses and vulnerabilities. The state has had to step in to prevent bank collapses but we feel free to let people fail and fall. The bankers get increased bonuses while those failed by them get cuts and more cuts.
No more. Jeremy Corbyn and the invigorated party membership are here to stay and here to fight. That is the message that we need to carry out into the country today. Let us not mourn the loss of one constituency, galling as that is. But let us redouble our efforts, let us renew our faith in the truth of our message , that in unity we find strength. That together, organised and resilient we will overcome. That this fight is not over but as barely begun.
So today, rest, recuperate, and find your new resolve. Then tomorrow and especially next Saturday 4th March, we fight. We fight for each other and our services, our families, our communities and our NHS.
Forward comrades. Forward.
#UnityMarchUK #UnityMarchNews
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