Suddenly we are in the thick of a populist moment, with all the giddiness that entails. Labour’s unexpectedly good showing in the British general election has led to an abrupt and dramatic widening of horizons, in the middle of which Gramsci is quoted casually by broadsheet journalists and the possibility of a socialist prime minister seems tantalizingly within reach.

Leftists in the United Kingdom and throughout the world must allow themselves a moment of dangerous dreaming at this point. “Sensible Labour” has had its day. Over the last month the long-held belief that we should value pragmatism above all else has dwindled rapidly. Indeed, a tragic irony of 2017 is that the late Mark Fisher — who argued so passionately that radical change in the twenty-first century would be sparked by a decisive rejection of “capitalist realism” — is not around to witness how quickly strategic caution is making way for outbreaks of effusive idealism.

The Corbyn surge undoubtedly marks the maturation point of a new and remarkable form of left-populism. But it was not quite popular enough to break through to power on June 8. Is the momentum now with Corbyn to do so at the next time of asking, as current opinion polls show? Or are there deeper structural weaknesses in Labour’s strategy?