The British general election kicked off on November 6, which means Britons will cast their votes on December 12 — a mercifully concentrated, if intense, political timetable, especially compared to the seemingly endless American campaigns. The Conservatives, the Brexit Party, and the Liberal Democrats are all attempting to focus the campaign on Brexit, while Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party has made their campaign about reversing the decades-long night of austerity.

Boris Johnson launched his campaign in the conservative Daily Telegraph, likening Jeremy Corbyn to Joseph Stalin: “the tragedy of the modern Labour party under Jeremy Corbyn is that they detest the profit motive so viscerally . . . they point their fingers at individuals with a relish and a vindictiveness not seen since Stalin persecuted the kulaks.” Meanwhile, Corbyn began his campaign speaking passionately about the need to commit £400 billion worth of investment to the twin crises of the climate emergency and social deprivation.

To discuss the first days of the election campaign, and the dynamics of the Left’s riposte to Britain’s extreme-center politics, Jacobin Radio’s Suzi Weissman spoke to Tariq Ali.