Bill Shorten Is Not Jeremy Corbyn
For both the Australian and British Labor Parties, 2019 was a year of defeat. Neoliberals in both countries drew a trite, predictable conclusion: Jeremy Corbyn and Bill Shorten were too radical. Not only are the parties incomparable, but the Australian example proves that a centrist would have lost just as badly.
Then leader of the Opposition and the Australian Labor Party Bill Shorten concedes defeat following the results of the federal election at Hyatt Place Melbourne on May 18, 2019 in Melbourne, Australia. (Scott Barbour / Getty Images)
I was working in my union’s Darwin office when the UK election results rolled in. Despite the tropical humidity, Britain’s winter reached halfway around the world and lodged itself in my guts. I was reminded of another cold night of electoral disappointment in May, as I stood with comrades at Trades Hall in Melbourne, watching working-class electorates swing to Scott Morrison’s Liberal-National Coalition.
Comparing these defeats, difficult though it is, reveals a deeper truth about the vast difference between both parties as well as the deep challenges facing the workers’ movement in both countries.
In both countries, the previous elections were non-defeats that felt more like victories. In winter 2018, the Australian Labor Party (ALP) reined in the conservative majority after only one term of government. In 2017, the British Labour Party (BLP) made historic advances. Both campaigns seemed to promise victory next time; unexpected hung parliaments in Westminster and Canberra gave credence to this optimism. Twice were these hopes dashed in 2019. It was the worst of times, and it was the worst of times.
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