In the aftermath of the general election, Jeremy Corbyn met with widespread ridicule for saying that the party had “won the argument” in policy terms. After such a crushing defeat, the line went, how could a Labour leader credibly claim that his policies were popular?

Less than a month on, however, the situation has changed. Polling released in the aftermath of the election showed that key pillars of Labour’s policy platform were extremely popular. Support for nationalization of rail, energy, and water had grown massively — even since the 2017 general election. This backed up evidence from the campaign, which found large majorities in favor of things like taxing the rich and giving workers a share of companies. Even the Telegraph had to admit that Corbyn’s platform had substantial appeal.

It’s easy to forget just how far this all is from Labour’s 2015 manifesto. Then, instead of nationalizing the rail, Labour was promising only to review franchising and freeze some fares. Similarly, on energy, the extent of Labour’s ambition was to freeze bills until 2017 and give regulators more powers. Only the really “exploitative” zero-hours contracts were to be banned, plans for an investment bank paled in comparison to what we’ve seen under Corbyn, and instead of a pledge to end the privatization of the NHS (National Health Service), profits were merely to be “capped.” The list could go on.