Letters: Now is the time for the democratic centre to mobilise

Now Jeremy Corbyn and his backers in the Momentum movement want to position themselves as the saviours of the country; saviours from the rigours of austerity, from injustice, poverty, the Establishment, the media, and so on, and so on. As a believer in justice, the elimination of poverty, world peace and everything else decent and honourable you might think I’d be for jumping on the Corbyn bandwagon but, if so, you’d be much mistaken. Reports of the intimidation of Labour MPs, of lukewarm condemnation and half-hearted control of anti-Semitic elements in the party, of the BBC’s chief political reporter needing physical protection while covering Labour’s recent conference because of threats to her person from Labour supporters online, and, above all, the relentless doing-down of the British media, including the BBC, should have us all worried.

These are sinister developments in our political arena which is becoming polarised between the hard Left and Right. The media in the United Kingdom is not perfect, but most people know that an independent media is an essential supportive plank of democracy. Labour spokespeople have been heard to say that it was legitimate and reasonable for them to prepare for the backlash which might be the result of Labour being elected to govern at the next General Election. I wonder if part of those preparations might include restrictions on a potentially hostile press? I also wonder just how far, and to whom, intimidation might also extend? Now is the time that the democratic centre in our country needs to mobilise and take rightful ownership of both honourable political discourse and the championing of a just society. Please, bring it on.

Mo Nicholson,

32 Buckstone Loan, Edinburgh.

WITH his crude personal attacks on Seamus Milne as Labour's "gaunt strategist" and John McDonnell cited as "one of the most sinister men ever to sit in Parliament" Chris Deerin chose to use personal invective rather than offer any political analysis as to why there is so much support growing for Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party and the vision it has for the future.

I would suggest that it is the politics of the Right or hard Right, to use Mr Deerin's classification, that is responsible for Mr Corbyn's popularity. After years of Tory-imposed austerity that has resulted in the proliferation of food banks, chronic low pay, the bedroom tax, the rise in homelessness, the rape clause, cuts to welfare benefits and public services while the rich continue to enrich themselves at everyone else's expense, it is rather bizarre that a vision out of this morass should be labelled "hard Left".

Mr Milne, Mr Corbyn and Mr McDonnell are socialists and the party to which they belong was founded on socialist principles that they are upholding since they were ignored for so long. They are doing so because their party became under Tony Blair and the New Labour Project something resembling another, merely slicker version of the Tory Party.

For far too long, it seems to me, Labour has selected MPs from the right or moderate centre, as some have called it, to represent the party at Westminster without any socialist leanings whatsoever.

We know what right wing means. It means making the poor pay for the excessive greed of the rich. Left wing means challenging this and seeking to reverse this iniquity through a redistributive economic policy.

The malaise in the SNP just now is there because it has no idea if it is left or right. Unlike Mr Deerin I feel the political momentum is with Labour rather than the SNP or the moderate, centrist, hard right Tories. For me there is only right or left. All the other terms are specious attempts at diversion.

Jim Aitken,

2 Carlton Street, Edinburgh.

JEREMY Corbyn admits that "Yes, we didn't do quite well enough and we remain in opposition for now". Considering that last June's General Election was called by a ham-fisted Prime Minister who spent a disastrous campaign shooting herself in both feet, it would have been surprising if Labour hadn't been able to make capital out of Mrs May's ineptitude, but the fact remains that even with Mrs May under friendly fire from her normally core Tory voters, Labour still lost its third General Election in a row. However, if Mrs May's political judgment has lurched from one disaster to the next, she would appear to have met her match in John McDonnell (“Leader defends McDonnell’s ‘war gaming’ of a run on the pound”, The Herald, September 27). Labour Chancellors are well known for creating financial disasters but they don't usually forecast them before getting into office. With friends like Mr McDonnell, Mr Corbyn does not need enemies.

In addition, Mr Corbyn's hopes for a revival of the fortunes of his branch office in Scotland would seem to be ill-founded. Scottish Labour is toiling under the strain of its latest embarrassing and bitter leadership battle, while the previous office manager Kezia Dugdale, who, before becoming redundant made no secret of the fact that she wasn't impressed with Mr Corbyn, continues to voice her dissatisfaction from the back benches.

I suspect that by the time the red mist has evaporated and voters start doing the sums that Mr McDonnell should have done, and start questioning how Mr Corbyn, an opponent of nuclear weapons can possibly lead a party which supports them, the balloon will have burst, and Mr Corbyn's party will be over.

Ruth Marr,

99 Grampian Road,

Stirling.

JUST when you think the world cannot seem any more insane, Jeremy Corbyn makes a conference speech which from start to finish sounded the epitome of common sense.

Yes, I'm scared too.

Mark Boyle,

15 Linn Park Gardens, Johnstone.

ANAS Sarwar has just claimed at the annual conference that Scottish Labour risks becoming a “branch office”. When was it anything else?

Peter M Dryburgh, 35 Falcon Avenue, Edinburgh.