Corbyn offers hope and a fairer future

“It is well documented the Parliamentary Labour Party have resisted the election of Jeremy Corbyn as leader and that they attempted a coup to overthrow him which subsequently failed. It’s also clear the members gave Jeremy a resounding mandate to lead our party less than a year ago.

“It is regrettable we now find ourselves in the process of having to decide again so soon. We define ourselves as a democratic party with the paying membership entrusted to decide who leads us, so it has been a huge disappointment to me that many of our elected parliamentary representatives have shown scant regard for that democratic will.

“Personally, I’ve found the whole debacle to be an exercise in navel gazing at a time when the people who need us to be united in opposition with a view to govern are being let down, so it’s no surprise to me that we find ourselves trailing in the polls and deservedly so.

“I’ve made no secret of the fact that I supported and will continue to support Jeremy Corbyn to lead our party and I’ll make it clear why.

“The past 30 or so years has seen a political experiment which began under the Thatcher and Reagan governments of the 1980’s known as neoliberalism. The idea was to deregulate economies freeing them for direct foreign investment allowing the easy movement of capital; privatisation of publically owned assets and therefore a reduction in the state.

“It cannot be denied this resulted in growing economies, but it also resulted in growing levels of inequality as the wealthiest in society were best placed to reap the rewards of such growth, allowing the divide between rich and poor to widen leaving many left behind.

“Globalisation allowed companies to move their business abroad or ‘offshore’ in search of cheaper labour and once thriving communities in the UK saw industry which was once the backbone of our economy decline along with their job prospects and living standards.

“Reducing the size of the state was to increase competition leading to reduced bills for the consumer which has not materialised as evidenced in ever rising public transport and energy prices.

“Recently, a study reported that company bosses are now earning around 140 times the wage of the lowest paid in their companies. We hear much about aspiration but, in the current climate, aspiring to afford a roof over your head and feed your family is difficult enough for so many in society.

“Jeremy Corbyn has pledged to rebalance our economy in favour of working people. At a time when trust in politicians is at an all-time low, it is this message that has provided hope and enthused hundreds of thousands of people to join the Labour Party, to fight for his vision of a fairer future.

“It is my firm belief that the people of Peterborough would benefit from this fairer future and that’s why I am supporting Jeremy Corbyn.”