Britain | The Labour Party

Keir Starmer: Labour’s electable new leader

Socialism with a barrister’s face

Labour’s bright new hope

GEORGE ORWELL’S lament in 1937 that socialism is a magnet for “sandal-wearers and bearded fruit-juice drinkers” has held up well in recent years. Tony Blair, who avoided mentioning the word, dragged an unwilling Labour Party rightwards while wearing good suits; Michael Foot and Jeremy Corbyn, the furthest-left leaders in the past half-century, put the least effort into looking electable.

This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Socialism with a barrister’s face”

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From the April 11th 2020 edition

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