Corbyn at the Park Inn Palace

Last Thursday (1st) a round table meeting with local businesses and retailers and Jeremy Corbyn was arranged at the Park Inn Palace hotel. Jeremy came to come and talk about the economy and the High Street.

Ian, Stephen, Cheryl, Jeremy, Julian, Anne

The meeting was chaired by Ashley Dalton, and there was about twenty of us present, including four councillors (Gilbert, Jones, Nevin, and myself).

Members of the BID, FSB, and other business people were also present.

I contributed comments about crime, transport infrastructure, and parking. The meeting was a little over an hour in length.

Who is the most successful Labour leader?

Counting only those who have led the party in a General Election, here is a table showing the Labour leaders since the First World War and how many elections they won.

Leader	Tenure	GEs contested	GEs won	% success rate
Tony Blair	1994 – 2007	3	3	100
Harold Wilson	1963 – 1976	5	4	80
Clement Attlee	1935 – 1955	5	2	40
Ramsay MacDonald	1922 – 1931	5	2	40
Jeremy Corbyn	2015 - present	1	0	0
Ed Miliband	2010 - 2015	1	0	0
Gordon Brown	2007 - 2010	1	0	0
Neil Kinnock	1983 – 1992	2	0	0
Michael Foot	1980 – 1983	1	0	0
James Callaghan	1976 – 1980	1	0	0
Hugh Gaitskell	1955 – 1963	1	0	0
William Adamson	1917 - 1921	1	0	0

The Leader’s prime role is to seek and gain the keys to 10 Downing Street. So far only four Labour leaders have fully achieved this. It is arguable as to who is most successful; on the percentage success rate Tony Blair comes top. Harold Wilson has the most victories. Ramsay MacDonald was our first successful leader, although his subsequent desertion sullies his reputation. Clement Attlee has a special place in people’s affection because of his 1945 victory, although his landslide was thrown way within six years,

Eleven victories in twenty-seven attempts is some way behind the Conservative record. I hope that Jeremy Corbyn’s imminent success will begin a period where our success rate significantly improves.

Labour comes to Southend-on-Sea

Southend-on-Sea is home to two constituencies, although you would be hard pressed to recall much mention of Southend West nowadays – especially in Labour circles. However, whilst a political long-shot for Labour as regards to Parliamentary aspirations, it is home to some promising prospects as far as local council elections are concerned.

Mr Corbyn and another packed room

Even Jeremy seemed to forget the West exists, often name-checking Rochford and Southend East (home to the second-best result in the General election in Southend-on-Sea). Those who want rid of Amess are bound to feel the pangs of disappointment.

Still, now that Rochford and Southend East is a target seat we will witness visits from the great and good in Labour circles. Yesterday, Mr Corbyn himself paid a visit.

I was invited to the Chamber of Commerce round-table policy discussion that preceded the rally, and it was a generally useful exchange of ideas about the challenges facing coastal communities, especially Southend-on-Sea. The assembled included a quartet from the Labour Group on the council, and an assortment of business men and women. I made my contribution, interjecting following praise by association on the support given by Labour to seafront businesses.

The rally that followed was very well attended; I was guess that more than 300 were present to hear Jeremy Corbyn. There were a few spare seats, which must have disappointed those who applied and failed to get a ticket for the event. Jeremy is not a bad speaker, and certainly has a style of his own. He promised to return to Rochford and Southend East – and maybe he will pause during the journey to consider the delights of Southend West.

I am pleased that Southend-on-Sea is on the map as far as Labour HQ is concerned. Of course, I take special pride in the fact that the biggest Labour vote in either constituency comes from Milton ward, a safe Tory ward until I was allowed to throw myself at it.

Labour is not a fan club for whoever leads it, but a cause for social justice and a fairer society. The rally was about Jeremy, but it was a Labour rally. We celebrate our successes, and plan to move Britain forward, fixing the mess that the Conservatives are daily creating. With Mr Corbyn in number ten, and perhaps a Labour MP in one of the Southend seats, the world will be a better place.