Corbyn landslide takes Labour Party into uncharted territory
On September 12, what had been expected since late July was officially confirmed: Jeremy Corbyn won a dominant victory to become the new leader of the Labour Party, the United Kingdom's opposition party. Corbyn won nearly 60 percent of the vote on the first ballot, with Andy Burnham coming in a distant second with 19 percent. Corbyn, who, as we previously covered, has long been one of the most left-wing members of Parliament (MP) in the party, won with the backing of a large grassroots movement which was sick and tired of leaders who did not represent their beliefs.
Corbyn only barely scraped onto the ballot because of many MPs initially supporting other candidates. But once he made it on, he skyrocketed to the front of the pack. Corbyn campaigned on an uncompromising defense of socialism, left-wing economics, and anti-austerity. Corbyn also made his candidacy an attack on the entire concept of New Labour originally implemented by former Prime Minister Tony Blair, which left wing critics see as too centrist or right-wing.