Read Cavendish Communication’s new report: Preparing for a Labour government

A government led by Jeremy Corbyn would once have been unthinkable. Heading into the 2017 general election, political commentators thought it improbable. Today, Labour only needs a 3.57%swing to come to power.

With the timing of the next election far from certain, every business, investor and organisation needs to be assessing and preparing for what a Corbyn-led government could mean for them.

Jeremy Corbyn’s political principles are well-known, but it is important to appreciate that Corbynism as a governing ideology is still emerging and evolving. The party’s 2017 manifesto was a trial run for ‘something different’. Having won a ten-point increase in the party’s share of the vote, Corbyn has a mandate to put a more radical manifesto to the country next time.

The dynamics within Corbyn’s camp have also shifted since the general election. With left-wingers now firmly in control of the party machinery, differences between the unions, Momentum and the leader’s office are coming to the fore. The balance of power between these three groups will help determine how radical Labour in office might be.

What is Corbynism and how would a Corbyn government operate?

At the heart of its appeal to many voters, Corbynism is a rejection of managerialism and incrementalism. Corbyn and his clique have not campaigned and persisted for over 35 years in politics to tinker with the post-Thatcher settlement; they want to remake the economic and political order.

Corbyn questions the ‘neo-liberal’ dogma of placing trust in market solutions. His ideology seeks to rebalance the state’s involvement in the economy and the relationship between employers and their workers.

If he is good at asking the big questions and painting a broad picture, Corbyn is less interested in providing detailed policy answers. His leadership style in opposition provides an indication of what sort of prime minister he would be.

Corbyn would set the guiding principles, leaving details and implementation to his advisers and government departments. The Treasury under John McDonnell would be in the ascendancy, taking the lead in domestic affairs.

Corbyn would indulge his life-long interest in foreign affairs, and continue to mobilise his supports through public speeches, engagements and rallies – a not dissimilar model to Donald Trump’s style of leadership.

What would a Labour government mean in practical terms?

Cavendish Communications has published a new report, detailing what a Labour government would look like and what the party would seek to do on spending, workers’ rights and pay, utilities, education, health and housing.

Read our new report:Preparing for a Labour government