Eight MPs have left the Labour Party (at time of writing) and joined with 3 Conservative MPs to form a new party. This is clearly a rejection of Jeremy Corbyn and left-wing direction he has taken the party in. With the party splitting, it’s more important than ever to remind ourselves of why it is important to support Labour.

In my view, this can be summed up in one word: change.

It’s obvious that things aren’t going well for many people in Britain right now. This isn’t a flux of nature or a product of global economics beyond our control. It’s because of the deliberate policies of the Tory government. We Labour supporters know that things can be better if the government enacted some genuine left-wing policies.

There are awful tragedies that we see unfolding every day in Britain that the government can do something about. Homelessness has exploded since the Tories came to power and the number of people sleeping rough has increased every year for the last seven years. We can see the effects of austerity in every town and high street across the country as people are denied basic human dignities like a roof over their head.

Food banks and Victorian diseases

Even if people have a home, many of them can’t afford to heat it or eat. Around 560,000 people used a Food Bank each year and one in four parents have had to skip meals as they prioritise giving what little food they have to their children. A Corbyn government can help the poorest and most in need people in the country. People who have been abandoned by a Tory government that doesn’t care for them.

A Corbyn government can make a real difference to children who are being failed by society. Victorian diseases that we thought had been eradicated over a century ago are back, such as Rickets and TB. Schools are in such bad condition that in some parts of the country pupils are forced to bring in their own toilet paper. 128,000 children are living in temporary accommodation, where entire families are forced to share a single room and the facilities are not fit for animals, let alone during childrens’ important formative years. In one of the richest countries in the world, this is an outrage.

The NHS must be a priority for the next Labour government. Our national health system is groaning under the pressures of an aging society and years of under-investment by the Tories. Protecting the NHS and making sure our health service is fit for the 21st century must be a top priority for Corbyn when he is Prime Minister.

Britain is falling apart around us. The welfare of ordinary people has been neglected over the last nine years as the Tories have priorities tax cuts to the rich. Our high streets are full of boarded-up shops, our schools are crumbling and children are growing up in shoebox-sized temporary accommodation.

Corbyn can change this

Corbyn can change this. Splitting off to form a new centrist party will not help the millions of people suffering under a Tory government. We need to remember what Labour stands for right now - a helping hand to poor and the needy.

A general election could happen at any minute. With the government in chaos and the public fed up with the state of the country, Labour has a real shot at winning. We could be a matter of weeks away from Jeremy Corbyn becoming the next Prime Minister. We could finally get a government that cares about the welfare of everyone. 

Our country is crumbling under a neglectful Tory government. A new party will only split the left vote and allow the Tories to continue in power. The neediest, the most vulnerable, the poorest and children are suffering under this heartless government. We need a Corbyn government to help those who need it the most.

Picture of Jeremy Corbyn taken by Garry Knight and used under creative commons.