For Labour, what demonstrates failure for Corbynite/Leftist rather than Centrist/Blairite policies? What happens if, for example, they win less seats but a bigger vote share, will people cling on to that as an endorsement of radical leftist policies?
I think for Labour, unless things go very badly wrong in the next 24 hours they can chalk this one up as a win, the Tories called a snap election because all indications showed they’d win, and they’d win big – why else would you 2 years into a 5 year ‘fixed’ term? But Labour have given them a real shock, they closed the polls dramatically, but as we’ve seen polls have been wrong before.
I think it’s mostly a moot point though, I would think it’s pretty unlikely he’ll step down if he loses, not after 20 months or whatever it’s been and ‘momentum’ has positioned itself well enough to ensure he won’t be pushed and he can’t and won’t move to the centre.
I think the only way he’ll step down tomorrow if he loses would be on the grounds that he would be 73 or so at the next general election and fight that hoping to be PM until 78
When he does finally step down it’ll again been time for Labour to decide what party they want to be, they spent the 80’s and half the 90’s being lead by well-meaning, principled Socialist leaders and they lost, again and again and got nothing done.
In the 90s and 2000s they compromised, and made real changes to peoples lives.