Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. Labour's current triumvirate – Leader Jeremy Corbyn, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer John McDonnell and Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott – were leading members of the 'loony left', the pejorative label deployed by the popular press to delegitimise the 1980s new urban left. Corbyn's election as Labour Leader was viewed by most of the media-political class as a tsunami coming from nowhere. When he was re-elected in 2016 with an increased majority, many journalists were dumbfounded. Jeremy Corbyn and his 'loony' allies were social radicals who were the outriders of generational cultural change. Although their views provoked derision in 1980s tabloids, these views gained much greater acceptance in the subsequent period. Support for feminism, gay rights, environmentalism and anti-racism became part of mainstream opinion among young people, even if it still repelled some among the older generation.