Corbyn is the anti-establishment politician people are crying out for – but that doesn’t mean winning will be easy

Welcome to David Cameron’s world of empty talk. People living in Calais refugee camps are a “bunch of migrants” one minute; the next, the UK will accept an undisclosed number of unaccompanied child refugees from conflict zones. Between the racist tropes Cameron uses to prop up his woefully inadequate asylum policy and his quickness to claim he wants to protect people around the world through foreign policy and Aid spending lies the shallowness of his politics.  But the contradictions don’t matter to most when they’re wrapped in a slick package stamped Lynton Crosby. The Tory narrative is frustrating because it’s compelling to so many: we’re fair on those who deserve it, tough on those who don’t. They decide who’s worthy and who’s not, then they make it stick.

The contradictions are everywhere if you look closely. Cameron’s deceitfulness is blood boiling: he uses racist language to describe refugees then comes to the sudden realisation that racial discrimination in the justice system should “shame our country and jolt us to action”; he slashes grants for the poorest students then decries the insidious discrimination that stands in the way of black young people going to university; he cuts funding for English classes without any remorse then attacks Muslim women for not learning English (and Muslim men for oppressing them, suggesting this a problem contained in the ‘Muslim Community’ after admitting it isn’t…) and he watches as underfunded women’s refuges close while claiming to lead the gender equality vanguard. He knows all the problems but isn’t bothered about real solutions. He laments the very effects of his policies and then blames someone else. All too often it’s the “last Labour government”. This strategy is galling but, if the last election was anything to go by, it’s effective.

But there is good news. Jeremy Corbyn is the anti-establishment politician people in many parts of the world – from Spain to the USA – are crying out for. They’re sick of the top-down politics that produces the David Camerons of this world. They want real, not superficial change. That doesn’t mean victory will be handed to Labour on a platter: boundary changes, Tory coffers bursting at the seams, Scotland and a small but vocal anti-Corbyn section of the Parliamentary Labour Party are but a few of the challenges facing them.

Labour need a clear message, and they need it fast. John McDonnell’s dogged pursuit of the Government’s dodgy Google tax deal is evidence of what a strong, united opposition can do. These wins are important but short-lived. What’s needed alongside shining a light on the Tory inadequacies is a well-thought out narrative. Pithy phrases and strong messages – with the policy complexities buried within them – are what Labour need to develop and then unite around. Messages that can be used on the doorstep and that MPs can repeat every time they’re in front of a TV camera or radio microphone. This can lead to huge change in politics.

We all claim to care about our fellow human beings; we want the best for as many people as possible. That’s not where Cameron’s divisive and contrived brand of politics will get us. It’s only the Labour Party that can offer change – now they need the narrative to deliver.