General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Oh My! Boris Johnson rules himself out of Tory leadership race after Gove ditches him [View all]socialist_n_TN
(11,481 posts)with the Conservatives since Corbyn was elected and HUNDREDS of thousands of people have joined Labour since Corbyn's election, including 16k new members since this coup attempt. That doesn't sound like a leader who's flailing or failing.
There are two primary motivations for this attempt at backstabbing. The surface motivation is written about above, the fear that Corbyn will lead to an electoral defeat. This is tied in with the 80s/90s Blairite, neo-liberal mindset that you've got to be Tory lite to win an election. It's pure opportunism. "Vote for us. We'll screw you over, but not as bad as Boris or Gove will".
But there's a hidden motivation too. Their also afraid that Corbyn just MIGHT win an election and send their neo-liberal view into the dustbin of history. The PLP over the last two plus decades have bought TOTALLY into Thatcher's "There is no alternative" to such an extent that they can't allow an alternative to even get NEAR Downing Street or run for the big office. TINA means that it can't even be mentioned.
It's just a way for the Blairites to take back "their" party from the people IN the party. The ones who had the temerity to elect Corbyn in the first place. Of course the Blairites won't beat the Tories either, but winning an election is secondary to keeping the public from demanding the alternative to austerity or austerity lite that Corbyn might provide.