Luke Reader, Ph.D. – English Department and SAGES Lecturer at Case Western Reserve University

Dear Colleagues:

“Will a fervent socialist reshape British politics or lead his party to irrelevance?” A New Yorker article posed this question about British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn in May. Many Labour Members of Parliament already had reservations about his views on everything from economic policy to immigration to the Middle East. Then after the Brexit vote, and what was seen as “lackluster” or inept support by Corbyn for the EU, Labour MPs voted resoundingly, 172-40, to express their lack of confidence in his leadership. Two thirds of the party’s “shadow cabinet” resigned to express their dissatisfaction.

But the Parliamentary party can no longer choose the party’s leader. That choice is made by election by party members and affiliates – and on Saturday, Corbyn won re-election as party leader with nearly 62% of the vote from among over half a million voters. The news was greeted with some satisfaction by supporters of the Conservative party government, as Corbyn has a net 31% disapproval rating in polls of the general public.

A split between a party’s legislators on one side and its leader and many of its voters may sound familiar. So may supporters of a nation’s more left-leaning party rallying against the legacy of a “third way” leader (Blair instead of Clinton). But the Labour party’s divisions seem more severe than the American Democrats’, or Republicans’. So what’s next, and what could it mean for British politics and government?

All best regards,
Joe White
Luxenberg Family Professor of Public Policy and Director, Center for Policy Studies 

About Our Guests

Luke Reader has been a writing lecturer in the SAGES program at Case Western Reserve University since 2015. He received a Ph.D. in History from University of California, Irvine, in 2013, where he examined the development of imperial and international policy in the British Labour Party between the 1920s and 1940s and its impact on left-wing cultural life. Currently, Professor Reader is studying the influence of Liberal philosophies of empire on internationalist thinkers associated with the Labour Party after World War One. Previously, Professor Reader taught History at a number of institutions in Southern California, and was a Visiting Assistant Professor in the History department at John Carroll University. Before entering graduate school he worked for the UK civil service as a press officer.

Where We Meet

The Friday Public Affairs Lunch convenes each Friday when classes are in session, from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Our programs are open to all and no registration is required. We usually meet in the Dampeer Room of Kelvin Smith Library. The Dampeer Room is on the second floor of the library. If you get off the elevators, turn right, pass the first bank of tables, and turn right again. Occasionally we need to use a different room; that will always be announced in the weekly e-mails.

Parking Possibilities

The most convenient parking is the lot underneath Severance Hall. We regret that it is not free. From that lot there is an elevator up to street level (labeled as for the Thwing Center); it is less than 50 yards from that exit to the library entrance. You can get from the Severance garage to the library without going outside. Near the entry gates – just to the right if you were driving out – there is a door into a corridor. Walk down the corridor and there will be another door. Beyond that door you’ll find the entrance to an elevator which goes up to an entrance right inside the doors to Kelvin Smith Library.

Schedule of Friday Lunch Upcoming Topics and Speakers:

October 7: The Lake Erie Wind Farm and the Future of Wind Energy. With David Matthiesen, Associate Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and Director, Wind Energy Research and Commercialization Center.

October 14: Living Black: Social Life in an African-American Neighborhood.. With Mark S. Fleisher, Research Professor, Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences. Alternate Location: Mather House Room 100.

October 21: The DARPA Robotics Challenge and the Future of Robotics. With Wyatt S. Newman, Professor of Electrical, Computer and Systems Engineering.

October 28: Macroeconomic Challenges for the Next Administration. With Mark S. Sniderman, Executive in Residence and Adjunct Professor of Economics, Weatherhead School of Management, and former Research Director, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.

November 4: Biennial Political Science Department Pre-Election Forecast Discussion.

November 11: The Unrealized Promise of Libertarianism. With Gus Dizerega, Ph.D., independent political theorist.

November 18: Can Democracy Meet the Challenge of Polarization? With Mark Chupp, Assistant Professor, Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Social Sciences.

November 25: Thanksgiving Break.

December 2: Putin’s Russia. With Kelly M. McMann, Associate Professor of Political Science and Director, International Studies Program.

December 9: Health Care Report Cards – Time for Second Thoughts? With J.B. Silvers, John R. Mannix Medical Mutual of Ohio Professor of Health Care Finance.