The interesting political fact of the week is that U.S. presidential contender Bernie Sanders has an 80-year-old brother, Larry, who stood for the Green party in Oxford West and Abingdon at the 2015 UK general election. The other Sanders has lived in the UK since the 1960s.
Larry Sanders is a former social worker and academic. He recently contested the 2015 UK general election for the Green Party. Although he was unsuccessful, by all accounts he ran a spirited campaign (Sander came fifth in the poll.) Speaking with the BBC, Larry Sanders was pleased with the campaign: “Although we didn’t win, we increased our share of the vote… we recruited new members and established new branches.”
In terms of their political career, the brothers have supported progressive causes although they have orientated in different directions. Bernie Sanders was originally a member of the Liberty Union movement, before forming the Progressive Party. He is now edging closer into the Democratic Party fold although he continues to present himself as an independent socialist. Larry Sanders remains on “the outside,” supporting the small UK Green Party. However, he was, for a long time, a member of the Labour Party (one of the two big UK parties), before becoming disillusioned under the Tony Blair leadership.
Whether Larry’s chances of future electoral success will match his brother’s success in the U.S. Senate remains to be seen; as does Bernie Sanders’ chances of securing the Democratic Party presidential nomination. Whatever the outcome with the latter, there is an interesting parallel in the UK with the attempt by left-wing parliamentarian Jeremy Corbyn to secure the leadership of the Labour Party. The result of the Labour contest will be known in early September.
