It could be a Tory talking - a member of the 1% who control so much of our society's wealth and power and who sees a socialist vision as anathema - a deadly threat to their social and political interests. .
Or it could be a member of the Parliamentary Labour Party - a Labour M.P. - since a majority of the PLP remain convinced that Labour will never be returned to power advocating socialist policies under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn whose declared manifesto for the next election, in 2020 or earlier, is based on ten pledges to secure socialism for the 21st century - see my three blogs using this link for the first blog and accessing the other two blogs from there.
Those who directly represent the interests of the 1% are united in their determination to destroy Jeremy Corbyn as a political force. They mock him. They ridicule him. But in doing so, they betray
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| Jeremy Corbyn - leader of the Labour Party in the UK |
their fears. The former Conservative Chancellor, Kenneth Clarke, warned in an interview with the Huffington Post that Mr Corbyn's brand of left-wing populism would be hard to campaign against. It was not certain he would lose an election. He is quoted: "If you have another recession or if the Conservative government becomes very unpopular, he could win" - see p,140 in 'The Road to Corbyn' by Rob Donovan (2016) using this link.
Those who are members of the Parliamentary Labour Party - or who are like-minded members of local constituency Labour groups - and are still wedded to the ideology of New Labour and believe in Tony Blair's abandonment of socialism as the passport to election success - face an existential crisis. Their Party lost in the General Elections of 2010 and 2015 despite following the New Labour
ideology. Cue a 'Doh!', I think. A mass movement formed from Labour supporters at the grassroots voted for Jeremy Corbyn as the new leader in 2015 because he stood up for the socialist values such New Labour members had rejected. And at the first opportunity, the New Labour PLP elite orchestrated a coup against him. The Party was plunged into another Leadership Election - and Jeremy was once again returned with a handsome majority. Cue another Doh!'. And yet, my papers this week are headlining yet more plots to get rid of the democratically elected leader of the Labour Party.
For instance, the Morning Star on Tuesday - February 28 - carried this headline:
BLAIRITES' SOFT COUP PLOT UNCOVERED
Shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, was reported as saying:
'... some Labour MPs in alliance with the Murdoch-owned media are hell-bent on "destroying" Mr Corbyn's leadership to reclaim the party for capitalists.'
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| John McDonnell - shadow chancellor |
The BBC television reporting of the man and his leadership has all the hallmarks of the discomfort and dislike that Jeremy Corbyn has aroused. In the eyes of very many of the metropolitan elites in the media and politics, he is the maverick. He should not be there. He arrived unbidden into their carefully configured world. He doesn't fit. He must go.
Even Channel 4 news reporting is not immune from such bias.
And today, one of the very few friendly voices of support for Jeremy Corbyn left in the ranks of Guardian columnists - Owen Jones - was headlined like this:
JEREMY CORBYN SAYS HE'S STAYING ON AS LEADER. THAT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH.
Owen Jones accuses Jeremy Corbyn of being determined to stay as leader, 'without offering even the vaguest outlines about how to turn it (the Copeland by-election defeat) around.' 'Et tu, Brute!' Open your ears to listen to the 10 Pledges, Owen. Hear the message of 'Socialism for the 21st century'. Listen to the explanations that you actually reference in your article:
Media brainwashing - structural problems within the Labour Party - post-Brexit division - the failure of his predecessors - the damage caused by the attempts to oust him from within the Party - the right-wing cabal ownership of the British press.
And then have a good read of David Rosenberg's Rebel Notes and start writing about why such an analysis of the Copeland by-election defeat fails to get a wider circulation. Here is the link - prefaced by this taster of Rosenberg's insights to whet your appetite - Why the defeat? In part, an uninspired and uninspiring Labour Party candidate chosen despite the appeal of a more dynamic and inspiring local activist who has worked particularly hard against homelessness. Who to blame for this choice? Not the Party leader, for sure.
There is still some hope for the media. The Guardian did carry an article by Ken Loach on Wednesday 1 March, yesterday, that had this headline:
CORBYN HAS THE RIGHT ANSWERS. SO STOP BLAMING HIM FOR LABOUR'S TROUBLES
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| Ken Loach - the socialist film director |
I don't think this singular exception will be enough to stop me from cancelling my subscription to the Guardian and taking out a new one for the Morning Star.
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