Tomorrow, Jeremy Corbyn will give a speech that will mark the resumption of national campaigning in the General Election. It is reproduced in detail below.
But first, let’s look at the media reaction it has already engendered – because it has the mainstream media’s (MSM) knickers in an absolute twist long before the words have exited his lips.
The pre-released speech was ’embargoed’ until 10pm on Thursday night, meaning news outlets (including this blog) had it but couldn’t release it before then – this is standard practice on some press releases.
The Sun was trailing a major attack on Corbyn to be ‘revealed’ at 10pm, clearly driven by the embargo. But when it was published, it was a feeble attempt to smear him based on his record of resisting government attempts to limit our freedoms via bad anti-terror legislation, with a brief mention of his speech tomorrow at the end.
The Telegraph was slightly more reasoned, claiming that Corbyn risks being accused of politicising Monday’s tragedy in Manchester by referring to it in his speech on the first day that campaigning resumes:
The BBC’s Nick Robinson took a similar line:
The responses from Twitter users made very clear that they considered Corbyn’s view to have a lot more merit than Robinson’s. Can anyone seriously doubt that cuts to police and rushing into foreign military action increase our risk and vulnerability?
Nonetheless, BBC News’ roundup of tomorrow’s newspapers also kept pushing the same vapid viewpoint.
And of course, it’s all nonsense.
Tomorrow, campaigning resumes. Theresa May, as the SKWAWKBOX exclusively showed, was desperate to prolong the suspension as far as possible, in order to avoid restarting a campaign that was in desperate straits.
She tried – and failed – to extend the suspension until at least Monday. Corbyn’s flat refusal to allow terrorists – or May – to continue to disrupt this country’s democratic processes called her bluff and she folded.
The media are attempting to act as if this is not the case, but it’s absolutely clear that Theresa May does not get a free pass on her huge and foolish errors that increased the vulnerability of our country.
She cannot.
If Corbyn failed to hold May to account for her arrogance and foolishness, it would be a gross disservice to the victims of Monday’s atrocity and their relatives.
It would be a gross disservice to the police and emergency services that have suffered swingeing cuts under May as Home Secretary and then as PM – and whose loud, clear warnings to her were dismissed as ‘scaremongering’.
And it would be a gross disservice to us, the voting public, to pretend that Mrs May had not been grossly incompetent by ignoring it in his campaigning.
Corbyn has far too much honesty and integrity to let us all down like that. And strength.
After all, he warned her almost two years ago what would happen if she kept cutting.
No, the Tory media’s desperation to misrepresent Corbyn’s speech and paint it as tactless has nothing to do with reality.
It might, however, have quite a bit to do with the number thirty-eight:
When the General Election was announced, YouGov – the same polling company – had Labour twenty-four percent behind the Tories. On Thursday night, they made it just five.
But remember, electoral expert John Curtice, three weeks ago, said that the local election results meant the Tories actually had 38% support, not the 48% most polling companies were giving them – their lead was seriously inflated in polling.
So the real picture could be a solid Labour lead.
Either way, it’s a radically different story to the mainstream media narrative – and cause, no doubt, for panic in some quarters.
Anyway, here’s the press release containing Corbyn’s speech, so you can see its wisdom and clarity for yourself:
Jeremy Corbyn: My commitment to our country
Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of the Labour Party, in a speech delivered in Central London tomorrow, will say:
On Britain’s values:“This is my commitment to our country.“I want the solidarity, humanity and compassion that we have seen on the streets of Manchester this week to be the values that guide our government. There can be no love of country if there is neglect or disregard for its people.“No government can prevent every terrorist attack. If an individual is determined enough and callous enough sometimes they will get through.“But the responsibility of government is to minimise that chance – to ensure the police have the resources they need, that our foreign policy reduces rather than increases the threat to this country and that at home we never surrender the freedoms we have won and that terrorists are so determined to take away.”On policy at home he will say:“To keep you and your family safe, our approach will involve change at home and change abroad.“At home, Labour will reverse the cuts to our emergency services and police. Once again in Manchester, they have proved to be the best of us.“Austerity has to stop at the A&E ward and at the police station door. We cannot be protected and cared for on the cheap.“There will be more police on the streets under a Labour Government. And if the security services need more resources to keep track of those who wish to murder and maim, then they should get them.On policy abroad he will say:“We will also change what we do abroad. Many experts, including professionals in our intelligence and security services, have pointed to the connections between wars our government has supported or fought in other countries and terrorism here at home.“That assessment in no way reduces the guilt of those who attack our children. Those terrorists will forever be reviled and held to account for their actions.“But an informed understanding of the causes of terrorism is an essential part of an effective response that will protect the security of our people that fights rather than fuels terrorism.“We must be brave enough to admit the ‘war on terror’ is simply not working. We need a smarter way to reduce the threat from countries that nurture terrorists and generate terrorism.”