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‘Ordinary Corbyn’ is still leader of the opposition – former LOTO staffer writes

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“Jeremy Corbyn and the extraordinary power of ordinariness “

Jeremy Corbyn with former ‘LOTO’ team member Phil Bevin

Jeremy Corbyn is still the UK’s opposition leader, says former staffer Phil Bevin, under the subtitle ‘Jeremy Corbyn and the extraordinary power of ordinariness’:

Jeremy Corbyn is still the “leader” of opposition politics in the UK. As Skwawkbox has reported before, his influence and popularity has endured through six years of establishment smear campaign and has remained strong since he stood down as the official Leader of the Opposition in 2019. Sir Keir Starmer would surely love to know how he’s done it. Unfortunately for Sir Keir, Corbyn’s ongoing influence is driven by something that can’t be faked.

The power of ordinariness.

I think the Ordinary Left campaign, which Skwawkbox has supported, is important and has personal resonance for me. I’m pretty ordinary. I have benefitted from a good education, but like most ordinary people I had to work to pay for my studies.

From 2011 I spent five years employed in a council library service, where I saw the effects of austerity first-hand on both the lives of people who used the service and the service itself. It was a rewarding job and I worked with a fantastic team of dedicated people but it got ever more challenging. As the council introduced ever more rounds of “efficiency savings” (cuts), it became an increasing struggle as we were continuously forced to do “more for less” by top management that didn’t always grasp the impact of cuts on the service for ordinary people such as delays in repairing photocopying machines, the loss of well-known staff and their familiar faces, accumulating daily frustrations that were exacerbated by a service mired in a permanent staffing restructure, with talented people constantly leaving to find job security elsewhere.

Empathy and humility

Why am I telling this story? Because I think Ordinary Left is right to say that it is essential for more politicians, particularly those claiming to be socialists, to have an experience-driven understanding of just how bad things are for the majority of people in the real world outside parliament.

That said, while demographic representation is important to get more ordinary people into positions of power, empathy and humility are just as important. You can be from a working-class background – a son of a tool-maker for instance – and still be comfortable kicking down the ladder you used to climb to the top. It is the drive to be accepted by the establishment for personal advancement at the expense of others that breaks working class solidarity and perpetuates inequality.

By the same logic, it is also possible for a politician who comes from a relatively well-off middle-class upbringing to be ordinary if they are able to understand, respect and learn from the experiences of people from backgrounds different to their own. For a politician to be identifiably one of the “many” of course requires a certain amount of empathy and humility that most MPs sadly lack. As author and former ANC MP Andrew Feinstein pointed out recently, when he compared Corbyn to Mandela, “empathy” and “humility” are characteristics Corbyn has in spades.

Anyone who has been lucky enough to join Corbyn when he’s either on a visit or out and about in his Islington North constituency, as I have, will have been struck by how, as Feinstein put it, Corbyn “honestly feels and shows respect for every human being he comes into contact with.” For Corbyn, this isn’t just a pose, which is why he doesn’t look awkward when photographed among ordinary people: he is one. He certainly doesn’t place himself above others, as this popular quote makes clear:

“You should never be so high and mighty you can’t listen to somebody else and learn something from them. Leadership is as much about using the ear as using the mouth.”

In LOTO staff meetings, Corbyn would stress that we must never forget that we were there to fight for ordinary people, not our own careers. Uniting people in the interests of common goals was another popular theme. Unusually for a politician, like his principals, his words in private match his public statements.

Corbyn’s down-to-earth modesty explains his leadership style. Corbyn is not a divisive leader; on the contrary, he is a natural unifier who tries to bring as many people and skills onto his side of the argument as possible. And this is an approach he continues to pursue. For instance, Corbyn used his Peace and Justice Event on 17 July to facilitate an international discussion about the arms trade, building a shared understanding and consensus on the issue between people from different nations. He also continues to use his platform to support and highlight the good work being undertaken by community projects run by ordinary people across the country.

Like no other politician, his interests link together local, national and international issues, demonstrating that the people of this world are all interconnected; to wrong another is to harm yourself. And he appeals to ordinary people like me because he actually cares enough to listen what we have to say. This is why he still draws massive crowds, as we saw at yesterday’s amazing UCU strike rally.

True leadership is bringing together people from a variety of backgrounds to overcome their differences in the pursuit of a common cause. Corbyn does this naturally, without having to try. When we put the false reputation propagated by the mainstream media and Labour PLP members aside, it’s clear that Jeremy Corbyn is the quintessential big-tent politician and it is his modesty and ‘everydayness’ that draws people in.

But he would also fit right in doing an ordinary job. It’s easy picture him working in a council-run library, welcoming people in and suggesting books that they may find interesting – this is in fact something he did regularly in LOTO and has been known to do even in the Commons chamber.

It’s an appeal that MPs jealous of his popularity will never understand: how could they, when, for many, their jealousy is motivated by their own off-putting sense of self regard and entitlement. Jeremy Corbyn is an extraordinary politician – but only because, unlike most MPs, he has no pretensions of grandeur and is in fact a very ordinary, modest and decent human being. 

This is why, whether he means to or not, he continues to be the leader of the UK left and will play a huge role in the future of this country. Why else would the establishment be so afraid of him? Our ordinariness is one thing that unites most of us and this gives us power. I think Jeremy Corbyn knows this.  

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103 comments

    2. Apologies for pushing in, but re JVL and their Suspended Account (which is no longer suspended), they posted on their twitter page a couple of hours ago that they were in ‘urgent communication’ with the company who hosts their website to get the problem resolved:

      https://twitter.com/JVoiceLabour

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  2. Jeremy Corbyn is without doubt the very best Prime Minister we never had, a politician of world stature a the common touch.

    I still mourn the opportunity we as a people missed, and will never have again.

    Instead we have the unspeakable, lying, conniving Johnson. Oh, and Keith coming up in the rear, doing….precisely nothing.

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    1. There was no opportunity that was missed Susanna. We had it stolen from us by the criminal and totally corrupt right-wing fascists and their constant barrage of lies and falsehoods and demonisation and character assassination of Jeremy and the left.

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      1. There most certainly was an opportunity missed, it was probably the greatest opportunity the left will have for a very long time. Jeremy could have fought back against the smears whilst he was in the public eye and had the attention of the media but for some unknown reason he chose not to and just rolled over. It’s hard to admit it but that is the stark truth.

        And before White Flag Man repeats for the umpteenth time there was nothing he could do, there was plenty he could have done and we all know it, including withdrawing the whip from the despicable Margaret Hodge and others.

      2. No, Jack, it’s NOT the truth, it’s a Big Lie! But perhaps you could remind me what happened when Jeremy responded to the EHRC report – ie when he stated the actuality in a statement that ‘the scale of the problem (of A/S in the party) has been dramatically overstated by political opponents inside and outside the party and the media’?

      4. I agree with AH and, to an extent with JackT. Although it is clearly right to state, as JackT does, that Mr Corbyn could have responded differently, the outcome would, I think, have been no different because to withdraw whips would have given the media even more ammunition for their demonisation. Mr Corbyn was like a chess player who had very few pieces trying to compete against a grand master with a full complement. Despite this, the result of the 2017 GE tells us that all the fake-AS hype had minimal traction with the bulk of the electorate.
        However, the Hodge-led demonising was not what eventually led to the train crash for the LP. It was the Brexit/second referendum debacle that really wrecked his leadership position. The problem was that we had put him into the leadership of a movement that hadn’t done the groundwork by building strength “on the ground”. We’d had no strategy and simply hoped that electing a leader would solve everything. Let’s hope that the next generation learn from our errors.

      5. goldbach: I disagree with your assessment in several respects. You say that ‘the 2017 GE tells us that all the fake-AS hype had minimal traction with the bulk of the electorate’……. well, yes, but THAT is why they trebled down on the A/S black op AFTER the 2017 GE – ie precisely because Jeremy came so close to winning. And ESPECIALLY in 2018, when they really, really ramped up the smearing, and it was in 2018 that the saboteurs first came out with their ‘direct’ smears – ie the ‘Mural’ episode, and the 2010 meeting in which ‘Israel was compared to the Nazis’ episode, and then the ‘English Irony’ episode, and so on.

        That said, had it not been for the smears PRIOR to the 2017 GE – ie A/S, friend of terrorists, disrespectful to the Queen, a scruff etc – it’s highly likely that he would have won the GE with a comfortable majority.

        As for your chess analogy, Jeremy was check-mated from the outset, and whatever he said in relation to the A/S claims about him AND the left-wing membership would be used against him to further vilify and demonise him, just as they WERE and, as such, he was in a no-win situation. As for the ‘building strength on the ground’, well apart from anything else, there were thousands of Momentum members on the ground who, without a doubt, played a key part in the 2017 GE being such a close-run thing.

        But yes, the change in policy regarding Brexit was obviously a big factor in the 2019 GE result.

      6. Yes. My reference to building strength on the ground wasn’t in relation to the GEs of 2017 and 2019. I meant working through/with tenants groups, trades unions, pensioners groups etc. to spread/cement the word.
        People certainly did a heck of a lot of footslogging in 2017 and 2019 and, as you point out, there were many members of MOmentum who were very active. I did as much of the footslogging as I could.
        And, yes, the attacks you outline between 2017 and 2019 were designed to stop the 2017 surge in its tracks.
        But I still think that it was Brexit/second referendum what dunnit. Now who was behind that?

      7. Goldbach, withdrawing the whip from Hodge is not the only action Jeremy Corbyn could have taken, it should have been part of an overall action to counteract the smears. Every time there was a smear it should have been grabbed as an opportunity to fight back. Instead, smears became a lesson in capitulation. One action on it’s own would have elicited the results you mentioned but a properly coordinated response would have been a golden opportunity to turn the tables on his attackers.

      8. Yes, and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the whole Brexit thing was deliberately dragged out as long as possible by the Blue Tories so as to give the Red Tories – ie the Blairites – the time to ‘work’ on Jeremy, and convince him by hook and by crook to change policy (on Brexit). And in that regard, once the Red Tories had accomplished their goal, Theresa May would then stand down, and Boris Johnson – who they knew would win any leadership election – take over with the rallying cry of ‘Let’s get Brexit done’ – and shortly after becoming leader call a snap GE.

        NB And I have always thought that the way she finished her little speech outside No 10 was an act – ie a piece of theater – and was in fact a Blind. Let’s face it, the Tories knew they couldn’t very well have HER call a second snap GE in the space of two-and-a-half years…….. It was ALL planned a long time in advance, of that I have little doubt!

        https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1131485/Theresa-May-resigns-video-BBC-news-Prime-Minister-crying-Brexit-latest

      9. Yeah, sure Jack, so could you summarise what Jeremy could have said exactly. And I couldn’t help but notice that for the umpteenth time JackT carefully avoided responding to the point I made AND the question I asked him – ie what happened to Jeremy after he made his factual statement that ‘the scale of the problem has been dramatically overstated’ etc.Hmm, I wonder WHY!!

        Oh, right, because it contradicts his falsehood – the one that he has repeated on numerous occasions – that Jeremy could have ‘fought back’ etc. The following is the sort of poison we were being smeared with:

        https://antisemitism.org/jeremy-corbyns-office-is-glad-about-the-readmission-of-moshe-machover-who-defended-ken-livingstone-and-accused-jewish-students-of-obeying-israeli-embassy/

      10. Afterthought: goldbach, in your post at 1.39pm you say the following (in response to my post): ‘My reference to building strength on the ground wasn’t in relation to the GEs of 2017 and 2019. I meant working through/with tenants groups, trades unions, pensioners groups etc. to spread/cement the word.’

        Well how do you know that they DIDN’T (work through/with tenants groups etc to spread/cement the word)? And what do you mean when you say ‘spread/cement’ the word? What ‘word’? The reality is that many such groups would have been fully on board with Jeremy and his policies and, as such, doing their bit, one way or another, to help him to victory.

  3. Correction to first paragraph as above:

    “Jeremy Corbyn is without doubt the very best Prime Minister we never had, a politician of world stature with the common touch”.

    Whoops!

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  4. The sad thing is the media and the PLP have done the job they set out to do on Corbyn, he will not be the man who leads us to Socialism, he needs to be grooming the next leader of the left, too many were taken in by the nonsense attributed to Corbyn and the few times I leafleted in Liverpool City centre so many said they couldn’t vote for Jeremy and that took me aback, in Liverpool, IMO Dan Carden is an ideal choice to lead the left although they have already tried the AS smears with him over his singing of Hey Jude,

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    1. GE 2019
      I can’t vote for that JC, we always vote Labour but we can’t vote for him
      Who did you vote for in 2017
      Labour, we always vote Labour
      True story
      Propaganda works and you have to accept people believe what they are told

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      1. Two points Doug; Propaganda works best when it’s not counteracted and it was propaganda in the right wing media against the EU which gave us Brexit.

      2. JackT
        Counteract what happened to JC by bringing him back as our spiritual leader
        Elect a history changer as leader, with all the qualities of JC but a lot harder to smear without the sort of backlash the English footballers sparked
        As for Brexit i om sorry for your loss and betrayel by those who lost us 2019 GE
        My enemies enemy is my friend, welcome to the dark side
        The EU will rejoin us sooner than you think

      3. Doug – Perhaps some on ‘the left’ worshipping JC like a religious deity was part of the problem.

      4. SteveH
        Clear Red Water
        The country was screaming out for a choice not a pale imitation

      5. Doug – ….and the working class electorate reacted by more of them voting Tory than voted for Labour.
        Labour were saved by the middle class Labour vote, they outnumbered Labour’s working class vote.

      6. SteveH
        2017 betrayed
        2019 sabotaged
        Which part of Red Tories are pure poison do you struggle with
        Working class had no such problem in 2017

      7. Doug – I’m sorry but I can’t see the point that you are trying to make.

    1. PS I posted a comment on there about three hours ago, so it was functioning at that point.

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    2. Yes, it does appear that the JVL web site acc has been suspended but it looks like their Twitter acc is still on line.

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      1. …but they haven’t tweeted for 12 hours, one would have expected a notification about the web-site. I wonder how long it has been down.

      2. Maybe someone has forgotten to pay their web hosting invoice.

      1. Just out of curiousity Elaine, can you post a link on here to their most recent article just to see what happens. I just this minute – after seeing your post – tried again, but still getting the ‘Account Suspended’ page. Thanks

    4. Allan Howard are you sure? and maybe its you thats “account suspended” .don’t worry about it Allan it happens and just accept it,isn’t that your philosophy on life waive the white flag and aceppt…surrender?

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      2. Well Steve H centrist Dad SH…davidh looks like you can notch up another scalp. Account suspended…!ITs a jungle out there and Friday the 13th coming soon?..Alls well in La La land Caribbean bolt hole.

      3. Joseph – Any problems that JVL may, or may not, have are bsollutey bugger all to do with me

      5. ‘maybe it’s you thats “account suspended”‘ says Jokeefe, knowing full well prior to posting such B/S that both JackT and SteveH\ got the same message when they tried to go onto JVLs website. And THAT tells you ALL you need to know about Jokeefe – ie that he’s a poisonous little creep!! I mean talk about scraping the barrel so that he could get from JVLs account being suspended to getting in the ‘white flag’ bit!

        And to think they pay you for such pathetic attempts to try and discredit me!

        __________________________________________

        Anyway, there could be a number of reasons why JVLs account has been suspended:

        https://webhostingmedia.net/this-account-has-been-suspended/

        But I think Elaine Jacobs must have got it wrong, because there is no way she could have accessed the site if the account is suspended, and the only possible explanation is that she already had a page open on the site from earlier, and when she brought it up again it was still there. BUT, if she had reloaded the page, the ‘Account Suspended’ page would have then come up, because THAT is exactly what happened when I just did precisely THAT.

        Anyway, let’s hope there’s an innocent explanation and, as such, it’s nothing to do with the black op Smearers/Saboteurs – ie the JLM and/or CAA and/or the BoD et al! You know, along the lines of JVL is an Existential Threat!

        But then again, it IS! To their lies and falsehoods and distortions!!!

      6. So I am getting paid for my thoughts mr whiteflagman Allan Howard?All very flattering white flag man but you need to get some sleep for a change.I doubt anyone would seriously think of paying me out in the middle of nowhere on a different time zone for most normal people except for you and centrist Dad Steve H Hall from Bristol?.who for whatever reason suffer from insomnia and yourself god only knows?.Whens the “Book” coming out and whats the story allan ladd?Ps forgot to mention the excellent forensic comments from John Thatcher just across the Mekong river from me whos in HCM Vietnam whilst I am usually to be found near the Boker mountains and Kampot.or island hopping around the gulf of Thailand.Happy ☺ days comrades…!

      7. Maybe Elaine Jacobs’ computer is accessing her cache. I get the “account suspended” too.

    5. I read a post on JLVs page with a link to an article. It seems the account has been suspended after that and JVL are looking into it.

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    6. John Ware’ s libel action against JVL and others has a preliminary hearing this Friday.

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    1. The young woman who runs that is also pushing the story that the Uyghurs are indeed the victims of genocide. When I pointed her in the direction of real evidence, she accused me of being a conspiracy theorist would you believe and blocked me. So I really don’t think you should give her site the oxygen of publicity, at least until she learns to examine and evaluate evidence.

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      1. John – Could you post a link to this real evidence then we can see how it stands up against her genocide article?

      2. The “Uyghur genocide” story is quite complex.
        There is extensive information available on the internet.
        Much of it centres around a fellow called Adrian Zenz and the “university” for which he works. His “research” has never been peer-reviewed and the “university” seems likely to have its accreditation withdrawn as a result of concern about lack of academic rigour.
        Here’s an introduction to the topic.
        https://thegrayzone.com/2021/03/17/report-uyghur-genocide-sham-university-neocon-punish-china/

      3. Just to be clear, there is absolutely nothing on the Spotlight website ‘pushing the story that the Uyghurs are indeed the victims of genocide’, as John Thatcher claims, and his additional claim that Koser Saeed blocked him is no doubt false as well.

        In other words, every aspect of his post is a falsehood, concocted and designed to discredit and smear Koser Saeed, the person who runs the site.

    2. So says john thatcher, one of the resident shills on this site. Do me a favour Jonnie boy, and go forth and multiply!

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      1. I just did a search on her website (spotlight) re >uyghurs<, and there was just the one article that came up entitled: '82 Major brands have slaves working in their supply chains', and it was in relation to a report published In February 2020 by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute:

        ASPI has identified 27 factories in nine different provinces using slave labour transferred from Xinjiang and they report that most of these slaves are transferred directly from Uygher “re-education camps” where they are typically forced to live in segregated dormitories and to “undergo organised Mandarin and ideological training outside working hours”. The ‘workers’ are under “constant surveillance” and even assigned “minders” (the contemporary definition of a slave master it seems).

        The report also explains how Uyghur slaves have been repeatedly subjected to intimidation and threats…..

        https://spotlight-newspaper.co.uk/business/12/30/82-major-brands-have-slaves-working-in-their-supply-chains/

        Now it's quite possible that the Australian Strategic Policy Unit has an anti-China agenda, but given that the report names numerous companies involved in using 'slave labour, why would they publish something that's potentially damaging to said companies??!

      2. Defective white flag man Allan Howard gone crazy spreading lies and propaganda from the neo liberal alliance.Mr shill now and loved up with no 1 paid shill Steve H centrist Dad,sh davidh.Your ignorance of language and translation shows that all prisoners in this neck of the woods are unpaid and are termed re educated.That is talked to and their are no concentration camps in China unlike occupied Ireland were diplock type courts still operate and Crown forces still collude in the intimidation of civilians in the Catholic working-class community.So stop the smear campaign against China white flag man.and choose your comments carefully because I am not easily intimidated or worried by loony tune armchair warriors..like you…..Slaves? You absolute pratt…!

  7. Anti chinese warmongers sailing into the South China sea with British,USA and Europeans looking for another world war .Isnt that evidence enough mr Hall centrist Dad armchair Warrior of the neo liberal alliance.Russian Crimea also being exploited by the minions of the New imperialism challenge Russia in their own backyards daily.Whos the warmongers and look at your shameful self Steve H(this week)alias.Britain ,the USA and Europe are looking for another bloody nose in S.East Asia and the Pacific rim.

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    1. Joseph – Unlike you I see nothing to admire about either the Chinese or the Russian political doctrines’

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      1. Steve H Then carry on in your rush to war against the only countries that can stop the onward march of imperialism.You might find out that the “Natives” are tooled up this time around.and also that nobody wins a war,but somtimes you can’t turn the cheek as Corbyn did because the enemy are proven Barbarians.and only understand strength and power something that you and yours can’t aceppt or live in peace with.Yes Jeremy was a special person but you couldn’t leave a good human being to lead the real people,the ordinary working-class people could you.?

      2. Joseph – China and Russia won’t be saving the world from anything, they are part of the problem. Repressive and authoritarian dictatorships are not part of any solution..

    2. Joseph
      Now they are out of Afghanistan they need a replacement war just to keep them ticking over
      There are no obvious candidates left in the Middle East which means your right they are heading your way
      This time though they can do very little damage for simple reason they are out of their depth, outnumbered and outgunned
      Really is the beginning of the end for USA Empire, financial pandemic should finish them off

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      1. Goldbach …I was here when kim ley was shot dead in a cafe \petrol station in central Phnom Penh.He was like many Cambodians fond of gambling and mixed with a bad bunch in the KTV beer halls ..flop houses and ran up large debts.The killing was not uncommon in a country were disagreement over a few thousand dollars can lead to reprisals from the debt collectors.Kim Ley thought that his CIA contacts made him invincible and untouchable….IN this country having a three thousand debt can be a death sentence.Maybe he should have asked for more from his US backers..This is still a third world country and have been at peace for over thirty years under PM HUN SEN.We don’t need any more American help or Paid Opposition parties.Give peace a chance…Golbach and dont believe all you read.

    3. Joseph, I can’t see the US or its UK poodle doing anything other than posturing and conducting minor provocations in the China Sea and the Black Sea.
      You can find good analyses of the situation on the websites of Ray McGovern and Patrick Lawrence.
      If the US chooses to engage in further lunacy in Asia it would probably be in Iran. Even that would likely be through provocations by Israel in an attempt to elicit a response from Iran. They’ve been at it for ages though and Iran seems to know the game and seems to be able to respond in ways that can’t be used to justify an attack on Iran.
      My guess is that the focus has switched to the Americas and that the public antagonism towards Russia and China are a distraction. Expect attempts to overthrow governments in Venezuela, Cuba, Bolivia and Chile. Venezuela has oil and Bolivia has huge reserves of rare metals needed in the production of solar power.
      Cambodia has cheap labour.

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      1. Yes goldbach we have also the belt road and massive Chinese investment.The cheap Labour is being improved along with education and skilled workers.I have never seen a country with so many high end cars and a population that believes so much in “face” and status..I just hope and pray that the bubble doesn’t burst and the banks dont hoover up the sacred land which is so important to even the poorest in the community..We owe a lot to China and they know it but it’s a natural and welcome allies in S.East Asia.

      2. I forgot the timber.
        Wasn’t it following a Global Witness report linking the wealth of senior government figures to the illegal timber trade that Kem Ley appeared on TV and was quite outspoken ….. and was murdered shortly afterwards?

      1. George – Just 1 or 2 is an under-estimate (but not by all that much).

      2. A correction:

        George – Just 1 or 2 is an under-estimate (but not by all that much). Not everyone understands irony.

  9. SteveH I know! As always you are so right especially when compared to the actual hordes that followed Keef around a few months ago. His massive security team were hard pushed to keep the masses desperate to see or just be near him at bay.

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    1. Didn’t that pub landlord in Bath outnumber Temporary Embarrassment’s supporters
      SteveH ?

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    2. Spiderider I think mr Hall centrist Dad Steve H could have done without your comments…Hes fighting a loosing battle and with comments of “hordes” following keef around you make Steve H a laughing stock along with yourself.Credible is the word spider man..!

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    1. Oh my dog, that picture…

      He looks like a pair of itchy long tongs!

      I’ll bet introductions isn’t the only thing he is awkward at

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  11. A brilliant man destroyed by a Fascist press and self serving idiots inside Labour. A man who helped produce a manifesto not seen since 1945 now rejected by these centrist fools.

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  12. If I lived in England, I’d be doing my utmost for him but why, on Scotland, did he side with the Unionists and deny our right to be independent. He supports every other independence from the UK movement except ours.

    John Robertson
    Ayr
    Scotland

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    1. John Robertson….The answer to your question is that the knights a establishment man bought and paid for and doesn’t want the “natives” getting ideas above their station.,least of all a bunch of scots or Irish who to a man like keef owe everything to the empire.and England…don’t You know?

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    2. johnrobertson834 11/08/2021 at 10:11 am :

      John, I, firmly, believe, Jeremy Corbyn would never have stood in the way of an IndyRef2. Above all else, the man believes in Democracy.

      He may not have campaigned for Scottish Independence, neither would he have campaigned for a No vote – even as PM of the UK. In fact, this neutralish stance may have lowered temperatures a little.

      Of course, as PM, he would have been obliged to say something, but I’m willing to bet, we would not have heard the jingoism or wild-eyed, faux patriotism, we saw in 2014.

      It’s a decision for the Scottish people, no one else.

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    1. Goldbach – Just now, absolutely no problem accessing the JVL’s website following the link you provided!

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  14. For the sake of clarity, this is NOT a response to John Robertson.
    Mr Corbyn announced that he was resigning the leadership of the LP around 20 months ago. In politics 20 months is a very long time. One has to wonder why there are those who still constantly snipe at him. Could it be that Mr Corbyn’s successor is so vacuous and inept that there is no way of defending him other than to try to concentrate the discussion around criticism of Mr Corbyn instead.

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    1. A very similar kettle of fish to his Dear Colleague and Associate the Inbred Buffoon! The “Goofy, Messed Up, Wannabe Eccentric, Wannabe Churchill, etc” Johnson! And he something of a Roy Cropper meets Uriah Heep and Norman Bates! Apartheid Keith Starmer, the Power of the Powerful and The Power of MSM is Blatant, two of The Most Dangerous Unpopular Politicians Ever, with Cabinet/Shadow Cabinet Equally Twisted, Unpopular and Dangerous and Nothing Respectable or Desirable to any of them, they simply change Laws as it suits them, no accountability, when you are charged by The Powerful Ones they can do what ever they want! I have a feeling Keith Cropper Heep Bates Starmer is our next Prime Minister, no matter how we vote! They are only there for their Loyal, Unconditional, “Unqualified” Obedient Service to The Powerful Ones the Powerful Ones who Decide for The PEOPLE!
      Jeremy was the last chance The PEOPLE had to a remotely Socialist Government, now it simply will not happen, not until ALL The People Wake UP! So much can be done with no violence, but Commercialism and Materialism is King, until people STOP desiring their WANTS and only own their NEEDS no change can come!

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  15. Jeremy is a constant reminder that voting for the Brand “Labour” is not voting for the Party “Labour”!
    The TORY Parasite Party who are Occupying “Labour” are Thatcherite Neoliberal Neolabour Party Tories and NOT IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM UK Labour Party!
    There are TWO things that are vitally important before the next GE in 24,
    1) Organised planning to vote the Sabotaging, Conniving, Parasite TORIES out of our UK Labour Party or start a new Party altogether, but Socialism or a Party for The PEOPLE will never exist with their constant Sabotage.
    2) And Probably more importantly get the Ballot Boxes Protected or Change the voting system, completely, multiple Secure Logins and Location Data or something, ANYTHING, there needs to be a fail proof way, there probably is, we are just too used to being told Propaganda to the contrary!
    A stranger on a 10 to 30 Minute drive with our votes in their own private car, and the level of sophisticated Anti-Socialist sabotage out there entirely at the Hoity Toity’s disposal, is in no way a safe bet!
    Shaws, who supplies everything Pencil to Box, to Signs, to Security Tags to Ballots, Civica, Modern.gov, Electoral Commission are all one company/intermingled, and somewhere along the line Tory Influence/Money.
    People may not even have voted as deplorable as GE19 results made it out to be! Not with every militia/crusade from Tel Aviv to Miami After Jeremy or should I say Socialism!
    I personally believe we were robbed and I believe we will be robbed until we stop it and change the Electoral System, until then it will be This TORY or That TORY!
    https://ibb.co/album/9820Wj

    Reply

      3. Proof of what exactly my Personal Opinion that we have been robbed?
        I told you before Personal Opinion is an Opinion no proof just a personal belief/hunch based on Personal Assessments, not interested in getting in depth personal, with someone I know nothing about, I am sure you feel the same way!!
        Everything else is fact, the Meme points you to the sources, now I think we are at another SteveAndrewJohnathanDavidFinleyScottH spoon-feed moment, and again it’s called Internet Search, very easy, choose a Search Engine that you trust search your queries, pages and pages if information appears!

      4. skellyknelly – Well proof that your assertions of vote rigging have any more credibility than those from ‘the orange one’ might be a start.
        It really shouldn’t surprise you if others point out that you don’t have any evidence to support your nonsense.
        You do however deserve a pat on the head, your attempts at condescension are getting better. Persevere, you’ll get there in the end.

      5. Can you explain to me how rigging is impossible, when at 22:00, ~650 Complete Strangers load the ballot boxes, with our votes into the boot of their own cars alone, sets off ALONE on a 10/20/30 minute drive to their allocated Counting Centre! Taking all the Ballot boxes completely off the radar and invisible for 10/20/30 minutes!?
        Are you really so naive to place your trust in a stranger with your vote!?
        If the coin was flipped and we had TWO Extremist Regimental Socialist Regimes instead of TWO of YOUR Extremist Regimental Neoliberal TORY Regimes, Oh and don’t forget only one Company handles everything for that ballot box, the box, contents and so called security tags and it is connected to both or at least one of the TWO Extremist Regimental Socialist Regimes?
        Would that still sit okay with you!?
        NOW EXPLAIN, HOW IS IT IMPOSSIBLE THAT WE THE PEOPLE WERE ROBBED GE19!?
        Leave your beloved Orange One out of it he is American, I am British!

      6. skellyknelly – Please don’t put words in my mouth, I never said it was impossible, few things are. I just said you had no evidence to support your assertions that the 19GE was rigged.

      7. Well there you go then! It was perfectly Possible, I have given you more than enough evidence of how it could done very easily. Now the next question, btw questions are not “putting words in your mouth, they are Questions! Do you think that a member of the Public or even a Renowned Investigative Journalist would ever find a ‘shred’ of evidence of this kind, especially now!?
        If Starmer and his CPS Office can make files and documents on Assange, Saville, Spy Cops vanish, with no repercussion how easily would this international effort vanish!? All I did was say what I believe happened based on the facts I put in front of you, as you said it is not impossible, yet you believe what you want, I most certainly will believe what I want!
        I wonder why you are arguing in the first place, when you agree it is not impossible! What a strange little creature you are!

      8. skellyknelly – Their are a whole multitude of things that could be happening, but aren’t. The possibilities are endless.
        Please feel free to fret all you want about what might be happening but I won’t be joining you down your 🐰🕳️. Have fun.

      9. “Their are a whole multitude of things that could be happening, but aren’t.”
        Yes you just keep your little head in your little fluff bubble, filled with your Fake Left, MSM and Neoliberal Neolabour TORY Conditioning!
        I am very pleased we share NOTHING in common, that gives me great peace of mind!
        I’m not fretting at all just stating what I see and giving my opinion about that, however in these are alarming times, I would rather be wrong in my opinion than naively lap up what the Sheeple are being “SPOON-FED”!
        I do wonder what you come here for and follow people about like a lost 5 year old, it most certainly ain’t for the love!
        Even being such an Anal and Condescending Creature, that I would much prefer you to stop following me about, if you feel so desperately lonely and that is your thing, knock yourself out!

      10. skellyknelly – There was nothing to stop you just ignoring my comment that you don’t have any evidence to support your ‘assertions’. Something that you don’t contest.
        Instead you chose to draw attention to my comment and amplify its impact way beyond that which my original short reply could have hoped to achieve without you help.
        It was entirely your choice.

      11. Oh but I have told you before, sometimes I do just ignore your comments to me, other times I like to play a bit like a cat with a rat, and when I am done with you I will ignore you, until next time! It is very rare however that I will comment to your comments if not directed at me, usually just when you are being a Twunt to a Comrade. You on the other hand seem compelled to comment on just about every comment made on here on SB. I reckon you are an old Nokia 3310 Bot, Velcroed to a wall of other Bot Phones somewhere in Manilla, Tel Aviv, Abuja or some other Dodgy Bot Farm Capital!

      12. skellyknelly – I’m seriously impressed by how you’ve manipulated me into responding to your nearly 1,000 words with a couple of hundred of my own whilst you have been forced to admit that you have no evidence to support your ‘assertions’.
        We must do this again sometime soon. I enjoy a challenge.
        Thanks again for taking the time to amplify my original 8 word response to you.
        What a c;ever girl you are. 🤔

      13. Yes, well! Actuality you haven’t answered any questions, other than agreeing with me and you have not provided any Possible alternative to my 1000s of words! Not even 8! 😉

  16. I loved Jeremy but perhaps he was just too nice when some suggest he was up against political thugs?
    And perhaps those around him lacked the political bottle and acumen?
    As a Leader I think JC should have offered an analysis which pointed out that in 2019 GE we must accept BREXIT but want A Better Brexit, and two thirds of Labour seats had Pro-Brexit majorities.
    If we didn’t then we would snatch defeat from the jaws of victory and millions of diverse working people would suffer under the Tories.
    And he should have ignored the Political Snake Starmer?
    He should have put it to members OMOV – back this position or I will resign.
    He should have been prepared to lose this vote rather than compromising and allow diverse working people to suffer.
    There are still perhaps 500k left wing democratic socialists in the UK, the dream is not over.
    We just need to reflect and get organised!

    Reply

    1. Bazza – Jeremy has also said that more that two thirds of Labour’s members supported a CV and staying in the EU. Perhaps that is why he didn’t go for your fait accompli.

      Reply

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