Why we hold Corbyn in contempt

She tells us that Mr Corbyn is a “pretty nice guy” who may well succeed “in dragging British politics to the left”. He is “mild mannered” and has “real humility”; he is “kind” and “self-effacing”; he is “one of the most genuine men in British public life at the minute”.

He has understood Christ, Marx and Lennon – though this reader at least is unable to understand what links the Saviour of Mankind with a revolutionary economist of dubious morals and a drug-abusing pop crooner.

She concludes her star-struck essay by telling us she thinks he is actually “rather wonderful”.

Perhaps we should be grateful that she refrains from telling us about his kindness to animals and small children or his miracle-working powers.

Ms Savage appears not to understand why most of us hold her hero in contempt. We remember that he hosted Gerry Adams at the Commons weeks after the Brighton bomb; we know about his admiration for his friends in Hamas; we know about his links with Russia and Iran; we are aware of his anti-Semitic supporters.

As for her belief that he will drag politics back to the left is she really ignorant of his poor performance in the opinion polls or of the extent of opposition to him within his parliamentary party?

In reality Jeremy Corbyn is the Conservative party’s best asset.

C.D.C. Armstrong, Belfast, BT12

Corbyn: nice guy and Labour’s new hope

By Joanne Savage

August 27 2016

Let’s get straight to the bottom of why the liberal corporate media in London can’t seem to give the current leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn any kind of break as they insist on crucifying the man from one non-story to the next: this is actually a pretty nice guy who sounds and looks like a normal human being who may actually succeed in dragging British politics to the left. And not before time.

Since the mild-mannered former backbencher for Islington came to power in September 2015 it’s as if the entire press has been dumbstruck by interaction with a man of real humility who speaks sensibly about workers’ rights, is compassionate in his response to unemployment and disability rights, wants to renationalise the railways, doesn’t much care for the doleful patriotism of the national anthem and has clearly understood Jesus Christ, Karl Marx and John Lennon - which can only mean the poor man is already on the CIA’s radar.

A kind, self-effacing leader who is a committed pacifist who declares that he’s not really a personality of note as he prefers to dedicate his time to “seeing doors open for other people” Corbyn is one of the most genuine men in British public life at the minute, and the mere fact that even the BBC seems to find it necessary to spin every non-story into a piece of anti-Corbyn propaganda is clear evidence that he represents a real threat to business or rather corruption-as-usual.

First they couldn’t get to grips with him because he turned up at the dispatch box for question time wearing a tweed jacket and a red tie, daring to speak like a normal human instead of an overconfident member of the Oxbridge elite who is heavier on swagger than sentiment. He has talked about finding a more sensible economic policy for Britain than the sadistic robbing of the poor George Osborne’s austerity measures have institutionalised. He has stated that the inequality we witness in Britain today is not the only way, that in fact, we might choose not to deepen cuts affecting the most vulnerable and find a way to increase the top rate of tax while not hampering the productivity of businessmen, world leaders and entrepreneurs.

Corbyn has dared to try things a different way by not immediately lapsing into the patter-ridden specious language of the PR-savvy politician, opting for a less finished and ultimately more honest approach, sometimes displaying hesitancy and in allowing his humanity to shine through inviting us to understand that we can have normal humans as effective political leaders and really it is quite exhilarating to think of how this refreshingly new and unfinished approach could mean great things for the Labour Party at last.

I think Jeremy is actually rather wonderful and I am entirely on his side rather than Virgin’s Sir Richard Branson - who continues to laugh all the way to the bank at the British tax payer’s expense, on the issue of ‘traingate’ when Corbyn sat on the crowded floor of a train to indicate the problems with overcrowding and his hopes to renationalise the service. It is precisely because Corbyn appears natural and sincere as opposed to coached by Machiavelli himself that I see grounds for great faith in his commitment to a more compassionate politics. It is a symptom of how warped the media has become that it finds his lack of polish so relentlessly newsworthy.