Jeremy Corbyn

Since last Saturday (12th September) when Jeremy Corbyn was duly elected to be Leader of the Labour Party, I have lost count of the number of people who have asked me my thoughts on him and his victory.

So I thought I'd try and figure out what my thinking on Corbyn is.

I was 100% behind Andy Burnham in his leadership campaign and was really disappointed for him. But, I know that Andy Burnham is 100% loyal to his leader whoever that is. That gives me a start towards my feelings on Corbyn. To take on the Government and to effectively challenge them Corbyn needs our loyalty and support.

I am also guided by another person I respect who has worked for more politicians than I could ever have met. Right at the outset of the leadership election, he stated that he was supporting Corbyn and did the design on his print materials. (Not that I got any communication from Corbyn during the leadership election campaigning.)

My thoughts are this:

Jeremy Corbyn has been duly elected.

I instinctively support his anti-austerity platform because it is right and because I see the impact of the Government's flawed austerity agenda on the poorest and most vulnerable people in our community and on local government.

I really want a Labour Government in 2020 and although many are repeating the mantra that Jeremy Corbyn won't or can't win, well what if he did? Stranger things have happened.

I support Jeremy Corbyn's stance on renationalisation of the railways and Andy Burnham's suggestion of how this could be done. When EastCoast mainline was in public control recently while waiting for tenders it made money for the Treasury!

Jeremy Corbyn's age: my reaction is so what? When did our society become so ageist? Our political leaders always used to be older and it was accepted that they would have life experience and that's not such a bad thing.

Singing the National Anthem: I was aghast at the media's reaction to this. Seriously, who cares whether a politician sings along to a song when actually what should have been in the news are the issues of:
cuts to tax credits which provide a safety net to poor families,
increasing numbers of people (including children) having to go to places where volunteer groups provide meals and food banks and so many more important issues.

If his focus, as mine is, is to do good for people then more power to his elbow.

So ultimately, let's give the bloke a chance. I have a feeling we'll be pleasantly surprised.