Ice cold Corbyn in meltdown
The resignation of Christine Shawcroft as head honcho of the disciplinary body on Labour’s ruling NEC was prompted by my colleague on The Times Sam Coates getting hold of an email she had sent on Sunday. In it she had suggested that an anti-Semitic party candidate should be allowed to stand. Shawcross was ordered to stand down by Corbyn (presumably for getting caught) although for now she remains on the NEC, weirdly.
It is horrifying to see this scandal engulf the Labour party, Britain’s main opposition. But it is, I must admit, delicious to see the odious far left – the vile anti-semites, the haters of the West, the Communist apologists, the SWP invaders, those smug leftie Labour MPs who’ve attached themselves to the bandwagon and now can’t get off, and the Corbynite hipster muppets – getting found out and confronted.
On social media the naive faithful are stunned by the turn of events. The official line was until a few days ago that there is no anti-Semitism in Labour, and now Jeremy says it must be rooted out. Owen Jones – the talented Corbynite scribe who at these critical moments plays the part of Squealer from Animal Farm, interpreting the shifting nostrums of the revolution’s leadership – wants the focus to be on anti-Semitism in the wider community. Funny that!
With Corbyn personally, there’s something weird and interesting happening though. Part of the pitch for “Magic Grandpa” was the notion that one could overlook all his terrible associations and awful views, because his heart is supposedly in the right place. It isn’t and this week it should be obvious to all but the most credulous. He never was Mister Nice Guy. If you still fall for that routine you need your head examined.
Look at Corbyn’s response to the anti-Semitism scandal. It has been tone deaf at best, and sinister at worst. The broadcaster Iain Dale called his comments ice cold, saying he exhibited no emotional intelligence. That’s surely right. Corbyn has loved, loved, loved the adulation since last summer. He’s vain as hell. Now comes the backlash. And he hates it. Good.