Expulsions, Lies and Manipulation – the Right's Reaction to a Resurgent Left

Right-wing ridicule is turning into panic as Jeremy Corbyn's remarkable mass movement threatens to return the Labour Party to its socialist roots. For the first time in three decades radical voices and policies are forcing their way onto the agenda. Even the massively censored British media is struggling to invisibilise or dismiss long suppressed common sense Left analysis of the current economic and social crises. With unrestrained corporate greed destroying social and environmental fabric, and imperialist war strategy creating an unprecedented world refugee crisis, hundreds of thousands are flocking to the campaign to elect a genuine, conviction politician as Labour leader. The Corbyn campaign’s massive rallies across the country are attracting thousands of people, many of whom were not born when he fist became an MP, and a staggering 300,000 people have paid £3 to vote in the election. Try as they might, the right wing New Labour clique that controls the Labour Party appears unable to purge anything like the number of voters necessary to stop Corbyn from taking Labour back to its roots. Whilst anyone who admitted to voting Green on social media or who has criticised Labour from the Left has their vote for Corbyn discounted, right wing Labour Party members remain free to spread their capitalist propaganda (e.g. Daniel Hodges – David Cameron's favourite Telegraph columnist who voted for Boris Johnson as London Mayor).

Last week the Daily Torygraph did a u-turn on its “vote for Corbyn” campaign. Having backed Corbyn in July and encouraged readers to sign up and vote for him, ridiculing him as destined to make the Labour unelectable, last week its editorial screamed “Corbyn must be stopped” because he was “dangerous”. Desperate to hide its contradictory hypocrisy the Telegraph concludes: “Corbyn’s victory ... would be a tragedy for Labour and a disastrous embarrassment for everyone else”. Well certainly for the right wing paper that campaigned for him!

Obviously, as the reality of a mass Left movement dawns, the establishment propaganda starts going into over-drive, and today the attacks involve a disinformation interpretation of a 5 year old interview Corbyn gave to an Iranian TV channel in which he quite accurately described the legacy of British and US involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq as a tragedy. Corbyn's pledge to apologise for the Iraq War if he becomes leader contrasts starkly with the Blair and New Labour warmongering insanity that destroyed Iraq and Afghanistan and created the instability and violence now forcing millions to flee Iraq and Syria. Yet the mainstream censored media today say Corbyn is a threat to National Security because he opposes spending £100 billion on replacing Trident (George Osborne in the Sun).

As Owen Jones eloquently pointed out at the Islington Corbyn rally a couple of weeks ago  Corbyn has been on the correct side of history for decades. He was arrested on pickets of the South African Embassy whilst Thatcher was calling Nelson Mandela a terrorist; he campaigned for gay rights when Tory and Labour right wingers were overt bigots; and he spoke to Sinn Fien before even Mo Mowlem, let alone Blair and Mandelson claimed to be peacemakers in Ireland. What was most striking about that and other rallies is the age range of Corbyn supporters and the remarkable number of under 30s. As Jones said, no one anticipated the strength of support Corbyn would receive but the massive surge in Labour support plus the commitment to building a long term mass movement is the most positive development in British politics since the 1980s.