The Corbyn years: taking stock
Published
by
John Booth
JVL Introduction
Two much reviewed books have appeared in recent months with their evaluations the Corbyn project.
They are critically assessed here by John Booth in an article reposted with permission of Lobster magazine.
John Booth is a Labour activist who has been a councillor, parliamentary candidate and political education officer as well as working professionally for the party and the trade union movement.
He is a founding member of the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign and a member of JVL’s education group.
This article was originally published by Lobster on Sat 12 Dec 2020. Read the original here.
The Corbyn Years
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This review certainly clears the air. At last someone is willing to confront the issue of Israel and Israel supporters baleful influence and the impact of their influence on the Corbyn project. We live in times when the mere fact that a writer takes the opportunity to open that can of worms is considered courageous. That should tell us all we need to know about this dispiriting age.
What an exemplary piece of journalism, which certainly shows up the frightening superficiality of reportage as it’s normally practised in the UK. On a possibly marginal point, I was glad to see John Booth point out the nasty growing habit of book publishers expecting us to go to the internet any time we want to check a reference. The publishers save money on paper and ink while the journalists are spared a lot of necessary scrutiny.
I will not buy or read either book. Murdoch journalists will never write anything balanced on Corbyn or Labour under any leader to the left of Blair, the warmonger. Jones is no more than a weather vane swinging in the wind of political change. He was once a decent left voice in media, but was soon corrupted by the powers that be at the Guardian. His columns are so void of meaning and substance as to not even be worthy of use as chip wrapping. Jones was part of the back stabbing movement within months of Corbyn’s election. If memory serves he even supported Owen Smith. He is a vacuous non entity.
Interesting article. Thank you.
I haven’t read the Pogrund/Maguire book, but I did venture into the Jones book. Two thirds of the way through, I put it to one side. My distinct impression was Jones’s ego was battling for attention with the book’s subject. Turned into a bit of a ‘Curate’s egg’.
I’d like to see a comparison with Alex Nunn’s book – The Candidate(2nd edition). That was much, more informative and readable.
We need NOW to start compiling a manual of every pro-Israel organisation and individual (politicians, journalists, business people) in the UK. This is the first article I have seen which has the courage to begin to expose what is acftually going on. This is NOT a conspiracy – it is a campaign. In the US they went through the same process – years of being lambasted and undermined by a well funded pro-Israel lobby. Then they began to fight back – and naming who the allies of Israel were, and what their politics were. It is now uccesful. We have to do this.
Bravo John Booth, though I am only a guest who says it, being neither Jewish nor Labour. We have lived through a period when assertion was all that was needed to traduce an honourable man with weaknesses. We have observed that allegations can be passed on and multiplied as evident truths when no evidence was brought to bear and no evaluation sought. We have seen a “definition” adopted and foisted on organisations mighty – like Universities – and small – like town councils – when this formulation would not have got through an undergraduate Philosophy seminar without ridicule, let alone anything to do with the Law.
Those patrons of the Jewish National Fund (ethnic cleansing dressed as ecology) Blair and Brown, can rest assured that Starmer will restore order as we have known it to be. Al Jazeera’s “The Lobby”? Never saw it! Philo, Berry et al’s “Bad News for Labour”? Never read it. “The Guardian”? Lost the last threads of its radical cover.
Chin up! There’s still Steve Bell, isn’t there?
Revealing article – I never knew about Berger’s 3 yr Directorship of LFI or Smeeth having worked for BICOM, and Robert Peston’s Cudlipp Lecture. What is clear though is that slowly but surely the facts are beginning to emerge. The problem, of course, it’s sadly now too late for Corbyn. I don’t really consider Owen Jones a figure of the ‘left’ any more. Well done JVL.
How well this post echo’s thoughts I have had over time here brilliantly brought together and remarkably supported by evidence. A very important post IMO>
Chris Main, never too late – not for Biden, why not for JC? Though whether he’d want to…
At last the truth, thank you John Booth. Though I never thought of Jeremy as ‘weak’. To the contrary, I’ve been amazed by his resillience, inner strength and statesmanship throughout the appalling ordeal he continues to endure, meanwhile making the most of his time to educate – I watched the webinars on Bolivia, Palestine, the Labour Left response to Govt’s £16.5 billion spend on ‘defence’, plans for the future and more; as inspiring as ever.
Articles like this that itemize the many betrayals and compromises of the Corbyn years are only the first of many to come, and will provide a valuable resource for future historians of the Labour movement. The contribution of Owen Jones to that history is an ignominious but familiar story. Like many Of the soft left, Jones has learned the devious trick of keeping a foot in both camps; of pretending to support Corbyn while reinforcing the many narratives designed to discredit him, not least of all the claim that he is an enabler of antisemitism. Just two days ago he let fly a tweet to the effect that it was unwise for Corbyn to agree to an interview in The Canary. Pretty rich, coming from someone who continues to write for The Guardian.
I am a friend of John’s from Labour Party days (he came to Walworth Road where I was working as a PRO) from the Teachers Union if I remember correctly. He was not there long. This is probably the best thing he has written recently. He does long form investigative journalism. I think he is mostly spot on here. Terrifically well done JB! I am also a great believer in the need to be honest and accurate when rebutting the opposition. While an expert in my time in the dark arts, which have their place in resistance because that is also what those who oppose us employ, any lack of accuracy when putting the ‘facts’ out there by the left, undermines our position. We need to be more perfect than they are.
I would quibble with one or two things. I will give just one example. He mentions Marc Wadsworth. It is important to state that as far as Doreen Lawrence is concerned, she was ultimately unhappy, believing Marc was liaising with other black political groups and developing tactics and strategies which she felt had the effect of hijacking what she said was her campaign for justice for Stephen not anyone else. I think whatever one thinks of Doreen Lawrence’s political position, she ran an incredible campaign against all the odds.
Then there was Wadsworth’s behaviour at that Press Conference which actually served to undermine the Chakrabarti report and damaged Jeremy, giving ammunition to the rightwing media. John could have a view about this. That does not mean Mark was not right about Smeeth, as she is indeed profoundly disingenuous, & well-plugged in to the anti-semitism propaganda campaign.
But anyway, what John does here is a timely reminder of all the strands of the onslaught against Labour’s left using anti-Semitism, that needs clarity of thought and is a very useful reminder. He says what has really been going on.
[Thsi comment has been shortened to bring it into line with our word length policy – ed]
The IHRA definition of anti-Semitism does not allow articles like this to be published! It contains tropes & opinions that Zionists would find offensive.
Excellent and truthful article which deserves national attention and circulation.