@Gearhead mk2:
No-one has stated specifically that Corbyn fans are blind to his faults in this thread. I've used 'blind' twice to refer to Owen Jones not questioning deeply why anti-Semitic opinions prevail on the left and why Labour MPs are unwilling to split. I agree that the majority of Corbyn supporters are so because they see him as a man of peace who is principled and do so through a desire to see an end to austerity, homelessness and food banks which are seen in Britain today. The hard left, which I believe Corbyn and McDonnell are a part of. comprises a smaller number of the support, but due to their history in activism and organisation, it is likely that these people are taking prominent positions as Corbyn's ringleaders amongst the grassroots. Investigations into Momentum, Labour CLPs and the prevalence of Trotskyist ideas like democratic centralism seem to back this up.
As someone who'd position himself on the centre-left of the Labour wing, or right leaning Labour as you'd probably say, I'm not afraid of Corbyn because he's turning Labour leftward as such, though I think his principles are worrying and not befitting that of PM (I'm not talking of anti-austerity here, more his comfort with dodgy regimes like Cuba and happiness to appear on Iranian state media). I'm afraid of him because he's leading Labour to electoral defeat, as attested by polls consistently on many an issue (May is trusted more on pretty much every issue in several polls of the general public, and even among Labour voters), and this includes the time before the vote of no confidence and ensuing leadership challenge. Listen to the Labour MPs who voted no confidence and they speak of a disconnect between Corbyn and the people on the street whilst they campaigned for remaining in the EU, but they still said that Corbyn's decent man even after losing confidence. Some were unwilling to work with Corbyn's new politics, rightly or wrongly, but many were, as they took places in the shadow cabinet and fought for Labour values with Corbyn in charge. Stories of Corbyn undermining his MPs, either willingly or through sheer incompetence, have surfaced through the press, through CLP meetings and social media, but rather than consider them and see corroboration between MPs, many convince themselves that they're lying to oust Corbyn. The Corbyn team has made a hash of a Corbyn ally's speech, and there are some who make out that Clive Lewis is the bad guy. The only way around this is to suggest that all these MPs are crooked liars and that Corbyn is one of the few honest politicians in Labour, which seems unlikely and this excuse wouldn't wash if a Tory leader was behaving similarly. If reports came out suggesting that a Tory leader undermined Tory MPs in a similar fashion, most Labour supporters would say that this is evidence that the Tory Party is unfit and led by a demagogue. We're somehow supposed to suspend that same criticism for Corbyn. And, if you think that these MPs in Labour are susceptible to such dishonesty, then why claim to want unity? Why would you want Corbyn to unite with this bunch of egregious liars after the Smith leadership challenge failed?
they've lied about being threatened and beaten by his supporters
There may be some cases of exaggeration, but it's hard to lie about the Angela Eagle and Ruth Smeeth instances of abuse. Such instances were not prevalent before, and all this has happened on Corbyn's watch and from one side in particular.
they've massively raised the entity fee to the party, said "if you've not been in this long your vote doesn't count" and shut down entire branches of the party to try and stop people voting for him.
The Tories did something similar prior to the would-be leadership battle between Leadsom and May. Such things aren't unheard of in party politics within a parliamentary democracy. The Labour NEC can decide upon what it sees fit, but the way it was undertaken did seem to be haphazard. CLP suspensions may not have been necessary if it wasn't for death threats and abuse. In any other circumstance such abuse would be condemned, with opinion pieces asking whether this belies underlying sexism if the majority of victims were women, but because it goes against supporters of Corbyn there's greater suspicion, and I have to ask why such accusations are held to much higher standards than they would under other circumstances.
Frankly... I honestly hope Corbyn is as good as he seems, because everything else in UK politics is totally, irreversibly fucked right now. I am genuinely considering immigration and half considering suicide if things get much worse.
Please don't do anything rash! The UK is still a liberal democracy with strong stances on human rights, living standards and equality for all, even with the rise of the populist right. I know things seem bleak now with Brexit and a subsequent rise in xenophobic attacks, worries over the economy, likely job losses if we leave the single market and a prime minister currently engaging in post-fact politics where we now have to seemingly go along with a hard Brexit because that's what the public voted for, even though the specifics of the deal was never part of the referendum. I appreciate that it's difficult with the fabric of the world we once believed in changing around our feet, but we will definitely lose if we give in, whilst we may have a chance to make things tolerable if we push for the best possible situation under the current circumstances. This means pushing the Tories for the best possible Brexit deal, one which would involve staying in the single market, whilst rebutting any nonsense thrown our way about ignoring the results of the referendum, and trying our best to ensure that we're on the same side as the working classes, farmers and more by honestly stating the risks of job losses and lack of subsidies from leaving the EU and single market. We may have to make concessions on immigration policies, but we shouldn't back down from fighting for what's best for the country.
This can only be done through parliamentary means. Unfortunately, Corbyn has so far done nothing to challenge the Conservatives on the Brexit deal, instead going along with the Brexiter Tory mantra of "we need to respect the decision", including stating the need to invoke article 50 immediately a day after the referendum result. On this issue, as with so many others, I have no trust in Corbyn for pushing for the right deal for the country or party, no do many other Labour voters or MPs who have seen him undermine their own work, as well as the party's policies.
I realise that you probably weren't anticipating or expecting such a length reply given that you weren't interested in debating the subject, but I want to reach out to express my position and objections. I hope you realise that I, like most non-Corbynites in Labour, I want what's best for the party and country. The only way for Labour to accomplish its goals is through parliament, but with Corbyn disregarding parliamentary politics and a lack of clear policies to put forward (platitudes like "education from cradle to the grave" are not clear policies, as there is nothing to be said as to what they entail or how they are to be achieved), Labour cannot combat Tory policies sufficiently or put forth a viable alternative which the public can have trust in. For his many faults, including spin and his own personality cult, Tony Blair was able to lead a Labour Party which did some good, one which brought in the minimum wage, tax credits and the human rights act, but this was only possible because Labour were in government. I've seen many Corbyn fans state that they're not interested in power, making those who want electoral success sound like power hungry monsters, but power is the only way we can achieve progressive policies and put them into government. When Labour's in a position of weakness it cannot fight the government's policies sufficiently, as we'll see if Labour sees electoral success as an irrelevance in comparison to being a principled and ideologically pure (or as pure as possible) party which ignores the many in the country who have differing views. If Labour turn off the public, then they won't win an election and the Tories can make inroads, putting forth policies which erode the good old ones and replacing them with ones which are potentially bad. I realise that people support Corbyn because of an alienation of what the last Labour government represented, and seeing him as a bastion against austerity and poverty, but he won't be able to enact any of it without backing from the electorate and he doesn't seem to have that.
I just want to finish off this post by reiterating that it is not all over. Don't give up all hope to the point at which you're thinking of emigrating or committing suicide! After this tumultuous year the path ahead looks a hard one, but we'll pull through if we pull together. I know it looks hard, politically, but if it bothers you so, try to focus on the good elsewhere in your life. Hard to do, I know, but it's not worth giving up over. Populism might be increasing its voice, but there are still people out there who are concerned about it, showing that there is support against it. The government may not act like it, but 48% voted for Remain and not all of the 52% for Brexit support the populist right, so there are many out there who are against the kind of right wing, nationalism and xenophobia which has found itself a voice right now.
