With the news that Left Unity — the far-left political party — have suspended plans to stand in elections in order to support Jeremy Corbyn, many Corbynistas have taken the decision as proof of their leader’s positive influence. Alas, it all got a bit much for Alan Johnson, the former Home Secretary, when he appeared on the Daily Politics alongside Left Unity spokesman Simon Hardy.
With Left Unity amassing a mere 455 votes across three seats in the general election, Johnson didn’t take Hardy’s criticisms of Labour pre-Corbyn all that well. In fact, when Hardy suggested that Labour had become a ‘shadow’ of the Tories — with Corbyn their only saviour, Johnson let rip and listed all of Labour’s achievements:
‘I’ve been with Jeremy since we introduced the minimum wage, introduced the education maintenance allowance, Sure Start children’s centre, when we reduced child poverty, when we attacked pensioner poverty, when we gave trade unionists the right to be represented, the right to not be sacked for going on strike.
You’ve done none of that. All you’ve done is print out your leaflets despising the Labour Party and suggest that over here there’s a plausible alternative.’
Alan Johnson and @Simon_Hardy1 on Left Unity supporting Jeremy Corbyn #bbcdp https://t.co/fgjO9vuvUV
— BBC Daily Politics and Sunday Politics (@daily_politics) November 24, 2015
Hardy did not take well to Johnson’s criticism, describing the Blairite as a ‘bit rude’ before taking to Twitter to call him a ‘Blairite dinosaur’:
https://twitter.com/Simon_Hardy1/status/669137566143246336
Still, Mr S would place a bet on Left Unity going extinct long before the Blairite wing of Labour does.
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