In last week’s Spectator, Rod Liddle reported that his Tory-supporting wife is beginning to feel sorry for Jeremy Corbyn. ‘You lot want to watch it. I’m beginning to feel sorry for the bloke. The sympathy votes will be stacking up,’ Mrs Liddle informed her husband.
At first, you might wonder what there is to feel sympathetic about. In his short tenure as leader so far, Corbyn has used his ‘huge mandate’ to put a stamp on Labour — allowing it to descend into public infighting over muddled policy positions, as well as riling his own MPs with an assortment of controversial appointments.
But after this weekend’s ‘row’ about whether Corbyn bowed low enough at the Remembrance Sunday ceremony, I think Mrs Liddle has a point. This sort of silly manufactured story does no justice either to the Labour leader or his critics. As this report on the Mirror’s website explains, there is a video clip that shows ‘Mr Corbyn did tip his head but not as deeply as the Prime Minister’. There’s even a poll on the matter, with over 500 votes so far. For what it’s worth, 57 per cent think he did bow low enough.
Look at this clip of Corbyn tipping his head and see if you can spot anything wrong with his behaviour:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pji9EVwrwk
There are many things Corbyn could have done yesterday to a make point. He could have worn a white poppy. He might have donned a donkey jacket. Or he could have stayed at home. But no, the Labour leader looked perfectly respectable, smart even, and laid the wreath and fulfilled his duties as Leader of the Opposition. I doubt his bow was a form of protest.
But what is even worse than the media flurry about Corbyn’s angle of bowing is the response from the Corbynites. They claimed there was a ‘VIP lunch’, which didn’t happen, and suggested Corbyn instead spent the time talking to veterans. His supporters claim the media ignored Corbyn’s wanderings and have weaponised the pictures on social media to attack the Tories, with some pig jokes thrown in for good measure. It’s pretty unedifying:
While @David_Cameron "pigged out" at a free taxpayers lunch, Corbyn was applauding Veterans with the public pic.twitter.com/9lo66BF4l3
— Gracie Samuels (@GracieSamuels) November 9, 2015
Both sides need to stop these basic attacks — they are not helping anyone. I’m no fan of Corbyn and what he stands for; he deserves to be thoroughly scrutinised, criticised and debated. But watching the responses from both sides, Mrs Liddle is right that these attacks may eventually benefit the Labour leader. After all, people should remember they are attacking a 66-year-old man for not bowing quite far enough. There are so many matters of substance Corbyn can be attacked on — Trident and defence being notable examples — that his opponents should stick to matters of fact. Any more, and the attacks may prove dangerously counterproductive.
Comments