How should the Tories attack Jeremy Corbyn on foreign policy? Today’s Sun splashes on a story about the Labour leader and a Czechoslovakian communist spy. The paper claims that Corbyn briefed a communist spy – masquerading as a Czechoslovakian diplomat – during the cold war. Gavin Williamson has been quick to denounce Corbyn’s behaviour as a ‘betrayal of this country’. As for Corbyn’s response, his spokesman says he did meet with a diplomat but insists he ‘neither had nor offered any privileged information’.
The story has divided opinion online with Corbyn’s critics quick to cite it as further proof that he hates the West and Corbyn’s fans quick to slam it as another MSM smear. Whatever you make of the story – which does at minimum raise questions about Corbyn’s naivety – it certainly has a whiff of déjà vu to it. It’s not just that it’s another story that raises questions about Corbyn’s foreign policy credentials, it’s also another story that appears to fall on deaf ears when it comes to Corbyn’s supporters.
Throughout the snap election, there were numerous stories about Corbyn’s attitude to national security questions – he was blasted for taking tea with IRA bombers, laying a wreath at the grave of a Palestinian militant involved in the Munich massacre and welcoming agents of the Hamas terror group as ‘friends’. Yet despite this, Corbyn received a better-than-expected election result and Theresa May lost her majority.
Whether right or wrong, you can’t help but get the impression today’s story isn’t going to change many people’s minds. There’s a particular problem when it comes to reaching out to younger voters who haven’t grown up with the historical context a lot of these events need to be framed in. These voters have grown up more suspicious of the West than many older voters thanks to the Iraq war.
When it comes to the next election, the Conservatives will need to work out an effective way of challenging Corbyn over his plans for foreign policy which doesn’t consist of preaching to the choir. Corbyn’s plans for Nato, action in Syria, dealing with America and relations with Russia all deserve proper scrutiny – not just outrage. Perhaps the best question to ask is: what will Labour’s foreign policy look like?
At this year’s Labour conference in Brighton, I attended a Stop the War fringe event which had one of the best shadow cabinet turn outs of any event I saw outside the conference hall. The panel was comprised of Diane Abbott, Richard Burgon – the shadow justice secretary, Emma Dent Coad and Andrew Murray. Murray is a close ally of Corbyn’s and he once expressed solidarity with North Korea. Meanwhile the Stop the War group supported the Iraqi ‘struggle’ against British troops ‘by any means necessary’. The best way to attack Corbyn’s plans on foreign policy could be to simply get him to say what they are.
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