Although Jeremy Corbyn is facing growing criticism over his role as a speaker at Friday’s Stop The War Christmas fundraiser, so far the Labour leader is showing no signs of backing down. Despite pleas from the likes of Michael Dugher, Tristram Hunt, Caroline Flint and Emma Reynolds for Corbyn to cancel, he looks set to attend, and will give the main speech.
So, who will he be dining with as he feasts on Turkish food and rallies the troops? Mr S has compiled a list of some of the Stop the War comrades that may be in attendance tonight:
Francesca Martinez: As well as Corbyn’s speech, entertainment will be provided by the comedian Francesca Martinez. Those hoping for some light entertainment, however, may need to think again. The last time Mr S saw her perform was a People’s Assembly protest event at Tory conference in Manchester. During her set, Martinez — who has cerebral palsy but prefers to describe herself as wobbly — discussed abortion and disability, conceding that she would consider having an abortion if her unborn baby possessed the Tory gene:
‘There are times that I may consider it if I’m honest, like I can imagine sitting at the doctors being told “I’m really sorry but your baby boy does carry a defective gene and he will be a Tory politician”.
Oh God, are you sure? “Yes he’s got the privitisation gene, the cutting benefits gene and the f—ing c— gene.” How do you know he won’t be a Liberal Democrat, they are very close genetically? “The thing is your baby boy is also missing a conscience.”’
Andrew Murray: Corbyn isn’t the only speaker at the event, with Stop the War’s chair Andrew Murray also taking to the mic. Murray recently came under fire over a meeting he helped co-chair with Diane Abbott — who is also a Stop the War supporter — to discuss the case against British military intervention in Syria. Peter Tatchell claims that there were no Syrians on the panel, and when Syrians in the audience tried to speak they were not permitted to do so:
‘Some Syrian victims of Assad’s brutalities turned up but were not allowed to speak. They eventually shouted out in frustration, turning the meeting into momentary chaos, as they were jeered by some of the audience and as StWC stewards tried to eject them – allegedly threatening that they’d be arrested. The police turned up soon afterwards.’
Kamal Majid: Should Corbyn’s head of spin Seumas Milne accompany the Labour leader to tonight’s dinner, perhaps he will be able to strike up a friendly chat with Kamal Majid. Majid — a patron of Stop the War — is also a founding member of the Stalin Society. Established in 1991, the society aims to ‘defend Stalin and his work’ and ‘refute capitalist, revisionist, opportunist and Trotskyist propaganda directed against him’. Something one could argue Milne was doing when he wrote a piece for the Guardian questioning just how many deaths Stalin’s regime actually brought about.
George Galloway: Corbyn’s old comrade Galloway has made no secret of his links with Jeremy. One of the causes they unite on is Stop the War, where they are both fiercely opposed to the UK bombing Syria. However, Galloway doesn’t always take issue with action in Syria — at least when it’s the Russians who are carrying it out:
What was that about stopping the war again?
Yvonne Ridley: Jeremy Corbyn caused upset earlier this year when he failed to refer to Israel by name while addressing the Labour Friends of Israel group at conference. However, should he bump into Yvonne Ridley tonight, he may find himself revisiting the topic. Corbyn’s Stop The War comrade — who converted to Islam after she was held hostage by the Taleban — recently penned an article for Middle East Monitor in which the pro-Palestine campaigner claimed that what the current Tory bullying scandal involving Mark Clarke really reveals is ‘the dirty tricks of Zionist influences at the heart of David Cameron’s troubled government’.
While the event will no doubt put all the attendees in a merry mood, whether Corbyn actually says the C-word is another matter entirely. During his speech at this week’s Labour staff Christmas party, Corbyn refrained from saying ‘Merry Christmas’, instead opting for the more general ‘happy New Year’.
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