When Labour moderates tried to oust Jeremy Corbyn in 2016, their attempt only made him stronger, protected by swathes of loyal members. But this year, is the tide turning for Corbyn, as even supporters begin to doubt him? First, there were the abysmal European Election results, which for many Corbynites were particularly painful because they disagree with the leadership’s ambiguous stance on Brexit. Then, last week’s BBC Panorama brought out a dark side to the leadership – the press team’s defensive response to the programme, accusing whistleblowers of being ‘disaffected’, disheartened many most loyal to the project. One high profile Corbynite I spoke to told me that they were disappointed at the response, and believe the party was institutionally anti-Semitic.
In this week’s cover, Isabel Hardman writes about those who stand to benefit from this fracturing – deputy leader Tom Watson is gearing up his support, and looking to oust Corbyn. On the podcast, she speaks to Matt Turner, former editor of Corbynite outlet Evolve Politics, and Ayesha Hazarika, former advisor to Harriet Harman, about just how secure Corbyn’s position is. For Ayesha, the subject is a painful one:
We also take a look at the newest weapon in the NHS armoury – GP consulting apps. Matt Hancock is very keen on these (he’s a big fan of Babylon Health’s GP at Hand, presumably his second favourite after the Matt Hancock app). But do they really work? They rely on video consultation via your smartphone, and when psychiatrist and Daily Mail columnist Dr Max Pemberton tried it, the GPs on the other end misdiagnosed him, both times, due to limitations within the tech… In the magazine this week, Max also writes about the impact technology like this has on traditional GP surgeries – ‘it might prove to be the nail in its coffin’. Max joins the podcast, together with Dr Matt Noble, the UK medical director for Babylon Health. Tune in and make up your own mind on whether this should be the future of healthcare.
And last, with almost a million of them in the UK, why are there so few Poles on British screens? Ben Sixsmith raises the question in this week’s issue, and I interview Polish Ambassador Arkady Rzegocki on the podcast – we’re joined by the theatre historian Jolanta Rzegocka, and Polish journalist Jakub Krupa.
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