# Jeremy Corbyn: Next UK Labour Party Leader? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [August 11, 2015, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeremy-corbyn-next-uk-labour-party-leader/727580 "2015-08-11T18:33:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeremy-corbyn-next-uk-labour-party-leader/727580/81 "2015-09-14T08:52:41Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > There will be celebrations in Conservative circles tonight. Not since Labour elected Michael Foot have Tories been this happy. And yet the Conservatives’ first act was to brand Corbyn’s Labour party a “threat to national and economic security”. The desperate scaremongering doesn’t suggest they believe their own rhetoric about his unelectability. Sounds like they’re the ones running scared. > [@Stanislaus](#): > > Labour lost the last election because: > > a) Ed Milliband didn’t look like PM material; > b) Labour wasn’t trusted on the economy. It’s wider that that. Labour under Miliband was _useless_. They couldn’t even manage to muster up a lukewarm opposition, so why would you put them in charge of the country? > [@](#): > > Faced with this challenge, they’ve chosen a tax and spend socialist who can’t command support of the parliamentary party and calls terrorists his friends. > > In his first 48 hours in charge, he has cancelled all major media appearances, refused to answer questions from journalists and appointed as his shadow chancellor an ideological ally who once said we should honour the IRA dead. He is hemorrhaging support among senior MPs already and his failure to appoint women to senior cabinet posts despite assurances that he would be more diverse has cost him support among potential allies. I see you’re a supporter. Labour under Miliband was like the Tories under Willam Hague - floundering, purposeless, and basically just hoping that people would vote for them because they’re not the other guys. If Burnham, Kendall or Cooper had been elected we would have had the Labour version of the IDS years, with another empty suit acting as a placeholder until the next empty suit comes along. Corbyn will not be PM. What he will do, however, is force the Labour Party out of its stupor and make them decide what the hell they stand for. There will be lots of infighting, resignations, reshuffles and backstabbing. Eventually the dust will settle and the party will end up somewhere to the right of Corbyn and to the left of where it currently is, with someone else in charge. And remember - Labour has **five years** to get themselves sorted out. In the old days the Tories could have taken advantage of the turmoil in the Opposition to schedule a new election and kick the back further down the field. Now they’ve given themselves a short-term advantage but it may hurt them in the long run. And in the meantime, PMQs will be a lot more interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeremy-corbyn-next-uk-labour-party-leader/727580/82 "2015-09-14T09:01:26Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Sounds like they’re the ones running scared. The Tories made Ed Milliband look like an effeminate weirdo with a single photograph of him eating a bacon sandwich. By the time they’ve finished with Corbyn, the country is going to be convinced he’s appointed the entire leadership of Hamas and Hezbollah to the Shadow Cabinet. With Corbyn, they can ruin Labour for the next decade or more. They’ll paint the Labour party as the party that elected a lunatic as their leader in every debate going forward. They’re not running scared, they’re just laying the groundwork for 20 years of government — there’s a reason why groups like “Tories for Corbyn” exist. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeremy-corbyn-next-uk-labour-party-leader/727580/83 "2015-09-14T09:19:25Z")
We’ll see. Five years is a lifetime in politics. I also think the assumption in the media that this is somehow an endorsement of the hard left by the party is missing the point. It’s a repudiation of the Blairites, as also seen in Tessa Jowell’s defeat in the mayoral election (mind you, I’m not a Sadiq Khan fan either). ---
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeremy-corbyn-next-uk-labour-party-leader/727580/84 "2015-09-14T09:37:22Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Labour under Miliband was like the Tories under Willam Hague - floundering, purposeless, and basically just hoping that people would vote for them because they’re not the other guys. If Burnham, Kendall or Cooper had been elected we would have had the Labour version of the IDS years, with another empty suit acting as a placeholder until the next empty suit comes along. Maybe. I certainly don’t disagree with your point about Miliband. And none of the other candidates were that impressive, or it would have been closer. But counterfactuals are tricky - if, say, Cooper had got in after a run-off vs Corbyn, that may well have triggered a re-appraisal of how to mobilise the party and return to grassroots appeal. > [@](#): > > Corbyn will not be PM. What he will do, however, is force the Labour Party out of its stupor and make them decide what the hell they stand for. There will be lots of infighting, resignations, reshuffles and backstabbing. Eventually the dust will settle and the party will end up somewhere to the right of Corbyn and to the left of where it currently is, with someone else in charge. At some point, hopefully. But Labour is traditionally shit at knifing leaders who aren’t working out (neither Miliband nor Brown should have made it to their respective elections) and that dust settling process requires that a) things get worse before they get better, b) infighting creates deep personal and political rifts within the party and c) the Tories get years to frame the debate without effective opposition. > [@](#): > > And remember - Labour has **five years** to get themselves sorted out. In the old days the Tories could have taken advantage of the turmoil in the Opposition to schedule a new election and kick the back further down the field. Now they’ve given themselves a short-term advantage but it may hurt them in the long run. As we’ve seen from Miliband, an ineffective leader means five years of the Tories framing the debate - “Labour’s deficit”, “should have fixed the roof while the sun was shining”, “a Labour government destroys the economy and a Tory government fixes it” ad nauseam. Until Miliband gets laughed at on national TV for saying that Labour’s spending didn’t create the banking crisis. I can’t imagine for a minute that Corbyn can succeed in getting his message out loud and clear in teeth of parliamentary disunity, a distinct unwillingness to engage with the media and the huge amount of chaff that his history of poor judgement has given the right wing. To your first point, the Tories aren’t running scared when they pull that “national security” crap. They’re driving home their story. They will repeat, in simple terms, that Corbyn can’t be trusted with national security and can’t be trusted with the economy, and he can’t be trusted to keep your family safe. And come 2020 the vast majority of the electorate who today couldn’t even name the Leader of the Opposition will all know for a fact that he’s a risk. > [@](#): > > And in the meantime, PMQs will be a lot more interesting. Only when Corbyn’s letting other people ask the questions. Otherwise every Cameron response will be “Friends in Hamas, union paymasters, failed socialist economics”. It will be tedious, unfair and very effective. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a8b319/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_wuzzy)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeremy-corbyn-next-uk-labour-party-leader/727580/85 "2015-09-14T09:53:05Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > And yet the Conservatives’ first act was to brand Corbyn’s Labour party a “threat to national and economic security”. The desperate scaremongering doesn’t suggest they believe their own rhetoric about his unelectability. Sounds like they’re the ones running scared. Sorry, but this is bordering upon nonsense. It’s the job of every organised political party to attack opponents. A political party would not be doing it’s job if they did not highlight inconsistencies and dangers in electing the opposition. Sure, some of the attacks may be unfair, but some will squarely hit their mark. Were the Conservatives running scared when they attacked Ed Miliband? Were New Labour running scared when attacking William Hague, Michael Howard or Ian Duncan Smith when _they_ were Tory leaders? I think the answer to these questions is an obvious, no. All they were doing is what any half way competent political party does - attacking opponents. That’s the nature of the political beast. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a8b319/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_wuzzy)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeremy-corbyn-next-uk-labour-party-leader/727580/86 "2015-09-14T10:00:59Z")
> [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](#): > > Haha, that Shadow Cabinet is an even greater gift to the Tories than Corbyn’s acceptance speech where he started ranting at the media. Diane Abbot being given any sort of responsibility, alone, is enough for the Tories to hammer Labour with. But Captain Democracy, the Great Reformer, having to resort to appointing a Lord to his cabinet, and stacking key positions with his closest allies, experience and knowledge bedamned? We’re looking at 20 years of Tory domination here. > > Just a reminder: McDonnell was fired by “Red” Ken Livingstone from the GLC in the 1980s for being [too left wing](http://www.economist.com/node/9190866). He’s now the Shadow Chancellor! If his wacky economic views aren’t enough to make you think “what the fuck are they thinking”, just start reading about his views on the IRA: > > That’s sure to go down well in the working class heartlands of Northern England. It’s not like the IRA repeatedly bombed the North of England, or anything, killing school children on the streets of Warrington and devastating Manchester City Centre. I think most people will give Corbyn the benefit of the doubt on having a Lord in his shadow cabinet. He can always claim it is a sign of building bridges to New Labour etc. Even if the reason may just be Corbyn was struggling to find anyone to fill some posts. Diane Abbot and John McDonnell however are likely to be a disaster for Labour. Abbot is thoroughly disliked outside her constituency/London. McDonnell will be an open goal for media and Tory attacks. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeremy-corbyn-next-uk-labour-party-leader/727580/87 "2015-09-14T11:20:30Z")
This sidebar in the Telegraph made me chuckle - this seems to be outrageous in Telegraph world, but then they are also overstating some of his positions: > [@](#): > > Constituency: North Islington > MP since: 1983 > Education: Adams’ Grammar School, Shropshire > Before politics: Official for the National Union of Public Employees > Did you know? He has won ‘Parliamentary Beard of The Year’ five times > > What he stands for: > > [ul] > [li]Ending austerity[/li][li] Protecting workers’ rights[/li][li] Blocking welfare cuts[/li][li] Scrapping tuition fees[/li][li] Creating a National Education Service (like the NHS for healthcare)[/li][li] Ensuring the NHS is completely publicly run[/li][li] Renationalising railways and utilities[/li][li] Abolishing Trident[/li][li] Withdrawing from Nato[/li][li] Introducing rent controls in unaffordable areas[/li][li] Investing more in the arts[/li][/ul] > > “I don’t do personal, I don’t do reaction, I don’t do abuse. Life is too short and it devalues the political process. I think we should try and enhance the democratic life of this country, not reduce it to that level” > **[Labour's biggest individual donor to stop funding party after Jeremy Corbyn's...](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/labour/11862424/Labours-biggest-individual-donor-to-stop-funding-party-after-Jeremy-Corbyns-victory.html)** > > John Mills tells The Telegraph he will not donate again to the Labour Party - but is ready to start funding the group of MPs dubbed 'The Resistance' ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeremy-corbyn-next-uk-labour-party-leader/727580/88 "2015-09-14T11:24:11Z")
I’m so glad he won. Labour might lose under him, who knows, but they’ve already lost twice with less left-wing leaders against a weak Tory party, so the odds are they would have lost with Burnham et al too. Corbyn gives them a better chance, IMO - might win a few seats back in Scotland, might win over former LibDems, might get non-voters to vote, and there are shitloads of them. The other leaders wouldn’t have done any of that, not even a “might” about it. Those voting Tory in the last election - after a terrible few years under the Tories - would not be swayed by any Labour Party leader so there’s no point trying to win them over. At least this way we have five years of an opposition that will actually bloody well oppose the government sometimes, like voting against a bill that is against all their own policies and will drive lots of working people into dire poverty. Five years is a long time, and it looked like the Tories were going to be able to push through whatever they wanted; now, maybe not. > [@Frank](#): > > The last time I looked, the military in the U.K. is responsible to the Prime Minister, in the same way that the military in the U.S. is responsible to the President. Are you encouraging your military to act in a way that is tantamount to an attempted coup? When did you last check? The commander of all British military forces is the Queen, not the PM. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeremy-corbyn-next-uk-labour-party-leader/727580/89 "2015-09-14T11:36:22Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > When did you last check? The commander of all British military forces is the Queen, not the PM. Distinction without a difference. A Prime Minister commanding a majority in the House of Commons thereby becomes the Queen’s minister, and the entirely implausible eventuality of an attempt at a military coup (why on earth is anyone envisaging such a thing? We aren’t Venezuela) would _ipso facto_ be an attempt against HMQ. If there’s one thing that’s drummed in, it is that the Crown-in-Parliament is indivisible. (Incidentally, not all the armed services are that keen on the idea of renewing Trident, and for all Corbyn’s attitudes about NATO, one of his main points has been that party policy-making needs to become more open, consultative and democratic, and not dictated from the top). ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeremy-corbyn-next-uk-labour-party-leader/727580/90 "2015-09-14T11:39:10Z")
Yep, we don’t need to much of this democracy. If in doubt, bring the Etonians back - military version rather than suited. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeremy-corbyn-next-uk-labour-party-leader/727580/91 "2015-09-14T11:43:14Z")
> [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](#): > > Diane Abbot and John McDonnell however are likely to be a disaster for Labour. Abbot is thoroughly disliked outside her constituency/London. McDonnell will be an open goal for media and Tory attacks. The obvious media tactic will be to drown out policy discussion with rantings drawing on 30 years ago - as per **Capt. Ridley’s Shooting Party**. Reading the media today it’s as stark as 1985 vs. 2015. Utterly determined to not talk about present day issues like austerity, erosion of rights, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeremy-corbyn-next-uk-labour-party-leader/727580/92 "2015-09-14T12:07:33Z")
Oh stop talking shit, **Pjen**. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a8b319/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_wuzzy)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeremy-corbyn-next-uk-labour-party-leader/727580/93 "2015-09-14T12:10:19Z")
> [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > Yep, we don’t need to much of this democracy. If in doubt, bring the Etonians back - military version rather than suited. This is the sort of quote that shows the Corbyn left for the hypocrites they really are. Im not suggesting you personify the whole Corbyn inspired Left but this type of quote is seen far too often in comment sections of online newspapers and forums. You just quoted Corbyn saying he doesn’t do personal politics: “I don’t do personal, I don’t do reaction, I don’t do abuse. Life is too short and it devalues the political process. I think we should try and enhance the democratic life of this country, not reduce it to that level” By quoting Corbyn here I assume you were tacitly agreeing with him. Yet, the very next post you make a cheap remark about the Tory Etonians. Either Corbyn AND his supporters are trying to “enhance” the democratic process by not engaging in personal attacks, or they are just the usual nasty political machine doing the usual hatchet jobs on their opponents. I suspect the majority are quite happy doing the latter when it suits them. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeremy-corbyn-next-uk-labour-party-leader/727580/94 "2015-09-14T12:26:12Z")
> [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](#): > > Sorry, but this is bordering upon nonsense. It’s the job of every organised political party to attack opponents. A political party would not be doing it’s job if they did not highlight inconsistencies and dangers in electing the opposition. Sure, some of the attacks may be unfair, but some will squarely hit their mark. > > Were the Conservatives running scared when they attacked Ed Miliband? Were New Labour running scared when attacking William Hague, Michael Howard or Ian Duncan Smith when _they_ were Tory leaders? I think the answer to these questions is an obvious, no. All they were doing is what any half way competent political party does - attacking opponents. That’s the nature of the political beast. Taking the usual partisan potshots, sure. But the Conservatives are engaged in an active campaign of anti-Corbynism to an extent far beyond anything we saw under Miliband. The Telegraph and the Murdoch press have been positively incoherent lately in their frothing determination to portray Corbyn in the worst possibly light. The Tories didn’t take Miliband that seriously. They’re taking Corbyn seriously. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeremy-corbyn-next-uk-labour-party-leader/727580/95 "2015-09-14T12:38:24Z")
> [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](#): > > This is the sort of quote that shows the Corbyn left for the hypocrites they really are. Im not suggesting you personify the whole Corbyn inspired Left but this type of quote is seen far too often in comment sections of online newspapers and forums. You just quoted Corbyn saying he doesn’t do personal politics: > > “I don’t do personal, I don’t do reaction, I don’t do abuse. Life is too short and it devalues the political process. I think we should try and enhance the democratic life of this country, not reduce it to that level” > > By quoting Corbyn here I assume you were tacitly agreeing with him. Yet, the very next post you make a cheap remark about the Tory Etonians. Either Corbyn AND his supporters are trying to “enhance” the democratic process by not engaging in personal attacks, or they are just the usual nasty political machine doing the usual hatchet jobs on their opponents. I suspect the majority are quite happy doing the latter when it suits them. Hang on, I quoted a Corbyn profile in the Telegraph, of which the quote you highlight was one part. Talk of a military coup is very silly. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeremy-corbyn-next-uk-labour-party-leader/727580/96 "2015-09-14T13:47:48Z")
Anyone else _realllllly_ looking forward to PMQs on Wed? 😃 It seems Corbyn is going to ask questions raised directly by voters. ---
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeremy-corbyn-next-uk-labour-party-leader/727580/97 "2015-09-14T14:12:05Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Taking the usual partisan potshots, sure. But the Conservatives are engaged in an active campaign of anti-Corbynism to an extent far beyond anything we saw under Miliband. The Telegraph and the Murdoch press have been positively incoherent lately in their frothing determination to portray Corbyn in the worst possibly light. The Tories didn’t take Miliband that seriously. They’re taking Corbyn seriously. Corbyn stands for everything the Telegraph and Murdoch press hate and he’s made himself very, very vulnerable. I don’t think it’s so much that they take him seriously as that they regard tearing down ageing socialists as the Lord’s work. As for the Tories, I’m sure they can see themselves getting a Blair '97 style majority if they put the boot in early and often. It doesn’t mean they think they’re going to lose to Corbyn if they don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeremy-corbyn-next-uk-labour-party-leader/727580/98 "2015-09-14T14:18:51Z")
And if I can don my tartan bunnet for a second, it will be interesting to see how this plays in Scotland. In theory Corbyn offers precisely the kind of politics that many SNP supporters - and at least one SNP MP - says Labour betrayed them by abandoning. Now that it’s on offer under a red rosette, they’ll all come flooding back, right? I doubt it. There are plenty of good reasons not to jump back to Labour right away, not counting either inertia or the SNP’s ability to keep the hearts and minds of its new supporters. More to the point, when Good Old Labour fails in England (either by resignation, coup or electoral defeat) then the SNP will be able to say: “See? See? The UK can’t offer us Scots the government we want. Independence is the only answer.” They’ll have a point. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeremy-corbyn-next-uk-labour-party-leader/727580/99 "2015-09-14T14:29:48Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > When did you last check? The commander of all British military forces is the Queen, not the PM. Only on the condition that she never gives them any orders, of course. ---
**Author:** ![MrQwertyasd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@MrQwertyasd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrQwertyasd)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeremy-corbyn-next-uk-labour-party-leader/727580/100 "2015-09-14T14:44:12Z")
> [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > Get back to me when he’s actively and publicly supporting murderous dictators like Pinochet. In the capacity of head of the UK government. > > Utterly shameful: > [Neruda, Pinochet, and the Iron Lady | The New Yorker](http://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/neruda-pinochet-and-the-iron-lady) Indeed. What was it the Tories used to say about Mandela ? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeremy-corbyn-next-uk-labour-party-leader/727580.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeremy-corbyn-next-uk-labour-party-leader/727580.md?page=6)