I worked on Corbyn’s last vanity project – the left should be wary of his new party
I worked on Corbyn’s last vanity project – the left should be wary of his new party
Posted by 1-randomonium
I worked on Corbyn’s last vanity project – the left should be wary of his new party
I worked on Corbyn’s last vanity project – the left should be wary of his new party
Posted by 1-randomonium
23 comments
(Article)
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There is a certain irony that comes with being left-wing and criticising things on the left of politics. Especially when those things are often based around the left’s reliable tendency to eat itself.
Many times I have found myself facing the dilemma of speaking out about things that are too important to ignore within my natural political home, but knowing that in doing so I will be contributing to the many divisions that are already barely concealed.
Whether it be ideological disputes or conflicts over approach, many of the same arguments have been run on repeat in the Labour Party for the past century.
And so we come to the Labour Party of the present. The rise of far-right populism across Europe and notably in the USA, has blown a strong gust toward the weathervane of progressive political parties. Do they spin in the direction it is blowing in the hope of appeasing growing trends? Or do they stay firm, stand on their supposed principles and resist the winds? The Starmer Government has chosen the former and now finds itself politically rudderless, asking its nearly 400 MPs to vote for legislative changes that they simply do not agree with.
It’s understandable then to see swathes of progressive-minded voters, former Labour members and left-wingers abandoning the Labour Party entirely. From Gaza to welfare, and everything in between, core issues that matter to lefties have been railed against by Starmer’s leadership. Instead of trying to win that fight inside the Labour tent, many are jumping ship and simply looking for a different option to throw their support behind.
This is a feeling which has, once again, coalesced around a certain mystical figure on the British left. Jeremy Corbyn.
I worked as an advisor and spokesperson for the Labour Party under Corbyn’s leadership. I have no desire to criticise Jeremy as an individual. He has been a committed member of Parliament to his constituents in Islington, north London, for a staggering 41 years. In the Labour Party he acted, with friends and colleagues, as a moral conscience for the party in some of its darkest days.
But under the pressure of being the figure in which the hopes and dreams of the left were embodied, I watched Corbyn become bitter and bull-headed.
Certain people who surrounded him, who he trusted, had axes to grind, factional scores to settle and an obsession with an obstinate ideology they had developed on university campuses in the 1970s. Middle class, privately-educated Marxists who called for a revolution between their dinner parties thought they knew the British “working-class” because they had read Das Kapital.
The few working class and northern voices around Corbyn were often drowned out by these over-confident intellectuals. But ultimately, the former Labour leader’s constant obsession with involving everybody made him seem more and more malleable to those around him. Gradually, after the highs of the 2017 election campaign, the wind spilled from our sails and the “Corbyn project” became its own worst enemy – and it already had plenty of foes.
A lot of people, motivated by a desire for change, put their faith in a man who lacked the characteristics and skills to be the leader of a political party – let alone a Prime Minister. Corbyn lacked many of the qualities that make for good leadership.
No matter how nice you are, no matter how many people like you, no matter how many people sign up to join your “club”, it does not mean that you are the right person for such a difficult job. His indecisiveness was a regular source of frustration, and overall lack of confidence made many of us believe he didn’t really want to be leader at all.
My personal reaction to hearing about the formation of a new political party, co-led by Corbyn, was therefore dread, accompanied by the familiar, dull pang of heartbreak.
Hearing Corbyn take to his platform again to speak of “hope” and “change” felt like listening to an ex repeat the same things they told you when you first met, but after a messy breakup that resulted in you struggling to trust anyone for the next few years.
Touching base with others who served their time on the first iteration of the Corbyn project, an old comrade told me it felt like seeing their grandad being wheeled out for photo opportunities with people who weren’t aware that they were simply replaying a movie we had all seen before.
Zarah Sultana, the 31-year-old formerly Labour, now independent MP from Coventry, lead the announcement of this new party – and it seemed that a fresh face might also mean a fresh approach. But I fear that is far from the truth.
Sultana has led the celebratory calls that over 500,000 people have registered online to support this new political party. It is an excellent achievement and shows that there is a strong appetite to campaign for a credible left-wing alternative.
However, those of us who remember constantly referencing the Labour membership numbers between 2016 and 2019 will recall that at one stage, Labour under Corbyn had the biggest membership of any political party in Europe. Despite this, we lost two elections.
It seems so far from its focus on “members” and the indication that democratic member-led votes will decide everything from the party’s name, that no lessons have been learned whatsoever.
My warning to the left, especially those young lefties who are still unjaded and have the energy we need to change the world, is don’t be lured into another vanity project. The left is as packed full egos as the rest of the political spectrum. I may not have the answers that are needed to unite the left and create a viable electoral force, but I sure as hell know that it doesn’t start from the dying embers of a project that wasted its potential.
so no plan then just hope for a miracle to happen and a new force to form
Mick Lynch should be leading this. He’d mop the floor with Farage in an election.
I’m not one for a Corbyn’s politics but imo the more viable parties we have the better. It’s pretty obvious the uniparty system we currently have doesn’t work so it seems stupid to slag people off for trying to do something different.
Corbyn was interviewed a week or so back and i have to say, wasn’t really a man of the people look with him wearing a Burberry polo shirt.
Ah, another centrist ‘free from the shackles of political ideology’ claiming true left wing politics is unviable because it won’t compromise with elements who wish to make it not left wing.
His last “vanity project” being leading the Labour Party?
Which he didn’t want to do, and only ran cos it was “his turn” out of the SCG members?
He didn’t even want to run against Labour in the last GE, and was effectively booted in a really dishonest way too.
There are plenty of legitimate criticisms of Corbyn, but pretending he’s all about ego and personal glory, when he was a career back bencher and happy with that, is a nonsense.
The factionalism wasn’t from John Mcdonald and Corbyn. Look at their first shadow cabinet.
It was the guys on TV briefing against their leader, refusing to serve in the shadow cabinet or resigning in a temper tantrum so they could run heavy weights like Angela Eagle and the owen guy from Wales. Lol.
The i is a shit rag so I’m guessing the author is a lefty like wes streeting is lefty.
James Matthewson is being very loose with the truth when he talks about his career. He didn’t work for Corbyn’s office at all and he was in his early 20s and nowhere near senior enough to make any of the proclamations he’s making in this article.
He doesn’t have it to lead.
He’s had 2 tries and failed hard. He’d be a good senior cabinet member in fairness to him.
Personally I think he needs to take a step back and let someone else have a go as at this point he’s just dividing the reasonable vote.
But any negative talk of him gets downvotes here as apparently he can’t do any wrong despite being a proven political failure at the very top.
Even though I’ve said what I said, he is way more genuine than Reform and co. If it came down to it and it was him Vs Farage I’d vote him but I’ve a feeling he won’t gain the traction no matter what he does at this point.
I’m confused, is this supposed to make us support Labour instead?
Nobody has ever heard of this OP – it’s good to see the hit pieces have started already, it means they are rattled.
But who is this guy?
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First Seen [Here](https://redd.it/1mgkcsx) on 2025-08-03.
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Corbyn is the least vain politician in the country. 700,000 have now signed up. It’ll be a million by the end of the year.
I hope Corbyn fucks off to find a real job after this next massive loss.
I’m not so sure that Corbyn is particularly egotistical, maybe 60-40 in favour of him not being so.
For me, the issue with Corbyn, and some people have already touched on this, is that he just seems very naive at times. I almost feel like he’s been lead towards certain policies by some of the people he’s meant to have been leading in the past and that same thing could be happen again now.
I do wholeheartedly believe he isn’t a leader though, regardless of his motivations.
Such a weak leader. He’s ok when he’s a back bencher, criticising everything the party are doing. In 2019 when he was leader, he made sure Labour didn’t win because he had no idea how to run the county. His manifesto didn’t add up.
This is mental, so what’s the alternative? Farage? Like Farage is just a saint who never does anything for himself?
One thing about Corby is you know where you stand with him. He is the most honest politician we have.
God they’re dusting off the smear apparatus early, the party hasn’t even been named yet!
Although I suppose it took 4 years to get to the 2019 media hysteria about Corbyn, they’ll be better wanting to hit the ground running!
He’ll do fine
Is the “anti semetism” campaign going to start again.
He is the only principled politician in the UK. They will find a way to drag him down again, they have done it twice before
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