“Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is a “tool of the Establishment” who deliberately undermined Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the party, legendary film director Ken Loach has charged.
In excerpts from his interview in the upcoming documentary film Oh Jeremy Corbyn — The Big Lie, the award-winning film-maker said the ex-shadow Brexit secretary acted like an “undercover spy cop” at his predecessor’s top table.
Labour leftwingers, many of whom have been expelled from the party since Sir Keir was elected leader in April 2020, have repeatedly accused the Holborn & St Pancras MP of spearheading Labour’s call for a second EU referendum to undermine Mr Corbyn.
Sir Keir, who became party leader soon after the Islington North MP’s resignation following a Tory landslide victory in the 2019 general election, has since ruled out reapplying for EU membership.
In the film, due to receive its premiere in central London next month, Mr Loach says: “Every now and then, to show that we’re a democracy, there’s a change of government.
“The party changes, but it’s so important from the Establishment’s point of view that the alternative party won’t change anything — and that’s what Starmer is proving now.”
Producer Norman Thomas said the former lawyer has questions to answer.
“He was director of public prosecutions when the spycops scandal came to light — undercover police officers infiltrating radical groups — and he’s since been accused of whitewashing this scandal.
“Now it seems Starmer was himself acting like a spycop in Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet — joining it to help bring it down.”
The documentary, produced by award-winning Platform Films, will be premiered at Conway Hall in Red Lion Square at 7pm on February 9.
Seething bitterness is a feature of the far left, it does think beyond the immediate rivalries or consider that the country desperately needs to rid itself of the current Tory administration. Corbyn had his chances, and the country handed the Tories a historically huge majority. There were life-long Labour members who could not bring themselves to vote for Corbyn.
FFS! I really respect Ken Loach as a director, he is excellent at exposing the effects of poverty on the marginalised, but he is taking the piss here. Why doesn’t he turn his guns on Sunak instead. I don’t like Starmer either but we have to suck it up, does he really want 5 more years of these tories?
Honestly stuff like this does no harm to Starmer whatsoever, if anything quite the opposite.
I was saying something similar about Keir yesterday. But I left off the “of the establishment” bit.
If people generally supportive of Starmer changed their opinion off the back of this documentary, what would happen?
Does Loach think that, by people learning about this, it would lead to a better outcome for Britain (where ‘better’ is used here I mean in the sense generally held by people at least left of centre)?
If so, in what sense? How? And how long would it take?
I’m not trying to be facetious I just don’t understand the intent behind it, because the impact if taken seriously would be a reduction in leader popularity in the immediate term. But what next?
6 comments
By Matt Trinder
Wednesday, January 25, 2023
“Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is a “tool of the Establishment” who deliberately undermined Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the party, legendary film director Ken Loach has charged.
In excerpts from his interview in the upcoming documentary film Oh Jeremy Corbyn — The Big Lie, the award-winning film-maker said the ex-shadow Brexit secretary acted like an “undercover spy cop” at his predecessor’s top table.
Labour leftwingers, many of whom have been expelled from the party since Sir Keir was elected leader in April 2020, have repeatedly accused the Holborn & St Pancras MP of spearheading Labour’s call for a second EU referendum to undermine Mr Corbyn.
Sir Keir, who became party leader soon after the Islington North MP’s resignation following a Tory landslide victory in the 2019 general election, has since ruled out reapplying for EU membership.
In the film, due to receive its premiere in central London next month, Mr Loach says: “Every now and then, to show that we’re a democracy, there’s a change of government.
“The party changes, but it’s so important from the Establishment’s point of view that the alternative party won’t change anything — and that’s what Starmer is proving now.”
Producer Norman Thomas said the former lawyer has questions to answer.
“He was director of public prosecutions when the spycops scandal came to light — undercover police officers infiltrating radical groups — and he’s since been accused of whitewashing this scandal.
“Now it seems Starmer was himself acting like a spycop in Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet — joining it to help bring it down.”
The documentary, produced by award-winning Platform Films, will be premiered at Conway Hall in Red Lion Square at 7pm on February 9.
Tickets are available here: https://bit.ly/corbynfilm
Labour was contacted for comment.”
Seething bitterness is a feature of the far left, it does think beyond the immediate rivalries or consider that the country desperately needs to rid itself of the current Tory administration. Corbyn had his chances, and the country handed the Tories a historically huge majority. There were life-long Labour members who could not bring themselves to vote for Corbyn.
FFS! I really respect Ken Loach as a director, he is excellent at exposing the effects of poverty on the marginalised, but he is taking the piss here. Why doesn’t he turn his guns on Sunak instead. I don’t like Starmer either but we have to suck it up, does he really want 5 more years of these tories?
Honestly stuff like this does no harm to Starmer whatsoever, if anything quite the opposite.
I was saying something similar about Keir yesterday. But I left off the “of the establishment” bit.
If people generally supportive of Starmer changed their opinion off the back of this documentary, what would happen?
Does Loach think that, by people learning about this, it would lead to a better outcome for Britain (where ‘better’ is used here I mean in the sense generally held by people at least left of centre)?
If so, in what sense? How? And how long would it take?
I’m not trying to be facetious I just don’t understand the intent behind it, because the impact if taken seriously would be a reduction in leader popularity in the immediate term. But what next?