7 November 2019
Diary of a Corbynista
Peaking Too Soon
by Don Urquhart
31 October
Vicky Ford, MP for Chelmsford, told us today on Politics Live :
The academies in my constituency have been delivering outstanding education free to the taxpayer…
There are 19 academies in Chelmsford:
2 are rated Outstanding
8 are rated Good
1 requires improvement
8 do not have a rating.
As far as I know the academies receive plenty of government cash.
1 November
Any top class athlete will tell you that it is dangerous to peak too early. Yesterday was Corbyn’s day. He had a trademark feelgood rally with the shadow cabinet behind him. On Farage’s radio programme Donald Trump endorsed Boris Johnson while criticising his Withdrawal Agreement from the perspective of negotiating a trade deal with the USA. So far so good but I would be happier if Corbyn focussed more on the positive aspects of his offering rather than setting up a them and us, rich versus poor narrative. Thank goodness that he is being advised by cleverer people than me but I see no need for him to demonise people just because they have a few bob.
2 November
Yesterday morning I remembered that my 5 year old great nephew was visiting today and decided to buy a Meccano set for him to play with. On Amazon you can get things delivered same day so all was well.
Later on we went to see Ken Loach’s film Sorry we missed you, where the title refers to the card delivery drivers put through the door if you are not in. Ricky gets a job as a delivery driver, is told at interview that he will be self-employed, without realising the costs and risks involved. The company passes every risk in the business on to the drivers and enforces a draconian set of fines on people who deliver late or seeks the simplest of concessions, as for example taking time off for personal reasons. I don’t wish to give the whole plot away. Suffice it to say it comes at an opportune time for getting the Labour Party’s message across.
Had my feet up watching Have I Got News for You when my Amazon parcel arrived. The delivery man seemed happy enough but didn’t have time to chat.
3 November
First day of canvassing. We had good data and were collecting more. Many people were out but those who were in were generally friendly and positive about our message. I had one lady who would not vote for us because she didn’t like Corbyn but she was the only person who did not claim to be a Labour supporter. Not one of them mentioned Brexit but the NHS and Education came up. Generally though talking with me wasn’t people’s first option on a Sunday afternoon and I was grateful for their civility.
4 November
I feel that we have to tough it out. We have a good message for most of the electorate. I am heartened by the Brexit Party’s demise in the opinion polls. The bookies have them getting zero seats so if they are intent on fighting 600 of them that has to be bad news for Johnson. Will working class voters in the North and Midlands really vote for him? We will certainly see plenty of vox pops on the BBC, ITV and Sky telling us that they will.
5 November
After a couple of months watching Johnson irritating hospital staff ad nauseam, as soon as Corbyn visits a hospital we see the Chris Hopson, the CEO of Hospital Providers fronting a media campaign warning us against weaponising the NHS.
Meanwhile Johnson sends a letter to Corbyn asking him what his Brexit policy is. Really? This is desperation in the Cummings/Johnson bunker trying to keep Brexit front and centre. They have Sky News signed up. They insist on branding the December 12th poll the Brexit Election. Someone there will be in line for Johnson’s resignation honours list.
For a change Newsnight had a factual report from Deborah Cohen on the NHS highlighting some of the areas of carnage wrought by the Tories.
6 November
The Today programme’s lead item was a parroting of Johnson’s article in the Telegraph accusing Corbyn of rich versus poor rhetoric. It’s pretty much what I warned of a couple of days when worrying about Corbyn peaking too soon.
In a different sense I fear that the Tories might be peaking too soon. Unlike the Today programme, Newsnight lost their usual plot and focussed on the ruling party’s latest idiocies.
Jacob Rees-Mogg ascribing the Grenfell Tower disaster to the residents’ lack of common sense;
Alun Cairns, the Welsh Secretary, failing to report that a colleague had given false evidence in a rape trial;
No. 10 refusing to publish a select committee report which might reveal embarrassing facts relating to Russian involvement with Johnson and co. to manipulate the 2016 referendum and the 2017 election;
Most bizarre of all posting online a doctored video of Piers Morgan interviewing Keir Starmer in order to have the Labour man appear clueless.
So has Tory incompetence peaked too soon? Would I have been happier if they had spread their gaucheries over the whole election period?
On balance I am pleased. Clearly whoever they have put on the social media case does not have the first clue and judging by Party Chairman Cleverly’s defence of the video, there will be many ham-fisted attempts to deceive us in the weeks to come.
