The Candidate: Jeremy Corbyn’s Improbable Path to Power

515 Pages·2018·2.65 MB·English

by  Alex Nunns

“We all went into this thinking it was going to be the Charge of the Light
Brigade.”
—Clive Lewis MP

© 2018 Alex Nunns
Published by OR Books, New York and London Visit our website at www.orbooks.com
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First printing 2016
Second edition 2018
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Prologue

1 Introduction
2 Led by Ed
3 The Jaws of Defeat
4 From Despair to Where?
5 Getting on the Ballot
6 Team Corbyn
7 A Movement Looking for a Home
8 Power in a Union
9 Division Bell
10 Panic in the Media
11 Hubris to Humiliation
12 The Corbyn Surge
13 The Empire Strikes Back
14 Triumph and Tribulations
15 The Summer Coup
16 The Snap Election
Act One
Act Two

Act Three

Epilogue

Acknowledgements

About the Author

References
PROLOGUE
“Politics isn’t going back into the box where it was before.”
—Jeremy Corbyn
Jeremy Corbyn has a tiny television. In his house in Islington the Labour leader,
his wife, and his closest aides have gathered for the release of the exit poll that
will give the first indication of the result of the June 2017 general election. They
have no idea what is coming; they will find out when they see it on TV like
everyone else. But the television, sitting on a pile of books, is so small that
Corbyn and his strategy chief Seumas Milne are forced to stand right in front of
it, anxiously awaiting the news.
It is approaching 10 p.m., the moment of truth. Corbyn has given each of his
companions a sheet of paper and asked them to predict Labour’s result. His chief
of staff, Karie Murphy, is the most optimistic—to the amusement of her
colleagues she has been talking for weeks about what they will do “when we’re
in Number 10.” The expectations of the others are lower, tempered by
experience and by the Labour Party’s internal polling, which points to a Tory
landslide.
Merely the fact that there is doubt about the result counts as an achievement
for the leadership, however. When the snap election was called on 18 April
almost every political pundit had written off Labour. Theresa May’s gamble was
“about the surest bet any politician could ever place,” wrote Jonathan Freedland
in the Guardian. By that point Corbyn had been subjected to nearly two years of
ridicule and distortion by the vast bulk of the media. He had been undermined
and even bullied by his own MPs and other elements within his party. Opinion
polls had suggested the Conservatives’ lead was as big as the entire Labour vote.
There followed one of the most remarkable election campaigns mounted by
any party in British history. In the seven weeks of the contest, according to some
polls, Labour’s standing has improved by up to 15 percentage points. But only
the official exit poll will reveal if these projected gains have been real.
Big Ben strikes 10 p.m. All eyes are on the small screen. “And what we’re
saying is the Conservatives are the largest party,” announces presenter David
Dimbleby. “Note they don’t have an overall majority.”
There is a sharp intake of breath.
“Hung parliament!” exclaims Milne.
Four hours later a throng of reporters and cameramen is waiting for Corbyn
to arrive at the local sports hall where the count for his constituency is taking
place. There has already been a false alarm: the media had rushed forward in
response to cheers, only to find the hubbub was for the arrival of the Official
Monster Raving Loony Party candidate. But the presence of armed police at the
door signals that the entrance of the man of the moment is imminent.
A beaming Corbyn strides into the building to a burst of applause. Even some
of the other parties join in. It is an acknowledgement of his remarkable, against-
the-odds campaign performance. But it also reflects the dignified way in which
he has carried himself throughout the election. As he pushes through the scrum
of journalists wielding microphones and cameras, one reporter shouts out:
“Jeremy, are you the next prime minister?” His status has grown immeasurably
in just a few hours.
Once all the candidates for the seat of Islington North are assembled on stage,
the returning officer reads out the numbers: 4,946 votes for the Liberal Democrat
candidate; 6,871 for the Conservative. Then: “Jeremy Bernard Corbyn, Labour
Party, 40,086.” A big cheer goes up. Corbyn raises his eyebrows in surprise, an
involuntary smile on his face. It is a thumping result; he has taken 73 per cent of
the vote. 10,000 more people have voted for him than in the previous general
election.
“It’s an enormous honour to be elected to represent Islington North for the
ninth time and I’m very, very honoured and humbled by the size of the vote that
has been cast for me as the Labour candidate,” Corbyn says in his acceptance
speech. Turning to the broader picture, he declares: ”Politics has changed.
Politics isn’t going back into the box where it was before… People have said
they’ve had quite enough of austerity politics, they’ve had quite enough of cuts
in public expenditure… and of not giving our young people the chance they
deserve… People are voting for hope.”1
• • • • •
Politics had changed. Despite not winning the June 2017 general election,
Labour recorded an extraordinary result, experiencing its biggest jump in the
popular vote since 1945 and adding seats to its tally in parliament for the first
time since 1997. But the numbers reflected something more profound, if less
tangible.
The election animated a new spirit. On the night before polling day, Jeremy
Corbyn had returned to Islington for the final campaign rally of his marathon
tour around the country. The event was being held inside the Union Chapel, but
the most remarkable scenes occurred outside. Labour’s bright red battle bus
crept towards the venue through streets packed with well-wishers. Thronging
crowds spilled onto the road, blocking a major London thoroughfare. Some
climbed trees and even lamp posts to welcome the Labour leader home. But