As Jeremy Corbyn loses control of his Cabinet and struggles to hold on as leader of the Labour Party, we can reminisce about the time he promised a “kinder” form of politics.
This situation is not particularly kind, and is pretty much a direct result of his inability to live up to another pledge of his – honesty.
His involvement (or lack thereof) in the Brexit debate was so disappointing that his Shadow Cabinet have little choice but to abandon him in droves.
Leaked documents, handed to the Huffington Post and the BBC, showed that Corbyn and his team, including the infamous Seumas Milne, removed references to the EU debate from his speeches and actively blunted the leader’s support for Remain.
It is well-known that Corbyn is a Eurosceptic – shortly after declaring the party’s support for Remain, articles that he had written criticising the EU had to be wiped from the internet to shore up any appearance of consistency.
It is clear Corbyn has been peddling his own Eurosceptic agenda in private, whilst publically declaring for Remain and doing the bare minimum required of him.
It isn’t surprising that Labour strongholds voted for Brexit in huge numbers and the percentage of the young actually voting fell – these core groups affiliated with Corbyn didn’t have anyone to look to in this campaign for pro-EU guidance.
When confronted with these leaked documents, a Labour spokesperson responded by saying that “the results of the referendum show Jeremy’s views were in tune with the people” – so he now supports Brexit openly?
Corbyn has been playing intricate games with his position on Europe – had we voted Remain, he would be taking the glory for “mobilising” the Labour vote.
Now he is regressing to past Euroscepticism, untarnished by the bitter Leave campaign.
This is the sort of spin-doctor manipulation of the masses that is reminiscent of the Blair years – something Corbyn apparently opposes.
The Labour leader is more “establishment” than he cares to admit. After years as a “straight-talking” party rebel, he is now embracing the contortions and rhetorical gymnastics which characterise every other political leader.
The Shadow Cabinet is right to revolt against Corbyn, as much for his dishonesty as his failure to achieve Labour’s stated goal of staying in the EU.
He is aware the membership will see this as an affront to the “fairer” politics of good Old Jez, and they will revolt to keep him in his position – he will not “betray their trust”.
Just this morning, Corbyn seemed determined to cling on, announcing a bunch of misfits and unknowns to fill increasingly uninviting spots in his shadow team.
If he staggers through a leadership contest Labour will remain an opposition that is not credible – passing up the massive advantage of Tory leadership turmoil and leaving post-Brexit Britain even more chaotic than it already is.