The attempts to sabotage Corbyn's leadership seems likely to do more damage than Corbyn supposedly ever could have done, even if all the stories about him were true:
I was reluctant to say anything but this is too important, the full story needs to be told.
— Joe Ryle (@JoeRRyle) August 7, 2020
Don’t let anyone ever tell you anything different: without the actions of some Labour Party staff we would have won in 2017. #LabourLeaks https://t.co/8OazhNBELz
So, yeah, six months down the line, I'm still raging about this. And bear in mind, gentle reader, I'm far, far removed from all this. British politics has almost no relevance to me (though it does affect directly many of my friends and family.) So if I am incandescent about this, think how angry people intimately involved in Labour - members and those who worked in 2017 and 2019 towards victory, not against it - must be.
Ryle's account is fascinating and depressing - how juvenile were these people, nicking off with computers and leaving offices untidy? It almost makes you wonder if the sort of people capable of such petty spiteful acts are capable of the grander allegations against them - the alleged diversion of funds which is identified as possible fraud alleged by Corbyn and key members of his team, which even the Guardian has felt compelled to report on.
And the frankly bizarre story of the Facebook ads and promos that were prepared just for Corbyn's team to see:
Perhaps the most kafkaesque example is the bizarre story of party officials designing Facebook adverts to be seen by only Corbyn’s team. A party official helpfully explained the strategy to the Sunday Times:
“They wanted us to spend a fortune on some schemes like the one they had to encourage voter registration, but we only had to spend about £5,000 to make sure Jeremy’s people, some journalists and bloggers saw it was there on Facebook. And if it was there for them, they thought it must be there for everyone. It wasn’t.”
This souns like something from the latter days of the Soviet Union, with the Great Leader being assured by his self serving toadies and placeholders that everything is being done, everything is just right and the new tractor production statistics are most impresive, as the nation collapses all around them. Or, more pertinently, the bonkers press appearances of Donald Trump citing - apparently with complete conviction - misleading Covid data offered up by his staffers. Only, of course, Trump wants to be told everything is awesome and rejects anything that suggests otherwise - he's a willing participant in his own deception; Corbyn and his team wanted the truth, but were being lied to by people they should have been able to trust.
If accounts like Ryle's - and the allegations in the leaked report - are true, people behind this grim farceshould be expunged from the party. Their work contributed to the Conservatives winning a further five years in power, with the prospect of another them beyond that.
Instead, apparently, they are calling for Corbyn to be thrown out.
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