One year ago this evening, I told a General Election hustings that, having met Jeremy Corbyn several times, I had found him to have "no charisma". I was wrong. For all his fatal concessions to his implacable enemies, which were why I was standing as an Independent instead of voting Labour, his nerves of steel are compelling. He is 71, yet all talk about him is about his next political move. There is no suggestion that he might be finished.
Far from being 20 points ahead, as was promised, Labour under his successor is still only statistically tied with a Conservative Party that, on those figures, would win the next General Election handily. No matter what Covid-19 tiers and continuing EU State Aid rules Boris Johnson may impose on the Red Wall, he remains more popular here than Keir Starmer is.
At today's Prime Minister's Questions, Johnson, who is a former Foreign Secretary and who spent eight years as Mayor of London, was shown not to have known the difference between Punjab and Kashmir. No one could accuse Corbyn of that. But he will never now be Prime Minister, whereas Johnson is.
To stand as a Labour parliamentary candidate next time will be to say that Starmer ought to become Prime Minister. Labour candidates may or may not believe that, just as many Labour candidates last year, including almost all MPs seeking reelection, did not support Corbyn. But they probably will believe that, and those who did not will be frauds, charlatans, hypocrites, liars. I am still the Independent parliamentary candidate for North West Durham. What are you doing?
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