Owen Jones’ conversion to the Corbyn-sceptic cause has gone down like a cup of cold sick. Labour moderates see him as one of the guilty men who helped Corbyn win the leadership, now trying to distance himself from the project to save his own credibility. The leader’s office know he is a fair-weather friend – Jones was once John McDonnell’s bag-carrier but that relationship is far cooler than it once was. Owen’s repeated suggestions that it’s all gone wrong because they didn’t take his advice is particularly irritating those close to Corbyn. The Corbynista grassroots see him as a traitor. As Jones looks to salvage his media career and his reputation in the Labour Party, can he come back from these 10 quotes below?
- “So come on, Labour MPs. Put your future careers aside for party and national interest. Lend Corbyn a nomination, and let a real debate begin.” (The Guardian, June 2015)
- “A movement is born, across the nation, in every village and town and city you can see this movement emerging.” (YouTube, August 2015)
- “Corbynmania has swept across the country.” (The Guardian, August 2015)
- “The Right are mocking Jeremy Corbyn because they fear him.” (New Statesman, August 2015)
- “Corbynmania at least has the potential to be the beginning of a democratic renaissance.” (The Guardian, September 2015)
- “After the most open and democratic contest in Labour’s history… this man now has the biggest mandate of any Labour leader in history. A disclaimer: I’m someone who has actively backed his campaign, and spoken at some of his rallies.” (The Guardian, September 2015)
- “It was a moment that moved me. Rohi Malik, the young medical student who introduced Jeremy Corbyn, encapsulated the quiet desperation of many of the young people swept up by “Corbynmania” for a more hopeful politics.” (The Guardian, September 2015)
- “Momentum… is being portrayed by the media and others as a sinister force to purge the Labour Party and terrorise anyone that disagrees, but that is certainly not the motive of the key people who have been driving the whole thing.” (YouTube, December 2015)
- “Corbyn has completely relaunched his leadership, what a torrid year, everything thrown at him, the media, the PLP… a lot of people would have wilted under that pressure, [he’s] more confident, more assured than ever, it’s just a good speech… it took the fight to the Tories, this will please a lot of people – myself included – worried about where the leadership has been” (YouTube, September 2016)
- “MPs should accept more democratic involvement by a mass membership they should see as an opportunity, not a threat. Corbyn’s most ideological opponents should also take time to reflect on their own failures.” (The Guardian, September 2016)
For many in Labour, it is too little too late from a journalist-cum-activist who wholeheartedly backed “Corbynmania” from the beginning…
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