Though seen as a controversial figure in contemporary British Politics, for many Jeremy Corbyn exemplifies the ideal of a true “man of the people”. The audience packing the Octagon Centre, on the evening of Monday 16th May, certainly viewed the man in this regard. A standing ovation thundered after Corbyn’s address, and a lengthy applause was heard as he was introduced by former Sheffield Lord Mayor Magid Magid. This introduction came after an excellent recital of four poems by Rotherham poet Gav Roberts, these centring on such themes as poverty and peace. On the latter theme, Roberts’ recital of his poem “Put all Weapons Down” was particularly hard-hitting, and relevant given the main speaker of the evening is considered by many to be a bastion of global peace. Magid was asking the questions to the former Labour leader, who now sits as an independent MP for Islington North.
Corbyn is a naturally relatable and empathetic speaker, and this was on full display in his retelling of experiences from his own life. Perhaps the most heart-warming part of the talk was when Corbyn discussed a trip he took to a refugee camp in Western Syria, where Palestinian refugees were being refused entry into Syria and were stuck in this camp. The humanity that Corbyn saw in these people, particularly in a 14-year-old girl who wanted to become a doctor to “help people who were worse off than her”, is exactly the “humanity that is being destroyed by Priti Patel”, said Corbyn. On the topic of solidarity with the Palestinian people, a cause which Corbyn is a notable figure in, he expressed how he was “shocked, appalled, disgusted” by the killing of Palestinian Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. Corbyn followed this with a strong message: “She was murdered by the occupation – the occupation has to end,” that being the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories like the West Bank. Corbyn’s insistence on global justice is one of the tenets of his “Peace and Justice Project” which was founded after his move away from the leadership of the Labour Party. It is perhaps what differentiates him from the current leadership of the Labour Party and is reflective of his long-time involvement in the anti-war movement and other global solidarity movements, topics he discussed at length on Monday.
In terms of Corbyn’s manner, it is interesting to consider that the novelist Martin Amis expressed in 2015 that he thought Corbyn “humourless”. This didn’t seem to be the case at all. Corbyn was both self-critical and self-aware, and funny. There was a joke he told that comes to mind about the slow, slow, train from Sheffield to Manchester; this came up as Corbyn retold his experiences in Sheffield, and reminisced about the general history of working class and international solidarity the city had. He talked, for example, about the times he spent in Sheffield during the Miners’ Strike in the 1980’s. He knew how to relate to the audience, mainly his own supporters and many being young people, and this very much characterised the nature of the event – not a debate, but a speaker addressing his own base. The toughest question Corbyn got all evening was a challenge from Magid over his non-inclusion of proportional representation in either the 2017 or 2019 general election manifesto’s, a question he answered primarily by stressing the importance of constituency links between representatives and the local people they represent. The theme of somewhat soft questions carried into the period of audience questions at the end of the event, in that there were no challenges and no criticisms. Even if one had wanted to ask a challenging question, and it is not clear whether any in the audience would have wanted to, it would surely have received a frosty reception. This is not a criticism of the event, merely a characterisation of what kind of event it was, particularly as it is part of a Festival of Debate.
It would be hard to find someone listening to Jeremy Corbyn in the Octagon Centre that day who didn’t already have a strong preconceived conception of the man; from 2015 to 2019 he was either a hero or a villain, a man who it was very hard to be ambivalent about. Yet someone listening with a more open mind was foundation year Economics and Business Management student Twasin Rahman, an international student from Bangladesh. Before the talk, Twasin knew Corbyn as “someone representative of Labour, on the far left.” His perception afterwards was of someone who “cares about the issues that people overlook,” like housing and education. He saw him as different to many other politicians, who merely throw around promises and manifesto’s just to get re-elected, overall summarising Corbyn as an “empathetic person who is also a visionary.” No doubt, his opinion was shared by the many others in the auditorium who cheered and clapped for Corbyn. Finally, Corbyn’s supporters will be glad to know that he plans to continue to sit in parliament; in the next election, he will again be “available to represent to people of Islington North”, signalling an independent campaign if he is still to not have the whip restored by the time of the next general election. One would think that if anyone, anywhere, can make a success of an independent parliamentary campaign, it is Jeremy Corbyn in Islington North.
Image credits: Wikimedia Commons