The 5 #PoliticalTactics are: 1) I'm the victim here; 2) It's somebody else's fault; 3) I don't accept all the points, 4) There is a conspiracy against me; 5) Simply ignore the most damaging points.
In the future will people sing "Oh, Jeremy Corbyn" ironically as a comment on a classic mishandling of a criticism?
And I wonder whether Jeremy's friends advised him not to post what he did on Facebook last Thursday? Those of them on the media on Friday appeared to be carefully avoiding answering the question.
Trade Union bosses weighed in with strong criticism of what they saw as an attack on Jeremy, and warnings of Civil War within the Labour Party. Other Jeremy supporters doubled down on how the real issue was Jeremy's unfair subsequent suspension from the Labour Party pending investigation.
So what appear to be the facts underneath all this noise? Jeremy's Facebook post did condemn antisemitism and acknowledge it's existence in the Labour Party. But his post also said his team had speeded up reviews of antisemitism and that "the scale of the problem was also dramatically overstated".
The report provides damning counterpoints to those arguments - a choice few are
- "Our investigation has identified serious failings in leadership"
- Our analysis points to a culture within the Party
which, at best, did not do enough to prevent antisemitism and, at worst, could be
seen to accept it."
and perhaps most shocking of all "We found evidence of political interference in the handling of antisemitism
complaints throughout the period of the investigation. We have concluded that
this practice of political interference was unlawful. The evidence shows that staff
from the Leader of the Opposition’s Office (LOTO) were able to influence
decisions on complaints, especially decisions on whether to suspend someone. "
Jeremy's post also says on the report "I do not accept all of its findings", whilst avoiding any detail on which findings he doesn't accept. Given his post omits to mention one of the report's conclusions, "Our investigation found that the Labour Party has committed unlawful acts." I'm unclear whether that is one of the report's conclusion he doesn't accept.
So for those with aspirations to become one of our well rewarded MPs there are several #PoliticalTactics to study and learn here.
1) When facing criticism try to change the story to how unfairly you've been treated;
2) Say you don't agree with all of the criticism but don't be specific;
3) Blame the leadership before you came along or somebody else for the situation;
4) Suggest some sort of political/media conspiracy is going on.
5) Avoid repeating or responding to the most damaging criticisms - simply ignore them.
Time will tell how the public judge Jeremy's response to the report. Sadly I fear it will only strengthen people's cynicism about politicians.
And if you want a bit more detail read on ...
Yesterday on Facebook Jeremy Corbyn posted his response to the EHRC report. Basically whilst he condemns antisemitism and acknowledges it exists in the Labour Party, he also does not accept all the report's findings and argues that on handling complaints about antisemitism "My team acted to speed up, not hinder the process", and that "the scale of the problem was also dramatically overstated for political reasons by our opponents inside and outside the party, as well as by much of the media."
On their webpage that links to the report the EHRC summarise the report by saying "Our investigation found that the Labour Party has committed unlawful acts. We have published a report about our findings, including our recommendations for change. The Labour Party is now legally obliged to draft an action plan to tackle the unlawful act findings we made. This should be based on our recommendations. Once the action plan is agreed, we will continue to monitor it. If the Labour Party fails to live up to its commitments in the legally binding action plan, then we may take enforcement action."
The report's foreword goes on to say "We found specific examples of harassment, discrimination and political interference in our evidence, but equally of concern was a lack of leadership within the Labour Party on these issues, which is hard to reconcile with its stated
commitment to a zero-tolerance approach to antisemitism. "
Text from 29/10/20 Jeremy Corbyn Facebook post
My statement following the publication of the EHRC report:
“Antisemitism is absolutely abhorrent, wrong and responsible for some of humanity’s greatest crimes. As Leader of the Labour Party I was always determined to eliminate all forms of racism and root out the cancer of antisemitism. I have campaigned in support of Jewish people and communities my entire life and I will continue to do so.
“The EHRC’s report shows that when I became Labour leader in 2015, the Party’s processes for handling complaints were not fit for purpose. Reform was then stalled by an obstructive party bureaucracy. But from 2018, Jennie Formby and a new NEC that supported my leadership made substantial improvements, making it much easier and swifter to remove antisemites. My team acted to speed up, not hinder the process.
“Anyone claiming there is no antisemitism in the Labour Party is wrong. Of course there is, as there is throughout society, and sometimes it is voiced by people who think of themselves as on the left.
“Jewish members of our party and the wider community were right to expect us to deal with it, and I regret that it took longer to deliver that change than it should.
“One antisemite is one too many, but the scale of the problem was also dramatically overstated for political reasons by our opponents inside and outside the party, as well as by much of the media. That combination hurt Jewish people and must never be repeated.
“My sincere hope is that relations with Jewish communities can be rebuilt and those fears overcome. While I do not accept all of its findings, I trust its recommendations will be swiftly implemented to help move on from this period.”
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