Why am I so obsessed with Jeremy Corbyn?
- Adam Ouarda
- May 1, 2021
- 9 min read
Updated: May 2, 2021
Many of those around me know me for being utterly obsessed with the Corbyn "era", and for the most part this is true. But this proposed question is a question that I have not ever directly addressed to myself nor to others, and so I feel increasingly obliged to do so.
The election of Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the Labour Party in 2015 was not like the election of any other leader of the Labour Party. His election was met with unprecedented joy and overwhelming support from across the country. In particular he hit a chord with the youth. In fact, membership of the Labour Party increased to more than all of the other political parties combined. The chant of "oh Jeremy Corbyn" was heard across the UK. Suddenly the youth, of whom less than 60% even bother to come out a vote in elections, were the driving force in the scene of politics. I myself at just 16 was later one of the adamant supporters of Jeremy Corbyn. "Corbynmanimia" it was dubbed.
But for me (and as I am sure for others) this was not just merely a popularity with the Corbyn persona; it was a sense of empowerment. Corbyn marked a change in political discourse from one that did not seek to question the status quo to one that not only directly challenged it, but also proposed a way of changing it.
I want to shed light, very briefly on a few major areas that he has opened my eyes to.
Challenging the elite
One of the biggest things that Corbyn brought onto the table was the challenging of the status quo, and by the status quo I mean the current system that puts the richest at the top unchallenged and unquestioned.
For too long the interests of most politicians has always been to preserve the happiness of the richest 1% and the multi-national corporations. Whether it has been the overriding interest, as seen by the Conservative Party, or as an interest that is amalgamated with seeking to serve the working class, like it was under New Labour, this subservience to the richest has always existed. And it was exactly this which was highlighted by the Labour Party under Corbyn's leadership. From a period where it was difficult to even think of a mainstream politics discussing higher taxes on the rich or higher scrutiny of large MNCs to a moment where the next potential prime minister of the UK was calling out the richest, was refreshing and proved deeply reengaging for millions.
He exposed the system for what it is - rigged into protecting the interests of the elite- and made the public aware of what is really going on. The facts stare us all in the face. The main rate of corporation tax, a direct tax charged on profits made by large businesses, has continuously decreased from 30% in 2008 to 19% now and with an even pre-covid further planned decrease to 17%! At the same time, despite major cut in taxes, the welfare of employees at these large firms, notably Amazon warehouse and delivery drivers, have not improved. To put it into more context, the lowest rate of income tax (basic rate) is 20%. So, major companies who are making millions, if not billions, in profits pay just 17% of that in tax whereas the individual who is a part time bus driver, for example, pays 20% of their income (above personal allowance) in income tax. The point is clear:
Why are major corporations, who are making billions in profits, the ones experiencing significant reductions in their rate of tax? And this is made worse when we have economic downturns like the financial crisis which saw austerity, the cutting of public expenditure in areas that the poorest particularly rely upon.
Corbyn proposed to get a grip of this, by reversing the tax cuts made by the Conservatives and still keeping the UK's main rate of corporation tax at the lowest of the G7 countries. But as soon as major TNCs and the wealthiest heard of Corbyn's policies to get them to pay their fair share, the establishment in a sudden fear began throwing whatever they had to stop him from becoming the next prime minister.
The media outlets unleashed some of their worst vilifications, trying to utterly demonise Corbyn; this was seen by the over 20 page-spread of character assassination published in The Sun.
But the funny thing was that this seemed to have totally the opposite effect. Millions came out to vote for the Labour Party in 2017 and the empowerment of the Corbyn-led campaign overwhelmed any attempt to destroy his electoral success in 2017, after the Labour Party won an increase in percentage of the vote.
For me this reaction of the media just proved how easy they have it and when one person comes along to seriously rock their boat, they are scared sh*tless {mind my language}. In fact, it made me even more determined to fight for equity in the way we tax MNCs and regulate them.
During my campaign for higher corporation tax rates, I was consistently met with two related arguments:
If we increase the rate of corporation tax big businesses will "run-away" and there will be job losses creating an overall bigger problem.
Low corporation tax is where it needs to be, because it encourages investment and innovation.
Both arguments are deeply flawed when it comes to discussing corporation tax in developed countries.
This idea of big businesses being "scared away" is pure nonsense designed to stop you and me from voting for politicians promising to increase corporation tax. Increasing it back up to 26% is NOT going to scare away big business. In New Zealand corporation tax is at 28%. It is simply not unreasonable to increase corporation tax rate back up to a level they once were. Besides if it was to be the case that having low corporation tax is actually more beneficial than increasing it, which has been argued by Conservative politicians especially, then why on earth are the current Conservative government now planning to increase it to 25% following the coronavirus crisis. It just goes to demonstrate how weak and false their arguments above are. Such arguments are purely designed to scare us into voting against the Labour Party and preserve the equilibrium enjoyed by big businesses.
Social change and tuition fees
Another area I feel compelled to mentioning here is the movements for social change.
Corbyn was branded, as shown by the headline above, as an extreme Marxist who was going to destroy this country with his radical policies. Previously I was totally uninterested in politics. I had no idea of who was even running our country. But since becoming involved in politics due to Corbyn, I became aware of how quickly someone was branded a "leftist" as a sort of criticism to discredit them out of any discussion. This is partcialry concerning movements that were calling for equality and fairness.
For example, we can see this during the Black Lives Matter Campaign. The campaign message is clear. Black lives matter just as much as white lives. No race should be treated more superior than another. As far as I am concerned this is a logical and moral campaign that anyone with a moral compass, be it a left-winger or right-winger, would wholeheartedly support. But quickly I saw such movements branded "Marxist" and "extreme left".
And unfortunately, this applies across the board; whenever there is a movement gathering momentum trying to change society for the better it is branded by the elite and right-wing as somehow extreme left-wing movements. And if it so the case that demanding blacks lives to have the same value as white lives or if it is the case that demanding for females to have the same rights as males is "leftist", then I am as far "left" as you can get.
Nothing about these movements are principally driven by politics, but yet they made out to be a political discussion. It is wrong and needs to be called out for what it is.
The same goes for education. Currently in the UK tuition fees stand at a staggering 9,250 pounds per term and its even higher in other countries like the US. Corbyn directly questioned this promising to abolish tuition fees. When has it become acceptable that children must now get so massively in debt for choosing to have an education? We need a National Education Service that provides truly free higher education.
"Education is a right not a privilege. Education as an opportunity for all not a privilege"
Verily every child has potential, and every child should be able to reach their potential. The thought of getting into so much debt before one has even started their career has put off particularly those children who come from working-class backgrounds where money has always been a topic of the talk.
Politicians need to get their priorities right. Behaving morally right is not a political discussion and nor should it be. Stop offering tax cuts for the wealthiest and start behaving in a moral way offering free education and fully supporting movements for equality.
Nuclear weapons
One final area that I would also like to briefly mention is military spending.
Corbyn was well known for his promise to remove the UK's nuclear deterrent and was punished by the media for this.
Throughout his campaign Corbyn emphasised for changing the way we approach global affairs away from one that naturally defaults to war to one that promotes peace ☮️ and respect for human rights.
Recently, the UK government has pledged a 16.5bn pound increase in defence spending, meanwhile cutting humanitarian aid to Yemen, a country that is on the brink of a famine due to the war between the Houthis and the Saudi Arabia led coalition backed by the UK and the US. This increase in spending on the UK defence involves increasing the UK's nuclear warheads from 195 to 260 warheads. I beg the question what an earth does 260 nuclear warheads get you that 195 does not. It is outrageous and demonstrates quite clearly the dire state our politics is in. The morally right thing to do, to promote peace over war, is the choice not only ignored but is also decreased by cutting humanitarian aid. Even during a crisis where public spending is already under pressure, the UK government is spending record amounts in military armaments.
The point is there are more urgent things that such a large amount of money should be spent on, such as tackling the climate emergency by investing in a Green New Deal creating millions of green jobs and focusing on alleviating child poverty that still exits in the UK. Even at least allocating that money to ensure a properly funded NHS that Corbyn warned of being neglected (which could not have seen more clearly with the Coronavirus crisis).
Corbyn provided that reality check of why we are even talking about military spending when we have time and again seen the destruction it causes, killing innocent citizens, destroying the prospects of the future generations and creating nothing but more instability and suffering. We need a foreign policy built on promoting human rights, democracy and peace, not one that has war looming in the background as a default to resolving conflicts abroad.
Conclusion.
To conclude, the main purpose of this blog is to show that my Corbyn "obsession" is deeper and much more than the rebellious anti-establishment image of Corbyn. He holds a special place within me, because he has showcased the moralising power politics can have in today's world. The reputation of politicians being in it for their own benefit is not undeserved; just look what they have done. They are failing to tackle the climate emergency, they failed to fund public services sufficiently, they failed to protect human rights meanwhile giving cuts in taxes to their friends. But Corbyn challenged this head on by showing that it is not just idealistic to have a world of social justice, but rather politics can be a medium for change which is in the grips of our hands by participating in democracy. He was the first ever potential prime minister who said it would be his first priority in Number 10 to eradicate homelessness in the UK and John McDonnell, shadow Chancellor in Corbyn's shadow cabinet, said he would put a homeless individual in Number 11. It is politicians such as this that deserve to be in a position of power and not the politicians we have in government today. The Corbyn "project" is far from over and the time will soon come when politics is done in the right way, based on equity and not class. Ironically, in light of the coronavirus crisis we are seeing this today with many of Corbyn's policies being implemented by the current Conservative government. However uncomfortable it is for the right-wing media and elite to accept change for the many, real change is coming. I am confident that soon we will live in a world of social justice and I can't wait to be a part of achieving that.
8 is Boris Johnson
2 is David Cameron
A country rigged by the elite to run for the elite.
Adam Ouarda
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