How I Have Changed My Mind About Corbyn Despite Brexit

Jeremy Corbyn has had plenty of problems. I have a feeling that people like me were one of them. I’d sort of supported him when he became Labour leader. But my grounds were simply that while he had a rubbish plan to win back power and appealed to a small minority of people, his opponents in his party had no plan and appealed to nobody at all. It was hardly a ringing endorsement. I was sort of hoping that something better would come along. But as we all know, it didn’t.


 But I have begun to regret my previous condescension. I am just a voter, not a politician. I am not even a party member. So my views are not especially important. But I get the feeling that what I was thinking was being thought by a lot of the people who do count. As any manager will tell you, lukewarm or grudging support is a lot more draining than outright opposition. Anyway, my prognosis was that Labour would be smashed at the next election in 2020 and that would be the stimulus to come up with something different that would win. All the opinion polling and local election results confirmed my general feeing.

And yet over the last couple of weeks things have changed in my head. I don’t believe the opinion polls particularly, but I think they might indicate that I am not alone. After all, the numbers might not be correct but the trend of increased support for the Labour Party can’t be entirely imaginary. But back to me. I have found myself beginning to really like Jeremy Corbyn. I am not sure exactly why. There is just something about his demenour I find attractive. I can’t really rationalise it.

The one thing that doesn’t explain it is his stance on Brexit. The Labour Party’s position has eventually emerged. It is one that is sort of defensible. They will aim to achieve tariff free trade with the EU. That isn’t what I’d like to hear which would be a firm committment to stay inside the customs union and the single market. But it does make Britain’s continued prosperity a priority, so it is a sight better than what the Tories are talking about. But it is a compromise, and nobody is enthusiastic about a compromise.

So whatever is explaining the enthusiasm I am suddenly feeling for the Labour Party isn’t that. I think that ultimately it is down to hope. The Labour Party manifesto, which from the bits I have seen seems like a reasonable document as these things go, above all offers hope that we can have a better future. I think this has enough foundation in reality to justify it intellectually, but that really isn’t the point. The point is that I want to look forward with hope. I can’t put my finger on how, but somehow Corbyn has given it to me. I am grateful to him for that.