Response to Thangam Debbonaire MP's attack on Jeremy Corbyn

On Sunday, my local MP Thangam Debbonaire (whom I have previously criticised on this blog for taking part in the coup against Jeremy Corbyn) released a statement via her Facebook page where she details her experiences of working as Shadow Arts and Culture Minister under Jeremy Corbyn (the statement in full can be found here). Over the past few days, this has become viral, and I haven't seen any left-wing blogger respond to it yet. For a Corbyn supporter, it is of course extremely tempting to ignore it and hope that people forget about it, but I don't find that to be a particularly honest way of handling things, so I will give my take on it as best I can.

I will not deny that I was shocked by the experiences that Debbonaire describes. To me, her explanations of specific incidents seem to be truthful and accurate, and I will give her the benefit of the doubt as far as that is concerned. I also want it on record that, provided that her experiences actually did happen as she describes them, I take back my criticism of her on a previous blog concerning her decision to step down as Minister. Whilst I remain extremely disgruntled by the Labour MPs seeking to undemocratically discredit their leader, I can also see that on occasion specific incidents make it impossible for an individual to continue holding a certain position, regardless of the impact this may have on any larger movements or counter-movements connected with it.

Having said that, I am not prepared to end my support for Corbyn purely on the basis of this revelation. Much as I will take on board Debbonaire's words when considering how I will react to matters concerning Corbyn in the future, a single person's negative experience is not sufficient to reverse the respect that I have built up for a person over a sustained period of time, as I have with Jeremy Corbyn (in the same way that much as I commended David Cameron for championing equal marriage, this was not enough for me to forgive all of the damage he inflicted with all his other policy decisions). Debbonaire claims that other MPs have had similar experiences, but without those experiences being discussed individually they cannot be counted to support her assertion of him being a bad leader generally. There are three sides to every story - yours, mine and the truth. Although Debbonaire's point of view should be believed and respected, without having heard Jeremy Corbyn's interpretation of what went on we cannot hope to understand the circumstances behind these errors, therefore it is not practical to completely shift focus based on a single dissenting voice (albeit the only dissenting voice out of the many in the Labour Party who has actually said anything that comes across as remotely honest).

But there is something even more important that needs to taken into account when we're analysing people's experiences of Jeremy Corbyn and using that to make a decision about whether and how to vote. Which is that Corbyn has faults. That is to be expected, as all human beings do, and some of those faults may be a quite significant hindrance to him continuing to be an icon of the left in the future (not that they necessarily will, but we must accept that they might do). But right at this moment, those faults don't matter to me very much. What matters is that Corbyn has consistently voted against draconian bills put forward in Parliament, argued against nuclear war, championed funding of public services, generally is more of an opposition to the Tories than any of the past Labour leaders in recent years, and fundamentally, Corbyn has swathes of public support. And right now, he is the only decent politician in Westminster who has that level of support. There are other politicians who represent my understanding of what politics should be about more than Corbyn does - I think Caroline Lucas is awesome, I have a lot of time for Nicola Sturgeon's SNP representatives and whilst I don't personally know a great deal about Tim Farron, I have heard good things about him from contacts of mine who are more invested in Liberal Democrat policies than I am. None of these people though have the opportunity right now that Jeremy Corbyn has. Though I usually vote for them and their support is growing all the time, the Green Party is not currently big enough to pose enough of a threat to take on the Tories. The SNP has done very commendable work in Scotland, but we need some more socialist values across the rest of the UK as well. The Liberal Democrats, perhaps unfairly, are still suffering from the mess-up over tuition fees in 2010. I have a great deal of respect for all of them, and I hope that at some point in the near future these parties can unite to offer a beacon of hope to every UK citizen and the world in general. But before that happens, we need to make sure that the opposition, which is still the Labour Party, actually is an opposition, and that rests with electing Jeremy Corbyn. Were Angela Eagle and Owen Smith saying anything that I found remotely inspiring, Thangam Debbonaire's account may actually have convinced me to consider voting for one of them. But all they are doing is spouting the same empty rhetoric that we've all heard enough of, and I'm not convinced that anything would get better with either of them at the helm.

This is not about Jeremy Corbyn. This is about an opposition that actually listens to the concerns of the electorate and represents them. I'm not a fan of Margaret Thatcher at all, but I have some grudging respect for the fact that she managed to change the whole understanding of politics in this country. Of course, she changed it the wrong way, and we have never quite come out of the cold hard capitalist way of thinking since 1979. I'm hoping that Corbyn can achieve something similar for the left to what Thatcher did for the right, in terms of making politics generally more compassionate, and more about ordinary people than super-rich corporations. Doing that is about more than one man. If in time a less desirable side of him starts to come out, perhaps someone else will take over as an icon for those on the left. From a completely practical viewpoint, if we are to assume our next general election will be in 2020, he will be in his early seventies and for all we know be starting to think about retiring. But hopefully by that point he will have served his purpose, things will generally be better for the people in this country, and having a Government that works for the other 98% won't seem like a pipe dream. For that reason, save for major scandals there are very, very few things that would convince me to stop supporting Jeremy Corbyn, regardless of any negative sides of him that may come out. There is too much at stake to let accounts like that of Thangam Debbonaire dissuade us from supporting the most forward-thinking opposition leader that I have seen in my lifetime.

Earlier today, I paid £25 to register as a Labour Party supporter, granting me a vote in the election. You can do so here up until 5pm on Wednesday 20 July (tomorrow as of the time of writing this). We shouldn't have to pay that much, there is a lot of work going on behind the scenes to challenge this rule, but for now I think we have to be content with what we have, as there just isn't time to waste challenging this decision when we need to put everything we have into having our say. If you are struggling financially and can't pay that amount, there are ways to get help from other people. The JustGiving page has been closed down by the party, but the Facebook page Nye Bevan News, whilst it appears to be having some trouble, is still doing the best it can to help anyone vote who is struggling to find the funds, so please visit if you need any help or if you'd like to donate to anyone who does.

EDIT: Since writing this blog, I have come across this Facebook page which may be also very helpful to anyone struggling to cough up.

Open letter to Thangam Debbonaire MP

I wrote the following to my MP, Thangam Debbonaire, asking her to vote against Brexit. You can also do the same at https://www.writetothem.com.

Dear Thangam Debbonaire MP,

My name is George Harold Millman, and I have recently returned to Bristol West after having spent the past three years living in Essex. I am writing to you to express my serious concerns about the results of the EU vote, and to ask that you vote it down when it comes to Parliament, and encourage your colleagues to do the same.

There have been many reasons why I voted to remain - the economy, our standing relationships with other states - but most importantly, because regardless of my own opinions of the EU generally, I have been increasingly concerned about the straw man arguments perpetuated by the Leave campaigners. It was evident to me that the Leave campaign was fuelled predominantly by xenophobia, and I have felt incredibly disturbed by the amount of racism that has been seen on our streets since the result was announced. I'm sure I do not need to explain this to you in detail, for I know that you were a passionate campaigner for the Remain side and no doubt have felt exactly as I have over the past week. I do not for one moment believe that racism and hatred has been the catalyst for the majority vote - I agree with Caroline Lucas about how it was ultimately a vote against David Cameron's establishment, but this has vindicated the small numbers of individuals who speak from a place of bitterness and hatred, people are suffering for that and I feel very strongly that this has got to stop.

The referendum was pitched to the electorate as being very clear-cut, but as you are no doubt aware, the actual technicalities relating to our impending exit (or lack thereof, in fact) are a lot more complex and will require many precedents to be observed and proposals to be voted for or against. The referendum was only advisory; I am not sure how much this is common knowledge, but it was never intended to be legally binding at any point. It does not give a reflective picture of the common opinion of the electorate, because the vote was so incredibly close that even if it had been legally binding, the result was not distinct enough to warrant a radical change. 51% of a vote is not enough to justify a decision as huge as departing the EU; most countries require a vote by two thirds in order to create that sort of change. In any case, in the UK democracy is based around the decisions of those people we have elected to represent us.

As you will know, if we are to leave the EU it will require an Act of Parliament to repeal the 1972 European Communities Act. As far as I am aware (correct me if I am wrong), Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty cannot be enacted without this. I feel very strongly that the Remain campaign does not end here; even if we ultimately do decide to leave the EU, every single issue must be campaigned on, but in the meantime we should continue to focus on trying to remain. With every day that passes, I notice something else which has come about as a result of this referendum which reinforces this opinion - Scotland would like to remain in the EU, which could cause a breakup of the UK; the fall of the pound has caused serious problems economically over the past week, and media sources suggest that many Leave voters are regretting their decision; and particularly importantly, if Donald Trump is elected the president of the United States come November, a strong and cohesive European Union will be crucial, as I feel that much of Trump's campaign is built on the same harmful fear-mongering around different cultures that much of the Leave campaign's approach has been based on.

I am very much aware of your record in arguing for the benefits of us remaining and I am on your mailing list so I read the email that you sent out the day following the referendum, so I am really hopeful that you will agree with what I have said here and seriously consider voting against any attempt to repeal the 1972 European Communities Act. I think that there has been quite a sense of depression across the whole country following the referendum result, and as time goes by, the potential consequences of leaving the EU are becoming increasingly evident to many people who may not have objectively thought about it before. I'm sure you are receiving many similar messages from other constituents, so please take note of what I have said here and vote against these concerning proposals.

Yours sincerely,

George Harold Millman

P.S. In addition to being your constituent, I am a political activist, campaigner and performance artist. I have been involved in this sort of work for nearly six years, have been involved in numerous topical campaigns over this time, and as a result I have become quite well-respected within certain political circles. Because of this, I have decided to make my letter to you open, as a form of encouragement for others to follow my example and write to their MPs. I shall publish this letter (and potentially any responses from you) on my blog: actorandpoliticalactivist.blogspot.co.uk