Why do some people think Corbyn was a ‘terrifying prospect’?

[StillCuriouser]

Taking a quote from a comment made on another thread.

I am not massively engaged in politics, but from what I understand Corbyn was pro-environment, pro-public services and re-nationalisation, he was a man who lived according to his own values.
He was laughed at for riding a bike and making jam. He was accused of being anti-semitic, though I didn't see any persuasive evidence of this, and- though not wanting to engage in whataboutery- Johnson’s awful racist remarks didn’t prevent him from gaining power.

I understand that people will have disagreed with him in policy. But what about him was did people feel was “terrifying” and so beyond the pale?
If Boris was electable and Corbyn was not I feel there must be something horrific about Corbyn that I am missing?

You are missing my point. Tell me how Palestine impacts the day to day lives of people in the UK? It just doesn’t. What’s going on in Ukraine does. Jeremy Corbyn didn’t understand how unimportant Palestine is to people, and him raising Palestine made him look out of touch.

Capitalism isn't perfect but it's the only system that almost works. I can assure you that under a socialist regime it would be many factors more than 4m.

It's a good question to ask OP, and like you I've thought it and have never been able to get to any solid, concrete examples.

My conclusion is that he represented the possibility of real change, and for that alone the media decided he had to be stopped.

i am absolutely gobsmacked at your second paragraph! Bumbling Boris was accidentally racist!!!! Bumbling Boris the cold, calculating, highly intelligent journalist and politician! He cost Nadeem Zahawi years of a life, made the burka comment and also the picanini comment all by accident? He was a blatant racist masogynist twat!

Because he’s a supporter of Hamas (the terrorists who govern Palestine) and so obviously a hater of mainstream Jewry as he couldn’t abide Israel’s existence.

"Bumbling Boris the cold, calculating, highly intelligent journalist and politician! He cost Nadeem Zahawi years of a life"

I think this might be Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe. Nadhim Zawari is the Chancellor of the Exchequer today.

Agree with this.

People voted for Johnson purely because Corbyn really couldn't helm a sinking ship.

Johnson won on personality and yes, it was known that he could be racist and is highly mysoginistic.

And it turns out that Johnson really is not better than Corbyn and as equally reckless and terrifying.

But difference is people still defend Johnson because he has some quality (I don't see) that appeals to some people.

Older generation woman seem to really like him and just see him as a schoolboy who has made a few mistakes (and don't we all 🙄). I think this sines from the bumbling Baffoon with the shaggy hairstyle persona.
From a phycology pov I find that very interesting because the only person he ever really seemed to have a close relationship with is his mum - of the same generation.

The truth really is that as a country we are fucked politically.

The media is too involved, the electorate make too many comments without really having any facts - and as seen here OP when you ask people are scathing about it.

And people want personality over competence.

I always thought his economic policy was pie in the sky. Wasn't one election promise to out fibre broadband to every property in the uk. At the time of just had a quote to put broadband to my midlands based farm not in the middle of nowhere - £20 000. And he wanted to do that to every single remote property?!

Thanks, I guess this explains why he was so horribly unpopular within the party, and why he didn’t appeal to the working classes… but I can’t understand why they would think Eton-educated member of the Bullingdon club would be a preferable choice?

What on earth makes you think that disliking Corbyn means that you like Johnson? It is perfectly possible (and, in fact, probably extremely common) to think both of them (would) have been useless PMs. The real question is why neither Labour nor the Torues were able to come up with anyone better at the time.

What's depressing about this thread is the lack of mention that Corbyn, regardless of his personal integrity and ability to make jam, simply wasn't PM material because he was a career backbench quibbler.

He lost to a journeyman journo who was worse.

Whereas the only mention of Starmer so far is that he's a slippery lawyer. I expect someone will add that he's dull. But Starmer was a highly respected DPP. He's just the sort of person you want running a country: intelligent, capable, honest, ie, someone with character, in the old-fashioned sense.

Politicians shouldn't be curiosities or entertaining. They should be dull and competent.

People's priorities have got way out of whack.

He's just the sort of person you want running a country: intelligent, capable, honest, ie, someone with character, in the old-fashioned sense.

He's a coward who won't admit he knows what a woman is.

I think in some ways he was the far left version of Thatcher, completely blinkered and determined in his view. He lost two (?) Elections badly and he wouldn't conceded that he was unappealing/unelectable to the majority and rather than doing the decent thing and stepping aside to allow someone else to try he clung doggedly to power and whipped up his core fan base to a frenzy to where he had to be forced out and the Labour party was deeply divided. In the latter he had plenty in common with Johnson.

Because they read [and believe] the Mail and the Telegraph.
Again, all you will get is he is/was a terrorist, anti-Semitic and too posh to be a 'man of the people'. These are the dimwits who voted for Boris and have kept the Tories in power for 12 years.
Yes, but just imagine if Corbyn had got in ...

It's a bit of a pointless argument now that it's in the past. I CBA to get into it. FWIW I agree with you that anything would have been better than the damage that the Tories have done and I voted for Labour in the GE although I didn't like JC at all he was the lesser evil.

I think Labour were silly to have abandoned the centre ground so hard won under Blair and Brown. An exercise in idealism that has been painful for the country.

However I was glad that the tories landed themselves with dealing with covid because if a labour chancellor had spent like rishi the country would have been up in arms. In retrospect the tories needed to implement brexit as they need to own what a complete mess they have made.

Because they are numpties, led by numpties, OP.

I'm with you OP - people acted like Corbyn was totally unelectable..... But Bojo wasn't? Despite dishonesty, loads of suspect financial dodgy dealings going on while he's been in power? Do people honestly think Corbyn would have been worse, what planet are people living on 😂

I agree with this. I didn't mention Starmer specifically in my reply but I did add people have their priorities wrong because they want entertaining.

I think someone like Starmer (even if it's not him) who is professional and has integrity is exactly what our country needs.

I think we need that whatever party is in power.

It's should be about party policy not personality.

As a state school teacher I thought was a hypocrite. He damned private schools but sent his three boys to the independent Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School ( fee paying)
He has been married three times, the last time to a woman twenty five years his junior ( shades of Boris)
He went to a private school himself ( 2 E grades at A Level). Not a man who would do his homework.
Apart from anything else, I never thought he wanted the job. He is anti Semitic and contributed to many Jewish people feeling unsafe in the UK.

Self interest maybe. Or belief in the narrative pushed by the media. I voted for him as Labour leader and for Labour led by Corbyn in the election. I would have been very happy for their policies to be implemented.

Because too many of those who own the media and pay the Tories to inact the policies they want, were scared that Corbyn would get in and run the country for the benefit of the many not the few.

He had very little policies of his own, and could only protest against the government but seemed to have little alternative suggestions.
He was quite far left and the policies he did have seemed to be similar to those of Venezuela which is never great.
Communism doesn’t work. It’s becomes like Animal Farm with the elite living the highlife at the expense of the workers, but the workers have no opportunities to better themselves because everything is state owned and controlled.

All this stuff about Corbyn's policies being bad economically, wasn't this the election were Labour were the only ones that published a costed manifesto?

Ultimately, Corbyn wasn't deemed likable enough and I suspect his proposed changes were too radical. The media completely destroyed him and he was inept at leadership and allowed it to happen.

I do agree with the sentiment on Johnson though. Except he is not ideologically driven and is willing to go down the 'socialist' route if it keeps him popular (i.e. can you imagine Thatcher bringing in furlough?!)

I'm not always impressed with Starmer and I understand why people call him dull. Personally, I want a dull, competent person running the country, particularly one that has had experience running a significant govn dept.

It doesn’t make sense. No other politician received the same level of negative media attention that Corbyn did. He represented real genuine change and the people who are really in charge weren’t going to allow that to happen.

It’s crazy that we accept the poor level of public service that we receive from the tories. Every time there’s an election they say they’ll reverse some of the cuts they’ve made, they don’t, no one does anything. This countries public services on its knees, the system is completely broken. Then Corbyn offers something different, that’s more in line with what other countries offer, it’s dismissed as poor economic policies. Don’t even give the Labour Party a chance to implement. How bizarre is that? Let’s stick with the shit we’ve got, because what you’re offering sounds too good.

He isn’t antisemitic. He criticised Israel’s policy on Palestine. Look at the rest of the world.. you don’t do that. But tbh people don’t give a shit if he’s antisemitic. They don’t care about Palestine. It’s the same people that don’t care that Boris Johnson is a narcissist who lies, who get blowjobs at work from Carrie whilst his wife is fighting cancer. The reason people are so anti him is because the media and tories told them to be. That is the reason for the public hatred of him. I’m not saying everyone, I’m saying the majority. If everyone did their proper research into all of the politicians and policies there would be a far more balanced view of Corbyn but the majority of people generally don’t.

Are the elite not living rhe high life right now? More kids are in poverty, more homeless on the streets and more use of food banks under a Tory Govn.

I'm not arguing that communism is the answer, but the problems you outline are present right now under the capitalist model too

Great post.

I was never a Corbyn fan (I'm generally left centric) but there's so much truth to this with regards optics and who drives those.m