Understanding Jeremy Corbyn

For those who do not follow British politics, Jeremy Corbyn is the leader of the Labour Party and, as such, is the leader of the opposition in the British parliament.

Jeremy Corbyn has had a difficult start as leader of the Labour Party. He has floundered on a number of issues such as anti Semitism in the Labour Party and more recently, his support for Britain remaining in the European Union (EU) has been weak and lukewarm, even though the party is strongly pro-remaining in the EU.

The key to understanding Jeremy is his academic record. At A-levels (equivalent of Grade 12 exams) it is normal to take three subjects.  Corbyn passed two with E grades[which is the lowest pass mark] and presumably failed the third.  He then went to the North London Polytechnic  college to take Trade Union studies and flunked out after one year.  This shows that Corbyn has limited intelligence, certainly lower than the intelligence required the lead the opposition in parliament, or potentially to be a future Prime Minister.

As a result of his limited intelligence he accepts whatever is the current left wing narratives are. Unfortunately left wing views often contradictory.  Due to his limited intellectual capabilities, Corbyn is unable to resolve these.

Take the issue of anti Semitism in the Labour Party. The left wing narrative is that the Palestinians are an oppressed people, oppressed by Israel and the U.S.  However criticizing Israel is often seen as a sign of anti Semitism, which is racist.  But left wingers are virulently anti racist and so cannot be racist. This contradiction left Corbyn completely helpless. Based on advice from others, he resolved this by setting up a committee to look into the matter. Yet the issue could have been easily defused by stating that criticism of Israel and the policies of its current government is not anti-Semitic – after all, Israelis who disagree with Netanyahu and voted against him cannot be considered to be anti-Semitic. There are elements in the Labour party who have decidedly anti-Semitic views, but this is a matter of a few.

On the EU vote, Corbyn was also contradicted. Again, the left-wing narrative is that the EU is a capitalist plot. The Labour party however was for Britain staying in the EU, forcing Corbyn to support the “remain” side. This he did with great reluctance and his support was very lukewarm, his speeches emphasizing what is wrong with the EU. There are even some reports that he, personally, voted for “Brexit”. In some ways, the left is correct, the EU is a capitalist plot, with the aim of improving the lives of its citizens – contrast this with the Chavistas in Venezuela, where the left-wing plot has left the people much worse off, with even staples being in short supply.

In his defence, it has been pointed out that a stellar academic career is not necessary to succeed in life. This is true, where a poor academic record is a result of various factors. I myself only got a third from Cambridge, but that was not due to a lack of intelligence, but an excess of partying, beer drinking and girlfriends. However, when a poor academic record is due to lack of ability, the situation is different.