An hour of abuse thrown at me': Jeremy Corbyn on being the target of a Labour coup

"You suddenly realise that this person doesn't trust you at all and really doesn't wish you well at all, and you suddenly realise that any trust that was there actually disappears. There are few in politics who have had the experience of being the subject of a Labour party-style coup, the British equivalent of being dragged from your office to be put up against a wall. Letters of resignations from so-called political friends, condemnatory statements on social media, all dripped out for maximum effect with the end goal of pushing the target, once the subject of standing ovations and gushing plaudits, out on their tail."

"Keir Starmer has had it this week. Tony Blair endured a rather mild version of it in 2006, and the ousting of Boris Johnson in 2022 was a proper all-party effort. But for the real deal in Labour history it is to Corbyn, leader from 2015 to 2019, that one must look. Keir Starmer leaves Downing Street on 13 May with his wife, Victoria, whom he has described as his rock'."

"It was on the evening of Saturday 25 June in 2016, a couple of days after the EU referendum, that Corbyn's ordeal began. The Observer reported online that the Labour leader's shadow foreign secretary was busy plotting a mass walk-out at the top of the party. That was the one that was rather rapidly brought to my attention, Corbyn said. I immediately phoned Hilary [Benn] and didn't succeed getting hold of him for the whole evening and finally spoke to him at one in the morning."

"I said, this story in the Observer, is it true? Benn confirmed that it was. So I said, that makes your position absolutely untenable, that's the end of it, recalled Corbyn. He said: So you're dismissing me?' I said: Yes.' And that was it and I then called Seumas [Milne, Corbyn's press secretary] to immediately pu"

A Labour-style coup can feel devastating because it signals a complete lack of trust and goodwill toward the targeted leader. Trust that once existed can disappear quickly as political allies turn against the person. The process often involves resignations from political friends and condemnatory statements released through social media to maximize impact. The goal is to push the target out after prior support, including standing ovations and praise. Keir Starmer experienced such treatment, while Tony Blair faced a milder version. Boris Johnson’s ousting involved broader party cooperation. The most severe historical example is Jeremy Corbyn’s ordeal beginning after the EU referendum in June 2016, when reports of plotting a mass walk-out were confirmed by Hilary Benn.

Read at www.theguardian.com