A Threat to Tory Security?

The response of the Conservative party press team to the election of Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader has been unconventional, to say the least. Where some insincere congratulations were expected, social media was instantly greeted with the spine-chilling warning of the threat the Labour Party and its new leader posed to the country. Not only was Corbynomics under fire as a “threat to economic security” (okay we expected that one) but apparently 66 year-old Corbyn is a threat to national security, and worse still, a threat to your family’s security. Yes, YOUR family! (Queue Daily Mail style panicking and fleeing to hug your loved ones before the red winter destroys us all!) My question is this; does this type of scaremongering and propagandist politics belong in a democracy? 

I was under the impression that Jeremy Corbyn has just secured a magnificent victory over his fellow candidates and elected as Labour leader with the support of a quarter of a million people, and with a much larger majority than the Conservatives assumed power of the country, for that matter. If this is the case, why is this level of character assassination being churned out on every Tory media outlet? A democracy by definition relies on the will and decision of the people, and the disregard of the voice of such a large group of supporters seems very dismissive of the democratic rights we have in this country. Associating Corbyn with words like “threat” and “terrorist sympathiser” can be a very dangerous game, does that make his supporters and those who voted for him threats to national security as well? Are those MPs who backed him onto the ballot to be tried for treason? Is the Labour party itself to be the new enemy within?

Labeling a strong opposition as a threat to national security sounds like the propaganda of an authoritarian regime, not the elected government of a western country who has a tradition of leading the way of democracy and liberty. Couple this with the recent drone killings authorised by David Cameron based on information that the government refuse to disclose to the public, and it seems to me it is not the so-called Labour lurch to the left that we should be fearing, but the undemocratic path the Conservative party is leading us down.

As Owen Jones has highlighted in his book The Establishment, the strong links between the Conservative party and the media means that not only is the public fed this narrative from CCHQ, but it is also emblazoned across the headlines of the majority of the British press. To me, this seems like something surreal, something out of a film, that an elected government can exile a fellow elected official to the isolation of an imagined extremism so far left of centre it cannot be entertained as a real political alternative without ensuring our collective doom, while utilising the chained bulldog of the media to project this ideology to the masses with their morning cuppa. 

But ultimately, by using this strategy of attack to discredit Corbyn, the Conservative government does nothing but project an atmosphere from their ranks. Fear of the surge of grassroots support for the veteran left-winger who demonstrates, sings and smiles with his supporters up and down the country. With the very recent passing of the Trade Union Bill further shackling the unions who protect the workers of this country, it is clear that the Tories wish to further tighten the grip on power they secured in May, by weakening the power bases of workers and attempting to silence their voice. The reason Corbyn represents such a threat to this power seizure, is that with the backing of a plethora of unions and with such a strong grassroots support base, Corbyn’s commitment to standing up for the low paid and the ignored will surely be a constant thorn in the side of the PM and his government.

Regardless of what the Tory PR team pump out of their propaganda and smear machines, it seems apparent in the responses to the recent posts made by the party on Twitter and Facebook, that even Conservative supporters are disappointed with the low blows being dished out. Many calls for the party to focus on policy to ensure victory in 2020 and not by going on the offensive with the opposition are easily found on each of the tweets, photos and videos posted by the Conservatives in the last two days. The British people are more cynical of politics now than ever before, and rather than being ignorant and uninterested, the youth of this country see through this kind of misleading and out of context representation of Corbyn by his opponents. I personally think each attack provides the Labour party with a fresh wave of supporters, sick of the current political climate which day by day forgets its democratic basis and uses lies, spin and smears to discredit its opposition instead of focusing their energy on making a real change for the country.

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By: Katie Langan, History student and puppy mother @kittylangan