Jeremy Corbyn - Unfinished

The article written by Steph Hendry gives the reader an explanation on how Jeremy Corbyn is currently being presented in the main stream media. It is unknown when it was written, however Steph stats off by saying "After the 2015 General Election", and as Jeremy was elected leader of the Labour Party in September 2016, I would imagine that Steph may have wrote the article towards the end of 2015, or the start of 2016. However, it has recently become a very important article, due to the snap election called by Theresa May in May 2017.

The general tone of Steph's article is very critical of the mainstream media. Jeremy, from the start of his reign as Labour leader, was under constant backlash by right wing, and some left wing, newspapers and tabloids. She even went and quoted The Guardian, who claimed that Jeremy was an oddball, and labelled his supporters as being "stupid, naive and thick". Steph criticises the main stream media for their portrayal of Corbyn, as she says that Corbyn being leader was being treated "at least at first, as a joke." This is true to a certain extent, Corbyn was seriously considered to be a "proper" leader. He sympathised with known IRA terrorists, and his ideology of the nuclear warhead "Trident" is controversial. Steph made a brilliant point about how "right-wing commentator Toby Young urged supporters of the Conservatives to pay the £3 required to become a Labour supporter in order to subvert the leadership election by voting for Corbyn." This shows how badly Corbyn was being received in the media, that the opposition were prepared to vote for him, in order to enhance their chances of being elected. 

And although Steph makes a great point, Labour at the time had a poor set of people to choose from. Andy Burnham was among the nominees for leader, however he was not well known amongst Labour MP's, and his youth and inexperience meant that people didn't want him to be leader. Yvette Cooper was another, however her bizarre and unpopular promises led people to believe she wasn't the right woman for the job. Corbyn was experienced, as he was a back-bencher for many years (since 1983!) and his warmth and policies led people to support him. So although he was treated as a joke, this would have been the same for the other leaders anyway, so Corbyn wasn't being singled out by Toby Young. 

Steph goes on to explain that after the mocking Corbyn received, he was starting to get complemented by the people of Britain. In fact, he got a lot of support by them. Many started to join the Labour Party to vote for him, and as Steph says, "As his popularity grew, with venues full to overflowing, the news media began to change their tone and the reporting became more overtly negative." 

And that last point is an understatement. Due to Steph writing this before the snap election was called, Corbyn has been bombarded with negativity by the mainstream media, none more so than by the Daily Mail, the Express, and the Sun. It is laughable to witness the sheer desperation by these tabloids, however, it actually isnt a laughing matter. Because there are people out there, who will be persuaded by the newspapers, and wont vote for Jeremy Corbyn. The lies that they print, the unbelievable exaggeration of the tiniest of things, anything you can think of, these tabloids have printed in an attempt to stop Corbyn getting into power. The rallies he was doing were attended by famous people, they were always packed full of "Corbynista's", and generally, they were always usually overbooked. From Liverpool, to Tottenham, to Edinburgh, people were desperate to see Corbyn speak about his policies. And as they got more popular, the newspapers started to criticise him more, and more. Steph makes a brilliant point, by saying "Corbyn was now being seen as a threat rather than a joke, and so the attacks became more serious in tone." No one was laughing at him. He now genuinely is a rival to Theresa May in the upcoming General Election. 

Ever since the election was called, Corbyn started to campaign for peopes votes, and although originally mocked, jeered and laughed at, he still kept going, and aalthough losing a confidence vote amongst Labour MP's, he still maintained the leader position, and managed to make Labour strong in this upcoming election although they are predicted to lose, and on paper, it should be a Conservative majority, Corbyn should be produ of what he has done in the campaign. On a persoanl note he manaed to changed me to become a Labour supporter, as originally i was probably more suited to being a Liberal Democrat, however his powerful speeches, fair and equal manifesto and his leadership skills have all been reasons that lead to me supporting him. And im not speaking on my own when i say that. I can see through the lies of the mainstream media, and like Steph said, the "negative representations lead to him becoming more popular".