20 The Sunday Times October 1, 2017 COMMENT Dominic Lawson New and nice? Not these ESTABLISHED 1822 old and angry Marxists Grit, not frit, should be Mrs May’s watchword The young idealists joining Labour must learn about their militant comrades

heresa May described the vote The first task of this week’s conference, eremy Corbyn wants the whole in anticipation of a flight of capital “when” on the backs of the workers. “Free market” will she called in June as “the most then, is that it does unite. The omens are country to be “infected” by the “unity, Labour wins the next general election. do on its own, as people like both freedom important election this country not good. Two weeks ago we praised Boris love and affection” that, he told his That would be the fastest way to convince and markets. has faced in my lifetime”. She Johnson for offering an optimistic vision ecstatic party members in Brighton investors that the UK would be as attractive a But if we must get involved with the must hope she got that wrong of Britain’s post-Brexit future. His latest last week, was what they were place for their money as Cuba or Venezuela. language of Marx, it is worth informing the demonstrating. Rather different sorts But that, too, is hardly surprising, since Corbyn younger admirers of Corbyn — assuming they too. For the prime minister is intervention, setting out his “red lines” of demonstration lie in wait for the and McDonnell have long regarded those two are interested — of the historical baggage that now diminished in authority for the EU negotiations, parked his tanks Conservatives as they assemble for nations (under the late Fidel Castro and Hugo comes with Marxism. It’s not just the matter of and leading a minority govern- on Mrs May’s lawn. The task of the govern- Jtheir conference in Manchester. Chavez) as models of socialist excellence, in the countless millions slaughtered in the name Tment. A hard-left opposition is looking ment, and its chief negotiator David Davis, The police are preparing for trouble, contrast to the shameful capitalist excesses of that doctrine by followers in the 20th forward to feasting on the carcass of the is to get into the meat of the negotiations. estimating that 50,000 people will be practised by their wicked neighbour, the US. century. It is the hatred at its heart, expressed Conservative Party. Noises off do not help. If this week’s con- descending on that great city with the aim of There is nothing wrong in the Labour top by the man himself in the 19th century. making it as uncomfortable as possible for the two having such views and promulgating them. Specifically, the hard-left anti-semitism that In Brighton last week Labour achieved ference looks like the first hustings in a delegates. A Conservative “gin-tasting evening” It’s the duty of politicians to preach what they now disfigures the Labour Party — emanations something once regarded as impossible. leadership contest, then the challengers has already been called off because the believe in and to attempt to persuade the of which on social media have been denounced The face it presented to the world was one should put up or shut up quickly. A war of organisers felt they couldn’t guarantee the public, via the ballot box, to endorse their by the Labour Party chairman John Cryer as of unity, even if this was achieved by attrition will play into Labour’s hands. safety of guests. opinions. Corbyn and McDonnell are also “redolent of the 1930s” — is all of a piece with sweeping the divisive issue of Brexit That is not just down to ministers, MPs If things do get a bit tasty, it won’t just be the right to sense a weakness of intellectual nerve the “anti-capitalist” agenda. It was from the mob who’ll feel exhilarated by the intimidation in their centre-right opponents: it is 10 years very beginning. under the carpet. That such unity was and party members. A year ago Mrs May of the “evil Tories”. I’m thinking of John since the credit crunch, but the political In Marx’s 1844 essay On the Jewish Question achieved under Jeremy Corbyn — initially read the mood of the conference exactly McDonnell, Labour’s shadow chancellor, a shockwaves from that massive market seizure he wrote: “What is the worldly religion of the seen as hopelessly unsuited for the leader- right. The country and the party had man who regards physical violence as an ripple as powerfully as ever through the Jew? Huckstering. What is his worldly god? ship by Labour moderates and most of its voted for Brexit and she, despite having essential element of the class struggle. During democracies of the western world. Money . . . Money is the jealous god of Israel . . . MPs — was even more remarkable. supported the “remain” side, was going to the Conservative and Liberal Democrat At the Bank of England last week, Theresa The bill of exchange is the real god of the Jew.” Labour could unite behind Mr deliver it efficiently. For six months all coalition, he described those trashing public May, provoked by Corbyn’s claim to be “now And 12 years later, in an article called “The property in protest against its policies as “the the political mainstream”, declared her desire Russian loan” for the New York Daily Tribune, Corbyn’s machinegun attack on the Tories went according to plan, with her Lan- best of our movement”. He praised students to defend the free-market economy against its Marx declared: “The real work is done by the — “the longest fall in people’s pay since caster House speech in January and over- who resorted to this form of violence for socialist enemies. But she did so with such a Jews, and can only be done by them, as they records began; homelessness doubled; coming legal challenges to meet her self- “kicking the shit out of” the Tory party lack of passion — reading somewhat haltingly monopolise the machinery of the loan- NHS waiting lists lengthening; school imposed deadline for invoking article 50 headquarters and insisted that an from a script — that it would not have mongering mysteries . . . Thus do these loans, class sizes growing and teachers leaving; in March. Now there is drift. undergraduate who hurled a fire extinguisher convinced anyone whose opinion was open to which are a curse to the people, a ruin to the over 4m children now in poverty; Mrs May’s Florence speech last month from a roof — a potentially lethal act — was change. Indeed, given that her manifesto in holders and a danger to the governments, “not the criminal”, but “victimised”. June had nothing good to say about what May become a blessing to the houses of the 20,000 police officers and 11,000 fire- was conciliatory but also hinted at a loss of None of this should be a surprise from a man now extols as “free-market capitalism”, I even children of Judah.” fighters cut; more people in work and in faith in her original aims. One thing the who lists as his hobby in Who’s Who fomenting wondered if she herself, who has never worked The “newer, nicer” Labour took a swipe poverty than ever before”. He also offered Tories do not want to see is a prime minis- “the overthrow of capitalism” and cites not just in a profit-making business, was convinced by at another stereotypical Marxist foe, the his followers hope. ter pushed around by Brussels. She needs Marx but also Lenin and Trotsky — for whom what she was reading out. aristocracy, last week. The MP for Kensington, While Labour’s economic programme to regain her earlier confidence and make the slaughter of unrepentant bourgeoisie was I would also advise her speechwriters — and Emma Dent Coad, launched an attack on the not a hobby but a vocation — as his inspiration. all who want to win the battle of ideas against Duchess of Cambridge for her “disgusting” would set this country back for decades, clear that this is the time for give and take Equally unsurprisingly, many of those socialism — to stop defending “capitalism”. The behaviour in buying jumpers that cost — many of its supporters are too young to on the other side, too. associated with the Militant tendency — the word itself is derived from Marx’s Das Kapital allegedly — £150 each. Dent Coad told her remember the damage inflicted by the More than that, Mrs May needs to give far-left group excised from the Labour Party and conjures up images of men in pinstriped audience in Brighton that this was “absolutely party’s past disasters. Labour presents an the Conservatives something to lift their more than a generation ago — have now suits smoking fat cigars and resting their feet outrageous”, because each jumper cost the alternative to the never-ending “auster- spirits. The current narrative is that after returned. But they make odd brothers-in-arms equivalent of “a food bill for a family of four”. ity” bequeathed by George Osborne’s this year’s failed election gamble, one for the young men and women with no record There are many, many members of the of political activism who have flocked to the Labour Party whose motivation is only to snail-like pace of deficit reduction to his more heave will see Mr Corbyn in No 10. party because they believe Jeremy Corbyn improve the lot of the least favoured. But there successor. While the former chancellor Mrs May has to pledge to challenge represents a “new, nicer politics”. has always been an element on the left driven enjoys himself carping from the sidelines, relentlessly the ideology and innumeracy He is indeed nicely mannered and never much more by hatred of the well-off than by Philip Hammond is faced with pressure behind Labour’s ideas and to win back not less than courteous in debate. But as for the love of the poor. Such types tend never to have from all sides to throw money at prob- only the young but swing voters of all ages. “new politics”, it is novel only to those too experienced poverty themselves and to be, young to remember the 1970s. They do not, for There is hatred like Dent Coad, resoundingly middle-class. lems, from the teething troubles with Measures seeking to do this will be example, recall the time before the Thatcher If Britain does become infected with their universal credit through to public sector unveiled this week, such as changes to government, when foreign exchange controls at the heart outlook, then love and affection will not be the pay, while still having to confront a £50bn tuition fees and assistance for first-time meant strict limits on how much you could discourse of politics. Rather the opposite, budget deficit. buyers, including an expansion of the spend when holidaying abroad. of Marxism, actually, Jeremy. Most of all, the Tories have been Help to Buy scheme. They will assist but Actually, McDonnell gave us a sense last [email protected] making life easy for Mr Corbyn. Today we do not go far enough. Mrs May should week of Labour’s preparedness to return to the expressed by status quo ante Thatcher, when he said he was Come on, Corbyn, make this Labour’s day report that in the wake of the election Mrs lift her sights. “war-gaming” capital and exchange controls the man himself of atonement, News Review, page 24 May cut a desperate figure, struggling to A government that tackles the housing hold it together. Her rivals circled but did crisis — building more homes for both not strike. So Mr Corbyn was able to say: private buyers and council tenants — “We are ready and the Tories are clearly would combine good politics with good not. They’re certainly not strong and economics. Sajid Javid, the communities they’re definitely not stable. They’re not and local government secretary, has use- Sarah Baxter remotely united. And they’re hanging on ful ideas and is sceptical of the sanctity of by their fingertips.” Many Tories, looking the green belt. A housebuilding revolu- at the past four months, would find it hard tion was the making of Harold Macmillan. to quarrel with that. It should be Mrs May’s domestic priority. A little birdie told me the Cheap flights do not justify far left hates a free press cheap behaviour Can the watchdog Impress rule fairly on the smearing of Laura Kuenssberg? Ryanair, for years the butt of jokes about executive of the UK Civil Aviation Author- its alleged shortcomings and penny- ity, had to warn Mr O’Leary it was wrong pinching attitude, has finally given its to say Ryanair was not legally obliged to ere is some fake news about the trope if ever I heard one). But I never dreamt The Press Recognition Panel is now going to customers something big to moan about. reroute customers whose flights had been BBC’s political editor, masked by a Impress would become so chaotic so fast. consider whether Impress still deserves its seal Its botched rostering of pilots has resulted cancelled. He said the airline could be veneer of half-truth. “We need to talk By its own standards, Impress has failed. of approval on the grounds that it may have about Laura Kuenssberg,” tweeted Last week it recommended banning its own seriously breached the royal charter’s in thousands of flights being cancelled breaking the law by omitting material The Canary, a left-wing Corbynista chief executive, Jonathan Heawood, and two requirements. A judicial review of the original and inconvenienced more than 700,000 information that “is likely to cause the digital fanzine. “She’s listed as a members of its board from dealing with decision to grant it official status will also passengers. average consumer to take a transactional speaker at the Tory party conference. publications with a turnover exceeding £20m, conclude shortly. Michael O’Leary, the airline’s chief decision he or she would not have taken Impartial and accurate?” it mocked. which includes all mainstream newspapers, Heawood has closed his Twitter account — executive, has a chippy response to most otherwise”. Facing the threat of a fine, the HKuenssberg was listed as “invited” by the because of their public hostility to large presumably because he can’t trust himself not criticism but could not laugh this one off. company bowed to pressure and updated Centre for Social Justice think tank, which is swathes of the press. Heawood reserved his to indulge in anti-media bilge. His own board closely tied to the Brexiteer Iain Duncan Smith. worst Twitter tirades for Paul Dacre, the warned him that, should any national papers Ryanair, like the cab-hailing app Uber, has its website on Friday, detailing passen- But in fact she had not agreed to speak at its “degenerate libertine” editor of the Daily Mail, join Impress (they won’t), his position would been a highly effective disrupter, shaking gers’ full rights. fringe meeting in Manchester this week and but few newspaper groups have escaped the be “untenable”. It already is. This is a man who up the airline market and bringing huge That is as it should be. The cheap flight remains politically impartial. trio’s scorn. In future a new subcommittee will joined far-left efforts to deprive the press of benefits to consumers. Even disrupters revolution has brought huge benefits and The tweet went viral. It was clickbait, pure have to handle their work. Honestly, you advertising, retweeting hostile comments such get it badly wrong sometimes, however. should continue to do so — but cheap does and simple, designed to stoke anger against couldn’t make it up. as “Voltaire . . . never said I will defend to the Kuenssberg after a week of vicious attacks on It’s worth noting that The Sunday Times and death your right to get advertising revenue.” While the Irish regulator has largely not mean a free-for-all. The regulator’s her reported use of a bodyguard at the Labour other national newspapers refused to join It’s tantamount to saying: “I’d like to starve you pulled its punches in dealing with touch has been fair but firm. Business Party conference in Brighton (itself the result of Impress — under threat of severe financial of resources and shut you down.” Ryanair, its UK counterpart has been needs to play by the rules and Ryanair is months of misogynistic trolling by the left). penalties in libel and privacy cases — precisely For Heawood and friends to adjudicate more effective. Andrew Haines, the chief no exception. And it wasn’t true. Even the former Labour because the organisation, which is supported on whether The Canary was fair to Kuenssberg leader Ed Miliband called on the website to by the campaign group Hacked Off, seemed is a joke. For an Impress “subcommittee” to withdraw its remark, because “Jeremy said riddled with bias. Now it has emerged that regulate national newspapers is out of the today we don’t tolerate abuse”. After protests, Impress itself agrees with that verdict. A self- question. It has already proved it is unfit for The Canary posted a weaselly update respecting boss would have resigned when the purpose. Newspapers have set up their pretending it was basically correct all along. damning internal report came out. All own, far more respected watchdog, the Perhaps you would like to join in the Heawood said was that he “let the side down”. Independent Press Standards Organisation Lashings of lashings complaints about its sly form of hate speech to (Ipso), which recently showed its teeth by Impress, Britain’s first and only state-backed ordering The Mail on Sunday to publish two press regulator, approved under a royal charter very prominent corrections. Unlike Impress, There was a light snack of cold pork, “We’re not racist, are we?” said Anne. last year. The Canary, along with The Ferret it neither has nor seeks government approval. salad, egg sandwiches, ham sandwiches, “Oh come on, Anne! Just look at us,” and other curious print and digital flora and As the far left grows in strength, so do the bacon, potted meat, sardines, crusty said Dick, gloomily. “We’re all hideously fauna, has signed up to the press watchdog dangers to a free press. Decades-old attacks funded to the tune of £4m by the former on the “right-wing tabloids”, in particular The bread rolls, ginger cake, lemonade and white and awfully, awfully middle class.” Formula One boss Max Mosley’s family trust. Sun and the Mail, have lately spread to ginger beer set out in front of the Famous “It’s no good,” sighed Julian. “Unless Hurry up, though! Impress is itself in the dock Impress perceived enemies of the people at the BBC, Five. But for the first time in living we can demonstrate a commitment to and may not be long for this world. such as Kuenssberg, and left-of-centre memory nobody seemed hungry. diversity and equality, we’re finished in I did wonder last year whether it was wise has now newspapers. Click on The Canary’s Twitter “What’s the matter, Dick?” said children’s literature.” for the state to coerce Britain’s free press into page and you will see it is now turning its guns George. “But Timmy’s ever so diverse,” said control by a body whose very existence proved it on Nick Cohen of The Observer, an exemplary depends on the son of two fascists, Oswald and supporter of the democratic left who it claims “A professor at Kansas State University Anne. “He’s a mongrel.” Diana Mosley. People like me “probably need is unfit for is an “arch-neoliberal”. The Canary really is in says children’s books are racist,” said “Hurrah!” said the Famous Five. counselling”, Max Mosley replied smoothly in a the coalmine. Dick. “Tuck in, everybody.” letter to The Sunday Times (an authoritarian purpose @sarahbaxterSTM