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Tears and jeers: An evening with the Corbyn faithful
I've seen Jeremy Corbyn speaking myself before now and I would have to agree that he's not exactly a barnstorming orator.
http://www.politics.co.uk/blogs/2015/09/11/tears-and-jeers-an-evening-with-the-corbyn-faithful
What is the appeal of Jeremy Corbyn? I was pondering this question as I sat in the rafters of the Rock Tower, an impressive venue in Islington which doubles up as a Nigerian church. Beneath me was a crowd of hundreds of Corbyn's supporters whipped up into a state of semi-fervour by the appearance of the man they now refer to as 'JC'.
The first thing I noticed when listening to Corbyn is that by any conventional standards he's not a particularly impressive speaker. Before he stood up, the audience had been treated to a truly barnstorming speech by Owen Jones. Jones has faced a lot of criticism from some quarters for his loyal support of Corbyn during this campaign, but there was no doubt from listening to his passionate speech last night that he genuinely believes in the cause he's fighting for. It was a masterful, almost evangelical performance. But if Jones was like an evangelical preacher, then Corbyn was much more like the local vicar. His plodding, one-pitch style was, to my ears, something of a comedown from all the previous speakers.
And yet the crowd seemed genuinely moved by it. Unlike many other political rallies I've been to where the audience often look like they've been held there at gunpoint, Corbyn's supporters actually seemed to want to be there. The welcome he received was warm and genuine. When Jones told the audience they were all a "part of history" you could sense they believed it.
There must be something particular about Jeremy himself that has captured his followers' imagination. As I looked down at the Corbyn faithful last night, I couldn't quite work out what it was. But whatever it is, it soon looks set to deliver what will be the greatest victory for the Labour left in recent political history.
The first thing I noticed when listening to Corbyn is that by any conventional standards he's not a particularly impressive speaker. Before he stood up, the audience had been treated to a truly barnstorming speech by Owen Jones. Jones has faced a lot of criticism from some quarters for his loyal support of Corbyn during this campaign, but there was no doubt from listening to his passionate speech last night that he genuinely believes in the cause he's fighting for. It was a masterful, almost evangelical performance. But if Jones was like an evangelical preacher, then Corbyn was much more like the local vicar. His plodding, one-pitch style was, to my ears, something of a comedown from all the previous speakers.
And yet the crowd seemed genuinely moved by it. Unlike many other political rallies I've been to where the audience often look like they've been held there at gunpoint, Corbyn's supporters actually seemed to want to be there. The welcome he received was warm and genuine. When Jones told the audience they were all a "part of history" you could sense they believed it.
There must be something particular about Jeremy himself that has captured his followers' imagination. As I looked down at the Corbyn faithful last night, I couldn't quite work out what it was. But whatever it is, it soon looks set to deliver what will be the greatest victory for the Labour left in recent political history.