The Big Lie: It Wasn’t Antisemitism That Killed The Corbyn Project It Was The Remainers

“He Who Controls the Past”

And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed —if all records told the same tale — then the lie passed into history and became truth.– George Orwell -1984

In an era dominated by political deception and smears, the documentary film “Oh, Jeremy Corbyn: The Big Lie,” crafted by the acclaimed radical filmmaker Platform Films, plunges deep into the shadows of the Labour Party. With compelling contributions from notable figures like Jackie Walker, Ken Loach, Andrew Murray, Graham Bash, and Moshe Machover, and the commanding narration of Alexei Sayle, this feature-length documentary uncovers a narrative of political deceit and shocking weaponisation of antisemitism, that has plagued the Labour Party.

Unveiling the core of this narrative lies the current Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer, whose role in the downfall of the Corbyn movement cannot be overlooked. Contrary to popular belief, the film asserts that the Labour Party doesn’t offer an alternative to the Tory Party but an alternative Tory Party.

In fact, it contends that under Starmer’s leadership, Labour serves the ruling class with a level of cunning that rivals, if not surpasses, that of Boris Johnson.

For our regular readers, none of that is news, in fact, we have been saying this since 2018 when I first stated Sir Keir Starmer just broke the Labour Party in that article I rightly predicted Starmer would usurp Corbyn to become leader.

The documentary is well worth watching. for many, there will be no great revelations, much of what is said has been said over the last four years and longer. individual statements highlighting how the Labour Party used allegations of antisemitism to bring down their detractors.

However, the controversy surrounding the documentary extends beyond its content. The decision by Glastonbury Festival to block a screening of “Oh, Jeremy Corbyn: The Big Lie” is a distressing reflection of the escalating trend of political censorship infiltrating our society.

This comes as organisers and sponsors are increasingly bombarded with demands to cancel contentious events, and unfortunately, these pressures often succeed. The corrosive impact of such censorship on democratic debate cannot be underestimated, and the no-platforming not only had an effect on Corbynism but holds profound significance in our society and is an assault on our liberties.

What’s more, It’s ironic that Labour, the very party that purports to champion democracy, has been at the forefront of efforts to constrict our political horizons.

The film sheds light on Labour’s anti-democratic assaults on its own members, it highlights how, Labour under Starmer imposed a ban on constituency parties discussing the suspension of the former party leader, ridiculously claiming that such discussions might make Jewish members feel unsafe.

The Labour Party has literality become Big Brother, implementing thought control, and not allowing its members to question.

Tragically, these prohibitions on open discourse persist. The Labour Party has become a monstrous machine that crushes any dissenting voice under its iron heel.

The latest casualty of this tyranny is Mayor Jamie Driscoll, who was thrown to the wolves for daring to speak alongside Ken Loach, the brilliant film-maker and staunch socialist, who was himself cast out of the Labour Party for his affiliation with Left-wing groups that the party bosses have outlawed.

This is another example of Labour’s shameful attack on free speech and democracy, and a slap in the face of the thousands of Labour members who supported Driscoll and Loach. It is also a symptom of the intellectual decay and moral spinelessness of the Labour leadership, which prefers to muzzle opposition rather than confront it.

The ramifications of these internal party struggles and attacks on democracy are extensive. Historically, Labour has been the primary vehicle for working-class representation in Parliament through its trade union link. However, the current drive by the Starmer faction to manipulate every selection of the Labour movement is driving the working class out of politics.

Brexit: The Real Reason Corbyn Lost

The weaponised of antisemitism by the Labour right to target Corbyn is there for all to see. The selective outrage and condemnation are apparent, while some MPs have not even faced a suspension for the most outrageous antisemitic remarks yet others like Diane Abbot have been suspended for nothing more than poorly written statements.

that said I have no doubt that antisemitism is a real and serious problem in our society, and that it must be confronted and condemned wherever it appears.

Yet I totally agree that antisemitism is used as a weapon by bad faith actors. I have also been a victim of this vile weaponisation myself, having been suspended from the Labour Party for nearly three years for writing a blog article that warned against the use of weaponising antisemitism and Islamophobia by both Labour and the Tories.

I was eventually expelled for a ‘Twitter’ remark stating that Chris Williamson, a former Labour MP who was also falsely accused of antisemitism, was a good egg.

To blame the collapse of the Corbyn project and the dismal outcome of the 2019 general election on the cynical exploitation of antisemitism is to miss a vital point.

Whereas antisemitism was indeed exploited—However, without a doubt it was Brexit and the suicidal second referendum policy that doomed the Corbyn project.

Playing into Starmer’s hands…

To ignore this is to absolve Starmer and his cronies, who as Shadow Brexit secretary engineered the vote-losing second referendum policy. His policy was the main cause of Labour’s debacle in 2019. His policy forced Jeremy Corbyn to resign while he himself ascended to the leadership of the Labour Party.

It was the Remainers within the Labour Party that championed Starmer’s policy that echoed Mandelson’s so-called people’s vote that acted as accomplices, they were the true reason Labour crashed and burned in 2019.

It is hardly surprising that they conveniently omit any mention of Brexit, despite the resounding calls to abandon that disastrous, vote-losing policy. Their selective amnesia knows no bounds.

They had no qualms about undermining democracy when they thought it suited their cause.

Regrettably, this critical aspect is omitted from the documentary, the fact that the majority of those featured in it and the Labour Party itself undermined the Corbyn project.

They ignored the result of the 2016 referendum, which gave a clear mandate to leave the European Union. They ignored Jeremy Corbyn and party policy, which stated that Labour would respect the referendum outcome and negotiate a fair deal with Brussels.

They cheered Keir Starmer at the 2018 Labour Conference when he went off cue and announced that Labour would support a second referendum, effectively telling millions of working-class voters who had backed Brexit that their voices did not matter.

By rallying behind Mandelson, Starmer, Tom Watson, Emily Thornberry, and anyone else brandishing a blue flag with stars. Labour members sealed the end of Corbinisim.

They were untroubled by undermining democracy when it served their cause, but in doing so, they threw out the baby with the bathwater. They disregarded Jeremy Corbyn and party policy, which explicitly rejected a second referendum.

They cheered for Sir Keir  Starmer who way back in 2018 pushed what should have been a composite motion to stop a ‘Tory no deal’ into a second referendum at all cost policy. Even though on that very day Corbyn had said no second referendum.

They turned a blind eye to warnings from Lexit activists and even Red Wall Labour MPs who consistently cautioned that pursuing a path to overturn the referendum result would result in the loss of their seats.

Even now, though they recognise that Johnson’s victory hinged on three words—”Get Brexit Done”—they refuse to acknowledge the root cause of Corbyn’s collapse and Starmer’s ascent.

The weaponisation of antisemitism played a role, no doubt, acting as a nail in the coffin, but the tool that hammered it home was the second referendum policy, and the Remainers swung that hammer with gusto.

In 2017, Corbyn propelled Labour from 30% to 40%—the largest increase in the Labour vote since 1945. However, by altering Labour’s Brexit policy and introducing Keir Starmer’s vote-losing second referendum stance, Labour’s support plummeted to 32% in 2019. This led to the loss of 52 Leave seats, while being sabotaged from within.

Labour’s defeat in 2019 resulted in the loss of 60 seats, including 6 in Scotland, signifying an ongoing decline, and 54 in England, of which 52 had overwhelmingly voted to leave the EU.

They were deluded by their own arrogance and ignorance. They believed that Brexit was a mistake, a folly, a disaster, that could be reversed by their enlightened intervention. They believed that they knew better than the people what was good for them. They believed that they could persuade them to change their minds by bombarding them with scaremongering propaganda and patronising lectures.

They were wrong on all counts. Brexit was not a mistake, but a revolt against an undemocratic and neoliberal system that had failed millions of ordinary people across Britain. It was not a folly, but a rational choice based on legitimate grievances and aspirations. It was not a disaster, but an opportunity to reclaim sovereignty and democracy from an unaccountable and bureaucratic elite.

The Remainers did not understand this because they were acting on behalf of the elite, the banks and the establishment in general, all of which backed Remain. They were comfortable with the status quo, which served their interests well. They were insulated from the harsh realities of austerity, inequality, poverty and precarity that afflicted many parts of the country. They were blind to the anger and frustration that fuelled the Brexit vote.

They were also blind to their own hypocrisy. They claimed to be champions of democracy, but they were willing to subvert it when it did not suit them. They claimed to be defenders of human rights, but they were silent about the abuses committed by the EU against refugees, migrants, workers and protesters. They claimed to be internationalists, but they were indifferent to the suffering caused by the EU’s imperialist policies in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

They threw away any chance of winning over Brexit voters by treating them with contempt and condescension. They alienated them further by aligning themselves with the most reactionary forces in British politics: the Tories, the Lib Dems, the SNP, the Greens, the media moguls, the corporate lobbyists, the banks, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, the establishment pundits, Tony Blair, Alastair Campbell, Mandelson, and even the royals.

They chucked the baby out with the bath water. They sacrificed the Corbyn project, which offered a radical and transformative vision of a more just and equal society, for a doomed and divisive crusade to remain in a corrupt and crumbling union.

They ignored Corbyn when he stated we would be as well off if not better off outside the EU.

They betrayed not only democracy, but also Labour. They betrayed its history, its values, its principles, its policies, its leader, its members, its supporters, its voters.

The reality is that Starmer finds himself where he is today because Labour members chose to ignore the majority. Starmer can now dismiss the democratic process because the Remainers set that precedent, and those currently engaged in cancelling others can do so because they allowed others to be cancelled before them.

They betrayed us all, and they got what they deserved.

Paul Knaggs