Having watched Question Time last night – really should stop doing that, not good for a decent night’s sleep – yet again the Tory representative trotted out the usual ‘Corbyn is not fit to lead / negotiate / defend / secure …….’
And, as the Tory – or apparently Theresa May’s – Manifesto emerged yesterday, it seemed a good moment to look at the Tory mantra and see who best fits the bill.
So, being the number one target for NOT being strong and stable, let us examine the first defendant, Jeremy Corbyn.
Elected to Parliament in 1983, so making this his 34th consecutive year representing his constituents, he has been consistent in the philosophy and direction of his Labour Party ideals.
That has meant that, for a significant amount of his political career he has been at loggerheads with his party leaders. That takes a fair amount of strength of character and commitment in itself.
He has also been at the forefront, and indeed ahead, of campaigns against many of the wrongs and evils that have been part of British and world history.
And, because it was his turn to give it a go, he was elected as leader of the Labour Party by a large majority of the membership, twice. And has been the major reason that the party membership is now the largest of any party in the UK.
So, Corbyn has a mandate to lead, a history of consistency and resolute commitment, and no particular indication that you cannot believe what he says.
Next up, Theresa May. Elected to Parliament in 1996, and named Home Secretary in 2010, she has also been consistent, until recently, in supporting the Tory line, and their manifesto published just before the 2015 general election.
There has never been any indication, throughout her political career, that she is anything other than a Tory hard-line devoted follower.
And yet now we have a manifesto, labelled as very specifically hers, that is the polar opposite of much that she was pushing two years ago. If the current incarnation is the ‘real’ Theresa May, then where has it been till now?
Especially when she claims there are so many things wrong in Britain that need fixing, after sitting behind every action in the past 7 years that has brought us to this point.
At the very least, it smacks of cynical opportunism, rather than any real sense of a social conscience. And that is demonstrated most clearly by here u-turn over calling an early election.
So, May has no mandate, except by default. She has no problem in changing direction when it suits her career, and has demonstrated that she can lie blatantly and feel justified in doing so.
Tricky one this. Real strength, real stability, or a serial vacillater. You choose. And make it good.
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