What emerges through the mists is a more-or-less standard left-wing politician, but with a sensitive nose for where the political wind will blow next.
On the local elections: “I’ve been touring round the country and I know it’s been a setback for us, it’s been a dreadful week.”
Ken Livingstone has been suspended for bringing the party into disrepute after saying Adolf Hitler supported Zionism.
Jeremy Corbyn has no comment when asked what he intends to do about accusations of anti-Semitism in the Labour Party.
Livingstone’s conduct is deeply offensive both to those of us who lost loved ones in the Holocaust, and to the vast majority of people in the United Kingdom.
Plus: Obama: so that went well, then. Scotland: will it go well for Davidson? Wales – it may go well for Neil Hamilton (remember him).
The group shared an article comparing Israel to the Nazis and alleging the Israeli government is conspiring to destabilise Corbyn
The Bradford West MP still retains the Labour Whip despite having called for mass “transportation” of Israelis.
The so-called kinder, gentler politics that the Labour leadership claims to espouse masks an undercurrent of anti-Semitism and bigotry.
The Oxford Labour Club allegations are just part of a worrying trend, which is rooted in a long and unpleasant history.
It not a considered argument against Judaism or its followers’ interpretations of their faith; it is base, unthinking hatred.
Corbyn’s election has all at once overtly politicised and alienated an entire community that has long been an integral part of British society.
“Jewish communities must not be left to live in fear,” the Prime Minister says, pledging to stamp out anti-semitism.
“I can’t remember the last time I spoke to a Jewish friend or colleague who hasn’t, at some point, found themselves sitting awkwardly at a dinner party.”
His warm words are all well and good, but they have to be backed up with action.