Jeremy Corbyn has often faced a difficult time of it from the press and from establishment figures. He is not seen as a conventional politician-having voted against the Labour leadership some 400 times during the Blair and Brown premierships- however, his unconventionality has attracted admirers from different walks of life in the UK, but especially amongst young people. This first became apparent in 2015, during the Labour leadership election, Corbyn was only nominated because certain members thought it only fair that the left wing of the party were represented. Nobody expected him to stand a chance, and yet he did. His anti-austerity, anti-war and anti-tax evasion stances drew a large following and made many former Labour supporters re-join the party out of a sense of relief that the party they had come to know and love was going back to its roots. When Corbyn won the leadership election, there are many who were surprised, but many who were not. He had a message that resonated with the people, and he was sincere.
This message of a fair and just society that works for the many and not just the few has constantly resonated with a variety of supporters, be they new voters or older slightly more cynical voters. Pledging to ensure proper funding for the NHS, to ensure that mental health services are truly catered to and that doctors and nurses actually get paid properly and do not need to worry about pay freezes, has struck a chord with a public tired of seeing the NHS suffer. Promises to build more houses to handle a housing crisis have also pleased his supporters, and even those who might otherwise have drifted toward the right, and promising to clamp down on tax evaders has also struck a chord with the populous.
With Theresa May’s support dropping in the polls, thanks to her U turns over welfare payments and elderly care, Jeremy Corbyn continues to thrive and prosper, sticking to his promises, and always backing them up with costings and solid evidence to show why he has reached the view he has. Furthermore, Jeremy Corbyn has something that many politicians in the present and in the past, do not have, he is a man of principle. He has never in his thirty-four-year career changed his stance on anything, without first considering every piece of information presented to him, and then making an informed decision.
In an age where increasingly it seems that political figures have the interests for a select few at heart, rather than the general populous, Jeremy Corbyn is a lone figure of hope. Standing firm and tall, standing true to his promises and hopes for Great Britain, he focuses not on the few who have it all, but on the many who dream big dreams. His policies and his words show he is indeed a man of the people.
By Vivek Rajkhowa
