Letter: Corbyn numbers don’t add up

ONLY because Daniel Platts chose to use some cherry picked, pro-Corbyn statistics in his letter, allow me to introduce a few of my own which tell the real story.

JC currently has an overall approval rating of minus 41 points when the general electorate is polled, the worst of any Labour leader in history. The last time I looked he scored 19 per cent as opposed to Theresa May’s 59pc when asked who they preferred as prime minister.

Mr Platts tells us that the 172 MPs who have refused to serve amount to only 0.0pc of those (around 250,000 members) who voted the bearded wonder into power. It was his way of suggesting they are irrelevant when we look at the numbers. Really? Well, Labour polled around an average of 14,000 votes per constituency in 2015. If we equally share out JC’s members it would add 300 or so to each, but his unpopularity would lose in the region of almost 4000. For obvious reasons the gent is deliberately attempting to blur the comparison between members and non-member Labour supporters out there in the real world.

As for the nonsense that Corbyn ‘won’ four by-elections and a similar number of mayoral contests. Lest we forget they were in generally safe areas and it would have been a major disgrace had the party lost any. In both London and Oldham he was specifically asked to stay away because his being involved was considered a hindrance. Probably correct given that the local elections in 2016 were not the success he pretends. In fact they were pretty damning for Labour with not a council gained and the overall loss of 18 councillors in the process, at a time they should have been roaring ahead. The only reason Labour had a bigger vote was that a majority of the contests were held in its seats.

Finally, let me say this. The so-called rebel MPs were elected under Miliband and not Corbyn. As a result of the new £3 affiliates, whether they were genuine, serial Marxists or mischievous Tories, the latter was foisted on them without their vote. They are under no obligation to be loyal, particularly given they never backed him. And regarding loyalty, what sort of a breathtaking hypocrite does it take to repeatedly vote against party policy during his time on the back benches,

then expect everybody to toe the line thereafter? Even more mind-boggling is that the consummate fool is still at it and actually opposed his own party’s democratically arrived at endorsement on renewing Trident.

He’s supposed to be the leader but his mindset is still away with the fairies on some far away twilight world where everyone goes out on protest marches, banners flapping, out! out! outs! filling the air before they all disappear up their own back passages no further forward.

Ye Gods.

Ian Hoyle, Broom Valley Road, Rotherham