Owen Smith’s sacking could prove to be predicament for Jeremy Corbyn because his opponents will compare it to Stalin’s purge in Russia, a point already proved by Labour peer, Lord Hain. Although, comparing it to a purge that saw Stalin murder his opponents is quite frankly ridiculous. The media angle will be that Mr Corbyn has begun his ‘communist revolution’ and that it is a ‘danger’ to british politics.
The Conservative PR machine will no doubt rally behind those calls and claim it further evidence that Mr Corbyn is a communist. A lie that continues to be peddled by opponents of the Labour leader.
Media hypocrisy
The issue is that whilst many will agree with Owen Smith, the article in the Guardian that outlined his support for a second referendum, left Corbyn with two choices. Firstly, sack him and have used as evidence of a communist purge by most of the media and opponents or don’t sack him and be labelled as a weak leader, either way, both being used as reason why he is dangerous to the country. The situation is a PR lose-lose for Labour and Jeremy Corbyn but it shows he has the strength to act when one of his front bench unnecessarily steps out of line, every party needs a unified front bench.
To put this in perspective, Theresa May would have been labelled a strong leader and likely to be compared to Thatcher by most people in the media and politics.
Furthermore, after repeated undermining by Boris Johnson and his views on Brexit, he remains as foreign secretary and it was reported that during the reshuffle that Jeremy Hunt refused to leave his post at the Department of Health and his portfolio was even increased. Plus, former chief whip, Gavin Williamson, reportedly appointed himself as Defence Secretary.
If May sacks someone, she would be labelled as strong, if Corbyn sacks someone, he is labelled as a communist. This merely comes down to a concerted effort by opponents and those who benefit from a Conservative government, to smear Corbyn in a way that is increasingly damaging to British politics.
