Jeremy Corbyn: The ghost of Michael Foot: - We all know if the past is anything to go by the Labour party has never done well at general elections with an extreme left leaning leader. Surely this thought must have crossed Jeremy Corbyn's mind as he faces up to the prospect of a general election come June 8th.
I lived through the 80's and remember well how Michael Foot like Jeremy Corbyn now was a figure of fun for the right-leaning media. For example, turning up on Remembrance Day at the Cenotaph laying a wreath to the fallen of past wars in what was described as a 'donkey jacket.' His left-wing views were also mocked by the tabloids like The Sun despite the fact like Corbyn now Foot was a well-meaning man.
It all ended in defeat for the Labour party in the 1983 general election won by Margaret Thatcher a female Prime Minister who was riding high in the polls and shortly after their defeat Michael Foot resigned as Labour leader.
The Michael Foot factor
Continuing the Michael Foot theme, could history be about to repeat itself as Labour finds itself once more with another extreme left winger as a leader and a female Prime Minister riding high in the polls? They say those who forget the past are doomed to make the same mistake in the future and if this is true Labour is in big trouble.
Despite Jeremy Corbyn putting a brave face on the fact of May calling a snap election, it would appear his fellow MP's are worried.
They realize, as surely Corbyn does, that Labour has a massive mountain to climb if the latest opinion polls are to be believed.
However, if politics has taught us anything in the last year or so polls can be fickle and maybe Corbyn can take heart from Trump. Trump is a man polls apart from Corbyn on politics yet they are both mavericks, except one is on the right and the other on the left.
Everyone wrote off Trump in the face of Clinton but Trump won so it could be given that scenario that Corbyn has everything to play for.
Jeremy Corbyn: the great survivor
We are forgetting here that Labour had two left-leaning leaders the other was Neil Kinnock who hung on and moved Labour to the right before being beaten by John Major.
It is possible that upon defeat Corbyn might ape Neil Kinnock instead of the Michael Foot model by resigning after defeat but this is speculation.
Corbyn survived for years as a rebel left-leaning Labour MP rebelling so many times his contemporaries probably lost count. He was a thorn in the side of Tony Blair over the Iraq War and spoke up for the environment, workers rights et al.
Corbyn probably did not expect to be Labour leader either but he won by a landslide and won again in a second leadership challenge to oust him. However the general election turns out I'm sure Jeremy Corbyn will either lead the country based on his convictions that seem genuine or walk off into history with his head held high.
