Corbyn’s finest hour . . . and swansong?

THIS weekend, Jeremy Corbyn is in very serious trouble, a large part of which has been selfinflicted. On Thursday night, without informing his Shadow Cabinet colleagues, he dispatched a letter to all Labour MPs stating he could not support a British bombing campaign in Syria. As he should have anticipated, this was at once interpreted as a last-ditch appeal by a desperate party leader to mobilise Labour activists to his colours. Mr Corbyn is effectively threatening his MPs with de-selection unless they vote against war in Syria. This attempt to wield muscle is unwise in a week when Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell turned his party’s leadership into an object of ridicule by throwing Chairman Mao’s Little Red Book around in the Commons. Shadow Cabinet resignations are already threatened — and matters could get very much worse when voters go to the polls in next Thursday’s Oldham byelection. Oldham should be a safe Labour seat, but if UKIP to win next week, what remains of Mr Corbyn’s authority will vanish. For all that, this week also saw Mr Corbyn’s finest hour as Labour leader. He excelled in the Commons debate over Syria, coming over as statesmanlike, eloquent and well-informed. All of his questions were to the point. Will bombing make any difference? Who are the forces on the ground? Who will take back ISIS territory? Are the air strikes legal? How does the Prime Minister consider that bombing will help to achieve a political settlement? What is the risk of civilian casualties? Mr Corbyn emerged from Thursday’s Parliamentary debate as a more adult, wellinformed and trustworthy figure than David Cameron. If the bombing of Syria does turn out to be the issue that finally breaks Corbyn’s leadership, he could not have been defeated in a more honourable cause.