Stop & Examine
RAIL meets Jeremy Corbyn.
It’s not often you can say you’ve met the leader of Her Majesty’s Opposition.
But that’s what happened to RAIL Assistant Editor Paul Stephen on Friday July 7, when Jeremy Corbyn chose to occupy an adjacent seat on the 1530 King’s Cross- Glasgow Central.
Fearful of perhaps being given short shrift by a man continually harangued by journalists and chased by the media spotlight, it was to Paul’s palpable relief (and incredulity) that the Labour leader proceeded to casually produce the latest copy of RAIL magazine ( RAIL 804) as his choice of reading matter. Corbyn is a lifelong reader of
RAIL (as revealed in RAIL 785), and clearly the magazine served as worthy distraction from the ugly leadership battle that continues to threaten his Parliamentary authority over ranks of rebellious Labour MPs.
Paul first had to pinch himself to check it wasn’t all a figment of his imagination. But he introduced himself, conversation soon began to flow freely, and Corbyn - clearly relieved to meet a non- hostile journalist armed with a desire to explore his love of railways rather than the political machinations of Westminster - happily posed for the obligatory photo.
Sadly, the time passed all too quickly before Paul had to break off early at Peterborough. And Corbyn was left to properly digest the contents of RAIL 804 on the rest of his journey north to address the Durham Miners’ Gala the following day.