Heart-warming camaraderie fails truth test in the cold light of day

Shocking though it may sound, in Britain today there are still people who freely, and without compunction, write unfavourable newspaper articles about Jeremy Corbyn. Yesterday, at the Labour party conference in Liverpool, John Mcdonnell strode on stage, determined to highlight this burning injustice.

“Some of you may have noticed,” began the shadow chancellor grimly, “that our friends in the media haven’t been as supportive as maybe we would like them to be. They’ve attacked my friend.”

He gestured towards Mr Corbyn, who was sitting at the side of the stage, exuding his usual air of saintly forbearance.

“They’ve attacked him,” cried Mr Mcdonnell, “because he stands up for the ideals and beliefs we all share!”

Party delegates responded with thunderous applause. Mr Mcdonnell turned to face the Labour leader.

“Jeremy,” he said, “I just want to say how proud I am of you, for the dignity with which you’ve withstood it.”

To cheers, and a standing ovation, the two men embraced.

It was all very touching. A pity, though, that Mr Mcdonnell didn’t cite examples of the “attacks” he was talking about. In the past six months, most of the unfavourable press coverage of Mr Corbyn has concerned anti-semitism.

Was this what Mr Mcdonnell meant? The articles about Mr Corbyn

It’s becoming a theme of this conference: the cruelty that poor Mr Corbyn suffers at the hands of the media

defending an anti-semitic mural (which, according to him, he didn’t realise was anti-semitic, despite its depiction of big-nosed financiers counting their riches on the backs of the poor)? And the articles about him accusing “Zionists” of being unable to understand “English irony”? Were these articles “attacks” on Mr Corbyn’s “ideals and beliefs”?

Whatever Mr Mcdonnell had in mind, it’s becoming a theme of this Labour conference: the cruelty that poor Mr Corbyn suffers at the hands of the media.

Also speaking yesterday was Len Mccluskey, leader of the trade union Unite. “Despite the smears and sneers from the media,” he crowed, “we’re still ahead of the Tories in most polls!”

I hope it isn’t pedantic – or a smear or a sneer – to point out that in fact the Tories have led Labour in 10 of the past 15 polls, with Labour ahead in only three. Indeed, in 2018 to date, the Tories have led in 54 polls, while Labour have led in only 29. Never mind. Mr Mccluskey’s boast still earned him a big cheer.

A moment later he earned an even bigger one. “Anyone screaming, ‘You’re a racist’ at Jeremy Corbyn,” roared Mr Mccluskey, “has lost all sense of moral proportion, and every shred of decency!”

This was, unmistakably, a reference to Margaret Hodge, a Jewish Labour MP who in July told Mr Corbyn that he was “a racist and anti-semite”. It was clear whose side Labour delegates were on. They gave Mr Mccluskey a standing ovation.

At last year’s conference, incidentally, Mr Mccluskey denied that Labour had a problem with anti-semitism. At this year’s, Luciana Berger, a Jewish Labour MP, is being escorted by police protection officers.