JEREMY CORBYN

Leader of the Opposition

Jeremy managed what was once unthinkable, and only lost the general election by a narrow margin rather than the widely-expected landslide. He has had a truly remarkable year. It began with a party conference promise to tackle antisemitism with “every breath”, which was swiftly followed by a committee of MPs accusing him of “demonstrable incompetence” in dealing with the issue. The non-expulsion of Ken Livingstone led to a promise to re-investigate the former mayor’s comments — a pledge which has, it seems, been completely forgotten.

The result of June’s election has left Jeremy almost untouchable and cemented his position as leader. Yet he remains trapped in a sort of limbo, unclear on his Brexit position. He is a supposed PM-in-waiting who failed to win an election against one of the most unpopular leaders ever.

Jeremy’s work-rate (days off in lieu aside) has been impressive, clocking up thousands of miles attending rallies to promote his leadership, and, occasionally, Labour policies. But his interaction with mainstream British Jews remains an embarrassment. He is the only main party leader who has refused, repeatedly, to speak to all Jewish media this year.

A decent media strategy would be helpful. Finding a way to stop the tidal wave of antisemitic abuse emanating from many of his supporters would also be nice. And if Jeremy could speak out against the repeated attacks on his Jewish women MPs it might go some way to repairing the damage of the past two years.

GRADE: B

F