I've refrained from having a go at Mr Corbyn during his election campaign. As a Tory it's not my fight and, given the approbation he's received even from his own party during the endless process, any criticism from me would have been entirely hollow.
Indeed, I've been amazed that so many 'Tories' have been sticking in the boot before he was elected as Labour leader.
If he's so bad why are you trying to stop him becoming the leader of our opponents?
Labour seems to have been tearing itself apart during this process, so why would any Tories want to climb in to the issue? Just someone to have a go at? Utter madness if you ask me. I wanted Corbyn to succeed because he'd be terrible for Labour and thereby, good for 'us'.
Let me get this out of the way early: I can't envisage any circumstance in which I would vote for Jeremy Corbyn. Ever. I think his policies would be disastrous for the UK.
But you know what? I like him.
I like his principled stance on many issues (even if I disagree with them). I like his preparedness to say 'we got that wrong' and I like his candour and connectivity with people.
I like the fact that he is - or seems to be - a real person. Flawed, with a past, but real.
I have a friend who is very similar to Corbyn - a retired headmaster who even looks very much like him - and who is great company, we disagree on almost everything, except the fundamentals of life and how people should be treated, valued, respected and encouraged. How we get there is the fundamental disagreement between us.
We usually end a heated discussion in the pub with him saying: 'you know what? You're right.' And I reply: 'you know what? You're an idiot.' And then we go our separate ways.
Actually I don't say that, I say: 'And so are you.' And he smiles and we stagger home as friends who trust each other and would help the other without question or hesitation should the need arise.
I've given you a small glimpse into my social life for a reason. It's because I'd gladly have a pint with Mr Corbyn. Perhaps even more willingly than I would with (Call me) Dave. Because Dave would be polished and impressive, and clearly knows his stuff in most areas and has, by necessity, become less of a 'lad' and more of an establishment figure, than Jeremy has yet become.
It'd be difficult to get Dave talking openly about 'stuff' - or the usual pub bollocks - because of the journey he's taken, than it would to engage Jeremy. But I think Dave is a nice guy fundamentally, if clueless on the EU and a complete stranger to hard negotiations at just the time when we need someone with those attributes. Sadly.
It seems to me that Labour has, by accident, folly almost, actually unearthed a real person to lead it. Yes we can all point to his past, the IRA stuff, the CND stuff, the Marxist, unionist stuff. And this will of course come back to bite him and he may, perhaps, turn out to be a gift for the Tories electorally in 2020.
But how many recent Labour leaders would you have wanted to have a pint with? And how many oif them would have come without a pre-agreed subject list? And how many of them would be comfortable with 'chewing the fat'?
And how many would you have left the pub with, arm in arm, having watched England win at rugby, having disagreed with and remained as 'mates'? Not many I'd wager.
Let's take the last few in order: Blair would have met you for the spin - and the money - he could have achieved from it. Brown would have bullied you into quiescence over your pint and left you wondering what the fuck that was all about. Miliband would have been totally uncomfortable with meeting a 'real' person and would, therefore, have made you feel uncomfortable.
As I say, I like Corbyn. He is a joke candidate for Labour in the sense that he was only invited to compete as a sop to the left - and he won! If a Tory 'agent' had been tasked with running the Labour leadership campaign, he'd (or she'd) not have come close to aspiring to what has actually happened.
And Labour supporters on my timeline have become quiet because their socialist outlook, now being articulated by Corbyn - who is now actually saying what they were previously shouting about - is inconvenient to them who have been indoctrinated by the Blair years of unprincipled power grabbing.
And that's just funny. Corbyn may be a joke in many ways - the appointment of a vegan to the agriculture brief is just wonderfully funny.
And the fact that he got where he is by way of a mistake by the Labour party is equally funny. And the fact that he's quietened many Labour advocates because they're not sure whether to support him or not is simply hilarious.
But I don't think he's a joke. I think he enriches UK politics and gives us - for the first time in decades - a real choice between Socialism and Capitalism - in order to achieve the same end goals.
He may not last as Labour leader for long, because essentially Labour is not sure whether it needs a shit or a haircut, but he's a good thing in my opinion. A good thing that I'd never vote for if I had the interests of the UK in mind.
Funny old world isn't it?
Thanks for reading.
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