The latest unsupported story about Jeremy Corbyn is the silliest yet
![Conor McGinn, addressing a public forum in January on the legacy of the Troubles in Northern Ireland [Image: PA Images].](https://voxpoliticalonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/160722-Conor-McGinn.png)
Conor McGinn, addressing a public forum in January on the legacy of the Troubles in Northern Ireland [Image: PA Images].
Read through Conor McGinn’s allegations (below and in the source article) and you’ll see that none of his allegations are substantiated by factual evidence. There is no record of the content of the call he allegedly received from the Whips’ Office and he does not say how “it transpired” that Mr Corbyn was going to phone his dad. How can we believe him?
Nobody ever phoned his father and the only evidence is hearsay.
Mr Corbyn has already denied the allegation.
Mrs Mike, on hearing this story, said Jeremy Corbyn should start recording all his work-related conversations – until I pointed out that this is exactly what ex-president Richard Nixon did, and comparisons with disgraced, paranoid Nixon would be unwelcome.
But it cuts both ways. There really is no evidence to support Mr McGinn’s claim.
In any case, why would Mr Corbyn be offended by a silly allegation that he needed to reach out to “traditional Labour voters” when that is exactly the basis of the Labour leader’s appeal? What, exactly, does Mr McGinn think a “traditional” Labour voter is?
More interesting than any of Mr McGinn’s fairy tale is the allegation that he was the co-ordinator of the on-the-hour resignations of shadow cabinet members after Hilary Benn was sacked, on June 26.
This Writer is following up Mr McGinn’s allegation, to ascertain what evidence exists to support it.
If it is true, then he clearly has an axe to grind against Mr Corbyn, and none of his story can be taken at face value.
In May, during an interview with The House Magazine, I outlined my views on a range of issues, including the need for Labour to reengage with our working class base. I mentioned Jeremy in this interview only once, when I respectfully suggested that he had a challenge to reach out beyond his comfort zone and his own constituency to traditional Labour voters across the country.
I was informed during a telephone call from the Whips Office that Jeremy, on seeing these news reports, had initially asked for my resignation and then considered sacking me, but subsequently reconsidered and through his media spokesperson he wanted me to apologise and retract my comments. I refused to do this. I did, however, text Jeremy to make clear that there was no offence intended in what I said, and reiterated that our friendship was important to me and that I was proud of the campaigning we had done together. I asked to meet him on my return to Parliament.
It transpired that Jeremy, in deliberations about how to respond to my interview, had said that he intended to ring my father to discuss it with him and ask him to speak to me about it. The Leader of the Labour Party was proposing to address an issue with one of his own MPs by ringing his Dad. Jeremy does not know my father so I can only presume that because of the much-publicised fact that my father was a Sinn Féin councillor, Jeremy felt that they would share a political affinity and was proposing to use that to ask my father to apply pressure on me. Thankfully, others dissuaded Jeremy from taking this course of action. The call was not made, and it would not have been well received.
When I watched Jeremy’s interview on Newsnight last night, I am afraid I could no longer tolerate the hypocrisy of him talking about a kinder, gentler politics when I knew for a fact that he had proposed using my family against me in an attempt to bully me in to submission because he didn’t like something I said. That is why I have reluctantly and sadly chosen to make this information public now.
Source: Conor McGinn: I can no longer tolerate Jeremy Corbyn’s hypocrisy | PoliticsHome.com
ADVERT
Join the Vox Political Facebook page.
If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!
Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:
Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
“My Dad’s bigger than your Dad. And I won’t be asking you to my birthday party.”
Do these people really know what they sound like? I thought I’d retired from Primary School teaching years ago!
The attempts to discredit Jeremy are getting more ridiculous and pathetic by the minute.
When my son was little I used the “threaten” to ring his Dad if he was being naughty. :)
Couple of observations about this if I may; I agree with Mike that McGinn has an axe to grind as lets face it, his cunning plan backfired and I’ve no doubt he’s getting in the neck from some of the chicken coup MPs for that.
We don’t know if this was said in jest to a third party and then seized upon and embellished out of all proportion and, lets face it, Corbyn, from what I’ve seen is incorruptible, so they have to take (or make up) these minor (alleged) incidents in an attempt to throw mud at Corbyn, hoping some of it will stick.
To my mind, what they succeed in doing is making themselves look like idiots.
It is all part of the Narrative to discredit Corbyn with the general public in the hope that the ‘traditional Labour Voter’ will not vote Labour at the next General Election. It is not aimed at those in the Labour Party who support Jeremy. (well it might be in order to irritate them)
It seems that the group of activists within the PLP that organise the anti-Corbyn strategy are scraping right at the bottom of the barrel if this is all they can up with. Supporters of Jeremy are constantly attacked for publishing unsubstantiated information yet it’s okay for his critics to do so. Democracy PLP style in action yet again! Don’t they realise the more vindictive and unfair they become the more support he gains?
ner ner na naer nar sticks and stones hay
Good Grief Jeremy has had far WORSE criticism than what was is being purported by Mr McGinn and never reacted to it & I don’t think for one minute that Jeremy would threaten to tell his dad on him for heaven’s sake Mr McGinn do grow up this is getting so childish it is beyond belief.Playground tactics.
Such intellect, stooping so low, why, because they have nothing left to crow about. This must provoke a quite chuckle from Corbyn.
“That is why I have reluctantly and sadly chosen to make this information public now.” It’s taken him 3 months to decide he could no longer tolerate Corbyn’s hypocrisy? He wanted the attention, for whatever reason, and now he has it playing for the right wing of the party. With “friends” like these, who needs enemies?
Where are the witnesses to the almighty row he presumably had regarding this incident? What does the whip say about all this? Have the telephone records been checked to ascertain when these calls were made? Is he really that childish as to need adult supervision?
When I read stuff like this my main thought is that the sooner some of these people are no longer Labour MPs the better.
Has never voted on laws to promote equality and human rights
Consistently voted for use of UK military forces in combat operations overseas
Generally voted for replacing Trident with a new nuclear weapons system
Conor McGinn voted against greater restrictions on hydraulic fracturing (fracking) to extract shale gas in National Parks, the Broads, areas of outstanding natural beauty, World Heritage sites, and near points where water is abstracted for domestic and food production purposes.
McGinn is now regarded as being on the right of the Labour Party. McGinn did not support Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour Party, supporting Owen Smith in the 2016 leadership election.
Theyworkforyou and Wikipedia
A “traditional labour voter” is one who ALWAYS votes labour and never EVER asks what that actually *means*.
I most certainly disagree with that!
A traditional Labour voter is one who represents Labour’s core constituency and agrees with Labour’s core values – not the values of New Labour, but those under which the party was originally created.