Backlash against Branson as #Traingate footage confirms Corbyn – and This Site – was right
Score yet another point for the social media over the right-wing rags and TV channels.
Exactly a year after Richard Branson accused Jeremy Corbyn of lying about “ram-packed” conditions on a Virgin train from London to Newcastle…
Mr Corbyn & team walked past empty unreserved seats then filmed claim train was ‘ram-packed’ https://t.co/R5hawIpQek pic.twitter.com/22t8EkjW5l
— Richard Branson (@richardbranson) August 23, 2016
…footage has emerge showing that Mr Corbyn was right.
At the time, while the right-wing mainstream press was hurling bile at Corbyn, This Site stated: “If there were empty seats, why were other people sitting on the floor with him? They weren’t all Corbyn supporters so that can’t have been the reason.
“And you don’t see any CCTV of the corridor areas, do you?”
You didn’t then; you can now:
EXCLUSIVE: Never before seen CCTV footage proves Jeremy Corbyn told the truth about #Traingate
Watch full report: https://t.co/8OCFKrPAdV pic.twitter.com/J2LTxPx4pr
— Double Down News (@DoubleDownNews) August 23, 2017
Note that this material comes via a social media site.
Some have been quick to recognise the value of the social media in bringing to light facts that would otherwise have remained hidden:
One of the great things about social media & the networks we've developed over the last few years, is that the truth will out – eventually. https://t.co/BpvOxejQII
— Laura Pidcock (@LauraPidcock) August 23, 2017
Others have concentrated on the failings of the so-called “mass” media who did not uncover the facts and instead propagated the lie:
One thing @jeremycorbyn is not is a liar. #BBC #SKY #C4NEWS #ITV #C5 knew that. But they used #traingate to help Tories. #ConflictOfInterest
— Tom Delargy (@derekrootboy) August 23, 2017
https://twitter.com/AbiWilks/status/900386210421637120
Everywhere but This Site, The Canary, Skwawkbox … the list of social media sites goes on and on.
And of course the backlash against Branson has begun in a big way:
Clearly you've never been on a train before because *all* of them seats are reserved you twat. https://t.co/i2sICn6jFp
— Aleesha 🇵🇸 (@a_leesha1) August 23, 2017
Billionaire businessman falsifies the truth to try to discredit a principled socialist politician. Who'd have thought it? #traingate
— david white (@davidwhite020) August 23, 2017
Richard Branson didn't become a billionaire by telling the truth. All billionaires are greedy liars without exception. #traingate
— Tweets by Sue (@marthasydenham) August 23, 2017
https://twitter.com/BrianElects/status/900412091236065280
#traingate seems to suggest that Richard Branson had a desire like all oligarchs to influence politics for the benefit of the few.
— John Smith (son of Harry Leslie Smith) (@Harryslaststand) August 23, 2017
This literally proves Mr Branson isn't telling the truth. Anyone would think the Branson family donate to the Tories. Oh… https://t.co/W7odJd6MLw
— Rachael Swindon (@Rachael_Swindon) August 23, 2017
(Because, of course, Richard Branson does donate to the Conservatives.)
Richard Branson's family donate to the Tories & Branson's Virgin Care win lucrative NHS contracts. Nothing to see here. #Traingate pic.twitter.com/ySNHePpjA7
— Rachael Swindon (@Rachael_Swindon) August 23, 2017
Whinge as much as you like. Once again, Jeremy Corbyn is shown to be a man of honesty and integrity. Suck it up, Branson. #Traingate
— Rachael Swindon (@Rachael_Swindon) August 23, 2017
At the time, Mr Corbyn responded to the smear with good humour:
https://twitter.com/gaurangmorjaria/status/900434477989732352
But there’s one more dire warning to come from this:
Not just Branson. This lie was peddled by multiple commentators, and Labour MPs. He's coming for you @richardbranson https://t.co/d7PIw9Pkzz
— Rachael Swindon (@Rachael_Swindon) August 23, 2017
That’s right. And when these liars are eliminated from the UK’s public life, it won’t be a moment too soon.
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Overcrowding on many Cross Country trains is far worse, I believe, than on Branson’s trains, but Jeremy C made a very valid point on the Virgin train.
It got the results the Tories wants and at the right time for hem
I, on occasion, have sat in the reserved seats, depending on how far I have to travel and where the reservation is from. In my experience, Virgin trains are ram-packed, regularly; Mr Corbyn was lucky to be able travel down the aisle, or even to find floor space! The biggest shame, however, is the Virgin Trains et al lied to conceal this fact and to discredit a principled man although, which was the prime motive is anybody’s guess. Anybody who has travelled these trains would have known, from experience, that Mr. Corbyn was telling true. Shame on Richard Branson and the Mainstream media. I hope that Richard Branson has the balls to apologise, publicly but I won’t hold my breath.
I’ve sat in reserved seats too, between stations where they weren’t actually reserved. Nothing wrong with that.
Mr Corbyn was passing reserved seats that were occupied at the time, of course – a fact that Mr Branson (and the mainstream media) overlooked.
Well done, Mike, for exposing yet another Tory liar.
to be honest, nothing has changed in nearly 50 years as far as trains to London and overcrowding is concerned. (except the name of the owner…back then in the 1970s was british rail ) My husband worked inLondon and had a flat there because he couldnt get hiome due to his working times. so i used to take the 2 kids aged 3yrs and 9 months to see him and stay for 3 week periods in the flat with him.the trains were always packed. was lucky to get a seat many a time. one day i didnt even bother looking for one. no point struggling with the kids, pushchair, and all the paraphenalia needed for 2 kids of those ages . when the aisles were full and the ends of the carriages., i sat on one case my daughter on the other n baby on my knee with rest of luggage around me.am art student kept my daughter occupied for a large part opf the journey till the conductor saw my problem and asked someone to give up his seat so i could sit with the kids and feed the baby, even 10yrs later when we took them with their grandad n step grandma to London we all had to stand both going and coming back, dad was in his 70s at that time and not too steady on his feet.but no one gave a seat up that time. so nothing new and even without the cctv footage i believed Corbyn because i knew it had always been the same travelling from north to south (I live in yorkshire).