Personal abuse of Jeremy Corbyn 'played into Labour’s hands', say party officials
2 min read
Attacks on the Labour leaders alleged links with the IRA by the Conservative party backfired and handed votes to Jeremy Corbyn, senior party members believe.
Behind the scenes, senior Labour party members believing attacks on Mr Corbyn’s alleged links to terrorist groups were deemed hysterical by some voters.
Jeremy Corbyn led a positive campaign with a message of hope, something which is believed to have appealed to young voters.
John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, said Labour had run a “positive campaign modelled around Jeremy’s character”.
Tom Watson, the deputy leader, agreed that “people responded well to Jeremy Corbyn’s honesty, integrity, candour and energy”.
Labour won 32 seats and picked up three million votes in a victory which has cemented Mr Corbyn’s leadership of the party.
In a high-energy campaign Mr Corbyn, 68, claimed to have addressed 100,000 voters as he criss-crossed the country to attend 90 rallies.
In the final 24 hours of the campaign the Labour leader appeared at six rallies, beginning in Wales and ending in his constituency in north London.
Jeremy Corbyn rose above the abuse and told activists in Runcorn, Cheshire, at the end of the campaign: “I hear some people have said some nasty things about me. I forgive them all.”
Theresa May by contrast ran a campaign dogged by refusals to speak to the public and press, accusations of running scared, and where she failed to turn up a televised debate.
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