Thread by @BadBalticTakes

Jeremy Corbyn, the former Iranian state TV presenter, used to always call for “troops out” to end wars & occupations.

But when Russia is waging a genocidal war, he switches to calling for a settlement that keeps troops in. 🤔

Let’s talk about Jeremy Corbyn. 🧵…

Kremlin sympathisers currently like to say that all wars must end in some kind of halfway settlement.

This is, of course, not true - & not something they say about wars they oppose - but it would reward Russia’s genocide, amidst ongoing Russian losses that truly concern Corbyn.

In addition to shilling for authoritarian regimes, Corbyn was also previously the UK’s opposition leader.

He used that job to promote every Kremlin position imaginable, including opposing NATO cooperation between the UK & the Baltic countries.

Corbyn was elected as a British MP in 1983 - with extremely fringe far left views within his Labour party. He opposed NATO, European integration, & the UK’s nuclear deterrent - while regularly praising the Soviet Union.

(NATO was actually co-founded by a Labour government.)

It’s long been speculated that Jeremy Corbyn was more than just a useful idiot - and not just with circumstantial evidence.
observer.com/2018/02/new-re…

He remained a fringe MP within Labour until 2015 …when a perfect storm of internal party fuckups elevated him to leader of the party - and therefore leader of the UK opposition.

Firstly, leadership candidates have to reach a threshold of support among Labour MPs. Corbyn didn’t have enough genuine support.

…but some MPs nominated him anyway in order to show his supporters they were still included within the party (while hoping he’d be defeated).

Secondly, the way a leader is selected from those candidates was changed.

The outgoing leader developed a fantasy that Labour could become a mass movement by opening up the next leader election to the British public, a bit like a US primary.

The Labour Party had long had deep community roots & lifelong activists - broadly dedicated to working class interests while generally being patriotic, pro-democracies, and proud of its internationalist achievements like co-founding NATO.

To change the leadership process, they opted for letting anyone pay just £3 to be an ‘associate member’ & then getting party voting rights.

The mass interest never came though.

Only two main groups took up that offer …both of whom were galvanised by Corbyn’s nomination.

Conservative activists signed up to help ensure Labour elected the worst possible leader who’d devastate the party.

And the far left signed up to help elect a far left leader who’d mainstream their ideas.

In both cases, Corbyn was their man.

As part of his leadership campaign, Corbyn even appeared on RT, a propaganda channel he has long been a fan of:

https://twitter.com/jeremycorbyn/status/62790355829002240

As a side note, Jeremy’s brother, Piers, happens to be one of Britain’s most prominent conspiracy theorists.

Piers has been described as ‘Jeremy without the mask’.

On the subject of masks, Piers made the world’s cringiest video to protest them:

I’m sorry you had to see that.

Even funnier though, Piers was pranked by YouTubers pretending to be AstraZeneca execs. He accepted a fake bribe from them to direct his antivax campaigning at other companies.

It’s worth a watch:

But back to Jeremy.

After becoming leader, Corbyn appointed Guardian journalist Seumas Milne as top advisor.

If you think Corbyn sounds pro-Kremlin, well, Milne is on another level.

Here he is hosting Valdai club with P*tin.

Described as “Corbyn’s brain”, Milne is a Stalinist who has had no problem reworking that ideology into support for Putin’s regime.

Even Corbyn supporters were concerned that Milne was too close to the Kremlin.
newstatesman.com/politics/2015/…

One issue marred Corbyn’s leadership more than anything else: His appalling track record promoting antisemitism.

The UK’s human rights watchdog eventually found Labour guilty of unlawful antisemitic harassment & discrimination under Corbyn’s leadership. politicshome.com/news/article/f…

The Brexit referendum posed a challenge to Corbyn, a lifelong anti-EU (or “European empire”, as he calls it) campaigner now leading the UK’s pro-EU opposition.

He had to play it as a ‘remainer’ but sabotaged the campaign. bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politi…

In fact, it was Milne directing this sabotage according to leading party & campaign figures.

Brexit had been a mostly conservative dream but it was the collapse of EU support among Labour voters - encouraged by Corbyn & Milne - that tipped the referendum into a Brexit majority.

Then came the Salisbury poisonings.

Russia conducted the first chemical attack in Europe since WW2 trying to kill a defector’s family.

But Corbyn shocked his party & the country by demanding the nerve agent sample be sent to Russia so they could check if it was theirs.

Amidst outrage against Russia’s action, Corbyn peddled Russia’s lines on it so hard that many supporters abandoned him.

Note that articles from the time reference ‘a Labour Party spokesperson’ who kept repeating Kremlin narratives about the attack.
ft.com/content/cc9878…

..you probably won’t be surprised to learn that was Milne.

Labour MPs condemned him directly. One said: “Putin’s constant and shameful apologist might just as well stand aside and let the Russian ambassador write the speeches and brief the media himself.”
theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/m…

Corbyn led Labour to a truly historic election loss. The second worst of any UK party for a century. He gifted Boris a landslide victory that wiped out some of Corbyn’s closest allies & potential successors. Corbyn was later suspended entirely from the party for the antisemitism.

To read more about this whole Corbyn saga, I recommend this great book.

The previous Estonian Ambassador to the UK makes a brief appearance. The author reveals she talked sense into Labour MPs & expressed concerns about Milne amidst their party’s chaotic response to Salisbury.

Despite the damage done, I still see positives.

Corbyn represented the worst of vatnik politics …but, when tested, it was so thoroughly rejected that Parliament now works cross-party to unanimously support Ukraine.

UK friendship with the Baltics is stronger than ever.

Fans of former Iranian state TV presenter Jeremy Corbyn are not happy with this tweet thread.

But it’s fascinating to see what they do & don’t dispute. They say he wasn’t a “presenter” & isn’t antisemitic.

If only there was some video evidence…

…like him presenting a show on Iranian state TV - for which he was paid - in which he agreed with a caller to the show (that he was presenting) that the BBC is run by Zionists.

Oh, wait:

As a reminder, the leadership of Labour (while Corbyn was leader) was found to have engaged in unlawful antisemitic harassment and discrimination by the the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

That’s a highly respected independent body, awarded an ‘A’ status as a National Human Rights Institution by the UN.

Some replies are trying to sow confusion by saying “the leaked report vindicated Corbyn”.

They’re actually referring to an anonymous internal party report by Corbyn supporters that was rejected as a poorly argued attempt to shield Corbyn. amp.theguardian.com/politics/2020/…

I could write a very long tweet thread on Corbyn’s long record promoting antisemitism but here’s one that stands out as it seems to sum up his worldview. He defended a mural filled with the crappiest conspiracy cliches & antisemitic tropes imaginable. amp.theguardian.com/politics/2018/…