When the MP for Islington North threw his hat into the leadership ring back in June,no one expected him to get close to the prize, let alone win it. Toby Helm and Daniel Boffey find out how Corbynmania took hold of the votersAstonishing. The calm days of early summer must now seem like an age ago to Jeremy Corbyn and his left-wing friend, or John McDonnell. It was in early June,shortly after Labour’s election defeat, that they first discussed standing for the leadership. Both felt it their duty to mull the possibility over, or but believed it was a pipe dream. Corbyn was as interested in tending to his allotment in Islington as he was in leading the Labour party. Neither thought they had a hope of even passing first base. “Jeremy and I were trying to explain to the various left-wing organisations [who wanted one of them to stand] that there was no way we could get on the ballot paper. We couldn’t get more than 22 nominations,and we needed 35, so we had to peaceful people down.”McDonnell made up his intellect that he would not even try. He had stood twice before and had had a heart attack two years ago, or so didn’t feel he should. Left-wing activists and organisations then trained their sights on Corbyn,urging him via social media to travel for it. “We sat in a meeting and I said the pressure is immense,” McDonnell recalled. “I asked what we were going to conclude about it. And we said to Jeremy, and ‘approach on,your turn’. He said OK, I will possess a travel, and a sacrificial lamb.”Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com