My experience on becoming leader of the party was;
it was a step into the unknown of a world I'd heard about,
heard about the power of the establishment
and Chris Mullin was only half joking when he contacted me
and said read 'A Very British Coup' because it's happening already.
Under my leadership the party produced two manifestos
which would begin the process
of redistribution of power and wealth in Britain.
that would begin the process of bringing Public Service
monopolies into public ownership.
That would rebuild the National Health Service as a publicly run
and publicly owned Service as well as giving hope to people
through a green Industrial Revolution.
Giving hope to people through a foreign policy based on
peace and Justice on human rights and democracy
Rather than going to war on behalf of the United States all the time.
Many vested interests in Britain didn't want any of this,
many Global interests didn't want this.
I was individually attacked by significant global leaders
Prime Minister Modi, President Trump, Prime Minister Netanyahu,
I was attacked by unnamed sources in the senior Civil Service.
Likewise when senior generals said, again unnamed,
we will not allow him to become Prime Minister
I don't know who it was that made those remarks directly to journalists
knowing full well they'd be reported.
And when a group of soldiers were undertaking target practice
against a photograph of me I was told I shouldn't worry about it
it was just normal behavior in the Army.
Sorry, is it normal behavior to put the photograph the leader of the
opposition up on a Target to be shot at?
It shows a general attitude amongst very senior figures
in the worlds of finance, of security, of foreign policy, of economic management,
that doesn't want a redistribution of power and wealth in our society.
That is actually quite comfortable with the fact we've got
more food banks than branches of McDonald's.
That we now have no most unequal country anywhere in Europe
and getting worse.
During my leadership of the party
I suffered more sustained personal abuse
than any other leader of any political party has ever suffered.
The bias against every policy that we put forward
knowing full well that those policies were themselves popular.
The media in Britain is dominated by two factors
one is the billionaire ownership of all of the major papers or the self-censorship by
the so-called liberal media as well who are more interested in cow towering to what they perceive
to be the British establishment than they are standing up against it the media is serving its
function which is to maintain the status quo within our society the attacks on Democracy by
bolsonaro Donald Trump erdogan so many other forces around the world are well reported
did in the mainstream liberal media like the guardian like New York Times yeah those same
papers are remarkably silent on the attacks on Democracy within the labor party we were a 600
000 member party the largest political party in Europe but we've become obsessed with suspending
members with expelling members with closing down debate and closing down discussion where are the
liberal media in speaking out against this they are failing in their Duty as journalists I love
this sort of mobile Feast of what's moderate what's extreme and what's left and what's
right I don't think there's anything extreme in calling for monopolies of gas water male Rail and
electricity to be taken into public ownership so we get the benefits the profits and indeed
the workers get properly treated in them and they deliver the service rather than the profit source
for distant hedge funds I don't things anything particularly extreme about that I don't think
there's anything very extreme about saying that we will abolish all University tuition fees and
make education free from Cradle to grave so that we will abolish Nursery fees for two-year-olds
and above as well as making higher and further education free I think that to me is a sensible
Way Forward for any Democratic Society to ensure everyone is able to fulfill the best potential
that they can I don't think there's anything extreme in a green Industrial Revolution which
invests in renewable energy invests in green industrial jobs in order to reduce pollution
and improve biodiversity and play our part in carrying out the targets of cop 26 from Glasgow
last year I don't see anything very extreme in that I don't see anything very extreme in saying
that the super rich will be taxed in order to pay for services for the rest I don't think anything
extreme in that at all but somehow or other that's painted as extreme and when somebody talks about
adherence to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty talks about peace around the world as
being the fundamental objective of government I'm told that is tantamount to running up the White
Flag against any of our enemies and aggressors we live in a world that is damaging itself through
inequality Injustice poverty pollution and War surely we can do better than that and just to
label those that propose something different or some or other mad extremists to a danger
to our society just shows the poverty of the ambition of those media outlets in doing that
but they do it for a purpose they're there to protect the Injustice and protect the inequality
my policy is to stick to what you believe in and argue corner and argue the case and listen
listen to people about what their genuine concerns are and be prepared to engage with people
sometimes in very uncomfortable conversations but those uncomfortable conversations make both sides
of that discussion better and stronger as a result of it running away from those conversations never
works if you want to live in a Democratic Society you have to defend those that you don't agree with
as well as those that you do agree with and that is surely what democracy is about democracy and
the power of accountability that is what brings about social change did those that were killed
at Peter Liu die in vain did the toll puddle Martyrs get deported and eventually some brought
back in vain the chartists might not have won when they marched into London but 70 years later most
of their demands had been met the those that dared to dream about the idea of socialization
of Health free health care for all against the most ridiculous opposition of entrenched vested
interest possible on global scale did those that March for civil rights in the southern
states of the USA do so for no purpose they did it with immense bravery history shows us that
change comes from The Bravery of the oppressed standing up against the oppressor surely this
is what our children need to be learning the power of demanding accountability the power of demanding
social change to bring about real Justice that is what power is really about this is the traditional
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