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The national anthem may stick in Corbyn’s craw, but it is his job to sing it | The national anthem may stick in Corbyn’s craw, but it is his job to sing it |
(about 9 hours later) | |
Taken literally, the national anthem is hard to swallow. It is not just the tune. Its words belong to an alien era. Singing it can sometimes feel like wallowing in a world of gluey nostalgia. And if, like Jeremy Corbyn, you are a pacifist republican with an embedded horror of empire, being required to hum along will understandably stick in the craw. | Taken literally, the national anthem is hard to swallow. It is not just the tune. Its words belong to an alien era. Singing it can sometimes feel like wallowing in a world of gluey nostalgia. And if, like Jeremy Corbyn, you are a pacifist republican with an embedded horror of empire, being required to hum along will understandably stick in the craw. |
Related: Corbyn stands silent for national anthem at Battle of Britain service | Related: Corbyn stands silent for national anthem at Battle of Britain service |
But the Battle of Britain commemoration service at St Paul’s Cathedral yesterday was not a rock concert. It was a quasi-constitutional occasion, where humming along was not optional. | But the Battle of Britain commemoration service at St Paul’s Cathedral yesterday was not a rock concert. It was a quasi-constitutional occasion, where humming along was not optional. |
Quite correctly, Corbyn recognised that as leader of Her Majesty’s opposition he needed to be there, just as he has recognised that he needs to go through the ritual of being made one of the Queen’s privy counsellors. It does not signify a capitulation to the forces of darkness. It goes with the job. | Quite correctly, Corbyn recognised that as leader of Her Majesty’s opposition he needed to be there, just as he has recognised that he needs to go through the ritual of being made one of the Queen’s privy counsellors. It does not signify a capitulation to the forces of darkness. It goes with the job. |
A fantasy world that was kinder and less judgmental would have cut Corbyn some slack. It had been a tumultuous three days and he had a big speech to the TUC ahead. He was on time, appropriately dressed (although his outfit has been scrutinised) and possibly feeling a bit lost in a crowd of people, many of them military types who might well regard him as some kind of anti-Christ. | A fantasy world that was kinder and less judgmental would have cut Corbyn some slack. It had been a tumultuous three days and he had a big speech to the TUC ahead. He was on time, appropriately dressed (although his outfit has been scrutinised) and possibly feeling a bit lost in a crowd of people, many of them military types who might well regard him as some kind of anti-Christ. |
But he was not there as Jeremy Corbyn the old lefty. Nor was he there as a representative of the 250,000 people who voted for him. He was there to represent the hundreds of thousands of other party members and the millions of others who regard themselves as Labour, people like the man from Hartlepool who told last night’s Newsnight he wouldn’t be voting for someone who couldn’t even be bothered to wear a jacket and tie. He was there as the embodiment of the party that is the alternative government. | But he was not there as Jeremy Corbyn the old lefty. Nor was he there as a representative of the 250,000 people who voted for him. He was there to represent the hundreds of thousands of other party members and the millions of others who regard themselves as Labour, people like the man from Hartlepool who told last night’s Newsnight he wouldn’t be voting for someone who couldn’t even be bothered to wear a jacket and tie. He was there as the embodiment of the party that is the alternative government. |
He is no longer part of the collective leadership of a guerrilla force, he has captured the commanding heights | He is no longer part of the collective leadership of a guerrilla force, he has captured the commanding heights |
And, like becoming a privy counsellor, bowing gracefully to the formalities of high office is a necessary precondition to being able to use the power it brings to do the things he wants. He is no longer part of the collective leadership of a guerrilla force, he has captured the commanding heights. He can do all he can to quietly avoid these moments of conspicuous compromise, but sometimes he just has to do it. | And, like becoming a privy counsellor, bowing gracefully to the formalities of high office is a necessary precondition to being able to use the power it brings to do the things he wants. He is no longer part of the collective leadership of a guerrilla force, he has captured the commanding heights. He can do all he can to quietly avoid these moments of conspicuous compromise, but sometimes he just has to do it. |
As I suspect Corbyn does, I mistrust the multiplication of wartime commemorations. Looking back on the bloodiest century of human existence as some kind of fruitful catharsis feels profoundly dangerous. It is imaginatively inhibiting. If I wore a poppy at all, it would probably be white. But then, I am not the leader of the Labour party. | As I suspect Corbyn does, I mistrust the multiplication of wartime commemorations. Looking back on the bloodiest century of human existence as some kind of fruitful catharsis feels profoundly dangerous. It is imaginatively inhibiting. If I wore a poppy at all, it would probably be white. But then, I am not the leader of the Labour party. |
It is Corbyn who has to face the age-old radical’s dilemma: this business of whether it is best to shift the status quo by fighting it from the outside, or working to change it from the inside and risk alienating ardent supporters who fear the party’s soul has suddenly been made available on eBay. It is the choice that has repeatedly wrenched Labour apart. | It is Corbyn who has to face the age-old radical’s dilemma: this business of whether it is best to shift the status quo by fighting it from the outside, or working to change it from the inside and risk alienating ardent supporters who fear the party’s soul has suddenly been made available on eBay. It is the choice that has repeatedly wrenched Labour apart. |
Probably none of this occurred to the new Labour leader as he dutifully showed up at St Paul’s on a damp Tuesday morning. He may never sing in public. He may not even sing in private. And until now, not doing the conventional thing has been essential to his appeal: ignoring the venomous glare of the media is the kernel of his authenticity. | Probably none of this occurred to the new Labour leader as he dutifully showed up at St Paul’s on a damp Tuesday morning. He may never sing in public. He may not even sing in private. And until now, not doing the conventional thing has been essential to his appeal: ignoring the venomous glare of the media is the kernel of his authenticity. |
Related: Jeremy Corbyn, the national anthem and the broader picture | Letters | |
But at some point he has to work out how to balance insurgency with the representational aspects of leadership. He has to modify the business of being an outsider with the obligations of being the embodiment of a movement that needs to appeal across the country. | But at some point he has to work out how to balance insurgency with the representational aspects of leadership. He has to modify the business of being an outsider with the obligations of being the embodiment of a movement that needs to appeal across the country. |
It is one thing not to sing. It is another to appear tone deaf to the deeper instincts of the country he aspires to lead. | It is one thing not to sing. It is another to appear tone deaf to the deeper instincts of the country he aspires to lead. |
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