I decided not to complete the survey asking who I was voting for in the leadership election. But, it did prompt me to sit down and think about all the reasons why I am voting for Jeremy Corbyn. This is what I wrote:
I'm 50 years old and a lifelong Labour voter although only a recent member of the Labour Party. When Jeremy Corbyn was elected Leader last year, it was the first time in decades that I'd seen a Labour politician who actually spoke to the issues that concerned me and articulated the pressing need for a truly radical change to the way politics is done in this country. Like millions in this country, I watched in abject horror as the Blair government took us into an unjustifiable war in Iraq - wasting lives, wasting money, causing untold misery and suffering, and making every single one of us less safe and secure in the world. I have become sickened and angry as the levels of inequality in our society have grown and grown over recent decades. I have seen "austerity" sold to us as the only way forward out of our economic mess... all the while, watching the bankers, CEOs and the tax-avoiding elites stash their billions and spit in the faces of the rest of us. I have seen immigrants, the working poor, the unemployed, the sick, the mentally ill and the disabled vilified and punished for their circumstances, whilst Labour politicians - whether in government or in opposition - have done very little to speak out for them or protect them. As an NHS worker, I have seen the daily heartbreaking evidence of the way that privatisation and grotesque underfunding is destroying our beloved health service. . And I have waited for the Labour Party to stand up and say "No more." To say "There is an alternative to this." I have waited. And I have waited. And I have waited. And nothing has changed. Meanwhile, the theatre of Westminster continues - braying politicians of all stripes, hooting and jeering and scoring cheap points at PMQs - behaving in ways that would have the rest of us fired in an instant if we tried that crap in our own workplaces. Politicians elected to lead us, who are too cowed by the fear of the over-powerful media to actually stand up and be counted. Afraid to lead, afraid to advance a single original idea without testing it through a million focus groups first. Trapped in the Westminster bubble, oblivious to the daily realities of ordinary people who are struggling. I am 50 years old. I'm tired. I'm jaded. I'm cynical. I'm ready to give up and just accept that nothing is ever, EVER going to change. I might as well give up voting altogether. After all, what the f**k is the point? And then along comes Jeremy Corbyn. This wrinkly, rumply, beardie, vegetarian lefty, who has been around for ever... quietly and respectfully saying all the things that I think - and that I suspect millions of other people think, too - and doing so in a way that starkly highlights the ridiculous spectacle that Westminster politics has become. Oh my God... he's actually become the Leader of the Labour Party! Maybe... just maybe... there's a glimmer of hope? There he is, week after week, asking the questions that I want asked, in the way I want them asked. Representing people like me. Being mocked and ridiculed for it in the media, of course - but there he is. Steadfast, honest, dignified, consistent, unflashy. A Leader if ever I saw one. I'm not some naive, unquestioning Corbyn groupie. I'm not some starry-eyed youthful zealot. I'm not a Trotskyite. I'm not an entryist. I am a strong, educated, intelligent, articulate lifelong Labour-voting woman. And I am angry. More angry than I have ever been in my life. And I'm ready to stand up and fight for the better, fairer, more equal society that Jeremy Corbyn is fighting for. That's why I am voting for Jeremy Corbyn. Thanks to Sophie Crossfield
12 Comments
Ed
31/7/2016 02:12:33 am
Great piece, sums it all up for all of us.
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Andrew Francis
31/7/2016 06:06:51 am
Thank you, it's all coming out now, Jeremy is what a good leader should be the catalyst for people's thoughts and hopes. It's simply wonderful, at last.
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Alan Jackson
31/7/2016 10:12:48 am
My thoughts exactly and superbly articulated. I'm fed up with being vilified on Facebook for my views on Corbyn. They say he is unelectable. Why? Because he promotes real Socialist ideals? It's high time we reverted to pre Thatcher caring politics whilst we still have a health service.
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Michelle Pauline smith
31/7/2016 10:22:48 am
You have captured it all! I completely share your sentiments and I too felt the need to sign up for the first time. Jeremy is leading the way in how politicians should behave!
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Elizabeth johnsen
31/7/2016 10:25:32 am
I am this woman, i am a 52yr old nhs nurse. This is exactly how i feel.
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MR DAVID J ROBERTSON
31/7/2016 11:21:04 am
well said and thank you for expressing the thoughts of many......reaching out to wider Britain is an issue due to the mainstream media being so biased against JC and in support of the status quo.......once he is re-elected as the party leader however, we can then hopefully get down to informing and inspiring the rest of Britain regarding a new vision of a political reality fit for the 21st century
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SARAH
31/7/2016 12:29:55 pm
Sophie you have summed up how I feel perfectly.
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Susan Anderson
31/7/2016 02:19:42 pm
My feelings exactly! Never in my life have I held so much pent up fury at how the 'establishment' is ruining our country. Even to the point where they satisfy their enormous hunger for power by making our children and grandchildren's lives a misery at school. They do seem to get some kind of perverse kick out of making people suffer and revel in bragging about their riches. Jeremy Corbyn is the BEST thing to have ever happened to this country in years. Although I do admit I fear for him as these monsters will stop at nothing to keep their gravy train flowing!
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Lorraine H
31/7/2016 02:22:09 pm
Thank you so much for articulating so eloquently the reason's why I recently joined the Labour Party and why I support Jeremy Corbyn. I am however, not a nurse I am a zero hours, minimum wage community care worker (who only gets paid for time with clients, not the time travelled between) so the ending of zero hours contracts and a £10 per hour living wage would make a real difference to me and my family. It is encouraging to see so many positive comments and articles, not just on here but across social media, about things that matter to a huge swathe of people. I now have hope, where once I had despair. Thank you once again.
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Raj Jani
31/7/2016 04:11:10 pm
Perfectly captured what I have been thinking on events shaping our futures all around us. Typically, most people turn right-wing as they go through adulthood. Corbyn's strongest trump card is that as he continues his fight against the bias against him from the political class, his appeal especially among the 50+ generation, and increasingly from intelligent, middle-class, affluent members of society keeps on growing. He represents the change that millions seek. He is compelling me to join a political party for the first time in my life. I want him to be PM when I retire soon.
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susannah greaves
1/8/2016 09:24:39 am
Im a 77 year old lifelong Labour supporter and this is exactly how I feel too. Thank you for articulating it.
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I am a 65 year old woman - and this is how I feel too! Extremely well articulated.
11/8/2016 02:37:46 pm
I am a 65 year old woman - and this is how I feel too! Extremely well articulated.
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