His competence isn't really the issue though. Even his biggest opponents admit that he's principled to a fault. He's spent his whole career rebelling against his own side on points of principle, attending anti-government protests and rallies, etc.
I wouldn't necessarily expect Corbyn to organise an effective opposition to this bill, but I would expect him to offer some opposition. For him not to do so is not just disappointing, it's unbelievably weird. It's the kind of unexplained weirdness that means you have to start asking what is going on, and what kind of pressures are being applied, in order to prevent him doing so.
The pressure is being Labour party leader. Labour PMs don't want him to take any more unpopular positions, and he himself must know now that he has to lead the party first and be principled rebel second.
I like him as a politician, but Labour needs a leader that can unite both sides of the party that the leadership contest and the referendum exposed. Even if Corbyn wants to do this, the view now from the outside is that he can't.
But is this something he actually cares about? My impression is that while there are certainly some left/liberal principles he cares strongly about, there are also some that he doesn't seem to care about at all.
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Corbyn's a fucking clown. I wouldn't expect him to do anything effective about... well, anything.
His competence isn't really the issue though. Even his biggest opponents admit that he's principled to a fault. He's spent his whole career rebelling against his own side on points of principle, attending anti-government protests and rallies, etc.
I wouldn't necessarily expect Corbyn to organise an effective opposition to this bill, but I would expect him to offer some opposition. For him not to do so is not just disappointing, it's unbelievably weird. It's the kind of unexplained weirdness that means you have to start asking what is going on, and what kind of pressures are being applied, in order to prevent him doing so.
The pressure is being Labour party leader. Labour PMs don't want him to take any more unpopular positions, and he himself must know now that he has to lead the party first and be principled rebel second.
I like him as a politician, but Labour needs a leader that can unite both sides of the party that the leadership contest and the referendum exposed. Even if Corbyn wants to do this, the view now from the outside is that he can't.
But is this something he actually cares about? My impression is that while there are certainly some left/liberal principles he cares strongly about, there are also some that he doesn't seem to care about at all.