Labour under Jeremy Corbyn is the new nasty party. In this swamp his sidekick John McDonnell is a natural leader.
Mr McDonnell’s record is known and documented, from support for the IRA to celebrating the financial crisis which wrecked so many lives.
This post presents further scenes which underline just how thoroughly nasty he is. Forget the “kinder and gentler” politics Mr Corbyn falsely promised – this is the real deal.
Facing democratically elected and entirely legitimate opposition in Parliament, Mr McDonnell’s mind turns to violence.
Here he enthuses about “physical force” and “a good slapping” for coalition MPs in 2010. “We will resist in every form possible”, he continues, and urges people to ignore Parliament because “where we will win will be on the streets” with “direct action”.
He has a brutal vision. It is this, crudely offered in 2012: “I want to be in a situation where no Tory MP, no Tory MP, no coalition minister, can travel anywhere in the country, or show their face anywhere in public, without being challenged, without direct action.” These Tories are “social criminals” who should be put on trial.
Casting Tories into a living hell and out of government is not enough, of course. Mr McDonnell aims much higher. In 2011, he declared that he wants to “destroy the system”.
This vision needs a movement. It has one, and happily mob violence is a special strength. People “kicking the shit out of Millbank” at a violent riot in London in November 2010, for example, shows “the best of our movement”, still worthy of a salute two years on in 2012.
Ed Woollard, the man who hurled a fire extinguisher at police officers on the ground from the top of Millbank Tower during the riot in 2010, must be singled out for special praise. “Solidarity!”
The judge who sentenced Woollard to 32 months in prison for violent disorder said “the courts have a duty to provide the community with such protection from violence as they can” and “this means sending out a very clear message to anyone minded to behave in this way that an offence of this seriousness will not be tolerated.”
In addition, it was “exceedingly fortunate that your action did not result in death or very serious injury either to a police officer or a fellow protester”.
Aye.
Just look at what Mr McDonnell finds so inspiring.
Voters are the ultimate judge, the final arbiter. Their sentence for Mr McDonnell’s Labour, should it stumble furiously on in its current form to the next election, should be very harsh indeed.
