A redder Jezza enters the fray
This was vintage Corbyn. About 1978, perhaps. Or maybe a bit later - circa 1984.
Smash the rigged system. Bash the evil capitalists and send them scuttling to their tax havens in the Cayman Islands.
Jeremy Corbyn. Man of the People. A Man Who Does Not Play By Their Rules.
During his first campaign speech his head was resolutely inclined to the left, as if he found it difficult to turn it in any other direction. And out came his red battle tie.
Do not believe a word you have read about what he said. The weasels of the media (not me - my cheque hasn't come through yet) are all in the plot. They are part of The Establishment Enemy.
This was time warp electioneering. For those who lived through those times, it must have brought on a warm glow of nostalgia. We haven't heard such straight talking from a Labour leader since Michael Foot.
His message? A Labour Government will make things better for ordinary people. It will tackle social injustice. It will ensure the hardworking backbone of the nation will get a fair rate of pay. It will protect workers' rights.
Who will pay for it? The rich and powerful elite who are exploiting the masses, the multi-nationals, the wealth-extractors, and the tax-dodgers with their millions squirrelled away offshore.
"The Conservatives are too morally bankrupt to take them on and collect the taxes."
Compare this wealthy elite's lives, said Jeremy, to those ordinary working people on zero-hours contracts, trying to save to buy a home, and having virtually nothing left over.
You know, while they will be chortling in the wine bars in The City, Jeremy looked comfortable, as if he has been holding his breath ever since being elected Labour leader.
Everybody has been saying he has no hope of winning the general election. Even a majority of his own MPs have no confidence in his leadership. So this election campaign is a great moment of liberation. This is Jeremy Corbyn laid bare, a spiritual rebel returning to his home turf. A Redder Jezza.
A member of the media (boo!) wondered how much you would have to earn to qualify to become an Enemy of the People.
Jeremy will let us know when they write the manifesto.
One or two others of these weasels drew attention to his low poll ratings.
"In 2015, almost exactly two years ago, I was given at 200-1," he said. And look at me now, was the unspoken point.
But it was Dawn Butler MP, presiding at this JC revival, who had the best line: "June always marks the end of May."
Meanwhile, if Jeremy's opinion poll ratings go up during the campaign, expect estate agents to receive an upsurge of inquiries about properties in the Cayman Islands.
