Alastair Campbell breaks silence on leadership contest and advises “ABC” – Anyone But Corbyn

Former Number 10 Director of Communications Alastair Campbell has broke his silence on the Labour leadership contest. Having previously said that he would not weigh in on the race, Campbell has today written a blogpost arguing that it should be “ABC – Anyone But Corbyn”.

Campbell praises Corbyn as “likeable, sincere, a good local MP” and “millions of miles away from the detestability of a George Galloway” figure on the hard left, as well as noting that the Islington North MP is “inspiring hitherto disenchanted young people to get involved in politics”.

However, Campbell has a series of warnings about what a Corbyn victory would lead to, concluding:

“With Corbyn, I’m afraid I can see only the route to defeat, and much, much worse. I wish it wasn’t so. But it is.”

He also highlights Corbyn’s track record of voting against the Labour whip (he was the most rebellious Labour MP between 1997 and 2010), writing that he would struggle to “inspire or manage” loyalty within the party, “rely[ing] on others showing discipline he has never shown himself”.

While he asserts that does not believe the Labour Party would split if Corbyn is elected, he does warn of the “danger” of “collective denial” that sees people believe Corbyn can win a general election. “It is horrible to watch,” he adds, “unless you’re David Cameron, or George Osborne”.

There is also advice not to get swept up in “Corbymania”, which Campbell compares to Cleggmania of 2010:

“If he wins, Corbynmania will evaporate even more quickly than Cleggmania did, once the pressures of real, difficult decisions and the day to day leadership of the main Opposition kick in. I fear that activists currently cashing in on perceived ‘betrayal’ by past Labour leaders are going to end up feeling very badly let down.”