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| 'People saw through it': Corbyn hits back at Daily Mail attacks | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Jeremy Corbyn has attacked “overwhelmingly hostile” press coverage of Labour and his leadership, and said the June election result showed people were no longer affected by reams of negative articles. | |
| In his speech at the Labour conference in Brighton, Corbyn said he had been targeted with 14 pages of attacks in one paper on a single day, but it had strengthened support for the party. | |
| “There were some who didn’t come out of the election too well,” he said to applause and laughs in the conference hall. “I’m thinking of some of our more traditional media friends. They ran the campaign they always do, under orders from their tax-exile owners to trash Labour at every turn.” | “There were some who didn’t come out of the election too well,” he said to applause and laughs in the conference hall. “I’m thinking of some of our more traditional media friends. They ran the campaign they always do, under orders from their tax-exile owners to trash Labour at every turn.” |
| One delegate shouted “the BBC” as Corbyn criticised the coverage the party had received. However, Corbyn himself made the rightwing Daily Mail and its editor, Paul Dacre, the main target of his attack. | One delegate shouted “the BBC” as Corbyn criticised the coverage the party had received. However, Corbyn himself made the rightwing Daily Mail and its editor, Paul Dacre, the main target of his attack. |
| “The day before the election, one paper devoted 14 pages to attacking the Labour party. And our vote went up nearly 10%,” he said. “Never have so many trees died in vain. The British people saw right through it. So this is a message to the Daily Mail’s editor: next time, please could you make it 28 pages?” | |
| Corbyn said the pages of hostile stories had fuelled social media trolling of Labour party candidates and MPs, and the shadow home secretary, Diane Abbott, had borne the brunt. The mention of her name in the hall drew a standing ovation and cheers and a spontaneous rendition of Happy Birthday for Abbott, a longtime ally of Corbyn. | Corbyn said the pages of hostile stories had fuelled social media trolling of Labour party candidates and MPs, and the shadow home secretary, Diane Abbott, had borne the brunt. The mention of her name in the hall drew a standing ovation and cheers and a spontaneous rendition of Happy Birthday for Abbott, a longtime ally of Corbyn. |
| “The campaign by the Tories and their loyal media was nasty and personal,” Corbyn said. “It fuelled abuse online and no one was the target of that more than Diane Abbott.” | “The campaign by the Tories and their loyal media was nasty and personal,” Corbyn said. “It fuelled abuse online and no one was the target of that more than Diane Abbott.” |
| He said Abbott had a “decades-long record of campaigning for social justice and has suffered intolerable misogynistic and racist abuse”. | He said Abbott had a “decades-long record of campaigning for social justice and has suffered intolerable misogynistic and racist abuse”. |
| In a nod to a motion passed by conference delegates on Tuesday that set out tough new rules to prevent antisemitism, racism and hate speech, Corbyn said: “Yes we will disagree, but there can never be any excuse for any abuse of anybody. We settle our differences with democratic votes and unite around those decision.” | In a nod to a motion passed by conference delegates on Tuesday that set out tough new rules to prevent antisemitism, racism and hate speech, Corbyn said: “Yes we will disagree, but there can never be any excuse for any abuse of anybody. We settle our differences with democratic votes and unite around those decision.” |
| Corbyn attributed the party’s improved performance in the election to viral social media campaigning and enthused new street activists. He paid tribute to the efforts of Labour supporters in getting the party’s message across, with many delegates in the room first-time members aligned with the grassroots social movement Momentum, which first sprung up in support of Corbyn’s leadership bid. | Corbyn attributed the party’s improved performance in the election to viral social media campaigning and enthused new street activists. He paid tribute to the efforts of Labour supporters in getting the party’s message across, with many delegates in the room first-time members aligned with the grassroots social movement Momentum, which first sprung up in support of Corbyn’s leadership bid. |
| “Our members, our supporters in the trade unions, our doorstep and social media campaigners,” he said. “Young people sharing messages and stories on social media, hundreds of thousands organising online and on the ground to outplay the Tories’ big-money machine. | “Our members, our supporters in the trade unions, our doorstep and social media campaigners,” he said. “Young people sharing messages and stories on social media, hundreds of thousands organising online and on the ground to outplay the Tories’ big-money machine. |
| “Is it any wonder that here today in Brighton you represent the largest political party in western Europe? With nearly 600,000 members, alongside 3 million affiliated trade unionists, brimming with enthusiasm and confidence in the potential of our people.” | “Is it any wonder that here today in Brighton you represent the largest political party in western Europe? With nearly 600,000 members, alongside 3 million affiliated trade unionists, brimming with enthusiasm and confidence in the potential of our people.” |
| Negative press coverage | |
| On Wednesday 7 June, the day before the election, the Daily Mail ran a sustained attack on Corbyn and Labour, as well as articles supportive of Theresa May’s Conservatives, which appeared on each of the first 14 pages. | |
| The front page had images of Corbyn, John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, and Diane Abbott, under the headline “apologists for terror”. | |
| The opening paragraph read: “Today, the Daily Mail accuses Jeremy Corbyn, John McDonnell and Diane Abbott – the troika who could run the next government – of being unashamed apologists for terror, who have devoted their lives to befriending the enemies of Britain while undermining the very institutions that keep us safe in our beds.” | |
| The story continued on the next page, which gave a six-point rundown of why Britain would be “nothing short of insane to vote Labour”. | |
| On page three, the Mail told readers that Corbyn spoke at a rally “attended by jihadis linked to London Bridge killer”. A spokesman for the Labour leader pointed out that it was a public event promoting the human rights of Palestinians and Corbyn had no control over who attended. | |
| Two spreads across pages four to seven accused the trio of being “so full of contempt for British values”, including being “anti-royal” and the “Gypsies’ hero”. | |
| The attack continued on page eight as the paper reported on the “Labour plan to crash house prices” by replacing council tax with a levy based on the total value of land. It said party figures had “boasted that it will help trigger a house price crash” because a briefing paper on the proposal said it would increase supply and, as long as demand did not grow more quickly, help more people afford a home. | |
| The facing page singled out Diane Abbott and accused Labour of “hiding” her after a series of muddled media appearances. | |
| Pages 10 to 14 eased up somewhat, focusing on the relative strength of the Tories and how to vote tactically to ensure they remained in government, as well as railing against what the Mail perceived as the BBC’s pro-Corbyn bias. |