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I FIRST became aware of Jeremy Corbyn though his work regarding Chile.
In May 1969 Corbyn attended the Vina Del Mar festival. The festival was a cultural event in solidarity with the Popular Unity party and Salvador Allende in the upcoming 1970 presidential election.
Such an occasion was symbolic of the victory that was to come for the left in Chile; culture combined with the Latin American revolutionary spirit, both underpinned by the pillar of solidarity.
In the summer of 2015, Corbyn stood in the Labour leadership election out of solidarity for the movement.
His subsequent victory underpinned how strong, integral and resolute the spirit remained among the left.
It was a victory that distributed the power of the party — which had been in the clutches of Peter Mandelson, Alastair Campbell and Tony Blair — back to the membership.
The period between 2015-19 established communities, created memories and forged friendships.
For me, this included communities such as the People’s Bookshop in Durham and memories such as the 2017 general election when I left my A-level exam 45 minutes early to catch a train to Newcastle to attend the remarkable 10,000-strong rally at the Sage Gateshead.
Corbyn’s suspension isn’t just an attack on the left’s representation in Parliament — it is an orchestrated attack from David Evans, Keir Starmer and, more importantly, the Labour compliance unit in an attempt to break the spirit, solidarity and camaraderie emanating from the summer of 2015.
As we mark one year since Corbyn’s suspension from the Labour Party, the battle has never been clearer, the stakes have never been higher.
Reversing Corbyn’s suspension must be top priority for the left in the Labour Party right now.
Evans, Starmer and the compliance unit can try all they want to destroy our morale and suspend our friends and comrades on trumped-up charges.
But my message to them is clear — you cannot break the collective spirit and fight we generated under Corbyn’s leadership of the party.
As Victor Jara, someone Corbyn saw in his younger days at the 1969 Vina Del Mar festival, said: “You can’t scare me with your threats, you masters of misery, the star of hope continues to be ours.”
