Today I read this piece by journalist Iain Martin. In a nut shell he advises the Tories to reign in their instincts to boo and jeer at PMQs, not just because it makes them look bad, which it undoubtedly does, but because they are also making Jeremy Corbyn look good. Here is an exact quote.
‘He’s wooden. He can’t think on his feet. His questions are clunky. There’s no light and shade, no humour. He’s a poor performer. He’s off the scale. And right now the Tory boys who like to boo are not only being rude, they are making Corbyn look better than he is. They’re doing him a favour.’
When I read this I didn’t feel outrage. Despite my passionate support for Corbyn I can see why Mr Martin holds this view. Jeremy is no smooth operator. Some of his delivery is clunky – lacking the deftness of other public speakers. The bit about having no humour I’m far from convinced by. Jeremy can be droll in his own unique way, but then I’ve probably you tubed every speech he’s ever given. And saying there is no light or shade when he speaks is also unfair. But overall I would never put Jeremy up there with some of the great Labour Party orators like Kinnock or Benn. But if I was asked to rate him on his sincerity, conviction and honesty, I’d say he was one of the greats.
And it’s this point Mr Martin is missing. Many of us put our faith in Blair, who was indisputably eloquent and deft at the dispatch box, and we were burned. The new labour years became synonymous with spin and stage management, and as a result they left us cold. Whenever I see Jeremy in his favourite brown jacket I give a little sigh of relief. He is not being taken over by stylists – he is being true to himself.
Sincerity, not spin. Earnestness, not eloquence. Conviction, not clever lines. This is Jeremy Corbyn. It’s why we voted for him as labour leader. It’s why we are more than happy for the Tories to go quiet at PMQs if it means the British public can listen more closely to Jeremy. A quiet, sincere, principled man. That was more than good enough for us.
Maybe, just maybe, the British public will feel the same.
by Michelle (Chelley) Ryan @chelleryn99
Turning the Tide 
Thank you for this Chelley it’s fab. I only have one slight disagreement, I think he’s a great orator but not in the slick, polished, practised way of the plastic careerists that simply try to tell us what they think we want to here. I sincerely think you should write for a national newspaper, if you don’t already do so,
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Well i certainly appreciate his approach. Having never belonged to any political party I have joined the Labour party because of the way Jeremy Corbyn conducts himself. If he does eventually fail in his election bid and the Status Quo prevails then I’m out of here
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Of course Corbyn has a sense of humour. A couple of examples:
The Owen Jones interview here
When Jones suggests that a large number of PLP members are ‘desperate for him not to win’, he feigns mock surprise replying: ‘Really? Where have you heard that? It must be just a rumour.’ This link takes you to exact moment where he says it.:
And at a 2000 strong Manchester rally he stated that the leadership campaign had not accepted any corporate funding (applause) and then went on to say ‘I should say that we weren’t offered any either’ (laughter).
My sense is that Corbyn is at his best as a speaker when he is relaxed and talking to socialists and trade unionists. That is when the humour surfaces. In the Commons, things are more formal and he is less given to humour but you can still see it in subtle ways like when, after Cameron’s attack on his advisers at this weeks PMQs this week, he responds sarcastically by saying that ‘the subject is the NHS in case the PM has forgotten.’
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Sorry, just realised the link to the Manchester rally is wrong in previous comment. Here is the correct link:
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