With Jeremy Corbyn’s approval rating currently at minus 39 according to yesterday’s YouGov poll, one could argue that there is little reason for cheer within Team Corbyn. However, the Labour leader can at least take heart that he has managed to prove more popular than one Labour heavyweight when it comes to football.
While Corbyn is a regular at Arsenal games — often attending with his sons — other Labour politicians have experienced difficulties fitting in at matches. Writing about New Labour’s toxic legacy and the ‘unelectable’ Corbyn in today’s Guardian, Alastair Campbell recalls a trip to the football he took with Tony Blair and Peter Mandelson:
‘During the Blair years, football and politics became increasingly aligned. Tony and Gordon Brown were both keen football supporters. Peter Mandelson, fair to say, less so. I took him to two matches.’
When Campbell took him to see Hartlepool play things took a turn for the worse after Mandy wore his football scarf ‘Oxbridge-style’.
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