Will Jeremy Corbyn benefit from a vicious press?

In last week’s Spectator,  Rod Liddle reported that his Tory-supporting wife is beginning to feel sorry for Jeremy Corbyn. ‘You lot want to watch it. I’m beginning to feel sorry for the bloke. The sympathy votes will be stacking up,’ Mrs Liddle informed her husband.

At first, you might wonder what there is to feel sympathetic about. In his short tenure as leader so far, Corbyn has used his ‘huge mandate’ to put a stamp on Labour — allowing it to descend into public infighting over muddled policy positions, as well as riling his own MPs with an assortment of controversial appointments.

But after this weekend’s ‘row’ about whether Corbyn bowed low enough at the Remembrance Sunday ceremony, I think Mrs Liddle has a point. This sort of silly manufactured story does no justice either to the Labour leader or his critics. As this report on the Mirror’s website explains, there is a video clip that shows ‘Mr Corbyn did tip his head but not as deeply as the Prime Minister’.