Jeremy Corbyn leaves his Islington home. Getty
Jeremy Corbyn leaves his Islington home. Getty
Jeremy Corbyn leaves his Islington home. Getty
Jeremy Corbyn leaves his Islington home. Getty

UK Election: Jeremy Corbyn’s neighbours left to wonder where it all went wrong


Claire Corkery
  • English
  • Arabic

The UK’s main opposition Labour suffered a brutal defeat in Thursday’s election under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn.

Mr Corbyn, who for years was a backbench MP never expected to become leader, had campaigned on a manifesto promising big public spending and nationalisation of key utilities, funded by placing higher taxes on top earners.

But the Labour leader’s socialist vision for the UK was not shared by voters and the party lost 42 seats from the last election, handing Boris Johnson’s Conservatives a majority. He has said he will quit the leadership office in the new year.

The biggest losses for Labour were felt in the north of England, where the so-called “red wall” of constituencies that had not changed hands in decades turned blue.

Mr Corbyn comfortably kept his London seat, Islington North, where he has been the sitting MP since 1983, albeit with a slightly reduced majority from 2017.

Residents in what was once dubbed the “People’s Republic of Islington” by the right-wing press are unsurprised their longstanding MP had been unable to make it to the top job in British politics.

For many Mr Corbyn’s failure to pick a side in the Brexit debate was his undoing. During the campaign he promised to renegotiate a new divorce deal with Brussels, which would be put to the people via a second referendum. He said he would “remain neutral” during the proposed EU vote.

Investment fund associate Tom Parr, 30, said: “Jeremy Corbyn had no clear stance on the biggest issue dividing the country.

“How can people follow his lead when we don’t know where he stood on Brexit?”

Lucien Mulberg, a student on a Christmas holiday from Oxford University, said part of Mr Corbyn’s mistake was to avoid making his campaign about the UK’s EU membership unlike his rival Mr Johnson.

“I think he tried to make Brexit not the main issue but it was always going to be the main issue,” he said. “I think he tried to make the NHS the main issue but people just wanted Brexit done.”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson managed to win the support of traditional northern Labour voters. Getty
Prime Minister Boris Johnson managed to win the support of traditional northern Labour voters. Getty

Artist Chris Dwyer, 29, said he felt the Conservative leader was not put under the same amount of media scrutiny that Mr Corbyn was.

“I feel like the media spun it in a way that did favour Boris,” Mr Dwyer said.

He said the UK had “voted for someone who hid in a fridge”, referring to the prime minister’s attempts to avoid being interviewed by broadcaster ITV on Wednesday.

For others Mr Corbyn’s personal traits as well as his long history of left-wing activism that meant he was less appealing as a leader than others.

“Maybe it’s his personality that people didn’t like,” said office worker Olusegun Famodun, 53. “Jeremy Corbyn is a man who cannot even tuck in his trousers properly.”

Lauren Healy, a hairdresser at Tops Hair and Beauty Salon in Islington, said she had seen social media advertisements that said that Mr Corbyn “sympathised with terrorists”.

While many particularly in the business community, felt his manifesto was too radical. Investments director Richard Trainer, 63, said he felt the election pledges had put Labour into a “tricky position”.

“I’m happy to pay more tax,” he said. “But I know many companies who aren’t.”

Saul Pimpson, a 27-year-old writer on his lunch break from work, said he did not think voters found what Mr Corbyn was promising to be credible.

“There’s an overriding sense of people can’t picture a different system and an alternative to the current way that we live, even though everyone acknowledges that it’s bad,” he said.

“People who voted Conservative, they don’t like Boris Johnson but when they looked at Labour’s manifesto - they didn’t believe it could happen. Maybe the manifesto was too good.”

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Iran has sent five planeloads of food to Qatar, which is suffering shortages amid a regional blockade.

A number of nations, including Iran's major rival Saudi Arabia, last week cut ties with Qatar, accusing it of funding terrorism, charges it denies.

The land border with Saudi Arabia, through which 40% of Qatar's food comes, has been closed.

Meanwhile, mediators Kuwait said that Qatar was ready to listen to the "qualms" of its neighbours.

Is it worth it? We put cheesecake frap to the test.

The verdict from the nutritionists is damning. But does a cheesecake frappuccino taste good enough to merit the indulgence?

My advice is to only go there if you have unusually sweet tooth. I like my puddings, but this was a bit much even for me. The first hit is a winner, but it's downhill, slowly, from there. Each sip is a little less satisfying than the last, and maybe it was just all that sugar, but it isn't long before the rush is replaced by a creeping remorse. And half of the thing is still left.

The caramel version is far superior to the blueberry, too. If someone put a full caramel cheesecake through a liquidiser and scooped out the contents, it would probably taste something like this. Blueberry, on the other hand, has more of an artificial taste. It's like someone has tried to invent this drink in a lab, and while early results were promising, they're still in the testing phase. It isn't terrible, but something isn't quite right either.

So if you want an experience, go for a small, and opt for the caramel. But if you want a cheesecake, it's probably more satisfying, and not quite as unhealthy, to just order the real thing.

 

 

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Important questions to consider

1. Where on the plane does my pet travel?

There are different types of travel available for pets:

  • Manifest cargo
  • Excess luggage in the hold
  • Excess luggage in the cabin

Each option is safe. The feasibility of each option is based on the size and breed of your pet, the airline they are traveling on and country they are travelling to.

 

2. What is the difference between my pet traveling as manifest cargo or as excess luggage?

If traveling as manifest cargo, your pet is traveling in the front hold of the plane and can travel with or without you being on the same plane. The cost of your pets travel is based on volumetric weight, in other words, the size of their travel crate.

If traveling as excess luggage, your pet will be in the rear hold of the plane and must be traveling under the ticket of a human passenger. The cost of your pets travel is based on the actual (combined) weight of your pet in their crate.

 

3. What happens when my pet arrives in the country they are traveling to?

As soon as the flight arrives, your pet will be taken from the plane straight to the airport terminal.

If your pet is traveling as excess luggage, they will taken to the oversized luggage area in the arrival hall. Once you clear passport control, you will be able to collect them at the same time as your normal luggage. As you exit the airport via the ‘something to declare’ customs channel you will be asked to present your pets travel paperwork to the customs official and / or the vet on duty. 

If your pet is traveling as manifest cargo, they will be taken to the Animal Reception Centre. There, their documentation will be reviewed by the staff of the ARC to ensure all is in order. At the same time, relevant customs formalities will be completed by staff based at the arriving airport. 

 

4. How long does the travel paperwork and other travel preparations take?

This depends entirely on the location that your pet is traveling to. Your pet relocation compnay will provide you with an accurate timeline of how long the relevant preparations will take and at what point in the process the various steps must be taken.

In some cases they can get your pet ‘travel ready’ in a few days. In others it can be up to six months or more.

 

5. What vaccinations does my pet need to travel?

Regardless of where your pet is traveling, they will need certain vaccinations. The exact vaccinations they need are entirely dependent on the location they are traveling to. The one vaccination that is mandatory for every country your pet may travel to is a rabies vaccination.

Other vaccinations may also be necessary. These will be advised to you as relevant. In every situation, it is essential to keep your vaccinations current and to not miss a due date, even by one day. To do so could severely hinder your pets travel plans.

Source: Pawsome Pets UAE