Corbyn Jeremy - Comrade Corbyn : a very unlikely coup : how Jeremy Corbyn stormed to the Labour leadership

I HAD ORIGINALLY PLANNED to call this book Comrade Jeremy. The two words seem to me to capture the perfect paradox of Jeremy Corbyns life: his first name suggests the epitome of the middle-class, middle-aged, former grammar school boy who grew up in ease and privilege amid the pastoral delights of the English Shires. And yet from his early teens, the man who is now Labour leader has devoted himself to the international socialist class struggle, the causes and values of the left. As time went on, however, and Corbyns ascent to the leadership became first a possibility then a probability and finally a reality, events overtook me. It was Comrade Corbyn, rather than Comrade Jeremy, that seemed to have gained traction on Twitter and elsewhere. The people had spoken. The title was changed. As this book recounts, it is by no means the first time during the story of Jeremy Corbyns rise to power that best-laid plans have been overthrown by the whirlwind of social media surrounding him.

The books subtitle (a reference to Chris Mullins 1982 novel A Very British Coup) highlights the most unexpected nature of Corbyns victory. When he entered the Labour leadership race in the spring of 2015, it seemed doubtful he would receive enough nominations from his fellow MPs to make it on to the ballot, let alone emerge triumphant from the contest three months later. The story of how Corbyn stormed the barricades of New Labour to capture his party while inspiring a new mass movement of energised and excited left-wing Corbynistas is as unlikely and as gripping as any plot a novelist could have dreamed up.

Corbyn is uneasy about any examination of his past, and uncomfortable with what he views as intrusive interest in his personal life. He did not cooperate with this book, and initially discouraged his friends and family from speaking to me. Like his mentor Tony Benn, Corbyn believes that the personal is irrelevant; the political is everything. But as one of my interviewees said to me, Benn espoused this view while establishing one of the greatest personality cults of the last century. Corbyn too now finds himself a leader (unlike Benn, an elected one), and it is little surprise that his many followers as well as those who have their doubts want to find out more. This book attempts to answer some of their questions, and seeks to explain the extraordinary events of the summer of 2015, when a rank outsider from the far Labour left swept to the leadership of one of Britains great parties. The personal is political.

In writing this account, I have not sought to create a hagiography, but nor is it a hatchet job; it is a first attempt to understand and define the phenomenon that is Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. In the course of my research, I have come to see him as a complex figure, with a clear thread running through his life. From the young activist who had to be persuaded to stand as an MP, to the dedicated campaigner who only gradually assumed the role of left-wing figurehead, to the political veteran who took weeks to agree to enter the 2015 leadership contest, Corbyn likes to be seen as a reluctant, almost unambitious figure who has had greatness thrust upon him. The man who emerges from these pages is, however, far more than an accidental hero. Once Corbyn accepts a challenge, he seizes it and fights to the very last: a formidable, uncompromising operator lurks beneath his gentle demeanour. This, then, is Comrade Corbyn.

If Corbyn himself was unwilling to be interviewed, I have been extremely fortunate in the large numbers of people from all stages of his life, from family and schoolfriends to fellow MPs and political activists, foes as well as fellow travellers, who have agreed to participate in this book, with interviews given both on and off the record. For ease of reference, it should be assumed that unless otherwise attributed all quotes are taken from interviews conducted during the course of the summer and autumn of 2015. This applies equally to quotes which appear anonymously. To help the flow of the narrative, when referring to members of the House of Lords I have tended to use first names rather than titles for politicians who are rather better known by the former. I hope their Lordships will forgive me.

I am grateful to all the many people who generously gave up their time and memories. I would also like to thank the team at Biteback Publishing, particularly Iain Dale, James Stephens and Olivia Beattie for taking on this project and turning it around with the (crazy) speed we felt necessary to meet the thirst to know more about Corbyn. Thanks too to my agent, Victoria Hobbs from AM Heath; everyone at the Telegraph, especially Chris Evans, Robert Winnett, Robert Mendick and Kate Mayer; Bobbie Gillespie, for his kindness in sharing his research; Matthew Bell and Matthew Tempest.

My warmest thanks and love too to my family, Beth, Nick, Linda, Clara, Anya, Stephen and Laurie, for their patience and many kindnesses, with special thanks to my husband, Conor, and father, Peter, early and sage readers..

R OSA P RINCE,

D ECEMBER 2015