Labour must rid themselves of this Corbyn pestilence now: Ingham

Margaret Thatcher’s former press secretary said: “He won’t go away. Nor will his militant supporters. The longer he is allowed to stay the more entrenched he and they will become. And the more they will sideline Labour as a political force.”

Sir Bernard wrote in the Yorkshire Post: “Corbyn preaches humanity, equality and peace - even though he consorts with terrorists - while at the same time unleashing on the party the militant, Trotskyite dogs of war, threatening de-selection to any Labour MP who defies him.

“Mark my words, this man is dangerous for two reasons. He apparently believes unswervingly in the healing power of socialism with its gloves off. And he looks ineffectual, the very epitome, stubbled, vested and fully equipped with cycle clips, of the minor middle-class revolutionaries to be found in junior common rooms.”

Sir Bernard added: “The truth is that Corbyn and Co are Marxist. While they pretend to represent the working man’s best interests, they want to keep him under their thumb.

“Nothing is too good for the workers who are in charge. The rest can do as they are told whether by the ruling elite or by unions such as Len McCluskey’s Unite.

“Corbyn has a contempt for the facts of economics life. His anti-austerity policy regards conventional economics of paying your way with derision. He sees nothing wrong in borrowing up to the gills and leaving our grandchildren to foot the bill with a debauched currency while we pay higher taxes now.”

Sir Bernard continued: “As for foreign and defence policy, our allies would find the UK utterly unreliable in the face of threats. Corbyn’s international pacifism would bow the knee to (Vladimir) Putin and to terror.

“Nor is freedom of the individual under the law in the Corbynistas’ lexicon. You can do anything provided you conform to what they think is good for you. This is never what the Labour Party has stood for. In all honesty and with Christian charity, I urge Labour’s moderate majority, however daunting the task, to resolve for 2016 to purge itself of this pestilence.”