Should Jeremy Corbyn leave?

I have joined Labour after the election of Jeremy Corby. I believed it is a new era, new politics and change is possible. I have always admired Jeremy because he is a man with strong conviction and he does not change with the tide. Now, I think he should resign.

His first few months in office were turbulent, full of controversies and plots from his backbench to undermine him. And although I was angry with many of the Labour MPs, but was equally angry with his absence from the scene, as if he was still same old rebel sitting on the backbench. I once confronted my MP on the lack of support Mr Corbyn was getting from his own party, she said that he voted against the party 500 times, he cannot now ask people to be loyal when he never was. I know that many of things he voted against were morally right, like the Iraq war, but still 500 times is a lot of disagreement, I was surprised why he stayed with Labour.

I know that many have been quoting Jeremy’s absence and lack of conviction during the EU referendum. He was against the EU during his leadership campaign and the Leave campaign were using his speeches to advocate Leave. When he eventually showed up to support Remain, he was reading from a paper, he did not even bother to remember why he was there!

The Scottish Labour party is at lowest point, and although we have a progressive left wing Labour leader, he was not appealing to the Scottish people to regain Labour seats in the Scottish Parliament and Labour defeats in Scotland continued.

It is important to remember that to be effective opposition, not just oppose the government, but you must be able to win votes. Jeremy Corbyn is widely supported by the young and the left, which neither of these two groups vote! And although 250,000 voted for Corbyn for leader, this is a very minute number when it comes to general elections.

Jeremy Corbyn is a very nice person, a man with strong moral compass who does what he believes is right, regardless of any self-interests, but does that makes him a good leader? In Islamic history, Abu Thar; one of the very first believers in Prophet Mohammad -peace be upon him- asked the prophet to make him a governor of a province, the Prophet replied: You are weak, and this is a big responsibility. In other words, being faithful, trustworthy, and a good person, does not mean you have the abilities or qualifications to lead.

No one doubts Jeremy’s good intentions and the great person he is, but he lacks charisma, confidence, and most importantly: ability to unite the party. As the “blue on blue” battle goes on, Labour, and us, the people have a golden opportunity to remove this Tory government and win the election, but instead of standing firm and united, some in the party are willing to split the party rather than give in and admit failure. 

Mr Corbyn, I really love, but I have to put the interests of millions of people first, and for that I think it is time to you to go. You have always been a good person, it is now your chance to leave with a legacy that you put the party before yourself, and vote for the party.

Ahmad Baker