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By BAGEHOT | Brighton
Paul Mason, a journalist-turned-Labour activist, was a prominent figure at the Labour conference in Brighton this week, speaking to guardianOwen Jones is Jeremy Corbyn’s favourite presenter. Mr Mason attracted criticism for a tweet: “I really recommend my colleagues in the press corps listen to this conference. It brings a breath of fresh air and reminds me of 1980.” His colleagues in the press corps were quick to remind Mr Mason that 1980 marked the beginning of Labour’s 17-year electoral drought. The breath of fresh air was a very cold wind indeed.
Indeed, Mason’s tweet is the political equivalent of a Freudian gaffe: Corbynites are obsessed with the 1980s. Young activists who weren’t even born when the miners’ strike happened are wearing “Coal, not doles” badges. Trade unionists get standing ovations every time they mention the disasters of the 1980s. Margaret Thatcher is the gold standard of evil.
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