On the day Olympians were officially hailed for their success at the Rio games, Jeremy Corbyn got in on some metaphorical athletic action.
He vaulted clear over the bar set by expectations for his keynote conference speech. Admittedly, said obstacle was level with my knees but I’m 6ft 2″ and Jez is getting on a bit.
In plain English, lots of people expected Corbyn to be rubbish. He really wasn’t, though. His delivery was, although sometimes shaky, generally much better than in previous outings.
He even made a joke about being able to get a seat on a train. He’s ditched Virgin Rail and jumped aboard the banter bus.
There was also some steel in what he had to say and most Labour supporters and members will find it difficult to disagree with the bones of what he had to say.
It just doesn’t feel like there’s much chance of an electorate who rejected Ed Miliband for being too left wing are going to suddenly be convinced by “municipal socialism for the 21st century” (a catchy one for the banners, admittedly).
His messages were difficult to argue against from a left wing, or even centre-left, perspective.
Unite as a party, sensible. Improve pay and conditions for workers, laudable. Tackle immigration concerns head on by improving public services, the most interesting argument and showing bravery most Labour politicians have lacked.
All of this is fine if you are winning voters from your opponents at the same time.
Jeremy Corbyn’s conference oratory has improved significantly. His policy making and selling will have to reach Olympian standards if he is to hold even a faint hope of being Prime Minister.
