What a change in Jeremy Corbyn. Finally free of the Labour Party, the man who nearly became prime minister in 2017 yesterday submitted his election-candidacy papers at Islington town hall.
A hundred or so supporters gathered while this mysterious process was completed. Heaven knows what it entailed but at midday, with the air of a man who had just had his undercarriage given a spit and polish by the district nurse, a beaming Mr Corbyn, 75, emerged.
There he stood on its neo-classical steps, proudly holding a large piece of paper saying 'Jeremy Corbyn, Independent', which is how he will contest the Islington North seat.
In 2019 he had a majority of 26,000. Now that he has been manoeuvred out of his old party by Sir Keir 'Agreement With Me Is Compulsory' Starmer, Mr Corbyn aims to increase that majority as a lone groover. In one week of campaigning he said his team had already leafletted every house in the constituency.
There he stood on its neo-classical steps, proudly holding a large piece of paper saying 'Jeremy Corbyn, Independent'
In 2019 he had a majority of 26,000. Now that he has been manoeuvred out of his old party by Sir Keir 'Agreement With Me Is Compulsory' Starmer
The old lentil-muncher was on dandyish form. He wore a pale-blue jacket, modern shirt (not tucked in), dark trousers and a pair of blue suede shoes
Don't tell Sir Keir but plenty of Labour activists are allegedly helping the Corbyn campaign. The geographically compact Islington North has been Labour since 1937 but Mr Corbyn, who first became its MP in 1983, must know every street and cafe.
Labour has chosen a local councillor, Praful Nargund, as its candidate. Mr Nargund is tall, has fabulous teeth, wears a spin doctor-approved suit and tie, and looks a tremendous oiler.
Maybe it is time we started a protest group called Just Stop Oilers. Mr Corbyn, snaggle-grinned and peering happily through his bi-focals, lapped up a few chants of 'Ooooh, Jeremy Corbyn' before saying he intended to fight 'poverty, inequality and injustice'.
He hoped it would be possible to establish 'peace, justice and equality' both here and internationally. Independent candidates normally play things a little more local. He did manage to work in some mentions of the local hospital's A&E department.
There were old men with rat's-tail haircuts and trendy spectacles, grannies with purple fringes, an implausibly tall oddball in a cycling helmet and an acidic little chap, well-spoken and prosperous-looking, who had a Grunwick solidarity badge
He provokes devotion like Nigel Farage but there are differences. He is a sober figure who does not shout out of one side of his mouth
The old lentil-muncher was on dandyish form. He wore a pale-blue jacket, modern shirt (not tucked in), dark trousers and a pair of blue suede shoes. When I asked about the blue suede shoes he started singing the Elvis Presley song.
Another reporter asked about Arsenal FC, whose ground is in the constituency, and Mr Corbyn started warbling a ballad about some past Arsenal victory. His wife Laura watched from a safe distance. Senora Corbyn may have heard that Arsenal song a few times.
He provokes devotion like Nigel Farage but there are differences. He is a sober figure who does not shout out of one side of his mouth. He answered questions in such a soft murmur that half of us blunt-nibs could not hear.
He is also an assiduous constituency man. Goblins kept wandering up to him to shake his hands and impart some request. He listened to them with care and skill.
A rather butch actor, Rob Delaney, gave a speech. 'We all love him and know him and he's just a fantastic guy,' boomed Mr Delaney. He is, you see, American.
When I asked about the blue suede shoes he started singing the Elvis Presley song
You start to understand why Mr Corbyn spends so much time talking to his supporters about 'peace' and 'uniting our society'
He answered questions in such a soft murmur that half of us blunt-nibs could not hear
A Corbynista with a megaphone and a Che Guevara bag instructed the crowd to sing more rounds of 'oooh Jeremy Corbyn', and then – the slave driver – demanded greater volume. The comrades were doing their best but they were pretty elderly – almost as old as the Farage crowd in Clacton on Tuesday – and did not have as much puff as in the old days. Some wore 'Free Palestine' badges.
There were old men with rat's-tail haircuts and trendy spectacles, grannies with purple fringes, an implausibly tall oddball in a cycling helmet and an acidic little chap, well-spoken and prosperous-looking, who had a Grunwick solidarity badge. He started ranting at me for being a member of the filthy Right-wing press. More than once he walked away before returning with 'and another thing!'. He was quite the cross Hector.
You start to understand why Mr Corbyn spends so much time talking to his supporters about 'peace' and 'uniting our society'. Some of them are incorrigible ankle-biters.
