Maybe’s desperate gamble and Corbyn, the dark horse

As Britain goes to the polls tomorrow Labour candidate, Jeremy Corbyn is the dark horse. His energy is infectious. And his tactic, although simple, confounds his once overoptimistic opponent, Prime Minister Theresa May.



May’s surprise April U-turn was cleverly meant to be a punch below the belt. And for the Tories it seemed like a walkover, until Corbyn’s ‘X’ (value) unsettled and blew them off course.



Jeremy Corbyn’s unrelenting metamorphosis into the game is astonishing. Even though the Tories’ disastrous manifesto and generally uninspiring campaign inadvertently provided the ammunition, Corbyn’s methodology was from the outset clearly pragmatic and appealing.



Strikingly contrasting May’s media shy, often robotic approach he impressively opened up and fielded questions from journalists and the electorate. And with each response he increasingly came across as an amazingly principled and sincere politician that has been distressingly misunderstood and pilloried.



In the aftermath of the defeat of the Remain camp in last year’s referendum an increasing number of Labour supporters hoped for his resignation like former Prime Minister David Cameron. But they were disappointed when he managed to cling on.



Prior to the referendum he’d been dismissively presented as unelectable; a spectre that continued to hover over him and define almost everyone’s impression of him. This image, exaggerated by the media and re-echoed again and again was what, perhaps, informed the Prime Minister’s decision to call a snap election and smother the opposition.



But that decision has turned out to be a desperate gamble because it has given him an uncommon opportunity to appropriately rebrand and re-present himself for a fair reassessment, triggering a rethink. Now, even those who once pilloried him are willing to give him a chance.



From the get-go he stepped into the ring like a determined pugilist, forcing May to repeatedly duck and dive. He wanted a head-to-head debate, but wobbly May opted for out and about, reading scripted speeches and parrying questions. He wanted to talk about the NHS, education, the economy, national minimum wage, security and much else; she rather wanted Brexit and her now stale ‘strong and stable’ appellation.



Apparently, things have since then veered off, beyond her control. She has since found out that on the table are more pressing issues and her bids to evade them have only plummeted her job satisfaction score, as opinion polls repeatedly suggest.



As the campaign draws to a close today and we cast our votes, Corbyn, whether in victory or in defeat, will be remembered for injecting life into what would otherwise have been a lifeless process.



More than ever before young people, the elusive voters, have been galvanised by his momentum and challenged by his sincerity. And if the impetus is not derailed by any unforeseen factor they may be the X value in this election; with an army of energised one million 18-24 year olds further giving Corbyn’s bid a seal of credence bookmakers may once again be trumped. Fingers crossed.