Alastair Campbell comes under fire for his magazine’s ‘homophobic’ depiction of Owen Jones

A split screen of Alastair Campbell and Owen Jones


Former New Labour spin doctor Alastair Campbell is facing a backlash after tweeting his magazine’s attack on Jeremy Corbyn and his allies. The latest New European front page depicts the Labour leader and four of his allies along with a wreath to “Corbynism”. Of the five figures, journalist Owen Jones is the only one depicted as crying. Manmy, including Jones, have accused the cartoon of being “homophobic”:

Scary politics

Campbell, who helped to set up the pro-Remain magazine, is now its editor-at-large and a regular contributor. He proudly tweeted about “another packed” issue of the magazine and warned against Jacob Rees Mogg’s “scary” politics:

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Yet it was his magazine’s own scary politics that came under fire:

And even his fans were “disappointed” by the New European‘s “homophobic” front cover:

https://twitter.com/KLEvans__/status/1029777821613400064

Stereotyping

The magazine displays Jones crying, which the journalist pointed out is “one of the oldest homophobic tropes in the book”.

But the editor of the New European, Matt Kelly, defended the cover. He told the LGBTQ+ website Pink News that the allegation of homophobia is “wrong”:

https://twitter.com/TheNewEuropean/status/1029835635731980301

Some pointed out that Kelly’s perception of Jones as a “tantrum throwing cry baby” was unbelievably “crass”:

And Evolve Politics made a powerful point about who should define homophobia:

Have they blown it?

In a video entitled The cowardly media, the Artist Taxi Driver launched a savage attack on the New European‘s stance:

He stated it’s:

mimicking the Daily Mail, the daily racist. This is just disgusting … are you homophobic, is that what this is?

He went on to argue that if the New European seriously wants to stop Brexit:

support Jeremy Corbyn. Bring down this despicable Tory government and it will be finished.

The Conservatives are leading the UK into a disastrous hard Brexit. Corbyn’s Labour is the only feasible alternative to this. Yet the New European seems more intent on attacking Corbyn than Theresa May’s shambolic government. And the accusation that they “blew it” seems very odd, considering Labour’s lead in the latest polls:

Another cog in the machine

Corbyn’s former adviser Matt Zarb-Cousin brilliantly noted that the New European‘s moral high ground of being against Brexit seems to have led it to think it can “get away with bigotry”:

Jones argues that the New European‘s middle-of-the-road persona appeals to very few people. And he says it’s critically important that these “Trumpian” tactics aren’t allowed to stand:

The New European paints itself as a progressive publication. Yet its attack on Corbyn and his allies, using the bigoted tactics of the UK’s deplorable right-wing media, has shown in to be just another cog in the establishment machine.

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