The spat between Branson and Corbyn started when the latter travelled on a three-hour train trip via Virgin Trains, promptly running into a problem that plagues most of us each day: no seats. Whats an MP to do
Freelance filmmaker Yannis Mendez, who had been following Corbyn for his campaign, filmed footage of the MP sitting on the floor, where he described the lack of seats as a problem many passengers face .
Today this train is completely ram-packed,” Corbyn said in the video, which first aired on The Guardian. The staff are absolutely brilliant, working really hard to help everybody. But the reality is there are not enough trains, we need more of them and theyre also incredibly expensive. That is why our policy to bring the trains back into public ownership, as part of a plan to rebuild and transform Britain, is so popular with passengers and rail workers.”
It certainly wouldnt be the first time he was been spotted slumming it with us sardine style in public transport.
George Osborne insists on first class seat on a standard class ticket. Jeremy Corbyn stands on the night bus. pic.twitter.com/iPytg8AGt8
” Chris Brosnahan (@ChrisBrosnahan) August 2, 2015
But he failed to take stock of one important factor ? if your reputation is on the line then theres no way youll take such comments lying down. The founder has never been slow to fight off attacks, just take a look at the “dirty tricks” war he won against British Airways. Branson waded into this conversation as well by tweeting CCTV pictures which may now brand the MP a, well, liar.
Mr Corbyn & team walked past empty unreserved seats then filmed claim train was ram-packed https://t.co/R5hawIpQek pic.twitter.com/22t8EkjW5l
” Richard Branson (@richardbranson) August 23, 2016
According to the CCTV images, Corbyn recorded the video message 30 minutes into the journey before finding himself a seat one of the many alleged unreserved seats he walked past before filming took place.
The train operator said it was puzzled why he failed to find unreserved seats when he boarded the train ? “they’re right next to him.
The issue has sparked quite a lot of debate. Several passengers have come to Corbyns aide saying they were in the same dilemma. It also came to light that Corbyn had wanted to sit with his wife, but upon not finding two unreserved seats next to each other, decided to sit in the corridor instead.
A spokesperson for Corbyn also maintained they were looking into whether Virgin Trains had breached Information Commissioner’s Office data protection guidelines by releasing the CCTV. TSSA general secretary Manuel Cortes even went so far to accuse Virgin of being “disingenuous”.
Continue to hear Tarry’s amazing comeback.
To make matters worse, Tarry took it upon himself to brand Branson a tax exile at a recent rally. He claimed the bigger story was that a tax exile of more than ten years had decided to lay into Corbyn on social media in a very public way.
Branson is literally laughing all the way to the bank at the British taxpayers’ expense,” he said. “In the last year this chap has made some 53m directly from the taxpayer.”
He further suggested Branson was merely upset about Corbyn’s plans to renationalise the railways so he’s having a little pop at us. I’d just say that’s very indicative .
On the flip side, many have claimed it was a PR stunt on Corbyns behalf. Ex-shadow culture secretary Chris Bryant said: Everybody has had to sit on the floor on a train at some point but for Corbyn to go and pretend will get up peoples noses more than anything.
I thought the whole point of Corbyn was that he doesnt use spin. But this stunt could have been invented by Lynton Crosby.
The sentiment was echoed by those beyond the politics sphere. Simply Red singer Mick Hucknall said: Unsurprising. Glib, simplistic propaganda tops the list of the Corbyn agenda. Devoid of real practical solutions.
Its also resulted in some fabulous articles. Take, for example, a piece by John McTernan from The Telegraph: Rule 1 of spin is Don’t lie . Of course, sometimes you may feel that you have to make something up. This is where Rule 2 comes in Don’t get caught. In politics, the truth doesn’t have to be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, it just has to be a defensible truth . Which leads directly to Rule 3 Remember that people will fight back if their reputation is at stake. Yesterday, as Traingate unfolded, it was clear that Jeremy Corbyn and his team had broken all three rules.
And then some genius settled on the argument of last resort. The line is now Corbyn may have lied but Branson doesn’t even live here! But when you decide to play the man not the ball you had better be sure that you pick on the right man. Survey after survey shows that Branson is one of the most respected businessmen in Britain. Politics is, at base, about public opinion – and, in the end, the public get to decide what they think. So, when a man who thinks he is a bearded saint attacks a man who the public think actually is a bearded saint there is only one outcome further defeat for Corbyn.
Whatever the case may be, we’ll leave you with words from singer Alison Moyet.
Corbyn sitting-on-train-floor photo may’ve been stage-managed but every single commuter knows truth of modern train travel.
It’s the reality” Alison Moyet (@AlisonMoyet) 23 August 2016
Elsewhere on the Richard Branson home front, an interview at Summit 2016 with Sage CEO Stephen Kelly saw him on stage, where he discussed chasing the impossible and how he overcame his darkest day.
