Corbyn would inject the substance so disastrously missing from the current contest. - Owen Jones

Jones was its foremost advocate and proponent. He was thrilled by Corbyn’s against the odds victory. He predicted and then witnessed at first hand the cruel ferocity of the assault upon Corbyn from within and outside the Labour party and defended him to the hilt. Now he faces the political crisis of a lifetime. The leader whom he defends will lose the battle that matters. What if his staying silent about this means, if only by default, that Owen Jones helps the Tories turn the country into "a jingoistic, foreigner-hating free market colony"?

Some within Labour want to establish a year zero, which simply consigns the last five years to a dustbin labelled "Never to be repeated", but while that might suit factional ends, it advances no debate about the party's future in an era of unprecedented social turmoil. The need for a transformative political agenda is far greater now than when Corbyn first stood: but without a balanced understanding of the last five years it will prove impossible.

All opponents of trans rights are on the wrong side of history, just as history has imposed harsh and unforgiving judgments on those who opposed gay rights in the past. The rights of gay men, lesbians and bisexuals were won by building coalitions, ranging from trans people to 'cis' straight people. Solidarity – based on the principle of "an injury to one is an injury to all" – is a precondition of social change. Trans people must be the key voices in the struggle of emancipation. To be an ally is to listen and learn.