'An Embittered, Tragic Figure': Time To Get 'Obsessed' Austin Some Help?
Former MP Ian Austin has again raised concerns over his dubious state of mind, after sharing posts by Zionist zealots, including clearly untrue statements about Israel by ‘journalist’ David Collier and by disgraced ex-spokesman for Netanyahu Eylon Levy.
Levy had already been suspended from his job at the time and has recently been sacked for what amounts to a litany of misdeeds including sharing fake videos.
The demented Collier insisted, in respect of Gaza: “For the 1000th time. There is NO genocide and NO famine. There is just a bunch of Hamas supporters wearing press jackets and lots of Western politicians and journalists who have completely lost their way”.
Austin shared this despite his own government calling on Israel to allow vital aid into Gaza to tackle the famine, despite the daily reports of children starving to death. Despite the pictures.
The obvious truth also makes no difference to Levy, who ridiculously claimed that Israel was allowing ‘unlimited aid’ into Gaza ‘faster than the UN can deliver it’. After which it presumably just vanishes into thin air?
Even the US recognises the deaths and famine being caused by the desperate shortage of food in Gaza. Ian Austin, it appears, does not.
Indeed, Austin displayed a photo on his profile featuring a placard saying ‘Let Israel Finish The Job’ – after the start of Israel’s assault on Gaza…
And this week – despite the International Court of Justice, the highest court in the world, ordering Israel to stop actions in Gaza that amount to genocide – the war-hungry former MP is arguing that the UK should keep sending Israel the arms to do just that. For some reason he also appears to think stopping sending arms to Israel would mean UK troops would 'lose vital equipment'
MPs from 12 countries have demanded their governments cease arms sales to Israel, and several have already stopped; indeed, continuing to supply them could leave the UK open to legal action for complicity in genocide – the UN stated weeks ago that:
“Any transfer of weapons or ammunition to Israel that would be used in Gaza is likely to violate international humanitarian law and must cease immediately”
International law, and basic humanity, must be alien concepts to the Israel-obsessed peer, who even seems to agree with crazed Rabbi Shmuley that Israeli lives are worth more than UK, and obviously Palestinian, lives.
Austin yet again made himself look a total fool recently, playing the victim online, instead of owning up to and apologising for his racism.
To agree with ‘no genocide’ claims after 32,000 civilian deaths, and Israel’s declared intention to cause even more, beggars belief, and must surely be the product of a state of mind that fails to recognise reality. Such instability can only be a dangerous thing in a man who works for the government as Trade Envoy to Israel?
It’s well past time to ask: “Should people who can do so by making sure Austin gets the help he so obviously needs for his mental health issues act now?” He seems to be making things worse for himself by his continued involvement in politics – perhaps someone ought to encourage him to take a step back?
The increasingly hysterical peer of the realm is currently setting his sights on the countrywide pro-Palestine marches for a ceasefire in Gaza – oh, and George Galloway of course, who seems to be vying with Corbyn for top place in the Austin-obsession stakes. Naturally, this is being done hysterically, with scant regard for truth, using a combination of spite and outright lies.
Austin recently wrote in the Mail (where else?):
“An appalling alliance of Islamist extremists and hard Left cranks and conspiracy theorists is poisoning our politics and undermining the values on which our democracy and way of life depend.
The streets of London and other cities and towns are being taken over every weekend by so-called marches for peace.
I’ve been to watch some of them. I didn’t see a single sign condemning the Hamas terrorists whose atrocities triggered the conflicts or any banners calling for the hostages they kidnapped to be released.
I did not have to look very far for banners calling for Israel to be abolished, and October 7 showed us what that would mean: the slaughter of its citizens. Foul posters compare Jewish religious symbols such as the Star of David to the swastika or Israeli leaders to Hitler”
With his usual lack of regard for the millions who disagree with his bloodthirsty stance, he dismisses those who march for Palestine as ‘naive young people and foolish old Lefties’ and their demands for a ceasefire as ‘virtue-signalling’.
And he claims the marchers ‘pretend not to hear the disgusting chants around them’. Possibly because they only exist in his troubled head…
Former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell MP recently said he doesn’t take much notice of ex-MP Ian Austin anymore in a stinging put down on Sky TV, where he said Austin suffers from ‘an obsessive hatred of Jeremy Corbyn’.
Austin used his time on TV to deliver what amounted to a rant against Corbyn, the ‘hard-left’ and ‘Islamists’; to excuse the recent actions of Israel, whom he adores, in Gaza; and to call for the sacking of co-interviewee John McDonnell from Labour - a party Austin left years ago after continued complaints about his behaviour.
McDonnell, who seemed more saddened by Austin’s condition than ‘rattled’, calmly dispatched claims that he should be kicked out of Labour, as he went toe-to-toe with his former colleague claiming Austin has "an instability in him".
Although the erratic behaviour goes back decades, things look as if they have become worse for Austin since he latched on to Jeremy Corbyn in recent years as a target for his increasingly far-fetched rantings. One commentator agreed his condition is worsening, saying ‘as time passes, the less and less afflicted by sanity he appears’.
The same commentator also pointed out that in 2019 ‘Austin invited himself to the fringe of the Labour Party Conference in Brighton, hoping to contrive a public scene making Corbyn look bad, by ranting about supposed ‘anti-Semitism’ from under a neon anti-Corbyn banner. That did not turn out too well either, as a Jewish grandmother and local councillor from Highbury stepped in and gave Austin a public trashing to his face while the cameras rolled’
The writer even admitted in 2019 ‘I am starting to feel almost faintly sorry for Ian Austin. The mental contortions he has to put himself through to maintain this loud anti-Corbyn stance must be both tiring and painfully dizzying. He does what he does, not because he really cares about ‘racism’ in any form of course. Instead, it is an all-but-open secret that he is a Zionist, and he knows that if Labour win the Election, Corbyn will be a pro-Palestinian Prime Minister. Preventing that outweighs all other considerations for Austin’.
Last month Austin was sacked from his job on the Board of a social housing association, Midland Heart, after posting a deeply unpleasant and racist tweet attacking Muslims as ‘Islamists’, following his appearance on Sky.
True to form, he blamed his sacking on ‘the hard left’ and ‘Islamists’ rather than on his own racism, playing the victim in a revolting piece published by the Times days later.
Even now, he says he has not apologised and does not think he was wrong, claiming he did not delete the tweet: “to apologise or because I thought I was wrong”. Which he clearly didn't; although any right-thinking person would realise what they wrote was disgraceful, and apologise for it fulsomely...
Austin said in the Times piece: “A leading figure in the housing world called Lara Oyedele commented on my tweet by saying: “Imagine if someone else wrote this and replaced Islamist with Jewish!”, which suggests that all Jewish people are extremists” (As he himself suggested about Muslims in his tweet)
“The deliberate misrepresentation of my words resulted in huge abuse and threatening messages. Midland Heart and its staff were harassed too” (the housing association received complaints, as did Inside Housing, including a call by the former president of the Chartered Institute of Housing for Lord Austin to step down from his position as chair of Midland Heart.)
“Its senior managers ask me to delete the tweet. I agreed to do so and to post a clarification. I did not do so to apologise or because I thought I was wrong, but to try to prevent further criticism of the organisation” (more about criticism of Ian Austin than Midland Heart, many thought)
“Despite that, the board met on Thursday and I was shocked to be told they had decided my position was untenable. On Friday I was told the board would be meeting to remove me. I saw later on Twitter that I had been suspended”(he was aware of his sacking before it appeared on social media).
“It is really shocking to see hard-left campaigners and extremists trying to drive people out of their jobs — and it is terrible that serious organisations allow themselves to be forced into it” he whined, again refusing to acknowledge that his own racism was the main reason Midland Heart didn’t want to be associated with him.
In a previous display of racism Austin even verbally attacked national treasure, Jewish writer Michael Rosen, in Parliament, then followed up his thuggish behaviour just six months ago by accusing Rosen of talking about himself and his near death from Covid, too much.
Austin's recent appearance on Sky TV served as a platform for his vitriolic attack on Corbyn and the 'hard-left', as he brazenly backed Boris Johnson's leadership. His disparaging remarks not only deepened existing fault lines within Labour but also highlighted his pattern of political opportunism and betrayal of his former party.
Sky was purportedly discussing the sacking of Labour candidates Azhar Ali and Graham Jones for alleged ‘antisemitism’ (both criticised Israel, not Jewish people), which offered a great opportunity for Austin, never known to pass up the chance for a spot of Corbyn-hate, to justify the peerage the Tories gave him for ‘services rendered’.
McDonnell's characterization of Austin as "an embittered, tragic figure" resonates deeply within Labour circles, reflecting widespread disdain for Austin's defection and subsequent actions. His alignment with the Tories and relentless attacks on Corbyn have further alienated him from the party he once served.
However, Austin's controversial history within Labour well predates his departure from the party; marked by incidents of heckling, false claims, and alleged abusive language, from clashes in the House of Commons to disciplinary investigations, Austin's behaviour consistently sowed division and discord within the party ranks.
As well as within Labour, his dealings with Tories could be described as ‘unusual’ even for a supposed opposition MP; they include a 2013 late-night social media rant at Conservative MP Greg Hands, when Austin was accused of being drunk during a heated Twitter row over the resignation of Labour MP Ian Mearns as PPS to equally unknown MP Ivan Lewis.
His behaviour and constant self-publicising was roundly taken to task in 2018 by journalist Glenn Greenwald, who responded to Austin’s whining over being asked to explain irregular expenses claims connected to his house by reminding the man: "You're a f*cking member of Parliament, you pathetic, self-pitying infant. If you don't want to be criticized by journalists, go find another job. Seriously: your whining and self-absorbed victimhood is nauseating. The real victims are your constituents". Ouch.
The hapless has-been even merits an entire section on Wikipedia devoted to his conduct, simply titled ‘Behaviour’ – which reveals a pattern of increasingly odd and abusive behaviour. Even currently-former Tory, loudmouthed extremist Lee Anderson doesn’t merit a whole section!
The extensive list – long, even for a brazenly outspoken MP - reads thus:
Austin was reprimanded by the Speaker of the House of Commons for heckling during Prime Minister's Questions on 18 October 2006, and he was subsequently described by David Cameron as one of Gordon Brown's "boot boys". The following week he was rebuked again by the Speaker for comments made towards the Conservative benches.
On 1 June 2012, Austin apologised after falsely claiming a Palestinian human rights group, Friends of Al-Aqsa, had denied the Holocaust happened in an article he wrote on the Labour Uncut website in 2011. He accepted the material of which he complained had been produced by an unconnected individual.
In June 2014, Deputy Speaker Dawn Primarolo told Austin to apologise after he referred to Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood as an "idiot".
In July 2016, Austin was reprimanded by the Speaker of the House of Commons for heckling Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn by shouting "sit down and shut up" and "you're a disgrace", as Corbyn criticised the 2003 invasion of Iraq in his response to the publication of the Chilcot Inquiry.
In July 2018, Austin was put under investigation by the Labour Party for allegedly using abusive language towards the Party Chairman, Ian Lavery. General Secretary Jennie Formby dropped the inquiry in November, although Austin did receive a reprimand from the Chief Whip.
On 17 March 2022, Austin and The Daily Telegraph apologised to former Jeremy Corbyn staffer, Laura Murray, and agreed to pay her "substantial damages" (£40,000) for suggesting she was an “anti-Jewish racist” and part of the “vile anti-Semitism of Corbyn's Labour”. They accepted there was no basis to the claims and that Ms Murray had in fact "devoted significant time and energy to confronting and challenging antisemitism within the Labour Party"
On 22 February 2019, Austin resigned from the Labour Party over a supposed 'culture of extremism, antisemitism and intolerance' and became an independent MP. His resignation was the same week as The Independent Group was formed, but Austin’s views on Brexit, among other things, precluded his joining the ill-fated ‘Tiggers’.
On 19 March, MPs passed a motion by Labour to remove Austin, as well as Independent Group MP Mike Gapes, from their seats on the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, held as part of the Labour Party's allocation. Austin – naturally - said Jeremy Corbyn wanted "to boot me off this committee because I stood up against racism", while Labour said it was right the party filled its allocation of seats on the committees.
In July 2019, Austin was appointed Prime Ministerial Trade Envoy to Israel by Theresa May – nevertheless, he still confusedly denies ‘being given a job by Tories’ or indeed ‘working for Tories’.
In September 2019, Austin piped up in an emergency debate proposed by Jeremy Corbyn – in order, of course, to criticise him. Labour MP Liz McInnes, sitting on a backbench behind Austin, told him to "go sit somewhere else" in anger at his comments. Later that month he continued this pattern of increasingly hysterical, self-publicising behaviour towards Corbyn, when he turned up outside the Labour Party conference with a large mobile billboard stating Corbyn was unfit to lead the party or country.
Austin launched the pressure group Mainstream UK, in front of a banner reading "Jeremy Corbyn: Unfit to Lead the Labour Party, Unfit to Lead the Country". The group described itself as "a new campaign designed to encourage a return to respectable and responsible politics, and to banish extremism from British politics once and for all". During the 2019 general election, Mainstream paid a lot of money for targeted adverts attacking Labour's taxation, spending, and nationalisation policies. The group disappeared as soon as Corbyn stepped down…
In November 2019, Austin said he would not stand in the December general election, and advised his constituents to vote for the Conservative Party “to stop Jeremy Corbyn becoming Prime Minister”. Ten days before the general election, Labour supporters and members received a Conservative Party promotion via Royal Mail, a letter from their formerly Labour MP in which Austin urged Labour voters to vote Conservative. The letter claimed the addresses had been obtained from the Register of Electors – however that register does not include party affiliation; only Labour’s membership/campaign database, barred to ex-Labour MPs, contains this information...
Austin's successor, Conservative Marco Longhi, won the seat with a majority of 11,533, defeating the rushed-in Labour candidate Melanie Dudley – the first time Labour candidate had lost the seat since its creation in 1997.
Austin was given a life peerage in Boris Johnson's Dissolution Honours list in 2020, along with other vocal Corbyn critics Frank Field and John Woodcock, as well as Labour Leave-associated figures Kate Hoey and Gisela Stuart.
Now Baron Austin of Dudley, he sits as a non-affiliated life peer. ‘Baron’ indeed!
Were these things not sufficient to indicate something severely wrong with his thinking, let alone his personality, these are just a few more examples of Austin's increasingly disconnected behaviour - starting with the now-deleted: "That Daniel Blake Should Get A Job" tweet...
But, seriously; Although of course a media organisation would not presume to offer a diagnosis, looking at current psychiatric opinion on mental health issues, Austin fulfils a lot of the characteristics involved in several Personality Disorders, as can be seen from the below; perhaps it is time for the poor man to get some help?
Far be it for us to suggest the existence of a potentially damaging personality disorder – what we do suggest is that people who do have the necessary psychiatric expertise should be consulted as a matter of urgency. Quite apart from making himself almost universally hated or at best pitied, the man is harming himself as much, if not more than, others, and should be given the help he needs to overcome his problems.
Ian Austin's descent into political obscurity is a cautionary tale of betrayal, obsession and opportunism, and his relentless vendetta against Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party only served to deepen divisions and undermine the principles he once purported to uphold.
His toxic rhetoric and divisive actions have alienated him from his former colleagues and cast doubt on his fitness for public office; questions linger about Austin's true motives and the legacy he will leave behind in British politics – if ever he actually does leave it.