The far-left’s online bullying tactics were on display again yesterday, after a 23-year-old had the temerity to write a blog on Labourlist.

The far-left’s online bullying tactics were on display again yesterday, after a 23-year-old had the temerity to write a blog on LabourList.

Jade Azim, who works for the left-wing think tank IPPR, wrote that a split has opened up on the left between “younger activists attracted to radical ideas around dismantling neoliberalism”, and “older, more beleaguered activists who have always organised on a marginalised left.” Or, “Lansmanites versus cranks,” as she helpfully labels them. Agree with her analysis or not, it’s pretty clear who the “cranks” are she refers to – they tend to helpfully identify themselves online through their continued use of #JC9, in protest against Momentum’s decision to drop Peter Willsman from its NEC slate over his rant about the Jewish community.

Instead of taking on her arguments, the far-left decided to prove Azim’s point by redefining the term “crank” as a mental health slur, as opposed to someone obsessed by a particular issue, and attacking her for its usage.

Skwawkbox, who recently tweeted about “the Jewish war against Corbyn,” published an article which questioned Azim’s credentials as a “left wing activist,” based on her support for Owen Smith in 2016. At no point in her article did she claim to be or to have always been a Corbyn fan. Despite having attacked Azim for using the term crank, it turns out the hypocrite regularly attacks his critics as “having a mental disorder.”

Member of Labour’s Conference Arrangements Committee, Seema Chandwani, is definitely not a crank, and has tweeted or retweeted about Azim’s article 28 times in the past day just to prove it (in case her aggressive support for Peter Willsman after his rant about Jewish “Trump fanatics” wasn’t evidence enough).

Scott Nelson, the former UKIP supporter who was expelled from Labour after antisemitic tweets about M&S and Tesco’s “Jewish blood,” tweeted from his account ‘Socialist Voice’ that Jade Azim is a Blairite (she’s soft left), had written a rancid article (again, he tweeted about “Jewish blood”), that “she cannot be trusted,” and “if she can’t handle being challenged then she should keep her opinions to herself.”

Others described her as “a racist enemy of Jeremy Corbyn and all his supporters,” posting a picture of Azim next to Britain First’s Jayda Fransen. Not only did Azim not criticise Corbyn in her article, she praised Momentum for acting “swiftly and effectively.”

It’s a common refrain from the far-left that they are inspiring more young people to get involved in politics. But if this is their reaction to someone putting their head above the parapet and expressing an opinion, they will drive those young activists away.