Jeremy Corbyn had 'tantrum' when he discovered he didn't have an electric battle bus, book claims

Jeremy Corbyn had a tantrum when he discovered he didn't have an electric election battle bus, a new book has claimed.

The former Labour leader was said to have grown disgruntled after travelling to Liverpool to for the unveiling of the party’s battle bus, only to discover that it was run on diesel.

An aide said Mr Corbyn had a “tantrum” after the discovery and text staff to say: “I see the [diesel] bus appears which I hope does not get too many negatives. As soon as rest of grid and operation notes are available can I get them so I can know a week ahead what is being planned and other requests that may appear can be factored in.”

His annoyance was said to be fueled by the fact that Jo Swinson, former leader of the Liberal Democrats, had an electric battle bus.  In Labour’s manifesto the party had promised to outlaw diesel busses by 2030.

In response Marsha Jane Thompson, an aide in Mr Corbyn’s office, said: “Once we win we can mandate investment in electric buses!”

According to the book Left Out: The Inside Story of Labour under Corbyn, Ms Thompson then contacted the senior management team WhatsApp group to say: “JC unhappy that lib dems have an electric bus.”

As a result Mr Corbyn had to travel the country by train, which meant phone reception was unreliable.  It was suggested that his lack of access to schedules and ‘grids’ during the campaign became a sticking point for the former leader, who began to insist he be dialed into conference calls at the start of each day, despite his large workload.

One aide said:  “He just wouldn’t drop the stuff about the diary and dialling onto the calls.

“It was his way of trying to regain control.”

An aide added: “He came onto the call every morning asking for his diary.”

The book also notes that as the campaign neared the end some aides came to the conclusion that Mr Corbyn, who was often late and appeared to overstay at events, was destroying his own campaign.

Meanwhile, following an incident where it is alleged that Mr Corbyn’s wife, Laura Alvarez, insisted he made her an oatcake with honey while he was being filmed by ITV in Stoke with a local candidate, the book claims that his office decided he had come to rely on his wife as an “emotional shield".

After Ms Alvarez refused to move when two aides intervened she is said to have told them: “I’m trying to make him happy and you’re stopping it.”

His wife would also be the catalyst for forming an unlikely alliance with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex after meeting at the annual Commonwealth Day service on March 9 at Westminster Abbey.

Ms Alvarez allegedly slipped the couple a book of verse by the 17th century Mexican poet Juana Inés de la Cruz, an outspoken nun who was made a target for calling others out.  The next day, the Sussexes sent a signed note of “great thanks” to “Jeremy and Laura”.