Who Is Jeremy Corbyn? Obama Mentor Who Adviser Labour Discusses UK Election Results

Who is Jeremy Corbyn and how did he send such a shockwave through global politics? Millions of people around the world are asking that question as UK election results appeared to show stunning gains for the Labour Party less than a year after the Brexit vote. I tried to find some answers by calling up community organizer Arnie Graf, who worked for Saul Alinsky’s political apparatus and was an early mentor to Barack Obama. More recently, Graf was hired as a special adviser to the UK Labour Party during the post-Tony Blair years when it found itself in the political wilderness. During his time working for the party, Graf said that Labour — like the U.S. Democratic Party — had become completely alienated from the working class. He contextualized the Corbyn surprise, and what it may mean for the future of global politics in this populist moment.