ON MAY 20 2017, a music festival took place at Tranmere Rovers’ Prenton Park stadium in Birkenhead which would produce one of the defining moments of Labour’s 2017 general election campaign.

With less than three weeks to go before the election itself, Labour rallies were being held across the country and the labour movement was continuing to grow exponentially at grassroots level.

“There’s someone special here to talk to you,” announced Jon McClure, lead singer of Reverend and the Makers who were just a couple of slots behind festival headliners, The Libertines.

“Ladies and gentleman, Mr Jeremy Corbyn.”

Sandwiched between Reverend and the Makers and Wirral natives The Coral, the leader of the opposition emerged to a rousing ovation befitting of a headline act.

It certainly wasn’t a welcome usually associated with a British member of parliament in a public place, but the cheers for the Labour leader could be heard around the stadium and beyond.

“I love football, I love sport and I want it for everybody,” enthused Corbyn as he took the lead from McClure.

“Those very wealthy clubs in the Premiership, pay your 5 per cent so we’ve got grassroots football for everyone!”

Corbyn, who had attended a Labour rally in the nearby town of West Kirby earlier in the day, then went on to speak about the importance of encouraging creativity, music and the arts. 

Just as he did, the gathered masses began singing “Oh Jeremy Corbyn” to the tune of The White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army,” a melody regularly adapted to songs sung by football fans across the country.

Corbyn’s speech and the accompanying chant from the crowd went viral. It is now widely considered a major moment in the 2017 election, and therefore the wider labour movement given what the eventual result represented. 

It was an election in which Labour made a net gain of 30 seats and its highest vote share since 2001, all of this on the back of a socialist manifesto.

Engaging with the grassroots movement was a key facet of Corbyn’s leadership of the party, as it has been throughout his 37 years as the Member of Parliament for Islington North. 

And his mention of grassroots football was fitting, given this is where the “Oh Jeremy Corbyn” chant responsible for sending that moment at Prenton Park viral has its roots.

It was around this time that City of Liverpool FC were coming to the end of their debut season with one cup already in the bag, another final on the way and the possibility of promotion via the play-offs.

Supporters were in high spirits, and one of the songs that emerged during this period was the one dedicated to Corbyn which eventually swept the nation in the run-up to the election.

City of Liverpool FC videographer Jason Morland has footage of the fans singing it during the League Challenge Cup final against Barnoldswick Town on May 16 in Fleetwood, four days before the gig at Prenton Park.

“I remember the song blaring out that night and at games before that,” says Morland. 

“I felt immense pride and hoped Jeremy would hear about it somehow, especially seeing as he was getting battered from every direction at that time, including by many in his own party.”

It is apt that a grassroots club with community and supporter involvement at its core played such a big role in this moment, and Corbyn would indeed go on to hear the song many times.

It became part of an installation of hope and socialist ideas which swept the nation during his spell as leader of the opposition between 2015 and 2020, and will now continue in communities around the country regardless of who leads the party.

“This song was getting sung a good few matches before the final at Fleetwood, mainly by the supporters in the Shed End,” adds Purps supporter Gary Waller. 

“In that final against Barnoldswick, we were taking a bit of stick with the usual anti-Scouse taunts. 

“When you hear these chants they come across as Tory shouts, so we retaliated with the Corbyn chant. That was the first time I’d heard it en masse.

“Even when we were walking out of the ground after winning the trophy we were still chanting Corbyn’s name, much to the amusement of the local constabulary.”

A song which started life in the Shed End of City of Liverpool FC’s home went on to reverberate around the nation.

Corbyn’s links to the club were further strengthened in June 2018 when he visited one of their Football For Everyone sessions, which offer support to refugees and asylum-seekers in the local community. 

The name of these sessions echoes the words spoken by Corbyn in Birkenhead, that sport and football should be for everybody: “I want a country where everybody can play sport if they want to, every child can learn music, and society is brought together by that.”

After stepping down as leader of the Labour Party Corbyn leaves behind a legacy at grassroots level, both culturally and politically, which will be vital for the future of the movement.

This type of growth within communities will be important when looking at what is to be done going forward, and the real leaders of the opposition will now include the millions of people who sang Corbyn’s name simply because they believed in his values and ideas.

Corbyn may no longer be Labour leader but he remains one of many leaders in the socialist labour movement, and an honorary title or role awaits him at City of Liverpool FC.