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Ancient and modern

What Tiberius could teach Jeremy Corbyn about democracy

Labour’s new boss knows everything about claiming the high ground and nothing about the art of the possible

26 September 2015

8:00 AM

26 September 2015

8:00 AM

The virtuous Mr Corbyn is insisting that New Old Labour should return to its traditional republican ways and take decisions ‘democratically’. The emperor Tiberius (ad 14–37) tried this one and it did not work.

The first Roman emperor Augustus agreed to his stepson Tiberius’ accession only because death had cheated him of all his preferred options.

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