Jeremy Corbyn was heckled with cries of “Karl Marx” from the Tory benches at prime minister’s questions (PMQs) today.
After the Labour leader said he had been consulting the great philosophers for meaning in the prime minister’s position on Brexit, MP James Cleverly joined in jeers.
“Mr Cleverly, calm yourself. You’re imperilling your own health man, which is a source of great concern to me”, the speaker, John Bercow, said.
Corbyn has previously spoken up in admiration of the philosopher, most recently during the Labour leadership contest, when he said “we all owe something to” Marx, who had “analysed what was happening in a quite brilliant way”.
It is not the first time the Labour Party has cited philosophers at PMQs.
In his first weeks as shadow chancellor John McDonnell quoted from Chairman Mao’s ‘Little Red Book’ and gave a copy to George Osborne.
Today, however, Corbyn instead cited Baldrick, a character from the BBC’s Blackadder.