Saying that Jeremy Corbyn didn’t bow during Remembrance Sunday isn’t lying – it’s even worse than that

I didn't vote for Corbyn to be Labour leader, but I still find it hard to believe how much his critics are creating an alternate reality around him, and actually believing in it

Scottish National Party's Parliamentary Group Leader Angus Robertson, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn (centre) and British Prime Minister David Cameron attend the annual Remembrance Sunday Service at the Cenotaph (Getty Images)

Something happened during this year's Remembrance Sunday that has never happened before. A discovery was made that will send shockwaves through the science community – the existence of a parallel universe, visible only to people who don't like Jeremy Corbyn. In this alternate reality, the Labour leader disrespected Britain’s war dead during the ceremonies, and didn’t bow his head after laying a wreath at the Cenotaph.

After looking deep into this ideological wormhole, Corbyn's critics lined up to comment on what they had seen. "A modest tilt of the head was all that was required," wrote The Daily Mail's Robert Hardman. "No one was expecting to see the Leader of the Opposition bend at the waist, Japanese-style, like some obsequious head waiter, let alone full genuflection. A respectful nod would do. For whatever reason, it was not forthcoming."

The Labour MP and ardent anti-Corbynite Simon Danczuk was also outraged.“By not paying respects properly," he said, "Jeremy is distracting attention away from our strong Labour campaigns against this Tory Government's harsh policies, like tax credit and policing cuts.”

These sentiments were shared on Twitter by a number of users:

Yet if you watch the video, it clearly shows Corbyn walking up to the Cenotaph and bowing as he lays his wreath. It's not the biggest bow, but it's definitely a bow (by definition, it's a bending of the back or head). Is the angle he makes with his head really something that we're supposed to be measuring in this situation?

To say Corbyn didn't bow is absurd, although as a piece of political propaganda it's genius. If someone told you that you didn’t have a head, you'd be so confused that you probably wouldn't even be able to begin to challenge it. I mean, where do you even begin? How do you prove to someone that you have a head, when they're looking at you and repeatedly saying that you don't?

Lying isn't the right word to describe such claims. It's more self-deception, and part of the alternate reality many of Corbyn's critics are operating in now. It's the universe in which Corbyn thinks the death of Osama Bin-Laden was a "tragedy", when he was actually referring to the extra-judicial way in which he was assassinated.

There are plenty of valid criticisms to be made of the Labour leader, and many of them are why I didn't put him as my first preference when voting in the party's leadership contest. But what's the harm in sticking to reality?

I don't think anyone who has said Corbyn didn't bow is actively trying to deceive anyone (although if I'm wrong do let me know!). It's more worrying than that. It seems that Corbyn's critics might actually believe that he didn't bow. They might actually think he's that disrespectful. If so, we are through the looking glass. As the video shows – along with all the photos of him staying behind to applaud veterans – he clearly has a great deal of respect for veterans and Remembrance Day.

If you want to criticise Corbyn then fine. But if you want people to take you seriously when you have a valid criticism of a politician, then calling a bow a bow will help. We're all guilty of living in our own realities, clouded by ideology. The left can be just as guilty of it as the right. But as the saying goes, you're entitled to your own opinions, but not your own facts. And sometimes you've got to put ideology to one side, and bow (or nod) to the truth.