Jeremy Corbyn

[url= http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/sep/01/labour-jeremy-corbyn-chuka-umunna ]What do we think of this then?[/url]

An olive branch from the right now they've woken up and smelt the coffee, or a cynical attempt by a career politician to keep a shadow cabinet post? I suspect the latter but think it's probably no bad thing. If the labour party are to avoid implosion they'll need a lot more like Umunna to swallow their pride and accept what the membership wants.

What do we think of this then?

I said previously that I doubted a huge amount of hostility towards Corbyn from the Parliamentary Labour Party should he become leader.

Sadly few are conviction politicians and as career politicians they just go with the flow. I expect most will declare that they fully embrace the party moving to the left.

After all they had no problem at all denouncing for years every single bit of privatisation carried out by the Tories before preforming a complete political somersault upon the arrival of a new leader and agreeing with him that the Tories hadn't privatised enough and more privatisation was required.

EDIT : I said it better imo a couple of weeks go here :

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/jeremy-corbyn/page/27#post-7108917

I expect most will declare that they fully embrace the party moving to the left.

I, for one, welcome our new socialist overlord.

I, for one, welcome our new socialist overlord.

See, the opportunists are already crawling out of the woodwork.

Alex, why are the headline points unique to Corbyn, other than creating a natty headline? It's rare to find a link between headlines and the content of the article let alone a link to facts these days. Nothing unique to Corbyn.

So let's take another headline - Corbyn is a conviction politician (apparently). So much conviction that

- rather than resigning from a party whose policies he so frequently opposes, he merely rebels and sits on the sidelines. Why no Robin Cooke moment? Why indeed...actually the whole inner democracy sham is a great diversionary tactic, no wonder some love it so much!

- already showing willingness to compromise in NATO - why? Pragmatism, he knows that there (his words) wasn't "an appetite as a whole for people to leave."

- err, I'll wait a bit before abolishing the monarchy

- err, agree with Dave, let's wait until we understand the state of the EU before we decide yes or no

So as pragmatic as the next man. But "conviction" makes a much better headline. He'll be smartening his dress sense next......

As always, watch what they do, not what they (or the headline writers) say...

What's that THM, he'll be smartening up his dress sense? I give you:

[url= http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/Jeremy_Corbyn/11832674/Jeremy-Corbyn-ditches-trademark-vest-in-makeover-as-he-prepares-for-power.html ]Corbyn makeover[/url]

Phew....next step will be learning how to tie a bow tie! 😀

Tie he can already, bow tie (well he can already as can everyone as it really is a rather simple knot).

[img] [/img]

teamhurtmore - Member

....rather than resigning from a party whose policies he so frequently opposes, he merely rebels and sits on the sidelines. Why no Robin Cooke moment?

If you mean Robin Cook the former Foreign Secretary, he didn't resign from the party. Like Jeremy Corbyn he rebelled and went to sit on the sidelines, or to be more precise the backbenches.

In fact you could say that Robin Cook had a "Jeremy Corbyn moment".

Here he is to the left of Jeremy Corbyn while making that famous speech condemning the Labour government's drive to war :

[img] [/img]

Good point. I stand corrected. Ignore the Cook reference.

Main point stands however.

Well if your main point was that Jeremy [s]Cook[/s] Corbyn isn't a conviction politician then good luck with that one, I think you're going to struggle.

[quote=ernie_lynch said]Well if your main point was that Jeremy Cook isn't a conviction politician then good luck with that one, I think you're going to struggle.

Jeremy who ? 🙂

Well if your main point was that Jeremy Cook isn't a conviction politician then good luck with that one, I think you're going to struggle.

Jeremy Cook? Who's he? Is he the bloke between Robin and the Michael Parkinson tribute act?

But as for struggle, you are correct again. The headline is much easy to swallow that the reality. A real man of conviction, not a hint of compromise or pragmatism anywhere.

Thanks allthepies. Both names starting with the same two letters didn't help 🙂

A real man of conviction, not a hint of compromise or pragmatism anywhere.

I don't really understand your point. You think "a real man of conviction" isn't pragmatic and doesn't compromise?

Renationalisation of railways and energy companies
Replace tuition fees with student grants
Increase the top rate of income tax
Withdraw from Syria
Stop cuts to public services

Is this list correct re Corbyn's policies? What do we have in Syria?

Either way I love the response on this thread to outofbreath, who rudely questions the validity of Corbyn's policies! Perhaps you have all moved beyond the question of policies and it is now platitudes instead.

I'd like to see Ernie turn his socratic irony onto the policy "Stop cuts to public services" which appears to have vaulted any number of preliminary questions to arrive at a satisfyingly neat slogan.

Even after looking up what socratic means I still didn't understand your post bainbrge.
On the plus side I'm quite relaxed about it......I'm sure it's not important 🙂

BTW if you want policies beyond "Stop cuts to public services" bainbrge how about Corbynomics?

According to the Daily Telegraph Citigroup's chief economist is calling on Corbynomics to save the world from recession :

[url= http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/11831426/Citigroup-braces-for-world-recession-calls-for-Corbynomics-QE-in-China.html ]
Citigroup braces for world recession, calls for Corbynomics QE in China[/url]

Ernie, genuine smile at your response. I think Socratic irony works best when your interlocutor believes your ignorance is genuine. I am unable to suspend my disbelief at you not knowing what Socratic irony is!

re Corbynomics, not extreme. Great FT article on it recently. However, application in an economy with vast reserves (China) different to that in a more constrained economy (UK). I think Corbynomics links many of the policies listed above, i.e that borrowing by government is better because supposedly cheaper. Hence supports nationalisation argument as well as stopping public services cuts. To an extent this is true and is one of my objections to PFI, however it ignores reality, i.e the 'puke point' of those we ask to lend to us.

I suppose the above is summarised by the 'someone else's money' argument often levelled at socialism.

rather than resigning from a party whose policies he so frequently opposes, he merely rebels

Why resign? It's a one-shot statement that everyone else just nods and and carries on regardless. You can't change it if you're not in it. As we may be about to find out. Or to put it another way, you'll never win if you give up.

already showing willingness to compromise in NATO - why? Pragmatism, he knows that there (his words) wasn't "an appetite as a whole for people to leave."

You can't force the majority to follow your lead if they don't want to. How can anyone criticise him for this?

No wonder politics is such a load of bollocks if all the electorate want is George W Bush style crusaders.

I've not read this in a while but things must be getting serious. Thm has cracked open the bainbrge login and is getting confused as to which pseudonym should be referencing the FT every 2 minutes! 😆

😀 no really 😀

actually the whole inner democracy sham is a great diversionary tactic, no wonder some love it so much!

No

then I have NFI what you're on about

anyone else?

konabunny - Member
then I have NFI what you're on about

anyone else?

I suspect bainbrge will! 😆

anyone else?

You made THM look a fool by pointing out how ridiculous his comment was so he felt compelled to deny that was what he meant.

Since it was what he meant he couldn't give an alternative explanation.

HTH

THM doesn't like having to explain what he actually means, for some reason he thinks it sounds more convincing when it's a vague mysterious waffle (maybe he's right).

😀

[KonaB - an extraordinary coincidence.]

[url= http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/sep/09/labour-closes-ballot-helpline-leadership-election-deadline ]http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/sep/09/labour-closes-ballot-helpline-leadership-election-deadline[/url]

Is it just me, or is the Labour party indulging in a whopping case of strategic incompetence so that the result can easily be challenged and overturned at some point in the not too distant future? Something tells me that had Burnham or Copper been leading in the polls everything would be running like clockwork. On a related note Mrs Daz didn't get her vote until yesterday, she contacted all the leadership and deputy candidates directly via email about it, and guess who were the only ones to reply?

Is it just me, or is the Labour party indulging in a whopping case of strategic incompetence so that the result can easily be challenged and overturned at some point in the not too distant future?

I think you're crediting the labour party with a level of scheming they're presently actually incapable of. I don't doubt for a second that the incompetence is for real. They couldn't run a bath.

Thats not to say that it won't be used to mount a legal challange. One that will be bound to convince the whole electorate that the labor party really are the future, and the country would be safe in their hands.

Meanwhile, while they all bicker between themselves, the Tory party will probably privatise air, and coral every unemployed person in the country into a massive workhouse, run by G4S, to package parcels for Amazon

Good of Ed Milliband to sod off and not show any leadershio through the election process.

Have to say I really do worry for Corbyn's health if he wins; the attacks from all sides are going to be relentless. He might wish he never stood and be happy to leave after a year or two.

Good of Ed Milliband to sod off and not show any leadershio through the election process.

Well he never demonstrated any before he resigned, so why start now?

Anyway.... as the polls close, heres probably the highlight of the campaign from channel 4 news last night

[url= https://video-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hvideo-xpl1/v/t42.1790-2/11941713_10153205005281939_1161407692_n.mp4?efg=eyJybHIiOjY2NiwicmxhIjo4Njh9&rl=666&vabr=370&oh=69446aca3fd6d0042cadfc8dd27f5f09&oe=55F17CB3 ]Rumbled![/url]

😆

He did well not to say anything in the face of that questioning - well trained!

The poll has closed 🙂

I don't really understand why that's a big deal surely all the parties send people to watch what the others a saying? If they don't then they should.

Heck Premier League football clubs often send managers or coaching staff to watch other matches.

I don't really understand why that's a big deal surely all the parties send people to watch what the others a saying?

+1

More likely he was there to try and disrupt the event in some manner. Seemed to leave rather quickly for someone who was just there to observe.

Maybe he was a genuine Corbyn supporter and didn't want his tory mates to see that he was there! 🙂

Probably there on behalf of his Llamas to report back on Jezza's thoughts.

MSP - Member

Seemed to leave rather quickly for someone who was just there to observe.

Aye, if it's all perfectly innocent and normal why did he run like a flushed fox? He certainly didn't like being spotted.

And so the Panto draws to a close with new actors entering stage left...

...will the sequel be as entertaining?

will the sequel be as entertaining?

What difference does it make to you........surely someone with immense intellectual status as yourself is above such frivolous nonsense?

🙂

Careful THM, the posse will be circling before you know it.