Jeremy Corbyn for Labour leader?

[Nick]

Corbyn v. Cameron at PMQs will be fabulously entertaining.

[Barman]

The Labour Party simply has no place in modern Britain. It is a relic of times past and should be consigned to the dustbin. 

That does not,  however,  detract from the fact that this country desperately needs a strong - and credible - opposition party.  Left alone to do as they please, the Tories will undoubtedly fuck things up.

Agreed...

[Grumpmeister]

The problem is that there isn't one and unless something changes dramatically there won't be one at the next election either. Look at who we have now, for all their bluff and bluster anyone with a brain south of Hadrian's Wall knows that the SNP has one aim only - to rinse the rest of the UK for all it is worth and the rest of the parties don't have the muscle or the competence to accomplish anything.

 
 

[Steve]

The Labour Party simply has no place in modern Britain. It is a relic of times past and should be consigned to the dustbin. 

That does not,  however,  detract from the fact that this country desperately needs a strong - and credible - opposition party.  Left alone to do as they please, the Tories will undoubtedly fuck things up.

Agreed...

yes and no IMHO

For all his faults Blair's NewLabour saved us from 5 more years of horrendously disfunctional mid 90s Tories just like CallMeDave rescued us from the Gorgon. 

By 2020 if the Tories do OK enough I dread what George "you're all in it together" Osborne or Teresa "really am making this up" May would foist on us with no credible opposition.

And if the Tories have effed up then Nick could have gifted us the horrors of life under Corbyn.

Evenly matched Tory and Labour parties dragging each other towards the centre is what we need.

If only Chukka had stood

[Nick]

Chukka withdrew because of the dirt the papers have on him for his links with some VERY dodgy financiers

[Steve]

Chukka withdrew because of the dirt the papers have on him for his links with some VERY dodgy financiers

 


 

[Nick]

"more time with his family" excuse...............

[Steve]

"more time with his family" excuse...............

he never said that

more like didn't like the press trying to get the dirt from old boyfriends of his new squeeze.

[Nick]

Nothing to hide, nothing to fear

[Barman]

Nothing to hide, nothing to fear

 

[Barman]

The Labour Party simply has no place in modern Britain. It is a relic of times past and should be consigned to the dustbin. 

That does not,  however,  detract from the fact that this country desperately needs a strong - and credible - opposition party.  Left alone to do as they please, the Tories will undoubtedly fuck things up.

Agreed...

yes and no IMHO

For all his faults Blair's NewLabour saved us from 5 more years of horrendously disfunctional mid 90s Tories just like CallMeDave rescued us from the Gorgon. 

By 2020 if the Tories do OK enough I dread what George "you're all in it together" Osborne or Teresa "really am making this up" May would foist on us with no credible opposition.

And if the Tories have effed up then Nick could have gifted us the horrors of life under Corbyn.

Evenly matched Tory and Labour parties dragging each other towards the centre is what we need.

If only Chukka had stood

Well, blaming Nick isn't entirely rational given the apparent huge lead that Jezza has in the polls.... It is clear that thousands have taken advantage of the £3 deal...

And I don't see the attraction of the centre... We have had three parties that are barely distinguishable from each other on their main policies. While they all  talk of different things and while the opposition shout and scream in the Commons that the Tories support the rich or whatever where are the differences...? Where is Austerity...? Where is the bonfire of the quangos? Where is there evidence that we are moving towards smaller government...?

I'd like to see Jezza win.... not because he would consign Labour to the dustbin of politics either... While (IMHO) he offers the politics of the asylum he is eloquent and passionate about socialism. It might be a good thing to have a hard left opposition led by powerful speaker like Corbyn... Wouldn't PMQs be interesting if the opposition was arguing for something different - not just arguing that the PM was wrong or had made a mistake...? It might actually allow (or force) the Tories more to the right which wouldn't be a bad thing IMHO...

And if he promises everybody a pony and they put him in power (quite a likely event) then so be it... it might be the reset that we need.

[Barman]

PS the stupidity of the average English voter cannot be underestimated....

You only have to listen to their squeals of delight at the return of the Great British Bake Off or the X-Factor... Or see the shite that they post and share on FaceAche which can be debunked in seconds... or see people that have had their account phished by the promise of seeing a video of some singer with her tits out - I despair... 

And there are clearly hundreds of thousands, probably millions of them that believe you can have a 'living wage', cheap nationalised utilities and yes, probably a free pony too just by 'taxing the rich'...

So yes, Corbyn could come to power... but the path there will be one of the most interesting in British politics for many years.

[Nick]

I want to see him get the job for several reasons:

TO make PMQs and news programmes more entertaining
To wipe the smug look off the faces or Cooper, Burnham, Kendall et al
To highlight the massive stupidity of Liebour in setting up such a voting system which some of them now want to cancel as it is delivering the "wrong" result 
To watch Liebour tear itself apart and possibly split into new parties (SDP style)

[Barman]

I want to see him get the job for several reasons:

TO make PMQs and news programmes more entertaining
To wipe the smug look off the faces or Cooper, Burnham, Kendall et al
To highlight the massive stupidity of Liebour in setting up such a voting system which some of them now want to cancel as it is delivering the "wrong" result 
To watch Liebour tear itself apart and possibly split into new parties (SDP style)

Good points well made! 

[Steve]

The UK electorate certainly has its faults.  As I've often said we get the politicians we deserve and so so many people vote on the basis of either "what's in it for me now" or "they can't be as bad as what we have now"

But the May election went against that, when it came to the polling booths many people voted for what they saw as credible.

As an ardent centrist/floating voter I just don't get this allegation that they are all the same.  OK so the days of one side posturing to ditch the NHS and the other to nationalise everything have gone - surely that's good. 

The last election was fought on two areas.  Welfare and Financial credibility.  And while the latter may seem dull it is very important to people whether they have a job and in the end the most credible party won even with a very vindictive line on welfare.

If you really think they were all the same see here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election/2015/manifesto-guide

Corbynism threatens to overturn this.  He is a fundamentally dishonest politician with his promises to adopt a whole raft of socialist ideals and still tell people they would be better off.  In power he would take us right back to 1978 misery.  Worse he is manifestly an ineffective politician, with him at the despatch box the Tories can abandon their more moderate elements and become very vindictive.