Jeremy Corbyn.

[Herr Tubthumper]

Seriously? Our next PM wears long black socks with shorts and is known as ''Jiz'' ?

I'm going to bed

Rather this than loafers with no socks

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...x-pas-including-20-loafers-Spain-holiday.html

 

[XYZ123]

A Labour party that elects a left wing leader having just been defeated by an outright majority victory by the Tories is counter intuitive and may render the party obsolete come the next general election. It will, however, make politics interesting in the intervening period.

 

[beorhthelm]

Well I'm a member and I'm quite happy. The bottom line is Corbyn won fair and square. It's our party, not the modernisers.

is it not the modernisers party also? as a member, one i recall supported Miliband and before him Brown, i have a question: do you believe in the original aims and purpose of the Labour party, the Labour movement, or joined as a member as its the left wing option in the UK? i ask as it seems to me that Corbyn's tenure will be defined by how the party answers this question. seems an awful lot of the current MPs are there for the latter, while apparently the membership is there for the former.

 

[burrish-gull]

Yes Bliar did amazing things he sent innocent people into a war and they lost their lives over WMD that never even existed, what a hero he was for that.

Blair made Mrs Thatcher look like Mother Teresa......

 

[Eeyore]

The Labour Party has elected a Socialist as a leader ? What would John Wesley, the Rochdale Pioneers and the Methodist movement have thought of that ? Shock horror.

 

[heathgate]

The Conservative campaign against Corbyn already begins.

I personally find this level of propaganda campaign quite troubling - especially when you consider it has the backing of the majority of the press.

In democracy we should be having open, honest discussions about policies. Not.. this.

http://x.mail.conservatives.com/ats/msg.aspx?sg1=f93f29ddbe1cfcf88488aaf1073ba547

In a democratic system I guess anything goes, this is part of an open discussion surely?

 

[Medwayseagull]

Is this a record length of thread for a politician ?

 

[melias shoes]

I think many have the same views/feeling. I feel i could never vote Labour again.

I know how you feel.

 

[melias shoes]

"Jez we did". .

Yes he did but No they won't. It was like being transported back to the 70s yesterday. Really can't see labour getting power anytime soon.

 

[Kuipers Supporters Club]

Yes Bliar did amazing things he sent innocent people into a war and they lost their lives over WMD that never even existed, what a hero he was for that.

Sigh. Yes Iraq was awful, but he did a lot of good things within the UK, he was only able to do them as he compromised with the electorate.

 

[essbee]

Notice that you don't counter any of Costello's points. If you can't then its probably a good time to start worrying.

I was only addressing the first point he made. Kind of covers his other points.

 

[Bladders]

It's not counter-intuitive though, it makes perfect sense. New Labour tried to beat the Conservatives at it's own game and lost terribly.

It makes perfect sense to elect a hugely popular left-wing leader who will genuinely stand to oppose the Conservative ideology. It makes perfect sense to tune into the feelings of the electorate, by winning back old traditional Labour voters and moving the party forward to win over the young, while offering a real alternative to swing voters.

The right-wing press will continue to report this as being a disaster for the foreseeable future. The following years will see Corbyn attacked from all angles... but it will take something incredible to stop his popularity from growing,. If trends continue he will win the 2020 general election convincingly.

It makes perfect sense too old lefties who are loving their moment in the sun.

However in reality the party who claims the centre ground wins General elections these days. The populous goes through trends of either slightly left or right of centre but the country as a whole is not going to swing massively to the left, especially not for Jeremy Corbyn.

 

[Simster]

I think Corbyn's first job is to convince the middle England (that he needs to win over) that socialism isn't a dirty word. Personally I get tired of reading about "socialist utopia" from the usual tory suspects, as if we're talking about Kim Jong Un's regime.

I've never been a socialist but am prepared to believe it could work. It has done in Scandinavia, for example. I just don't believe that an economy of near 60m people can be sustained entirely on service industry and the only people who seem truly committed to regenerating our manufacturing base are committed socialists.

I'm not saying I believe in it yet, but I do want to hear more.

 

[Bry Nylon]

Interesting piece on the radio a minutes ago.

Labour politician saying the reasons Labour lost the last election is because they weren't trusted on the economy, immigration and foreign policy. "It's like we offered the electorate egg and chips. They didn't want it so now we are offering them double egg and chips..."

A few class warriors, hard-left activists and the benefit 'take everything, contribute nothing' underclass in Labour inner-city safe seats might be bang up for the Corbyn agenda; but I can't see it resonating with the crucial floating voters in a the few marginal seats Labour need to win back.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

I'm one of those who has said that a Corbyn labour party will never win a general election (and I would prefer a labour government). I listened to Jezza's acceptance speach this morning. The first thing I notoced (never having heard him speak previously, apart from when the Irish R5 bloke mugged him on the phone a week ago) is how natural and sincere he sounds. He is no shakey son of Blair, with nothing to offer apart from warm tory lite. And what he said was . . . inspirational. I do worry about what I read about his fondness for alternative medicine (or 'alternative to medicine' as I call it: homeopathy) but otherwise he's sincere and sounds like an honest and honourable man. And practical (unlike the lovely old bookish Michael Foot).

At the end of the last century Francis Fukuyama wrote a book called the end of history, claiming that the stable democratic systems we now have are entrenched, and contagious and we will never have any major change again, and China and Russia will follow suit into easy democrasy. Then we had the rise of rebellion, and Islamic militancy. China will always be China, and democrasy isn't a feature of their thousands of years old history. But no more change? Humans aren't like that. Go to the new big cities in China - it is not America (democratic) but it is not rice bowls and horses and carts. Urban life there is transformed. Change happens, and it is not predictable.

Like Castello (above) I now have no idea what will happen in 2020. But I do know that Campbell is not loved, and Boris (the likely successor) is weaselly and blustery, and has nothing new to say. The apathetic young voters may get excited about Jezza just as the young got excited about Obama, and actually go out and vote. He could win.


Politics is the art of the possible, but the vision thing we have experienced since the last Blair government has become uninspiring and untrusted. On reflection, I was uninspired by the other 3 candidates (Burnham seemed the best prepared, and has been gracious and engaged after defeat), and felt they would offer no rivetting alternative to the Tories. And I worry about creeping privatisation and the slow dismantling of the NHS (no tory really approves of socialised medicine). And all the dismantling of a national state education system. And the cold hearted response to the chaos in Syria. Maybe people will be attracted to Jezza's very clear socialist agenda. And despite myself, I'm actually quite excited about this.

I've thumbed you upwards because I too hadn't heard Corbyn speak until his victory speech and I agree - he came across extremely well and most importantly, sincerely. I do need to pull you up on your criticism of homeopathy though. It can work ( I've personally experienced it ) and I get fed up of people that think the only good medicine is the version handed out by NHS doctors and equally annoyed at people that claim only homeopathy works. The NHS should be offering a mixture but of course politics prevents that.

 

[Tony Meolas Loan Spell]

All I will say on the matter is that corbyn offers a genuine alternative now. Its going to be fascinating stuff. If nothing else whether blue or red you need a strong oppostion to keep you in check and potentially at least corbyn offers this.

In my time I have voted labour, tory and green (although i would say i am more politically right of centre than left) so im all ears personally.

 

[Beach Hut]

I think Corbyn's first job is to convince the middle England (that he needs to win over) that socialism isn't a dirty word. Personally I get tired of reading about "socialist utopia" from the usual tory suspects, as if we're talking about Kim Jong Un's regime.

I've never been a socialist but am prepared to believe it could work. It has done in Scandinavia, for example. I just don't believe that an economy of near 60m people can be sustained entirely on service industry and the only people who seem truly committed to regenerating our manufacturing base are committed socialists.

I'm not saying I believe in it yet, but I do want to hear more.

Right everyone gather round the camp fire, raise the red flag and start signing that song or should it be things can only get better

 

[Dandyman]

I think Corbyn's first job is to convince the middle England (that he needs to win over) that socialism isn't a dirty word. Personally I get tired of reading about "socialist utopia" from the usual tory suspects, as if we're talking about Kim Jong Un's regime.

I've never been a socialist but am prepared to believe it could work. It has done in Scandinavia, for example. I just don't believe that an economy of near 60m people can be sustained entirely on service industry and the only people who seem truly committed to regenerating our manufacturing base are committed socialists.

I'm not saying I believe in it yet, but I do want to hear more.

Good point about manufacturing. The Tories for the last 30 years seem wedded to finance capital to the exclusion of any idea of productive industry. Corbyn may have a few surprises up his sleeve.

 

[Blue Valkyrie]

Genuinely don't know, but can we all kiss goodbye to leaving any legacies to our children under Corbyn ?

 

[Simster]

Right everyone gather round the camp fire, raise the red flag and start signing that song or should it be things can only get better

The analysis of a simpleton. Well done.