The Jeremy Corbyn thread

[Ernest]

. I reckon he could eat a bacon sandwich in a really odd way and still see a ratings rise.

Or even a cone of chips

 

[Gwylan]

I think we are now seeing that Corbyn is a good campaigner who likes a crowd and is battled hardened after two years of being on a war footing. Therese May was basically gifted the Conservative leadership.

Ultimately Corbyn needs to gain seats. Stacking up votes to finish a plucky second in Conservative safe seats and prop up the vote share is nice but takes us no nearer government.

I was thinking this just the other day. Corbyn inherited a Labour marginal and in 30 years has made it a safe seat. He won the leadership election, against all the odds, and won again with a massive majority - the guy loves elections and loves campaigning.

May, on the other hand, has one of the safest Tory seats in the country - she needs to do zero campaigning there. She was handed the party leadership without having to fight for it and now finds herself, at 60, in a tough electoral contest, having had no real campaigning experience - it's no wonder Corbyn is getting the better of her.

She'll still win, however. Labour has too much ground to make up. She'll increase her majority too ... but not by the 100+ seats she was expecting.

 

[Hastings gull]

Yeah. People kept saying "Corbyn's unelectable". Which as a pure fact was wrong as he had been elected: both by his constituency as their MP and by the Labour party as their leader. When this error was pointed out people would usually respond with "Yeah, but he won't appeal to the country at large. He can't win the Big One"

Which is precisely what people said about Donald Trump ...

Fascinating way of looking at this! The Labour Party was infiltrated by 250,000 odd paying their £3.00 to get Corbyn elected by the then increased membership. That is not quite the situation you are trying to portray.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Fascinating way of looking at this! The Labour Party was infiltrated by 250,000 odd paying their £3.00 to get Corbyn elected by the then increased membership. That is not quite the situation you are trying to portray.

You are quite right.

However . . . . once again he is smashing tonight's debate.

Only very recently in a howl of anguish I argued for all labour supporters to vote anyone but labour to get Corbyn out. It is very hard for me to revisit that now. As [MENTION=25]Gwylan[/MENTION] said, labour won't win, and the tory majority will likely increase . . . . .but . . . .

Still. . . . I wonder what may happen if the feckless yoof get off their whiney entitled arses and vote? I wonder what . . .

 

[Gwylan]

Fascinating way of looking at this! The Labour Party was infiltrated by 250,000 odd paying their £3.00 to get Corbyn elected by the then increased membership. That is not quite the situation you are trying to portray.

That was only for the first election: the £3 membership didn't apply for the second and he won that by an even bigger majority

 

[Green Cross Code Man]

I've never voted Labour before, but I like the air of dignity that Corbyn shows.

 

[warmleyseagull]

I've never voted Labour before, but I like the air of dignity that Corbyn shows.

It is the air of dignity of a man who neither nor cares of the realities of life. Good job if you can get it but PM requires a degree of real politik that he simply doesn't get.

 

[Hastings gull]

That was only for the first election: the £3 membership didn't apply for the second and he won that by an even bigger majority

Yes, that is true, and I was being somewhat flippant. But the point is, of course, that the Labour Party was infiltrated by several hundred thousand Corbyn supporters in a quite deliberate move to take over the party and force a surge to the left.

 

[Green Cross Code Man]

It is the air of dignity of a man who neither nor cares of the realities of life. Good job if you can get it but PM requires a degree of real politik that he simply doesn't get.

Well, that is an opinion. I am not convinced by either labour or the tories. None of them know what they are doing imo.

 

[Hastings gull]

I've never voted Labour before, but I like the air of dignity that Corbyn shows.

Yes, I think that this is fair comment -he does indeed show some dignity, though he was not above trying to interrupt others tonight, despite having said that it is important to listen.

 

[warmleyseagull]

Well, that is an opinion. I am not convinced by either labour or the tories. None of them know what they are doing imo.

Nor am I because the reality is that there are forces out there that are greater then any government's ability to deal with them: I give you: Chinese debt levels (unmanageable, will cause a worldwide asset crash at some time in next few years); Greece debt financing (no one will take a hair cut but they ain't ever going to repay, Euro in doubt); demographics (doubling the number of over 80s in next 15 years); AI (will bring about a huge reduction of low skilled work); Brexit (many uncontrollable and unforeseeable ramifications).

No government can even begin to think about the longer term ramifications fo above because as soon as they do, the opinion polls go against them. The Conservatives were brave to admit that social care is unaffordable but their solution was ham fisted (it actually was not blunt enough) and now, if we believe OPs, they are suffering as a result. And this is a minor thing in the panoply of problems we face.

The reality is that we as an electorate do not wish to face down hard decisions, tough consequences, Far easier to borrow another £100bn or so and let the next generation pay for it. TM Is nearly as bad as JC in this respect, just not quite as bad.

 

[Not Andy Naylor]

It is the air of dignity of a man who neither nor cares of the realities of life. Good job if you can get it but PM requires a degree of real politik that he simply doesn't get.

Mother Theresa's idea of realpolitik is to say whatever she thinks the electorate wants to hear and then change her mind when they don't like it. The 'which way would you like me to lead you?' style of leadership ...

 

[beorhthelm]

I was thinking this just the other day. Corbyn inherited a Labour marginal and in 30 years has made it a safe seat. ...

Islington North has been Labour since 1930's with massive majorities.

 

[Kalimantan Gull]

I was firmly Corbyn out a year ago, firmly of the belief that he had ****ed up the referendum by being a closet leaver, hoping he's get hammered and disappear...

..but by damn he is winning me round, a man of conviction is rare in politics, someone who doesn't bend with the wind but is true to his beliefs, and someone who is enjoying being given so much time to espouse his beliefs and explain his thoughts. It is also helping him being compared to May day-in day-out, the archetypal example of a politician built on soundbites and no substance, and whose Strong and Stable campaign slogan became a thing of ridicule in no time at all..

meanwhile the Tories have kept poking fingers at Corbyn, saying look at this man, can you imagine him as PM, and so we've looked, and looked, and the more we look the more there is to like

and so finally I am actually hoping he will win and become PM. I never thought that day would come

 

[Soulman]

Islington North has been Labour since 1930's with massive majorities.

I take my hat off to JC then, taking over a marginal seat in the 30's and making it a safe seat.

 

[Horton's halftime iceberg]

Ha the Tories are worried, they have tried Stable and Sturdy, and tonight all their people being interviewed were just saying Fantasy Money Tree, even the culture secretary said if its s hung parliment we will see a goverment of chaos. They are just hoping to win by defualt, espeically Rudds chilling 'when you stand in the voting booth by yourself' they are clearly just hoping to mop up the UKIP vote to get them over the line.

Thought JC, Caroline and Fallon all came across well. Wonder what the viewing figures will be.

 

[Machiavelli]

Nor am I because the reality is that there are forces out there that are greater then any government's ability to deal with them: I give you: Chinese debt levels (unmanageable, will cause a worldwide asset crash at some time in next few years); Greece debt financing (no one will take a hair cut but they ain't ever going to repay, Euro in doubt); demographics (doubling the number of over 80s in next 15 years); AI (will bring about a huge reduction of low skilled work); Brexit (many uncontrollable and unforeseeable ramifications).

No government can even begin to think about the longer term ramifications fo above because as soon as they do, the opinion polls go against them. The Conservatives were brave to admit that social care is unaffordable but their solution was ham fisted (it actually was not blunt enough) and now, if we believe OPs, they are suffering as a result. And this is a minor thing in the panoply of problems we face.

The reality is that we as an electorate do not wish to face down hard decisions, tough consequences, Far easier to borrow another £100bn or so and let the next generation pay for it. TM Is nearly as bad as JC in this respect, just not quite as bad.

I must read your stuff more often, because you've got such a firm grasp of reality.

 

[HH Brighton]

It is the air of dignity of a man who neither nor cares of the realities of life. Good job if you can get it but PM requires a degree of real politik that he simply doesn't get.

Whatever people think about him most people think he cares about the realities of life. It's ignorant people like you that hold up the Tory vote.

 

[warmleyseagull]

Whatever people think about him most people think he cares about the realities of life. It's ignorant people like you that hold up the Tory vote.

Exactly, they THINK he cares. How do you know what I vote, think the ignorance is yours.

 

[lawros left foot]

Yes, that is true, and I was being somewhat flippant. But the point is, of course, that the Labour Party was infiltrated by several hundred thousand Corbyn supporters in a quite deliberate move to take over the party and force a surge to the left.

As a opposed to the dozen or so right wing Tory MPs, who's flirting with UKIP, persuaded Cameron to hold a referendum on our membership of the EU.