Ubik
Nothing happens until something moves!
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2010
- Messages
- 19,133
Okay good, so we still don't have one and he's just filling in.
he cant form a functioning opposition - surely that is the primary requirement of a leader of the opposition - looking like they could be a better PM than the current PM would of course be desirable but one step at a time eh...Labour have to get rid of devisive Corbyn to unite the party - yesterday a Labour economic debate in the House of Commons had to be abandonded due to a lack of Labour MP's being bothered to turn up.
Shameful disunity and great news for the Tories.
Of course they would be happy if Jeremy got Labour into power - it's not going to happen though, is it? To get into power would require a level of competency and flexibility that his team has failed to show to date, hence this whole mess.Quite simply some of them think the members are the enemy. We've heard it from numerous senior figures now that they feel they've lost the party to entryists and they want their party back. Even if Jeremy got Labour into power they wouldnt be happy at the situation.
Of course they would be happy if Jeremy got Labour into power - it's not going to happen though, is it? To get into power would require a level of competency and flexibility that his team has failed to show to date, hence this whole mess.
he cant form a functioning opposition - surely that is the primary requirement of a leader of the opposition - looking like they could be a better PM than the current PM would of course be desirable but one step at a time eh...
I think the whole country would be better served if 140 MP's who voted against him in the confidence motion set up another party or formed a coalition with the libs and possibly the SNP and became the official (functioning) opposition.
If corbyn wins the election the shambles continues till an inevitable split... if he looses then he would probably slpit off with momentum / some unions to form a new party anyway
They should just get a quickie divorce and try to be amicable for the sake of the party(s)
Of course they would be happy if Jeremy got Labour into power - it's not going to happen though, is it? To get into power would require a level of competency and flexibility that his team has failed to show to date, hence this whole mess.
I don't think Labour are getting close to power any time soon. But I worry that Corbyn is going to doom us to losing the North forever (and then how will ever get a left, or even centre left government? a coalition with UKIP?). We need to try... something, to stop that from happening.Do you really see these back stabbing Blairites after these debacles being able to govern? They will not win any election after this. They are trying to suppress voters.
Of course they would be happy if Jeremy got Labour into power - it's not going to happen though, is it? To get into power would require a level of competency and flexibility that his team has failed to show to date, hence this whole mess.
Just for the record, as this sounds so melodramatic, I don't forever ever, as Andre 3000 would say. But long enough to last the majority of my adult life.I don't think Labour are getting close to power any time soon. But I worry that Corbyn is going to doom us to losing the North forever (and then how will we ever get a left, or even centre left government? a coalition with UKIP?).
Oh dear
Most of those that have shared Corbyn's video are probably people like Sun Tzu who want to vote for Corbyn to split the party so they can form an official opposition that's basically the ideological equivalent of the Lib dems but not the Lib dems....or sumat
I wouldn't actually be totally against this. I want a centre-left party in UK politics that I can vote for, and since the Lib Dems are dead I won't complain if we get another. It sounds odd, but as someone on the centre-left I don't really feel there's a party that represents me at the moment - I won't vote Tory but super lefty Labour aren't my cup of tea either. I mean, it used to be the Lib Dems, but I suspect they're gone forever.
I don't know when or why being on the centre-left became a bad thing.
Really? We've hardly been in the news since he got elected for anything but infighting (obviously, I'm not saying that Jeremy is solely to blame for this). The idea of there having been a consistent, coherent, opposing message to the Tories in the last twelve months seems laughable to me. There's been much more opposition from the SNP and Tory backbenchers than the Labour party.I dont get the argument that he hasn't provided a competent opposition at all. I've taken onboard what some of the MPs have said around poor meetings and a lack of leadership/organisation but i actually think he's done well in his role of providing an opposing voice to Tory policy. Certainly better than Ed ever did.
Last Thursday I met with Nottingham South Labour Party members to explain my recent decision to resign from Jeremy Corbyn's Shadow Cabinet.
Most members weren't able to attend that meeting and many constituents have also been in touch to ask me to explain why I felt it necessary to resign.
With this in mind I thought it would be helpful to reproduce my speech here:
Thank you Chair and thank you all for coming to this evening’s meeting.
I want to talk tonight about the Referendum, and what followed.
Some of you have joined the Party in the last year, specifically because of Jeremy Corbyn: inspired by his values and principles and because he cares about fighting poverty and inequality, about offering hope for the future.
I share those values and principles. I always have, and I hope you have always felt welcome in Labour.
We're here in the brand new Hopecentre. I supported Hope Church when this centre was just an idea. And I've seen this community turn an idea into a reality.
If you know Clifton, you'll know how it has been transformed over the past 8 years. The A453, the tram and the solid wall insulation. Fuel poverty in Clifton South has more than halved as a result of Labour action. Down from from 20.2% in 2010 to 9.4% last year.
We did that by working together and campaigning together, working with the people in this community. We offered hope that things could be better and they are.
There's a long way to go.
There are still huge problems and challenges to address in Clifton, in Nottingham South and across the country. But Labour in power makes a real difference to people facing inequality and poverty - and we could do so much more if we weren't just in power locally but nationally too.
Now let me turn specifically to recent events.
It’s hard to imagine a more turbulent or disturbing 4 weeks in politics.
Just 4 weeks ago, in the midst of a divisive and frankly xenophobic Referendum campaign, my friend and colleague Jo Cox was brutally murdered in the street on the way to her advice surgery. Murdered for standing up for her beliefs and speaking up for what is right.
3 weeks ago, although Nottingham South voted to remain, people in our city, and especially in this community, voted to leave the EU. To turn their backs on our friends and neighbours in Europe.
20 days ago, David Cameron announced that he would be stepping down as Prime Minister and we faced the prospect of a General Election, against a Party led by some of the most right wing Tories ever, and with UKIP buoyed by huge Leave votes in our Labour heartlands, including in places like Clifton.
And 18 days ago, after 9 months serving in Jeremy’s Shadow Cabinet, I resigned.
You all know that last summer I didn't nominate Jeremy, and I didn't vote for him.
I know that Nottingham South did nominate him and that overwhelmingly members across the country did vote for him.
So when he asked me to serve I said yes.
I wanted to make it work and I promise you, I tried to make it work.
In the 9 months I spent in the Shadow Cabinet I never briefed against Jeremy.
I never tweeted what was happening in Shadow Cabinet meetings or spoke to journalists about our private discussions
Whenever challenged, I defended our Party Leader.
I hope you all know that I work hard for my constituents in Nottingham South
I worked just as diligently in the Shadow Cabinet.
Leading the Labour Transport team
Co-Chairing Labour’sTransport Policy Commission.
Holding the Government to account at the dispatch box.
Going on national and local media to speak for Labour, even when it was difficult.
Being a part of the collective decision making in Shadow Cabinet, setting a direction for the PLP in Parliament on challenging issues.
Many of you will know that I'm passionate about transport.
I've been in the Labour Transport Team for almost 5 years.
Becoming Shadow Transport Secretary was my dream job, a huge privilege and I'm extremely proud of the work our team did.
It was fantastic to address our Party Conference last September and be able to pledge that a Labour Government would bring the railways back into public ownership.
That was a policy that would make a real difference to passengers, and I believe in it wholeheartedly.
It was brilliant when we forced the Government to u-turn on their plans to cancel the electrification of the Midland Main Line
And I was looking forward to speaking in the Bus Services Bill, in favour of re-regulating bus services and standing up for outstanding Municipal bus companies like NCT.
So I'd like you to imagine how I felt when, even though I was trying my hardest, it became impossible for me to do my job in the Shadow Cabinet.
Some people have asked me for examples of why that was the case, and I wanted to explain tonight what’s happened over the last nine months as fully as I can.
Rail fares go up once a year on 2 January.
It's the perfect opportunity to show that this Tory Government aren't on the side of working people.
Commuters who've seen their season tickets go up by more than 26% since 2010. Some of whom are paying more for their rail fares than their mortgage. Four, five even six thousand pounds a year.
People who live in Essex and on the Kent coast, in suburbs and small towns, in marginal seats. Many of them are not Labour voters, but they are the people we need to win over.
It is a huge date in the political calendar every year.
We had the opportunity not just to criticise the Government, but to show we had a real Labour alternative. Our flagship policy. One that unites our party.
My staff spent weeks preparing briefing materials for MPs and constituency parties across the country. Trawling through mountains of rail fare information to provide examples of the season tickets that had risen the most and that cost the most. Examples for every MP and CLP.
Like Nottingham to Derby – where the cost of an annual season ticket has risen by almost 30% since 2010.
And over the Christmas period we were listening in to Network Rail conference calls, monitoring the engineering works. Several calls every day including Christmas Day and Boxing Day, even New Years Eve.
On 4 January – a cold dark Monday morning – I was at Kings Cross at 7am doing Radio 5 and BBC TV.
Standing with Jeremy and the Rail Union General Secretaries for the media photocall. It was a crucial day in the Party’s media grid.
And all across the country local party activists were outside railway stations in the cold and the dark, leafleting commuters with the materials we’d prepared. Armed with the briefings and statistics.
Incredibly, Jeremy launched a Shadow Cabinet reshuffle on the same day.
This was the reshuffle that had been talked about since the Syria vote a month earlier. A vote where I supported Jeremy’s position.
The reshuffle that meant all our staff spent Christmas not knowing whether they'd have a job by the New Year.
By mid-afternoon the press were camped outside the Leader's office. They were there for the next 3 days.
It knocked all the coverage of the rail fare rise and our public ownership policy off every news channel and every front page.
I respect completely Jeremy’s right to reshuffle his top team. But why then?
It was unnecessary and it was incompetent.
It let me down, it let my staff down but most of all it let down the Labour campaigners and trade union members, people like you, who had given up their time to go out campaigning for us that morning.
Now I’d ask you to imagine how you would you feel if you agreed something with your boss but he then did something completely different.
Something that undermined you.
Something they hadn't even had the courtesy to tell you about.
http://www.liliangreenwood.co.uk/lilian_s_speech_to_nottingham_south_labour_party_members
I don't think Labour are getting close to power any time soon. But I worry that Corbyn is going to doom us to losing the North forever (and then how will ever get a left, or even centre left government? a coalition with UKIP?). We need to try... something, to stop that from happening.
All polls suggest he's the most unpopular Labour leader in modern history, he hasn't been able to win the support of his MPs, and his use of the media and ability to form and manage a competent opposition to the government has been appalling. Just as bad is the way that his supporters have re-framed this into a debate of ideological purity, against the fictional evil Blairites. That's not helpful for anyone, and I worry that it's already caused enough of a shitstain on cooperation within the party to last a generation. If he wins this election I don't see any upside to the Labour Party, or Britain, in the short or long term. And again, this is coming from someone who voted for him a year ago. I like the guy, but he's been a disaster as leader.
Well the first 2-3 months of that includes Project Abstain.The idea of there having been a consistent, coherent, opposing message to the Tories in the last twelve months seems laughable to me.
Really? We've hardly been in the news since he got elected for anything but infighting (obviously, I'm not saying that Jeremy is solely to blame for this). The idea of there having been a consistent, coherent, opposing message to the Tories in the last twelve months seems laughable to me. There's been much more opposition from the SNP and Tory backbenchers than the Labour party.
Have you read this?
Well I guess I follow politics more closely than the average voter as i'll read up on the live blogs everyday but in what has been a short period of time we've had :
Now after each one of these and after a few there were loads of articles praising him in opposition. It's only since the Brexit discussion took over the airwaves and the subsequent actions of the PLP that this line that he's been poor opposing policy has come into play. If you want me to find articles in the mainstream media showing how vocal he was on all these subjects then i'm happy to do so. The stories on infighting have only come from one corner, they could have equally got behind there leader and championed his successes.
- Tax Credit U-Turn/Disability benefits - i'm sure you'll say it was just the Lords but the leadership were very vocal prior to this and built the momentum. Heck i'm sure i remember some in here complaining he didn't make enough of this victory at the subsequent PMQ
- Saudi prison scandal
- Tampon tax
- Sunday Trading laws
What did Ed achieve in his first year because all I can remember is equally stupid stories about the rift with his brother and some slogans on the energy companies and banks. It's worth mentioning even then there was infighting (not as blatant or public) around the direction of the party.
It's actually because the membership has almost completely changed in the last year.this is going round in circles.
Honesty is a pre-requiste. The PLP have been dishonest, arrogant and willing to disenfrencise members. If the Blairites have been seen as evil, it is because they have behaved so.
The question to ask is do we want people like this to represent us? Rather than say Corbyn has no chance of winning.
...and if the current back stabbers won, what do they offer? I mean other than saying they are not Torries.
The reason they do not have grassroots support, is because they no longer represent the members. Time they left.
It's actually because the membership has almost completely changed in the last year.
And portraying the current lot of backstabbers against Jeremy fecking Corbyn is just laughable. The guy has tried to bring down almost every Labour leader he's served under. He went through division lobbies with Tories over 250 times when Labour were in government.
There is no argument... Opposition party with the most mp's is the official opposition... Though no doubt Corbyn will threaten to go to court if they stick to tradition and stop him getting his arse spanked once a week in pmq'sI can't see Corbyn losing so split it must be....but be prepared for yet another arguement as to who gets to be called the 'Official Opposition'.
It's actually because the membership has almost completely changed in the last year.
And portraying the current lot of backstabbers against Jeremy fecking Corbyn is just laughable. The guy has tried to bring down almost every Labour leader he's served under. He went through division lobbies with Tories over 250 times when Labour were in government.
If PMQs "performance" is all that matters to the PLP get Frankie Boyle in as leader. Actually he's not keen on austerity or bombing the shit out of countries, so he's probably too much of a "trot".There is no argument... Opposition party with the most mp's is the official opposition... Though no doubt Corbyn will threaten to go to court if they stick to tradition and stop him getting his arse spanked once a week in pmq's
Labour have to get rid of devisive Corbyn to unite the party - yesterday a Labour economic debate in the House of Commons had to be abandonded due to a lack of Labour MP's being bothered to turn up.
Shameful disunity and great news for the Tories.
Then you have a mistaken understanding of UK democracy. They represent the constituents that voted for them in a General Election.The way I understand democracy is that elected representatives represent their members. If they have changed, then the PLP should respect that. The alternative is not to take over a party through these 'tactics'. Or they could stand as independents/Torries whatever.
If PMQs "performance" is all that matters to the PLP get Frankie Boyle in as leader. Actually he's not keen on austerity or bombing the shit out of countries, so he's probably too much of a "trot".
Well done, sir.Then you have a mistaken understanding of UK democracy. They represent the constituents that voted for them in a General Election.
Well done, sir.
I'm finding the smugness of the Corbynites about their 'mandate' extremely annoying. I have voted Labour all my life but I have never been a member of the party. I do not care enough about politics to join a party. But I do care about being represented by a party that I identify with. So I vote for Labour, which given the choices comes closest to what I stand for. Every general election, Labour manages to attract millions of voters like me, i.e. non members whose values most closely align with Labour's. These are the people Labour MPs represent in the main: there are millions of them versus the hundreds of thousands of members; they significantly outnumber the party members. Yet, it seems, lofty Corbynite ideals should matter more to the MP's than the interests of the electorate? Would that not be equivalent to abandoning the electorate?
Sure, that's your right. My point is simply that as a party, Labour must also represent the interests of those who voted for MPs besides members. The party shouldn't be just about the interests of the members.To be honest as a Labour member and someone who voted Corbyn last time and is currently planning to vote for Corbyn again I think it's logical to vote for what I believe in rather than what people are telling me everyone else believes in.
Sure, that's your right. My point is simply that as a party, Labour must also represent the interests of those who voted for MPs besides members. The party shouldn't be just about the interests of the members.
Probably because we were spending £100bn a year more than we were receiving in taxes... On top of a trillion+ national debt (about £50k per working person) and the interest on said debt is around £2000 per household per year.Never understood why UK went ahead with austerity, I can understand it in the Eurozone where they cant devalue their currency but the UK?????? Well I guess its devaluing by proxy now, too late, wrong circumstances.
Never understood why UK went ahead with austerity.
Then you have a mistaken understanding of UK democracy. They represent the constituents that voted for them in a General Election.
Probably because we were spending £100bn a year more than we were receiving in taxes... On top of a trillion+ national debt (about £50k per working person) and the interest on said debt is around £2000 per household per year.
And lets remember this austerity is not to actually cut the debt... Its to try to eliminate the deficit by 2020... And even that targets been missed.
That's my guess why austerity was seen as the least worst option
Labour candidates under the 2015 manifesto. Most selected as candidates many years prior to that.They stood as Labour candidates. I did not misunderstand that.
Labour candidates under the 2015 manifesto. Most selected as candidates many years prior to that.
Are you at least consistent, and think that Corbyn should have been kicked out for his many decades of rebellion against the wishes of the membership?