The rationale of the centrist shift of left parties (based on my understanding of the US and UK) is precisely vote-winning. Get a slicker more professional party with more presentable, palatable, media-friendly politicians who can appeal to conservative voters by being tough on crime/welfare/cutting spending/more muscular. As a long-term political project it's only value is if it wins power, because it is never going to shift the Overton window or be able to respond to challenges like global warming or trade without sacrificing one of the halves of its base.
General Election 2017 | Cabinet reshuffle: Hunt re-appointed Health Secretary for record third time
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) is joined by CEO Duncan Drasdo and Financial Director Andy Green from the Manchester United Supporters Trust for a special episode on all things behind the scenes at Old Trafford including a brief history of MUST and their aims today, views on INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe so far, and the Old Trafford regeneration.
The rationale of the centrist shift of left parties (based on my understanding of the US and UK) is precisely vote-winning. Get a slicker more professional party with more presentable, palatable, media-friendly politicians who can appeal to conservative voters by being tough on crime/welfare/cutting spending/more muscular. As a long-term political project it's only value is if it wins power, because it is never going to shift the Overton window or be able to respond to challenges like global warming or trade without sacrificing one of the halves of its base.
We form opinions based on the information we are provided with. Ask yourself: Who is providing the information? Do they have a vested interest? Look beyond the agenda. Look at Corbyn. Look at the stands he has taken. Look at how he relates to people face to face. I believe he is a genuine, honest, courageous man - and I don't remember a politician like him (maybe David Lange from New Zealand before he was hoodwinked by the International Court of Justice).
The Left in Centre Left tends to go away rather quickly.
@Ubik
Where was the caf poll from 2015? Has there been a orange/blue swing here?
Where was the caf poll from 2015? Has there been a orange/blue swing here?
Any political project, at least one that's standing for election, by definition has to be vote winning or else it carries absolutely no threat.
https://www.redcafe.net/threads/uk-...rvatives-win-with-an-overall-majority.400059/
Tories and Labour both down a bit, Lib Dems way up. I think the 2015 poll may have been a post-voting one and includes "didn't vote" so not directly comparable in % terms but a decent guide nonetheless (except UKIP and SNP both already have more overall votes...)
May doesn't even have to try that hard. Done nothing but said 'Bexit means Brexit' for months and suddenly she's facing a massively increased majority. The fact this seems to bother Corbyn acolytes a lot less than media coverage or things people associate with Tony Blair say, is frustrating.
If the last few years have shown us anything, the left vs right paradigm is out of date and needs ditching. The suggestion that the conservative values of crime and welfare were the preserve of the right was wrong all along.
The left has always contained socially conservative voters to go with its liberals, and successive shifts to the left from Brown to Miliband to Corbyn have accelerated the loss of those voters not slowed it down. Labour is going to have to reconcile the need for small c conservative values in the party, which it's has always had historically, even if it didn't appreciate them.
In doing so they lose those of us, including a lot of the younger members, who cannot abide with such values. The ones who hand out leaflets and knock on doors.
This is why, traditionally, they've nominated a lefty in leadership elections, even though they don't like them. So we feel included.
On this occasion, it went a bit wrong and their token bloke got elected.
They're now making a complete bollocks of trying to cope with this. As is said token bloke, who understandably never expected to win and suddenly had the hope of a generation of lefty dreamers on him and nowhere near the skill-set to deal with it.
On this occasion, it went a bit wrong and their token bloke got elected.
They're now making a complete bollocks of trying to cope with this. As is said token bloke, who understandably never expected to win and suddenly had the hope of a generation of lefty dreamers on him and nowhere near the skill-set to deal with it.
Social conservatism in the Labour Party dates back to its inception, with its roots in Methodism and the trade union movement. It's not new a new thing.
In not doing so they will get smashed in the election... Most probably their worst results since ww2
Apparently siding with the rich and powerful and hurting the poor and vulnerable is "strong leadership". Who knew? I call it bullying.
And until they do the Tories will continue to be seen as the party who are financially competent. They need to just suck it up and take the hits they'll get from the media if they want to stand a chance of highlighting the Conservative Party's repeated failures on the economy. Ffs, Labour already get attacked on the subject every day anyway I don't see why they're so afraid to bring it up and make it a serious point of discussion.
The Tories on the other hand are very good at changing the narrative. I just heard Hunt being absolutely slaughtered on 5Live by Nicky Campbell on the NHS, who at one point even said "surely you're next for the chop after the election?" and yet he was able to make sure that the final thing they were talking was how a strong leader was needed for Brexit negotiations. Which itself reminds us of how they were able to persuade people that a grossly incompetent fish who blamed everyone but herself for her departments failings, once thought someone couldn't be deported because of their cat, and became Prime Minister by default purely because everyone else crashed out of the race due to their own negligence, is somehow a strong leader.
I'm still amazed how she gets away with hollow slogans like "Breakfast means Berkshire" so often.
Well I guess we now know who'll be flinching first...just at the mere thought of it. Such narrow mindedness always makes me wonder how many more "narrow views" he has. Whilst he may not allow them to show yet, they'll show eventually.
Looks like the Lib Dems still have an anti-semitism problem too then one suspended and a previously suspended standing in the election , Farron said they'd learnt their lesson and that LD was a home for jews put off by Labour. Hmmmm
He's not a great advert for Christian attitudes, that's for sure.
Corbyn gone back to basing his PMQ questions on emails he has received after doing much better when he wasn't doing this.
Labour benches not looking enthused.
Perhaps he is trying to rope-a-dope Mrs May into doing the TV debates.
Labour benches not looking enthused.
Perhaps he is trying to rope-a-dope Mrs May into doing the TV debates.
I think its because it's harder for May to provide catchphrase responses although she did it anyway.
Oddly i thought it was poor from Corbyn and the Guardian seemed to have thought it was good, first for anything.
PMQ is basically just a platform to get your quotes in so you need to do well in that regard or trip up your opponent with something. He did the former reasonably well, May didn't do either.
It's clear the Tories and May are going for the retard vote with the question twisting and repeating nonsense catchphrases over and over. It will work, they've learned well from the referendum.
People have a choice, between a (insert tory platitude) and a (call Labour bad names)
Someone has clearly told her this format works as she's rigidly been sticking to it.
.At the moment I read that she literally said "We want to ensure a truly global Britain".
For me, people will think she did though, without spotting that the message being spun atm has no real content. Britain, Brexit, Strong, Stable, National Interest, Security, Deliver.. etc
It's like product advertising of a trusted brand - where they don't really have to say anything & best not to, so an opposing view can't start to be established because it has no 'opposite' foundation stone on which to establish itself. Vague would cover it, but it's even a stage beyond that, almost ethereal - it's a fog in political terms I suppose. They don't really have to do anything so that's exactly what the Conservatives are doing.
Whether this changes when the manifestos start to appear, presume it would a little bit surely..
they're hiding comedy gold articles like this behind the paywall too,
(Telegraph)
Why hide Boris Johnson away when he can electrify the Tory base?
(edit - they're not hiding it terribly well, mind)
(Telegraph)
Why hide Boris Johnson away when he can electrify the Tory base?
(edit - they're not hiding it terribly well, mind)
Bloody Tories. They're even electrocuting their own supporters now.
Two more polls out, two more Tory 20+ leads. May getting absurdly high satisfaction ratings still. That 11 point lead looking all the more like the big outlier (though outliers can be correct).
At some point, you should probably start questioning the validity of polls that suggest may is perceived as a more competent PM than Churchill, Attlee or Thatcher, critical thinking and all that you know.
Polls today are not a reflection of opinion, they are designed to influence it. They use the same tactics as Mercer's cambridge analytics to target people who will give the answers they want from precisely worded questions.
Please note, that does not mean that I think corbyn is in the lead in reality or even close, but that a narrative is created and polls are done to reinforce it through exaggeration.
This is Peter Hitchens level nonsense. The vast majority of the country never even hear about them.
Thats not true at all the news is awash with polls constantly. However there's some decent polls out there i wouldnt say they're all biased as is being made out.
I think the only claim you could make is they're being used to solidify the idea of the lead. Although that would be the benefit of Labour at this point
Media fake new conspiracies and retards. The latest excuses from Corbynites.
No one mentioned Clive Lewis' fake poll snafu yet?
Still baffled as to why they didn't just use the 2015 results.
Nothing to do with Corbyn, its been an issue discussed way back in Labour. Would be odd to spin on the spot and now claim it doesn't exist
Corbyn declining to do debates unless May's there, it seems.
What is his reasoning behind this? Wouldn't it be advantageous to make use of a platform that last election reached 7 million people?
Is there any bigger platform out there?