Question Time & This Week

Well Liz is in the clear at least.
 
Nixing McDonnell and Milne straight away would be a start. Which shouldn't be too hard because even aside from their personal views, neither are very good at their jobs.

He'd also need to make clear that Labour is first and foremost a parliamentary force, that any "social movement" is there to support and add to it, not supplant it or fight against it. Give up on the Trident opposition, it serves only to accentuate the splits in the party and is never going to succeed, especially given the unions. Make genuine effort to rebuild bridges with MPs, even if they're currently unwilling to serve in the shadow cabinet. Stop Richard Burgon.

In short, tone down the George Galloway aspects of his persona, amplify the Bernie Sanders ones.

Not sure I am indicative though, I'm one of the 4.5% after all :lol: @Frosty is more someone that has lost hope after initially being positive, so he may be better to ask.

I can't help thinking that the party is just fecked. One of McDonnell/Milne might be doable, can't see him getting rid of both though. To be honest, I can't see him getting rid of either. I do think he has to make a gesture of some sort to the centrists in the party (and the country) otherwise he's in trouble.

I can agree on Trident -- it's a pointless opposition that just distracts from real issues. The social movement part is Momentum (I'm guessing). Again, that seems to be Corbyn's main driving force.

You voted for Kendall? Still, those are voters Corbyn needs to win over. A move to the centre is needed for the sake of preventing a split. If it doesn't happen, the worst case scenario isn't a split, but a party so divided that it gets annihilated at the next GE. QT last night was the perfect example of Labour destroying itself (personified by Campbell and McDonnell).

Same question to @Frosty then.

Sorry, just seen these.

So, last Summer I heard Corbyn speak and went to one of the debates. Manyof his policies and ideas were probably closer to my politics then any of the other three. However, my concern then was that he would not have the nous as leader, and would end up dividing the party, so I voted for Burnham first choice, with Cooper second (and didn't rank Corbyn or Kendall).

When Corbyn won, I was genuinely positive despite my vote. My rationale was that (given the electoral maths and the coming boundary changes) no Labour leader would win in 2020, but Corbyn could re=energise the party, drawing in new voters, 'recalibrating' the policies, and (hopefully) winning votes in 2020 to set the stage for a GE win in 2025.

I have probably done to death my issues with Corbyn's leadership here, so I won't list the issues again to save myself from sounding like a broken record.

This doesn't mean that I would stop supporting the Labour Party, or my local MP, who is doing an excellent job.

To get back behind Corbyn fully I would like to see a few things.

First, an end to all talk of deselection/reselection, and strong policies opposing it. These kind of news stories make me more optimistic:

http://www.theguardian.com/politics...conditional-peace-offer-to-hostile-labour-mps

(I also support the idea of Labour MPs who oppose Corbyn and who are not willing to serve in the Shadow Cabinet shutting their mouths and opposing the government from the backbenches. If that is what it takes for the time being to preserve unity, so be it. They will come around if electoral success is forthcoming)

Second, leave Trident alone. That, and the issue of deselection, are like sacred cows to the Labour Party. Labour built the bomb, and split before over deselection. Leave them well alone, at the very least until Corbyn has won a series of electoral victories, such as a by-election gain rather than a hold.

Third, reestablish the Economic Advisory Panel, tell McDonnell to make something of it rather than using it as a PR exercise, and actually get some properly costed economic policies developed in detail. At present, the policies are too vague. I want wonkish details.

Fourth, (this one isn't central, but is a wider longterm issue) ensure that Momentum is a movement that supports the Labour Party and its constitution. It is fine to use it to debate ideas and shape policy (a la Progress, Fabians etc), but currently it is a movement which was set up to elect one man. If the movement precedes its leaders, then it can become a strong force for change. Currently, Momentum's 'momentum' is all based on Corbyn being in charge. That just isn't healthy, and requires structural change of the movement for it to truly be a lasting force.
 
Kendall talks well enough, initially, yet when tested there isn't always much beneath the surface of her remarks. A complaint common to many a politician.

Whereas Rees-Mogg is well aware that some people don't agree with him, and probably does have greater depth to those beliefs.
 
This is the second(The first being last week)that a Tory politician has almost begged the Labour Party to get rid of Corbyn. For a guy who is apparently shite, his opposition are desperate to get rid of him.

Odd that.
 
Kendall talks well enough, initially, yet when tested there isn't always much beneath the surface of her remarks. A complaint common to many a politician.

Whereas Rees-Mogg is well aware that some people don't agree with him, and probably does have greater depth to those beliefs.
Is there a specific moment you're referring to? Dimbleby seemed to take umbrage with a couple of straightforward points she made.
 
Is there a specific moment you're referring to? Dimbleby seemed to take umbrage with a couple of straightforward points she made.

Admittedly, i didn't listen to the entirety of tonight's show, but she stopped short of explaining quite how she'd fund the increased funding for the NHS. Perhaps she expressed agreement with the idea put forward by the Lib Dems, but that would have been before i started watching. My apologies to her if she did so.

Did you watch This Week after QT? Nandy didn't quite rule out participation in a new shadow cabinet, however she sounded personally displeased with how Corbyn and McDonnell conducted themselves earlier in the summer. Given that i don't see the Shadow Chancellor going anywhere, i think she'll be looking for Corbyn to reach out more than he has done thus far.
 
Admittedly, i didn't listen to the entirety of tonight's show, but she stopped short of explaining quite how she'd fund the increased funding for the NHS. Perhaps she expressed agreement with the idea put forward by the Lib Dems, but that would have been before i started watching. My apologies to her if she did so.

Did you watch This Week after QT? Nandy didn't quite rule out participation in a new shadow cabinet, however she sounded personally displeased with how Corbyn and McDonnell conducted themselves earlier in the summer. Given that i don't see the Shadow Chancellor going anywhere, i think she'll be looking for Corbyn to reach out more than he has done thus far.
She said she'd raise taxes for it (and also agreed with Lamb about putting more emphasis on prevention). Also talked about a cross-party commission to look into how to best fund it, and making it apolitical is increasingly looking the only way to keep it alive at the moment.

I did, I think she to all intents and purposes ruled it out, which was to be expected given she's Smith's campaign co-chair and as you say has been fairly scathing of McDonnell in particular. Not sure whether it's just posturing but at the minute, most returns to shadow cabinet seem contingent on PLP elections being brought back, and I can't see Corbyn ceding that amount of control.
 
Rees-Mogg is a fantastic politician. Just the right level of smugness.

This is the second(The first being last week)that a Tory politician has almost begged the Labour Party to get rid of Corbyn. For a guy who is apparently shite, his opposition are desperate to get rid of him.

Odd that.

Odd that the Tories aren't lining up to support Corbyn for leader? Think most of them are smart enough to realise how cheap and opportunistic that would look to the general public. Much better for business to be magnanimous with the centrists and centre lefts in their time of need. It's clear that Corbyn is going to be around until he loses the next general election, so they can afford to spare the pity.
 
Kendall talks well enough, initially, yet when tested there isn't always much beneath the surface of her remarks. A complaint common to many a politician.

Whereas Rees-Mogg is well aware that some people don't agree with him, and probably does have greater depth to those beliefs.
Just been reading about Rees-Mogg. Makes me laugh that in his first election he had to stand in Central Fife, with predictable results:lol:

His latest kid has a hell of a name too. Alfred Wulfric Leyson Pius Rees-Mogg.
 
Odd that the Tories aren't lining up to support Corbyn for leader? Think most of them are smart enough to realise how cheap and opportunistic that would look to the general public. Much better for business to be magnanimous with the centrists and centre lefts in their time of need. It's clear that Corbyn is going to be around until he loses the next general election, so they can afford to spare the pity.
Well ideally if your the government you want a rubbish opposition no ? And also their(The Tories) argument is that we such a packet of bustards, we need a strong opposition to hold us back.

Although I expect your right that it's just them trying to win over the centrists.
 
The Tories haven't really needed to try and support Corbyn for leader because the contest has been that easy for him. There's no point in them wasting breath on it.
 
10 minutes in and we've had someone saying Labour have a socialist delusional disorder.:lol:

fecking hell he was a prick. Will be a difficult one tonight, with three people who are firmly anti-Labour on the panel.
 
This Migration Impact Fund has a pot in the low tens of millions, no? Mere window dressing in when the demands of a nation are considered.
 
It's absurd the amount of time dedicated to immigration. An important issue but there are numerous other topics that should receive similar coverage.
 
It's absurd the amount of time dedicated to immigration. An important issue but there are numerous other topics that should receive similar coverage.

It is particular to Boston and this audience though, as the city seen a significant impact from immigration.
 
It is particular to Boston and this audience though, as the city seen a significant impact from immigration.

True, but for a general audience it'd be alright to occasionally get other topics. Like health, or education, or other stuff like that. Next weeks in Wales so I doubt it'll be all that different.
 
True, but for a general audience it'd be alright to occasionally get other topics. Like health, or education, or other stuff like that. Next weeks in Wales so I doubt it'll be all that different.

I suppose what you are really asking for, is Dimbleby to be more assertive when a topic from a previous week drags on.

Health did receive a fair bit fo attention during the peaks and troughs of the junior doctors' strike. Had Corbyn said something groundbreaking in his speech about the NHS, perhaps things might've been different tonight (instead it was rather wish-washy).

Wales has the potential to raise a different side of Brexit, in so far as the steel industry there and state support. It's also true that Port Talbot is back in profit these days.
 
Wow, I forget Neil Hamilton is Ukip these days. Beauty of a question from a fat tattooed guy- 'Is it wrong to be proud to be British? If you say anything about foreigners you're branded racist- what happened to freedom of speech?'
 
Dear lord Leanne Wood has got to be the worst QT regular for cheap soundbites and vacuous drivel.
 
That was a quote on DMReporter today- May: 'Britain should be a country where it doesn't matter where you were born, as long as you feck off back there.'
 
I think Chuka Umunna has the potential to be our Barack Obama