First it was political colossus (well nearly), Tony Blair, then is it was clunker Brown, and then little Ed (instead of big Dave his brother), and now it seems it will be one of the pygmies.
As we watch the early shots, in the race to pick up the tattered flag of socialism, which was left lying in a stricken field by the defeat of Ed Milliband, one couldn't help but ponder if what the party actually needs, is what its likely to end up with. After a few will they won't they names, drifted in and out ..... The final runners are
Andy Burnham ~ Oxbridge educated, researcher to MP Tessa Jowell until the 1997 election, and joined the Transport and General Workers' Union in 1995. Spent almost entire life in the Westminster political bubble, and now MP for for Leigh since 2001 .... sound familiar?
Yvette Cooper ~ Scottish Oxbridge educated economist. But began her career as an economic policy researcher for Labour leader John Smith in 1990, and has remained in the Westminster political bubble ever since. MP for a Welsh constituency since 1997.
Liz Kendall ~ Ex Grammar school girl (weren't Labour going to deny the benefits of these to normal parents?), and Cambridge University. On leaving university she went to work for the Institute for Public Policy Research, and then as a political/special adviser for Harriet Harman, in the Department for Social Security after the 1997 election ..... followed by a spell with the King's Fund, health charity. So well grounded in *real work then. Then after another 'special advisor' role for Patricia Hewitt, and then director of the ambulance service, it was finally in to Parliament as MP for Leicester West.
Jeremy Corbyn ~ Another Grammar school boy .... he divorced his wife for refusing to send their children to an inner city school (ironically in a Labour education area .... enough said). He was a full time union employee, before becoming the Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North in 1983. He is openly far left in his opinions i.e. a conviction politician .... which is at least refreshingly honest.
So apparently its either another MilliBalls clone (either male or female), an ex grammar school girl who has never worked, or the first far left leader of the party since Michael Foot .... and frankly none of them seem likely to light the fires of the Scottish voters, or the English home counties for that matter.
In the real world, Ms Kendal possibly has the widest electoral appeal outside of Scotland (which isn't saying much), but we were maybe looking at the MilliBalls clones 'Cooper and Burnham' as the two real main chancers .... but unexpectedly, the front runner is still Mr Corbyn. Bolstered so we are led to believe by an orchestrated infiltration by far left groups joining the party (ala Militant tendency in the 1980's .... that may be a problem for the next leader, as it was for Kinnock).
However the question for Labour is,will any of them regain Scotland from the SNP?
Very unlikely .... so they will have to have a landslide in support in England to regain power without SNP support .... it would now be better for the Labour party if Scotland left the union, at least that makes it a straight fight for the Rump UK (RUK), with UKIP damaging the Conservatives, as much as the Liberals might damage them.
At the moment its very hard to see how Labour are ever going to recover its Scottish lands .....so its also hard to see them regaining power.
NB: *Am I the only one who ever wonders how these incredibly well paid, do nothing jobs, are just found for these people?
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| 1997 Seems Like Another Country For Labour Now .... |
As we watch the early shots, in the race to pick up the tattered flag of socialism, which was left lying in a stricken field by the defeat of Ed Milliband, one couldn't help but ponder if what the party actually needs, is what its likely to end up with. After a few will they won't they names, drifted in and out ..... The final runners are
Andy Burnham ~ Oxbridge educated, researcher to MP Tessa Jowell until the 1997 election, and joined the Transport and General Workers' Union in 1995. Spent almost entire life in the Westminster political bubble, and now MP for for Leigh since 2001 .... sound familiar?
Yvette Cooper ~ Scottish Oxbridge educated economist. But began her career as an economic policy researcher for Labour leader John Smith in 1990, and has remained in the Westminster political bubble ever since. MP for a Welsh constituency since 1997.
Liz Kendall ~ Ex Grammar school girl (weren't Labour going to deny the benefits of these to normal parents?), and Cambridge University. On leaving university she went to work for the Institute for Public Policy Research, and then as a political/special adviser for Harriet Harman, in the Department for Social Security after the 1997 election ..... followed by a spell with the King's Fund, health charity. So well grounded in *real work then. Then after another 'special advisor' role for Patricia Hewitt, and then director of the ambulance service, it was finally in to Parliament as MP for Leicester West.
Jeremy Corbyn ~ Another Grammar school boy .... he divorced his wife for refusing to send their children to an inner city school (ironically in a Labour education area .... enough said). He was a full time union employee, before becoming the Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North in 1983. He is openly far left in his opinions i.e. a conviction politician .... which is at least refreshingly honest.
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| Labour Leadership 2015 |
So apparently its either another MilliBalls clone (either male or female), an ex grammar school girl who has never worked, or the first far left leader of the party since Michael Foot .... and frankly none of them seem likely to light the fires of the Scottish voters, or the English home counties for that matter.
In the real world, Ms Kendal possibly has the widest electoral appeal outside of Scotland (which isn't saying much), but we were maybe looking at the MilliBalls clones 'Cooper and Burnham' as the two real main chancers .... but unexpectedly, the front runner is still Mr Corbyn. Bolstered so we are led to believe by an orchestrated infiltration by far left groups joining the party (ala Militant tendency in the 1980's .... that may be a problem for the next leader, as it was for Kinnock).
However the question for Labour is,will any of them regain Scotland from the SNP?
Very unlikely .... so they will have to have a landslide in support in England to regain power without SNP support .... it would now be better for the Labour party if Scotland left the union, at least that makes it a straight fight for the Rump UK (RUK), with UKIP damaging the Conservatives, as much as the Liberals might damage them.
At the moment its very hard to see how Labour are ever going to recover its Scottish lands .....so its also hard to see them regaining power.
NB: *Am I the only one who ever wonders how these incredibly well paid, do nothing jobs, are just found for these people?
Great bottom picture ... slow suicide is a Labour preoccupation
ReplyDeleteIt does seem to enjoy a bout of 'Cain and Able' aka fratricide once in every couple of decades or so. It seems to be some method of political direction control. Thanks for the comment.
DeleteJudging from all the panicked calls to abandon the election it seems Corbyn really has a chance. That should produce a few fireworks as the MP'S try to work out how to remove him without upsetting those who voted for him. One man one vote is a tricky thing to claim is wrong!
ReplyDeleteWhat I find funny is that this is the first time that the labour party has ever tried to be truly democratic and have one vote per member, instead of the union block votes of the past. This has resulted in thousands on people joining the party and trebling the membership, which they would have preyed for in former times.
ReplyDeleteBut apparently they are the wrong type of party member, being largely left-wingers. How strange can this be, for a socialist party to have left wing supporters who want to join the party when they finally get a genuine chance to vote for a left-wing leadership candidate?
Makes you realise how fixed the recent party contests have been, especially the trades union block votes that took Ed Milliband into power. Those who want the contest suspended are the ones bringing the process into disrepute, and not those who joined the party because its finally become democratic.
And as for that man Blair, a warmonger and hypocrite at best, and a criminal at worst (if the chilcott cover-up ever comes out), who cares for his opinions on anything these days outside of the US chicken dinner circuits?
The situation is more complicated than you make-out; following The Telegraph's call to register as Labour party supporters, vote for Jeremy Corbyn as leader and destroy the party the vote has been tainted and we can't be sure, if Corbyn should win, whether Labour supporters won or right wing infiltrators succeeded in a very cynical and anti democratic piece of sabotage.
DeleteIn any case Labour didn't foresee this possibility and aren't earning any credibility in their handling of a simple leadership election.
I can see both points .... most MP's who have complained have cited left wing infiltration, which includes the film Director "Ken" Loach being knocked back from rejoining his membership, because he's a member of the "Left Unity" party and a former member of The Respect Party (of George Galloway fame). The comedian and Labour party activist Mark Steele has also said that he has been knocked back, because he said he would vote Green if in Brighton, even though he voted Labour, and campaigned locally for Labour.
DeleteAs far as I can tell, not withstanding the Daily Telegraphs calls, its not a few liberal or Tory members being naughty that's the issue, its the fact that Trots, Socialist Workers etc are joining in droves ... rather like Militant Tendency in the 80's.
However, this joining could because finally the Labour Party will vote for leaders on the basis of a true egalitarian democracy of each vote being equal .... which after all is what the labour party was meant to stand for, but palpably doesn't, and maybe never has.
Corbyn will probably defeat himself. He opens his mouth and drivel falls out. His best bet is to keep his speeches short and his silences long. Incidentally, another Labour voting comedian Jeremy Hardy, has claimed that he's been blackballed by the party when he tried to join up after admitting that he has supported other parties in the past. It looks like its the left that the current hierarchy fear, not the right.
DeleteWell its militant tendency and not home counties Conservatives up to some mischief that keep Labour Grandees awake at night. If they get hijacked by the far left, then they face another 10 to 15 year battle before they can consider power again.
DeleteAll this depends upon the contest being completed. Various MP's are trying to get it halted to stop Corbyn. Thanks for the comment(s).
DeleteUpdate:
ReplyDeleteApparently more than 160,000 people signed up to vote in the final days before the registration deadline. This brought the total size of the leadership electorate to 610,000 ..... But that has now been revised down to 553,954 - a removal of almost 60,000 people.
Labour says the vast majority of this fall is explained by duplicate applications and those requesting a vote not being on the electoral register, AND is not the result of a "purge" of those not entitled to a vote.
The Labour HQ reasons for excluding registered voters include:
1) Not being on the electoral register,
2) Already being a member,
3) Having stood for another party and
4) Being a known member/campaigner of other party.
Temporary leader Harriet Harman, has rejected suggestions the party was attempting to weed out far-left supporters of Mr Corbyn, thousands of whom are thought to have signed up to vote for him.
Front runner Mr Corbyn has rejected as "nonsense" claims of widespread Conservative infiltration, amid claims that Tory activists had signed up to vote for him. Instead he said the party should welcome the influx of new supporters from other parties, such as the Greens, "because that's how parties grow", and he said some had been unfairly barred.
This after the party said that it has barred 1,900 Green Party supporters or members from the vote so far, compared with just 400 Conservatives
Contender Andy Burnham, who is still stuck on the 'tory plot' agenda (despite the lack of any evidence), said he believed there was a problem with infiltrators, but that "I wouldn't want to overstate this whole issue, but there is some evidence that Tories are signed up to vote."
Contender Liz Kendall, said it was important to exclude anybody who had actively campaigned against the Labour Party.
Contender Yvette Cooper has said that candidates should not be involved in how the contest was being run, and it was up to the Labour Party to make sure it was a robust process.
Its like a group of bald men fighting over a comb .....