Labour Party leadership election 2015

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Well quite. But here's the critical detail: far from being a donkey jacket (which it clearly wasn't) it was actually a very expensive overcoat. It is now on display in the People's History Museum hilariously enough:

[afleitch]

Must be piss easy being a journo. Dig out old articles and rub out Nicola's name.

[Јas]

Could've been worse.

[Blair]

Foot and Miliband IIRC tried to be leaders, they tried to follow the conventional wisdom of the day and the rituals/views (Foot, despite his suicide note was not a pacifist at all.) Basically it's easy for the press to laugh at Foot and Miliband trying to look dignified-Corbyn isn't trying at all so what can they do?

[Phony Moderate]

Had one of the other three been elected then it is probably fair to say that they wouldn't have dominated the news cycle for the past four days, right?

[afleitch]

Labour have announced that Corbyn will be singing at future events after all.

For what it's worth I've never sung the national anthem, even when I was in the company of the Queen. I think if I was ever in a position of power I wouldn't sing it either. Why people can't equate silence with respect I'll never know.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

Labour have announced that Corbyn will be singing at future events after all.

For what it's worth I've never sung the national anthem, even when I was in the company of the Queen. I think if I was ever in a position of power I wouldn't sing it either. Why people can't equate silence with respect I'll never know.

Perhaps we're becoming Americanised. You obviously don't love your country unless you refuse to shut up about it... (Ironically enough, the person who would be most irritated by such boorish behaviour would be the Queen herself)

[ChrisDR68]

As the Labour leadership election is now over how about locking this thread off and starting a new one named Corbynwatch?

Whatever you think about Jeremy Corbyn the press are going to absolutely love him and will be ferocious attack dogs at anything he says or does that they don't agree with.

If nothing else it won't be boring
 

[politicus]

As the Labour leadership election is now over how about locking this thread off and starting a new one named Corbynwatch?

Whatever you think about Jeremy Corbyn the press are going to absolutely love him and will be ferocious attack dogs at anything he says or does that they don't agree with.

If nothing else it won't be boring
 

Corbynwatch should be on IG. No real reason to lock this (there may still be number crunching/analysis to be done) just open the other one.

[Simfan34]

Labour have announced that Corbyn will be singing at future events after all.

For what it's worth I've never sung the national anthem, even when I was in the company of the Queen. I think if I was ever in a position of power I wouldn't sing it either. Why people can't equate silence with respect I'll never know.

The fact that they have to put out a statement about this reflects rather badly on them, in my opinion. This seems comparable to complaints that Obama didn't put his hand over his heart back in 2008-- but it would have seemed ridiculous for his campaign to issue a statement saying he was going to change. It seems like everything will be a battle for Corbyn.

[politicus]

Made Corbynwatch on IG. Lets see if people use it.

[Serenity Now]

We're actually living in that Simpsons episode where Homer becomes sanitation commissioner.

You're thinking of Brighton & Hove City Council a couple of years ago

That said, the very episode you refer to is on TV right now, which is eerie.

[Beezer]

Big news:

Jeremy Corbyn and Diane Abbott were lovers

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/politics/article4559169.ece

[warandwar]

Big news:

Jeremy Corbyn and Diane Abbott were lovers

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/politics/article4559169.ece

No it's not.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Over thirty years ago.

[Blair]

I already knew I thought it was a smear

[Phony Moderate]

http://www.newstatesman.com/2015/09/new-faction-has-emerged-and-it-could-decide-labour-s-future-soft-right

[Filuwaúrdjan]

The appointment of the junior shadow posts is now underway, although only a few names have been confirmed so far. Somewhat remarkably arch right-wing factionalist Pat McFadden is staying as Shadow Europe Minister.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Full list of frontbenchers

Much of interest there, therefore more comments later. Two things to note very quickly: the general theme set by the ShadCab posts is reinforced (i.e. an overall soft Left kind of feel with the key word being overall: this is a clear attempt at a 'coalition' frontbench; these are not the appointments of a man setting out to start a factional war), and also the clear right-wing lean of the junior Defence posts.

[ChrisDR68]

Full list of frontbenchers

Much of interest there, therefore more comments later. Two things to note very quickly: the general theme set by the ShadCab posts is reinforced (i.e. an overall soft Left kind of feel with the key word being overall: this is a clear attempt at a 'coalition' frontbench; these are not the appointments of a man setting out to start a factional war), and also the clear right-wing lean of the junior Defence posts.

Can you explain the difference in policy terms between the soft left and hard left?

It was always said Neil Kinnock was soft left but in terms of the policies he believed in (and fought for in the 1987 general election) he seemed to be little different from Michael Foot or even Tony Benn.

[Blair]

Full list of frontbenchers

Much of interest there, therefore more comments later. Two things to note very quickly: the general theme set by the ShadCab posts is reinforced (i.e. an overall soft Left kind of feel with the key word being overall: this is a clear attempt at a 'coalition' frontbench; these are not the appointments of a man setting out to start a factional war), and also the clear right-wing lean of the junior Defence posts.

Can you explain the difference in policy terms between the soft left and hard left?

It was always said Neil Kinnock was soft left but in terms of the policies he believed in (and fought for in the 1987 general election) he seemed to be little different from Michael Foot or even Tony Benn.

Commitment to NATO and EU is the most clear difference for me

[Phony Moderate]

The soft left is seen as more pragmatic, less faction-orientated and likely to work with the right of the party. The very term 'soft left' traces its origins, I think, back to the 1981 deputy leadership election when Kinnock and other Tribune MPs declined to support Tony Benn.

Though the differences between the left and the right in general have always been more about approach and style than policy.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

The soft left is seen as more pragmatic, less faction-orientated and likely to work with the right of the party. The very term 'soft left' traces its origins, I think, back to the 1981 deputy leadership election when Kinnock and other Tribune MPs declined to support Tony Benn.

This is correct. Specifically the Soft Left were the people who were on the Left but who did not agree with the specific political agenda of Benn and the CLPD and who thought their general attitude was damaging the Party's electoral prospects. There is the wonderful historical detail, o/c, that their intellectual lodestar was Eric Hobsbawm of all people

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Sort of depends on which policy (like over domestic policy certainly - and that is most of politics and certainly is most of Labour Party politics - but foreign affairs etc, no), but, yes, that has traditionally been true. And I guess, given the incredibly low total polled by Kendall which maybe in retrospect will be seen as the most important detail of the leadership contest for all we know, is probably now as true as it was historically.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

The soft left were the people who supported Foot but got cold feet around the Benn leadership challenge. It's largely a difference in style rather than in substance - while a soft lefty may support rail renationalisation and disarmament, they view the primary aim is to keep the party united (partly due to residual guilt for their part in the disasterous Foot leadership) so they went along with the Blairite reforms. (Although of course, throughout the New Labour years, the soft left gee dissatisfied again; with Short, Cook, and the "new labour diarist" Chris Mullin drifting away.

In fact they can be compared with the Trad Right, who view the entire point of the party is to get power and then remain in power. They opposed the Hard Left during the 80's, because they viewed them as a distraction on achieving power (although they stayed loyal, as that wing view loyalty as sacrosanct). However, they have increasingly started to contrast themselves with Blairites against the Left (witness Burnham appearing to be the candidate of the left before Corbynmania swamping the soft left) as now Blairites seem to be the one obsessed with ideological purity tests above achieving power.