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The Chairman Mao resembling, Monarchy hating, threat to Britain, Labour Party thread


Demitri_C

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The state of this

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Tony Blair doubts Labour can be 'taken back by moderates'

Tony Blair says he is "not sure it is possible" for Labour "moderates" to take the party back from the left. The former Labour leader told the BBC's Nick Robinson Labour had been through a "profound change" under Jeremy Corbyn.

"It is a different type of Labour Party. Can it be taken back? I don't know," he said.

His remarks provoked a backlash on Twitter and Corbyn supporter Chris Williamson MP told the BBC the party had "never been more united". He said the party was "giving hope to millions of people" who had become cynical about politics.

Speaking on Nick Robinson's Political Thinking Podcast, Mr Blair said: "I don't think the British people will tolerate a situation where, for example, the choice at the next election is Boris Johnson versus Jeremy Corbyn."

"I don't know what will happen and I don't know how it will happen."

"But I just don't believe people will find that, in the country as a whole, an acceptable choice. Something will fill that vacuum."

He said there was a large constituency of voters who backed "socially liberal, progressive" politics but also believed in "a strong private enterprise sector alongside a state that is capable of helping people".

Mr Blair's name has been linked with the formation of a new "centre ground" party, although he has never publicly backed the idea.

And the former prime minister told Nick Robinson he was not as pessimistic as some of the people around him about the chances of his wing of the party regaining control of Labour.

"There [are] lots of people associated with me who feel that the Labour Party is lost, that the game's over," he said.

"I am hoping they are not right."

But he said the anti-Semitism row that had engulfed the party was "bad because it has been, in the end, something that I just can't imagine ever having happened in the Labour Party that I joined".

"I can't imagine that we have had three to four months debating over something where we have profoundly insulted the Jewish community in our country," Mr Blair said.

He said the current Labour leadership came from a left-wing tradition opposed to Western foreign policy. Those belonging to that tradition had always been "on the margins" of the party or in a different party, such as the Communists or "Trotskyist groups", he added. And he rejected comparisons to the early 1980s, when left-winger Michael Foot, who was against EU membership and nuclear weapons and in favour of nationalising industry, was Labour leader. He said Mr Foot was not as left wing as Mr Corbyn and had tried to expel members of the left-wing Militant Tendency from the party. Mr Blair is a persistent critic of Mr Corbyn's leadership and warned in 2015 the Labour Party risked "annihilation" if he became leader. Last year he told the BBC he accepted it was "possible" that Mr Corbyn could become prime minister, in the wake of the 2017 snap election in which Labour defied predictions of a heavy defeat and stripped the Conservatives of their majority. Under Mr Corbyn's leadership, party membership has swelled from 388,000 at the end of 2015, to a reported 540,000 as of April 2018. The BBC's deputy political editor Norman Smith said Mr Blair's warning that it may not be possible to take back control of the party was "likely to compound the sense of gloom among Labour MPs".

"Such criticism is certain to infuriate some Corbyn supporters - others may even welcome Mr Blair's remarks as evidence that Mr Corbyn does indeed lead a very different Labour Party," he added.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-45438855

Edited by VILLAMARV
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1 hour ago, blandy said:

Marvellous isn’t it. A United, competent, well oiled opposition machine is just what the country needs to get rid of the tories and the Brexit madness, austerity, NHS problems etc.

i know, let’s have another row about Israel, that should help.

I gather the vote of no confidence was in respect of her actions, and that she is considered to be operating pretty much as an independent. 

If a party is to operate as a united and competent machine, at some point it needs to address the issue of what to do with people who don't want to be part of that.  The best option is containment and damage limitation, but if that proves ineffective, then a parting of the ways will happen, and the choice will be whether to let them do it in their own way at a time of their choosing (which will be calculated to do most damage) or act against them.

The question for her now will be whether she is prepared to modify her behaviour.  If not, I imagine local party members will aim to deselect her, which would be entirely unsurprising.

The motion doesn't seem to be about Israel, or her reportedly almost daily conversations with an embassy staff member.  I understand the original version made reference to her smears and false claims against a supporter of Palestine with a view to getting them disciplined, but that there were procedural reasons why it ended up being redrafted without that bit - but the issue will obviously have been part of the reason why local members are upset with her.

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4 hours ago, VILLAMARV said:

All things being rational then I'd agree with you. But to be honest, the opposition party - whatever colour it is and rightly or wrongly - tends to keep it's head down till election time. Stay out of it and the Tories will screw themselves. 5 years of soapboxing just supplies the other side with Ammo. I don't like it. I don't think it's healthy for our society but politically in the world of winning elections it's a fair tactic.

Of course keeping your heads down doesn't usually come easy to Labour though eh?

Ah but this is alL new new labour, the different kind of labour..... my ARSE.

 

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14 minutes ago, bickster said:

the different kind of labour

I suppose to be fair, Old style Labour never live stream/tweeted their internal no-confidence votes on Iranian state TV.

Bringing democracy to the middle east in a different, kinder, way.

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I hear Iranian state TV is searching for a new Saturday night talk show host. Preferably someone with a bit of a grey beard who can "bring democracy to the Middle East". Any takers?

The other day I returned from a business trip to Norway. There the Fisheries Minister got removed from his position not long ago for going to Iran on holiday with his mobile phone. Why didn't you bring your mobile phone while praising Iran's regime on state controlled TV Jeremy?!

Sometimes I wonder what would happen to our politicians in another political system, one where you couldn't surf through life as a politician without any valid life experience while continuously failing yet being supported by the same people because their dad voted labour or tories.

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4 minutes ago, magnkarl said:

...Sometimes I wonder what would happen to our politicians in another political system, one where you couldn't surf through life as a politician without any valid life experience while continuously failing yet being supported by the same people...

Yeah. Good point. I dunno what would happen to the individual politicians, but it would surely improve the overall standard through natural selection. Job for life, safe seat a-holes would largely disappear.

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1 hour ago, magnkarl said:

Why didn't you bring your mobile phone while praising Iran's regime on state controlled TV Jeremy?!

Corbyn has criticised Iran on human rights more times than almost every other MP.

I know it doesn't fit the propaganda line.  Perhaps you should be a little more sceptical of the propaganda?

 

Corbyn Iran.jpg

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