Post subject: Re: The Labour party leadership thread
Posted: Fri Jul 31, 2015 1:42 pm
Dally
International Chairman
Joined: Dec 22 2001 Posts: 14845
The Labour party's problem is a fundamental one. It was a party whose roots are in an different era that is failing to adapt to demographic change. The Blair years saw it adapt to the new demographic landscape but it was not Labour as traditional Labour voters knew it. They then lost the trust of their new found middle class friends over Iraq and then the economic crash (however unfair that particular criticism may be). Those two things will take a generation to recover from IMO. Just look how many people in the North still rant about the Thatcher era and blame their ills on her / her party to see how long-term these voter reactions can last.
In gaining its new, short-term friends, Labour has spent two generations distancing itself from the poor in our society who are just now turning away from it.
Labour therefore is at a crossroads and needs to decide who it appeals to. Rather like "our" M&S's clothing emporia it cannot provide an offering of all things to all people as it'll end up satisfying none of them. If it lurches "left" it will not be electable as there are insufficient punters who that will appeal to.
In short, it's hard to see a meaningful future for them any time soon.
Post subject: Re: The Labour party leadership thread
Posted: Fri Jul 31, 2015 5:05 pm
JerryChicken
International Star
Joined: Jul 09 2012 Posts: 3605 Location: Leeds
Cibaman wrote:I'm not disputing any of that. But the idea that Corbyn is going to change it is fanciful.
Oh I agree but someone has to start somewhere, and it would need to be a leader too, sadly I don't expect it will ever happen as they don't consider that their behavior at times is simply unacceptable in any sort of establishment.
Someday everything is gonna be different, when I paint my masterpiece ---------------------------------------------------------- Online art gallery, selling original landscape artwork ---------------------------------------------------------- JerryChicken - The Blog ----------------------------------------------------------
Post subject: Re: The Labour party leadership thread
Posted: Fri Jul 31, 2015 9:08 pm
cod'ead
International Chairman
Joined: May 25 2002 Posts: 37704 Location: Zummerzet, where the zoider apples grow
JerryChicken wrote:Oh I agree but someone has to start somewhere, and it would need to be a leader too, sadly I don't expect it will ever happen as they don't consider that their behavior at times is simply unacceptable in any sort of establishment.
How many leaders did the tories get through after Major and before golden bollox Camoron turned up?
I've a feeling that once the middle classes see the real consequence of Osbornomics, a chimp in an M&S suit could probably stand a good chance of winning a majority
The older I get, the better I was
Advice is what we seek when we already know the answer - but wish we didn't
I'd rather have a full bottle in front of me than a full-frontal lobotomy ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ kirkstaller wrote: "All DNA shows is that we have a common creator."
cod'ead wrote: "I have just snotted weissbier all over my keyboard & screen"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "No amount of cajolery, and no attempts at ethical or social seduction, can eradicate from my heart a deep burning hatred for the Tory Party. So far as I am concerned they are lower than vermin." - Aneurin Bevan
Post subject: Re: The Labour party leadership thread
Posted: Fri Jul 31, 2015 9:33 pm
JerryChicken
International Star
Joined: Jul 09 2012 Posts: 3605 Location: Leeds
cod'ead wrote:How many leaders did the tories get through after Major and before golden bollox Camoron turned up?
I've a feeling that once the middle classes see the real consequence of Osbornomics, a chimp in an M&S suit could probably stand a good chance of winning a majority
You're flattering Osborne by tagging his "policies" with a name, I have this vision of him on the phone most evenings to his University professors saying "Could you just run through that first year lecture on sleight of hand distraction techniques with particular regard to fiscal planning again please"
Someday everything is gonna be different, when I paint my masterpiece ---------------------------------------------------------- Online art gallery, selling original landscape artwork ---------------------------------------------------------- JerryChicken - The Blog ----------------------------------------------------------
Post subject: Re: The Labour party leadership thread
Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2015 2:33 am
Mugwump
Administrator
Joined: Dec 05 2001 Posts: 25122 Location: Aleph Green
Dally wrote:The Labour party's problem is a fundamental one. It was a party whose roots are in an different era that is failing to adapt to demographic change. The Blair years saw it adapt to the new demographic landscape but it was not Labour as traditional Labour voters knew it. They then lost the trust of their new found middle class friends over Iraq and then the economic crash (however unfair that particular criticism may be). Those two things will take a generation to recover from IMO. Just look how many people in the North still rant about the Thatcher era and blame their ills on her / her party to see how long-term these voter reactions can last.
In gaining its new, short-term friends, Labour has spent two generations distancing itself from the poor in our society who are just now turning away from it.
Labour therefore is at a crossroads and needs to decide who it appeals to. Rather like "our" M&S's clothing emporia it cannot provide an offering of all things to all people as it'll end up satisfying none of them. If it lurches "left" it will not be electable as there are insufficient punters who that will appeal to.
In short, it's hard to see a meaningful future for them any time soon.
It's pure revisionism to pin the blame for Labour's abandonment of core socialist principles upon Blair because the truth is the party did that NEARLY FIFTY YEARS AGO when Harold Wilson was elected. All Blair did was arrange for a skip to be placed outside of Party HQ so the last scraps of tattered credibility remaining could be hawked before selling out fully.
You can't even consider Labour a socialist party. Even in its heydey (which was before the war) it was only ever a bulwark against actual socialism breaking out in Britain. Once WWII ended and the electorate received its payoff for five years of war misery (the NHS) it didn't take long before they were falling back on all their commitments (something these "moral men" claimed only TORIES indulged in). This Labour party has spent more years reneging on its promises than it did MAKING those promises.
Post subject: Re: The Labour party leadership thread
Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2015 8:00 am
Ajw71
Player Coach
Joined: Feb 23 2006 Posts: 1978
Part of Labour's problem is that they think everyone who voted UKIP is a 'wasist' and in the process write off their chances of every gaining back these people to vote for them.
Corbyn only appeals to a small proportion of hardcore lefties who live in some sort of delusion that if he says the right things some imaginary switch will be flicked in the UK electorate and everyone will vote for him. It's just not going to happen.
Post subject: Re: The Labour party leadership thread
Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2015 9:19 am
Ajw71
Player Coach
Joined: Feb 23 2006 Posts: 1978
cod'ead wrote: Liz Kendall - intelligent, excellent orator. About the only thing the Wail will find wrong is that she's not married and her partner is a comedian
None of them get me excited but of the lot, I'd go for Kendall
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