Tuesday 9 August 2016

Corbyn silly season ad infinitum

Well a week away does not seem to have changed much for myself, thanks to BE, ND and BQ for keeping up the production line - no August shut downs for us.

(On that note, I was working with an Italian Bank this week and even they shut the office in August, its the only way the Owners can get the staff to take their paid holiday apparently, otherwise they just turn up for an hour a day here and there for the month....).

Anyhow, Mr Corbyn I am starting to find really rather intriguing. For a man who has held the same views all his life he appears to have come up with no policy ideas at all - everything is a protest. Worse, the Labour party have decided to put up an even greater fool against him in the form of Owen Smith. he also has no policies or indeed, ideas or, sadly, charisma.

So now, after some usual technical and legalistic skulduggery (funny how the anarchist left is always so keen on using bureaucratic powers to get their way?), Corbyn is totally nailed on to win a second Labour leadership contest.

I can only guess at his plan, which must be to hang in there until for some unknown reason the Tories come a cropper and he magically becomes Prime Minister. Or maybe no, perhaps the UK descends into 1970's and worse style strikes and social disorder and there is some sort of left-wing Coup.

Anyway, this is all very unlikely indeed. The more pertinent, and hilarious, issue is what do the Labour moderates do. Their party is gone, soon they will face deselections and see the end of their rebellion. But my hunch is they don't have the cahoonas' to go full SDP2 and leave as they have no voter base to work with - trying to steal some of the Lib Dem's 8% does not look good and they HATE the working class who now vote UKIP (Emily Thornberry as the stand out example).

So they perhaps will resile to their fate and seek jobs at charities and such like or back in PR and Schools whence they came. It would take a heart of stone not to laugh. Key tip for next time, don't invite vampires into your house, it never ends well. At least they will have time to watch some movies.

The gaiety of the nation is ensured for at least 4 more year with Corbyn ensconced as leader of the opposition and that bit is at least good news for all.

What this means for politics in other parties in the UK, is for another post.

23 comments:

rwendland said...

The first High Court case was started by a right wing Labour supporter. So 1-1 on which side started court actions. So not really the left "always so keen on using bureaucratic powers to get their way". And the 2nd case was about stopping the National Executive using bureaucratic powers, which in contract law they did not even have, to disenfranchise new members (less than 6 month members). So I don't think that claim sticks.

The Corbyn side did win the court cases 2-0 though (subject to appeal), which must be galling for the other side that claims it is the competent one!

Dan said...

The Corbyn lot ought to be getting worried right now, because they and their (lack of) policies are really incredibly unpopular, once you get outside of the Corbyn-Trot echo chamber.

In Scotland, massive unpopularity led to the even more bonkers SNP stealing their voters. In England, there isn't yet a vaguely respectable but very left-wing Labour Party alternative. However, when one turns up, that's curtains for Corbyn's manky mob.

Bill Quango MP said...

i don't think they will try SDP2 either. That didn't work the first time.

The theory is they will try and break away without breaking away. Remain in the labour party but not accept corby as leader and try and carry on as if he wasn't there. Try and persuade the Speaker to declare them the 'official Labour' party.
Sounds like a complete non starter.

So they have to either just wait for Corbyn to fail at the next election and try and rebuild after, or seek out the missing Lib Dem voters.

The second strategy isn't sooo terrible, really. The Lib Dems had masses of support just 4 years ago.
Labour mainstream are 100% pro -EU, as are Lib Dems.
There is much common ground for a Liberal-Wibberal fluffy social responsibility-green - but not too much extra tax for our middle class professional supporters.
Labour without the {extreme} loonies.

Guardian and Indy would be on board. Its a party built for media types. Rich social-conscience backers aplenty too. And the Lib dems? What have they got to lose? They are finished if they don't reinvigorate.

it could work.
But they don't appear to have the stomach for it.

James Higham said...

There's a lot of support round these parts for him. They ignore the socialist aspects and think only 'tackle fatcats'. Was talking with one today, didn't bother arguing.

AndrewZ said...

Corbyn’s temperament and previous political career left him wholly unprepared for his sudden elevation to party leader, so it is possible that he simply doesn’t have a clue how to actually do the job. But I suspect that he is one of those political millenarians for whom “the revolution” is a secular version of the rapture. Like their religious counterparts they live in constant anticipation of this great world-changing event, which is always imminent but never quite arrives, when everything will be set right and the sinners will be cast out. But for people who see things in those terms the everyday business of party politics just isn’t very important. It’s only marking time until the revolution, so why bother making a big effort?

Steven_L said...

In Scotland, massive unpopularity led to the even more bonkers SNP stealing their voters.

But a lot of SNP voters like Corbyn, he's the kind of humble, self-hating Englishman they find themselves warming to. They don't vote for him, they vote for the SNP, mainly because they want independence, but they like him more than Ed Miliband.

There's a lot of support round these parts for him.

I also think CU underestimates how much of the 'working class' will support him. All those folk who voted 'leave'in Sunderland and the like will also vote for Corbyn in my reckoning. And the more the political class gang up on him, the more 'anti-establishment' a candidate he becomes.

I bet he will have policies in 2020 too, lots of them in fact.

andrew said...


"... no policy ideas at all"

Quite right too, having moved into a post-truth era,
we now proceed towards a post policy era.

This only has positives for pols.

From the Left's point of view, they have known what they are against for years - why confuse or dilute the message and open an attack surface to the 'right wing press like the BBC'

From the True rights (my) point of view, we know that doing anything is a bad idea and theoretical ideas - policies - generally fail - why make things worse and open an attack surface to the 'left wing press like the BBC'

I look forwards to the Cons catching up, but if they really are conservative, that will be a v.v.v. slow process

Jan said...

The most hilarious aspect of it is the apoplexy Peter Mandelson must be feeling right now!

dearieme said...

Do the Labour (as distinct from commie) people have enough votes in the Commons that, along with the Tories, they could replace Bercow? That would give them a bargaining chip with Bercow if the Tories saw an advantage in co-operating.

Or just go ahead and replace the wee twat.

Blue Eyes said...

Hague makes some good points in today's 'graph.

Do you remember how virulent the Left were when the American presidency was decided in court? Oops. It is fun to watch them sueing each other though. Great fun.

There was an awful moment when it looked like the Tories could end up in an awkward situation, but then everyone realised it would be stupid so cracked on. If only Labour had such a worldview we might have a more competitive political system.

Anonymous said...

I wouldn't underestimate potential support for Corbyn if he came out with some ideas.

The middle and working classes have felt more than a little left out of the last two decades, where Friends of Tony and Friends of Dave have done very well out of things.

Memories of British Rail have faded enough that nationalisation sounds reasonable, especially when you're paying a couple of hundred quid a month to spend 40 minutes getting up and close and personal with someone's armpit whilst stood in a rattling carriage that looks a lot past its sell-by date.

Extra-low interest rates are of little use to those who see the lower rungs of the housing ladder lifted ever further away from them.

We're a very wealthy country, we just don't always feel that way where it counts, and no one has seem overly bothered when the two main parties had roughly the same policies. Usually the best way to register to unhappiness is to vote for the Other Lot in the knowledge the Other Lot will be a lot like the Current Lot, so a half-hearted kicking. Corbyn actually offers the opportunity to give a really good kicking.

As to how many will take that opportunity, well London may want to look outwards and note it is very much outnumbered by the rest of the nation, and perhaps a few scraps may just keep the peasants from revolting.

Brexit should be a warning about the state of things, we're a very small 'c' conservative country, and were perfectly happy to upset the status quo there, I wouldn't trust that Corbyn's student level political mentality is giving the Tories a free pass next election. "You'd be be mad to vote that" was the Remainers refrain, didn't work out very well for them.

Sebastian Weetabix said...

I have to say if a Politcian stood on a platform of "vote for me, I won't do anything", he'd get my vote. Masterly inactivity would be a great improvement on the present crop of meddling do-gooding bansturbators.

Anonymous said...

And speaking of Silly Season, Burnham is Labour's pick for the Greater Manchester Mayor. Which is why he's been under a rock whilst his party is collapsing into chaos, no point letting a minor issue like the Labour Party in flames getting in the way of personal ambition eh? Words may have been said, "head below parapet Andy lad, and have we got a prize for you!"

I'm hoping that he doesn't get in, he's the very worst kind of politician. Policy-wise, so far we've got:

"I'm Northern"
"I like chips"
"I like football"
"I like beer"
"I don't like being interviewed on Newsnight, as I look like a vapid tit whenever a hard question comes up"
"Have I mentioned I'm from t'North. And I like chips. With beer. Whilst watching football"

Oh yes, and HS2.

Wonderful. A charisma-free buffoon, whose entire verbal output sounds like a Macc Lads B-side.

Anonymous said...

Andy Burnham is the epitome of the clueless career politician. He has also spent his entire political career playing on being a Scouser. Whether the Mancs will warm to him is an open question... Will they vote for him mindlessly on the grounds that he wears the red rosette? Or will they choose someone less thick and less Scouse?

I do hope Bez stands.

Nick Drew said...

I shan't be at all unhappy to see people wondering whether Corbyn might do OK: makes it less likely he'll be defenestrated

but if Kinnock and Miliband couldn't hack it ...

CityUnslicker said...

err RWEndland - they are all lefties in my book...

CityUnslicker said...

Anon - Burnham is the MP for a Manc constituency, always has been. He is an everton fan, he hates Liverpool fc, so Manc will like him.

Still a vapid fool mind.

CityUnslicker said...

SL -

No fucking way the Sunderland leave votes will vote for an open doors internationalist like Corbyn. Admittedly, they will vote for someone or thing and UKIP is doing its best seppuku impression currently.

How mad is he, he is against the EU when his party is for but is pro-immigration when the country is against.

Really, it can't get worse, you could not make it up. The Thick of It is not even close to reality.

Anonymous said...

Ok, but it is only just in Manc. So in answer to my own question, Mancs are indeed stupid enough to vote for him.

Steven_L said...

CU, the labour vote has been quite steady in Sunderland and it even increased a bit in 2015 than in 2010. Looks to me like UKIP have picked up votes from the tories, lib dems and bnp.

Unless you think some Blair/Brown voters have deserted labour for UKIP but labour have gained a similar number of lib dems voters on the other?

Do you think all the labour voters in Sunderland just did what they were told, like sheep, and voted 'remain' while everyone else, plus some non-voters, voted 'leave'? How do you explain the figures?

We'll see, but I reckon Corbyn will do better than you expect in traditional labour areas and among traditional labour voters, such as unionised public sector workers.

CityUnslicker said...

SL, he just won't win. Any new voters, so will have a ceiling of around 30%

Dick the Prick said...

Plus it's the 30% who can't be arsed voting.

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