Ironically, I think it is the SNP who could be hurt most by a JC-led Labour party. Their whole mantra has been that they are the "true" voice of Scotland's "different" approach and that Labour has sold out. If JC gets elected, hard to argue Labour is not left-wing: and, if JC then offers the SNP an anti-Tory front, what do the SNP do? Reject it, it gets accused of not being sufficiently anti-Tory; and, if you accept it, lose the "Tartan Tories".
@kitchencabinet- OK- why do all these Labour females go for Corbyn when they never went for Dianne Abbott? And many went for David Miliband.
Corbyn has an ability to attract people outside his box. First, the Labour membership. Second, who knows. My wife likes him, and she was a Cleggite.
@JEO Thanks for the background on Canada. The situation with the East, sounds a bit like the South-North divide in this country.
@Sean_F Tbh, I've always thought that the Australian Labour party was almost a mirror image of the British Labour party. There many similarities.
@HYUFD In the case of Romney, thank god for those swing voters. Romney being a mormon appeared to be quite issue in American politics from what I saw, do you think it really figured in 2012?
No, if Romney had not had the charisma of a lamppost the fact he was a Mormon would have been irrelevant
He was defined early on by the Democrats as being obscenely rich, out of touch, a serial flip-flopper, and someone whose venture capital company had bought and sold lots of companies and thrown thousands of people out of jobs. He was also the author of Romney Care in MA. He never recovered.
Compared to that the fact he was a Mormon was much less important than JFK being catholic. It was such a big deal that JFK had to address his being catholic in a speech.
@JEO Thanks for the background on Canada. The situation with the East, sounds a bit like the South-North divide in this country.
@Sean_F Tbh, I've always thought that the Australian Labour party was almost a mirror image of the British Labour party. There many similarities.
@HYUFD In the case of Romney, thank god for those swing voters. Romney being a mormon appeared to be quite issue in American politics from what I saw, do you think it really figured in 2012?
No, if Romney had not had the charisma of a lamppost the fact he was a Mormon would have been irrelevant
do you think the Democrats will move more to the Left?) and elections will be a close fought thing. It's quite shocking though, that the South are still reeling over the Civil Rights Act.
Yes, for the moment. But that leftward movement too will stop and recalibrate at some point. The Dems are in danger of becoming the party of minorities and champagne socialists, with some youth thrown in. The more they pander to identity politics, the more they stand to lose what's left of their white vote, and the more the GOP can address successful minorities on issues rather than race. The Dems will be the party with the demographic problem at that point and so will shift back towards the centre.
The South has moved on from the Civil Rights Act. You could make a case that racism is worse in the South, but personally I do not buy that. The South is very religious and socially conservative, and the shift of the GOP to values with the rise of the Christian Coalition is what won the South for them eventually. As someone upthread remarked, the Dems' deeply embedded and largely corrupt political machinery in the South continued to make them competitive until that generation died off.
It's still working for the Dems in the rustbelt states!
I love this site most when folk get the best bets in. My best was Joe Biden- I think at 40's for VP. So you've doubled that.
The most I've won in an election was Boris's first time- I just kept on piling in without hedging.
And I've still to lose on an election- I might hedge, I might get excitable, or defensive a bit on the night, but I've still to come out losing cash on an political outcome.
Yes but covering your bets as I understand it by betting on the apparently unlikely event of tory majority is hardly clever is it. How do punters make money on breaking even?
I wonder how many years Labour MPs will give Corbyn before attempting to remove him.
Be warned Andy and be forewarned. Corbyn has already managed to defy all political laws of gravity by propelling himself forward to the leadership of the Labour Party. Don't forget- this was a Labour Party membership that voted for David Miliband. He has reached basecamp against all the odds (BTW- I am now taking it as a GIVEN that Corbyn will win)
I could not haver predicted it. You could not have predicted it. When he announced his nomination, noone could have predicted it.
So the next stage? Who knows? The first politician in a generation to have captured the heart of a pretty untribal Labour party. What is not keeping him from capturing something from the UK public too, capturing something much wider than the Labour party?
His vision of Britain not being the public's vision of Britain, probably.
Considering the vast majority of the British earn less than 25 grand a year and rely on public services- possibly, just possibly the likes of Corbyn could find some traction. You never know. I never thought that the intelligentsia, and public service professional classes would flock to him. So who are you to speak on behalf of the British public comrade?
Grow up. Where did you plant your magic money tree? I want to harvest it before you do.
Ironically, I think it is the SNP who could be hurt most by a JC-led Labour party. Their whole mantra has been that they are the "true" voice of Scotland's "different" approach and that Labour has sold out. If JC gets elected, hard to argue Labour is not left-wing: and, if JC then offers the SNP an anti-Tory front, what do the SNP do? Reject it, it gets accused of not being sufficiently anti-Tory; and, if you accept it, lose the "Tartan Tories".
@kitchen cabinet- I don't think there's a hope in hell Labour will make inroads into the SNP with Corbyn. Scottish political affiliation is just way too way to tribal- that boat's sailed off for another generation or two.
But as I said before the vast majority of the English earn less than 25k a year, rely on public services, and Corbyjn gets the intellectual and professions en masse. It's unlikely, but also still is more likely that Corbyn could tap into English resentment.
When the West Virginia Mountaineers win football games, it is traditional to burn sofas in the front yard.
It is about the only way that anything is removed from the front yard in West Virginia, is it not?
I think you are being unduly down on West Virginia - some possibly mow their grass, critters come and go under the front porches, and possibly some of the trucks will start.
When the West Virginia Mountaineers win football games, it is traditional to burn sofas in the front yard.
It is about the only way that anything is removed from the front yard in West Virginia, is it not?
I think you are being unduly down on West Virginia - some possibly mow their grass, critters come and go under the front porches, and possibly some of the trucks will start.
LOL. We have a friend who lives on the MD/WV state line. Her farm is called Last Frontier Farm! She is at pains to point out that, despite the fact that in order to get to her farm you have to pass through WV, she is not in WV.
The mountains are beautiful though, even if every truck stop looks scary and you expect Battling Banjos to be playing as you fill up with gas. From here to Kentucky is a Starbucks-free-zone between the WV borders.
When the West Virginia Mountaineers win football games, it is traditional to burn sofas in the front yard.
It is about the only way that anything is removed from the front yard in West Virginia, is it not?
I think you are being unduly down on West Virginia - some possibly mow their grass, critters come and go under the front porches, and possibly some of the trucks will start.
LOL. We have a friend who lives on the MD/WV state line. Her farm is called Last Frontier Farm! She is at pains to point out that, despite the fact that in order to get to her farm you have to pass through WV, she is not in WV.
The mountains are beautiful though, even if every truck stop looks scary and you expect Battling Banjos to be playing as you fill up with gas. From here to Kentucky is a Starbucks-free-zone between the WV borders.
= and to be fair there is always WV's saving grace - The Greenbrier
Was that a knock on Georgia? Duelling Banjos was in Deliverance, set in north GA.
Considering the vast majority of the British earn less than 25 grand a year and rely on public services- possibly, just possibly the likes of Corbyn could find some traction. You never know. I never thought that the intelligentsia, and public service professional classes would flock to him. So who are you to speak on behalf of the British public comrade?
Grow up. Where did you plant your magic money tree? I want to harvest it before you do.
@flightpath- sorry- I don't get your critique. All I was saying is that I never saw Corbyn's popularity rising within a relatively wealthy, well informed and affluent Labour party base. But most people in the UK earn much less I guess than the average Labour party member. So who knows what might happen to his support? I certainly don't because I could never have predicted his effect on the Labour base.
As to the last election- I always thought that Tories would win as the largest party, and betted accordingly. This made me some cash- I never hedged with a Tory majority.
Indeed, but once you reach a certain level of quotes you run out of room and have too many characters and have to slash the previous quotes, so I then use quotation marks instead
When that happens, you can delete text in the block quote, and provided you keep the blockquote bracket pairs straight, the quote system still works.
Will give it a go but it does get rather complicated from that point
Considering the vast majority of the British earn less than 25 grand a year and rely on public services- possibly, just possibly the likes of Corbyn could find some traction. You never know. I never thought that the intelligentsia, and public service professional classes would flock to him. So who are you to speak on behalf of the British public comrade?
Grow up. Where did you plant your magic money tree? I want to harvest it before you do.
@flightpath- sorry- I don't get your critique. All I was saying is that I never saw Corbyn's popularity rising within a relatively wealthy, well informed and affluent Labour party base. But most people in the UK earn much less I guess than the average Labour party member. So who knows what might happen to his support? I certainly don't because I could never have predicted his effect on the Labour base.
As to the last election- I always thought that Tories would win as the largest party, and betted accordingly. This made me some cash- I never hedged with a Tory majority.
The average UK salary is £27k and the median about £25k
Ironically, I think it is the SNP who could be hurt most by a JC-led Labour party. Their whole mantra has been that they are the "true" voice of Scotland's "different" approach and that Labour has sold out. If JC gets elected, hard to argue Labour is not left-wing: and, if JC then offers the SNP an anti-Tory front, what do the SNP do? Reject it, it gets accused of not being sufficiently anti-Tory; and, if you accept it, lose the "Tartan Tories".
@kitchen cabinet- I don't think there's a hope in hell Labour will make inroads into the SNP with Corbyn. Scottish political affiliation is just way too way to tribal- that boat's sailed off for another generation or two.
But as I said before the vast majority of the English earn less than 25k a year, rely on public services, and Corbyjn gets the intellectual and professions en masse. It's unlikely, but also still is more likely that Corbyn could tap into English resentment.
In all the leadership polls so far Corbyn has about double the support in Scotland he has in England and Wales, the SNP have more to fear from him than the Tories
Wouldn't it be nice to have someone on either the BBC or Sky News paper review who isn't a metropolitanista.
I thought that myself watching the Sky review. We have a hand-wringing conservative and a hand-wringing liberal getting upset at the language used around the Calais illegal migrants.
I wonder how many years Labour MPs will give Corbyn before attempting to remove him.
Be warned Andy and be forewarned. Corbyn has already managed to defy all political laws of gravity by propelling himself forward to the leadership of the Labour Party. Don't forget- this was a Labour Party membership that voted for David Miliband. He has reached basecamp against all the odds (BTW- I am now taking it as a GIVEN that Corbyn will win)
I could not haver predicted it. You could not have predicted it. When he announced his nomination, noone could have predicted it.
So the next stage? Who knows? The first politician in a generation to have captured the heart of a pretty untribal Labour party. What is not keeping him from capturing something from the UK public too, capturing something much wider than the Labour party?
His vision of Britain not being the public's vision of Britain, probably.
Considering the vast majority of the British earn less than 25 grand a year and rely on public services- possibly, just possibly the likes of Corbyn could find some traction. You never know. I never thought that the intelligentsia, and public service professional classes would flock to him. So who are you to speak on behalf of the British public comrade?
just for clarification could you confirm if you are posting from your safe house(s) in Italy or are you Somewhere in Tower Hamlets rising up and carrying the Torch of social freedom for the downtrodden under the right wing Jack boot?
It would just help to put your postings and comments into some kind of prospective.......
In the same way, I militarily support the IRA against the British State, though I assert that their tactics of individual terrorism were bound to fail and thereby encourage them to take part in building a working class movement against the occupation (rather than their present outright capitulation). There were many opportunities for such, and now with working-class expressions into Unionism as represented by groups like the "Progressive Unionist Party", parts of the working class unionist population can and must be won over to a united Ireland. The IRA were always officially Marxist of course, although this is rhetoric by and large, particularly since Sinn Fein have not only largely abandoned the struggle for a united Ireland but any pretence of socialism with it.
Even though it was the Tennessee Valley Authority creating the damn dam ...
I actually met the author once many years ago at a luncheon in Columbia SC.
Next time you see your friend at the Last Frontier Farm, ask her if she watched the James Drury TV show The Virginian. In the show you never find out his first name.
I can reveal that it was Wes. Yes, he was the Wes Virginian
In the same way, I militarily support the IRA against the British State, though I assert that their tactics of individual terrorism were bound to fail and thereby encourage them to take part in building a working class movement against the occupation (rather than their present outright capitulation). There were many opportunities for such, and now with working-class expressions into Unionism as represented by groups like the "Progressive Unionist Party", parts of the working class unionist population can and must be won over to a united Ireland. The IRA were always officially Marxist of course, although this is rhetoric by and large, particularly since Sinn Fein have not only largely abandoned the struggle for a united Ireland but any pretence of socialism with it.
If only the IRA were real Marxists!
To be fair the troops were there to stop the papist killing the prots and vice versa.
All the deployment proved was that the use of a military force (army) to maintain peace in a civil urban environment was never going to work unless said troops were allowed to flatten the place first with artillery.
As that approach was considered just a tad over the top the scenario was doomed to failure really.
Sir Peter O'Sullevan, the 'Voice of Racing' and legendary BBC commentator, dies aged 97 after long illness
Yes, saw that. He was one of the great British commentators, like Murray Walker, Brian Johnson, Barry Davies, Peter Alliss, Harry Carpenter and John Barrett, he will be much missed. Night
Does Owen Jones actually do anything these days? I thought the precis of his book "Chavs" sounded interesting (I haven't read it tho).
Maybe he should write another and get off the tv for a while.
Certainly this approach to criticizing the left - find a single media face and then bully them is pretty distasteful.
It's a bit depressing to see how many people on here are happy to be spoon fed by guido fawkes. Would I be right in saying that his own political opinions as a young man might be considered unsavoury by many?
Does Owen Jones actually do anything these days? I thought the precis of his book "Chavs" sounded interesting (I haven't read it tho).
Maybe he should write another and get off the tv for a while.
Certainly this approach to criticizing the left - find a single media face and then bully them is pretty distasteful.
It's a bit depressing to see how many people on here are happy to be spoon fed by guido fawkes. Would I be right in saying that his own political opinions as a young man might be considered unsavoury by many?
He did write another book called 'The Establishment'.
He also does some opine for the Guardian which ranges from loony to interesting. He's alright.
Does Owen Jones actually do anything these days? I thought the precis of his book "Chavs" sounded interesting (I haven't read it tho).
Maybe he should write another and get off the tv for a while.
Certainly this approach to criticizing the left - find a single media face and then bully them is pretty distasteful.
It's a bit depressing to see how many people on here are happy to be spoon fed by guido fawkes. Would I be right in saying that his own political opinions as a young man might be considered unsavoury by many?
He did write another book called 'The Establishment'.
He also does some opine for the Guardian which ranges from loony to interesting. He's alright.
I sent him a tweet when Chavs came out. I thought it was interesting how "Neds" in Scotland seemed to be a common usage many years before Chavs became common currency in England; thought maybe it was interesting how Scotland and England view their working/non-working classes perhaps differently. He didn't reply.
Anyone know why Hungary is building a fence on its Serbian border? Are there not lots of potential routes for refugees/migrants to enter the EU, why there, particularly?
Very interesting and thought provoking article @antifrank, many thanks. I have been focusing on the political issues facing Scotland of late, especially with the upcoming Holyrood elections. The SNP lost the Indy Ref, but they as a now very distinct left wing party then went onto successfully garner the vital cross party support of all Indy Ref Yes voters which ultimately saw them annihilate both Scottish Labour and the Libdems in Scotland at the last GE.
Both the Scottish Labour party and the Libdems now cannot distance themselves fast enough from the Conservatives, so heavily stung by either the tag Red Tories or due to their Coalition connection with the party. So much so, that both parties are even more desperate to now also distance themselves from their successful part in the Better Together campaign that won the Indy Ref.
Early on in the current Labour Leadership contest, we saw Liz Kendell shine as a clear centre left alternative to the current Conservative Government. She and some of her more prominent supporters were quickly attacked, and then successfully undermined as Red Tories by members of her own party in much the same way that the SNP were able to do to the Scottish Labour party and its stalwarts like Murphy, Alexander & Co.
Now I personally think that both Burnham and Cooper were always going to be poor Leadership candidates in this Labour Leadership contest, and simple because its them and not Kendell who really represented the failures of the Labour party as a party of both Government and Opposition over the last eight years and therefore are partly responsible for the defeats of the last two GE's. Hence we are where we are now with Corbyn possible becoming the next Labour Leader, and why so many of PB.com's own finest Labour supporters are suddenly becoming fans of the inevitable longer term period in Opposition.
antifrank points out that "In the longer term, however, we are looking at an unstable political landscape where the voters must choose between parties with prospectuses that do not enthuse them and a party with a prospectus that they do not believe will stand a chance of being implemented. This cannot last indefinitely. Sooner or later, the gap will be filled."
I call that voting with your head and not your heart, just as Scotland did with in the Indy Ref last summer.... And now we do have this current Cameron led Conservative government, its no surprise that both Labour and the Libdem membership have quickly swerved leftwards and plan to follow a now relaxed Scotland who went onto vote with its heart at the last GE once the Independence issue had been settled. So my money is now on that gap being left unfilled by any party on the left in the next five years if the economy holds steady. And as for the prominence of either UKIP and the EU referendum in the current political landscape, I suspect that the trailed hype might yet fail to materialise.
The AP is reporting that the debris found on the Indian Ocean island is from a 777. So just maybe it could be from MH370
Rather childish of me, but I just looked up a map of Reunion to check exactly where it was, and discovered one of the settlements is called "Le Tampon"
It's a bit depressing to see how many people on here are happy to be spoon fed by guido fawkes. Would I be right in saying that his own political opinions as a young man might be considered unsavoury by many?
Quite likely, although recent events in Rotherham have taught us the risks of confusing the messenger with the message.
It's a bit depressing to see how many people on here are happy to be spoon fed by guido fawkes. Would I be right in saying that his own political opinions as a young man might be considered unsavoury by many?
Quite likely, although recent events in Rotherham have taught us the risks of confusing the messenger with the message.
His message in this case is you should be held to account for stupid things said as a teenager.
It's a bit depressing to see how many people on here are happy to be spoon fed by guido fawkes. Would I be right in saying that his own political opinions as a young man might be considered unsavoury by many?
Quite likely, although recent events in Rotherham have taught us the risks of confusing the messenger with the message.
His message in this case is you should be held to account for stupid things said as a teenager.
The same age at which Owen thinks people should be allowed to vote!
It's a bit depressing to see how many people on here are happy to be spoon fed by guido fawkes. Would I be right in saying that his own political opinions as a young man might be considered unsavoury by many?
Quite likely, although recent events in Rotherham have taught us the risks of confusing the messenger with the message.
His message in this case is you should be held to account for stupid things said as a teenager.
The same age at which Owen thinks people should be allowed to vote!
Quite he is pointing out hypocrisy, someone who pontificates about how the voting age should be 16 years, and then when challenged about something idiotic he believed in when he was 16 turned on a dime and said it was contemptible to bring it up because he was child.
It's a bit depressing to see how many people on here are happy to be spoon fed by guido fawkes. Would I be right in saying that his own political opinions as a young man might be considered unsavoury by many?
Quite likely, although recent events in Rotherham have taught us the risks of confusing the messenger with the message.
His message in this case is you should be held to account for stupid things said as a teenager.
The same age at which Owen thinks people should be allowed to vote!
Quite he is pointing out hypocrisy, someone who pontificates about how the voting age should be 16 years, and then when challenged about something idiotic he believed in when he was 16 turned on a dime and said it was contemptible to bring it up because he was child.
Interesting that Cameron went to Eton when he was 13 so not only was that not his decision but his parents. So according to young Mr Jones theories "he was just a child." So Why the constant attacks on something out of Camerons control?
to clarify......That's the same Mr Jones that went to University college Oxford of course.
It's a bit depressing to see how many people on here are happy to be spoon fed by guido fawkes. Would I be right in saying that his own political opinions as a young man might be considered unsavoury by many?
Quite likely, although recent events in Rotherham have taught us the risks of confusing the messenger with the message.
His message in this case is you should be held to account for stupid things said as a teenager.
The same age at which Owen thinks people should be allowed to vote!
Quite he is pointing out hypocrisy, someone who pontificates about how the voting age should be 16 years, and then when challenged about something idiotic he believed in when he was 16 turned on a dime and said it was contemptible to bring it up because he was child.
He also still believes many of the same things as when was that 'child' with ' idiotic opinions' so in fact it is fair to see hitch ones he now disavows.
Comments
Ironically, I think it is the SNP who could be hurt most by a JC-led Labour party. Their whole mantra has been that they are the "true" voice of Scotland's "different" approach and that Labour has sold out. If JC gets elected, hard to argue Labour is not left-wing: and, if JC then offers the SNP an anti-Tory front, what do the SNP do? Reject it, it gets accused of not being sufficiently anti-Tory; and, if you accept it, lose the "Tartan Tories".
@kitchencabinet- OK- why do all these Labour females go for Corbyn when they never went for Dianne Abbott? And many went for David Miliband.
Corbyn has an ability to attract people outside his box. First, the Labour membership. Second, who knows. My wife likes him, and she was a Cleggite.
Compared to that the fact he was a Mormon was much less important than JFK being catholic. It was such a big deal that JFK had to address his being catholic in a speech.
http://order-order.com/2015/07/29/owen-jones-lie-ra/
Ironically, I think it is the SNP who could be hurt most by a JC-led Labour party. Their whole mantra has been that they are the "true" voice of Scotland's "different" approach and that Labour has sold out. If JC gets elected, hard to argue Labour is not left-wing: and, if JC then offers the SNP an anti-Tory front, what do the SNP do? Reject it, it gets accused of not being sufficiently anti-Tory; and, if you accept it, lose the "Tartan Tories".
@kitchen cabinet- I don't think there's a hope in hell Labour will make inroads into the SNP with Corbyn. Scottish political affiliation is just way too way to tribal- that boat's sailed off for another generation or two.
But as I said before the vast majority of the English earn less than 25k a year, rely on public services, and Corbyjn gets the intellectual and professions en masse. It's unlikely, but also still is more likely that Corbyn could tap into English resentment.
The mountains are beautiful though, even if every truck stop looks scary and you expect Battling Banjos to be playing as you fill up with gas. From here to Kentucky is a Starbucks-free-zone between the WV borders.
Was that a knock on Georgia? Duelling Banjos was in Deliverance, set in north GA.
Considering the vast majority of the British earn less than 25 grand a year and rely on public services- possibly, just possibly the likes of Corbyn could find some traction. You never know. I never thought that the intelligentsia, and public service professional classes would flock to him. So who are you to speak on behalf of the British public comrade?
Grow up. Where did you plant your magic money tree? I want to harvest it before you do.
@flightpath- sorry- I don't get your critique. All I was saying is that I never saw Corbyn's popularity rising within a relatively wealthy, well informed and affluent Labour party base. But most people in the UK earn much less I guess than the average Labour party member. So who knows what might happen to his support? I certainly don't because I could never have predicted his effect on the Labour base.
As to the last election- I always thought that Tories would win as the largest party, and betted accordingly. This made me some cash- I never hedged with a Tory majority.
@flightpath- sorry- I don't get your critique. All I was saying is that I never saw Corbyn's popularity rising within a relatively wealthy, well informed and affluent Labour party base. But most people in the UK earn much less I guess than the average Labour party member. So who knows what might happen to his support? I certainly don't because I could never have predicted his effect on the Labour base.
As to the last election- I always thought that Tories would win as the largest party, and betted accordingly. This made me some cash- I never hedged with a Tory majority.
The average UK salary is £27k and the median about £25k
But as I said before the vast majority of the English earn less than 25k a year, rely on public services, and Corbyjn gets the intellectual and professions en masse. It's unlikely, but also still is more likely that Corbyn could tap into English resentment.
In all the leadership polls so far Corbyn has about double the support in Scotland he has in England and Wales, the SNP have more to fear from him than the Tories
It would just help to put your postings and comments into some kind of prospective.......
http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/pipermail/marxism/2000-August/041514.html
In the same way, I militarily support the IRA against the British State,
though I assert that their tactics of individual terrorism were bound to
fail and thereby encourage them to take part in building a working class
movement against the occupation (rather than their present outright
capitulation). There were many opportunities for such, and now with
working-class expressions into Unionism as represented by groups like the
"Progressive Unionist Party", parts of the working class unionist population
can and must be won over to a united Ireland. The IRA were always officially
Marxist of course, although this is rhetoric by and large, particularly
since Sinn Fein have not only largely abandoned the struggle for a united
Ireland but any pretence of socialism with it.
If only the IRA were real Marxists!
Next time you see your friend at the Last Frontier Farm, ask her if she watched the James Drury TV show The Virginian. In the show you never find out his first name.
I can reveal that it was Wes. Yes, he was the Wes Virginian
All the deployment proved was that the use of a military force (army) to maintain peace in a civil urban environment was never going to work unless said troops were allowed to flatten the place first with artillery.
As that approach was considered just a tad over the top the scenario was doomed to failure really.
Maybe he should write another and get off the tv for a while.
Certainly this approach to criticizing the left - find a single media face and then bully them is pretty distasteful.
It's a bit depressing to see how many people on here are happy to be spoon fed by guido fawkes. Would I be right in saying that his own political opinions as a young man might be considered unsavoury by many?
He also does some opine for the Guardian which ranges from loony to interesting. He's alright.
Both the Scottish Labour party and the Libdems now cannot distance themselves fast enough from the Conservatives, so heavily stung by either the tag Red Tories or due to their Coalition connection with the party. So much so, that both parties are even more desperate to now also distance themselves from their successful part in the Better Together campaign that won the Indy Ref.
Early on in the current Labour Leadership contest, we saw Liz Kendell shine as a clear centre left alternative to the current Conservative Government. She and some of her more prominent supporters were quickly attacked, and then successfully undermined as Red Tories by members of her own party in much the same way that the SNP were able to do to the Scottish Labour party and its stalwarts like Murphy, Alexander & Co.
Now I personally think that both Burnham and Cooper were always going to be poor Leadership candidates in this Labour Leadership contest, and simple because its them and not Kendell who really represented the failures of the Labour party as a party of both Government and Opposition over the last eight years and therefore are partly responsible for the defeats of the last two GE's. Hence we are where we are now with Corbyn possible becoming the next Labour Leader, and why so many of PB.com's own finest Labour supporters are suddenly becoming fans of the inevitable longer term period in Opposition.
antifrank points out that "In the longer term, however, we are looking at an unstable political landscape where the voters must choose between parties with prospectuses that do not enthuse them and a party with a prospectus that they do not believe will stand a chance of being implemented. This cannot last indefinitely. Sooner or later, the gap will be filled."
I call that voting with your head and not your heart, just as Scotland did with in the Indy Ref last summer.... And now we do have this current Cameron led Conservative government, its no surprise that both Labour and the Libdem membership have quickly swerved leftwards and plan to follow a now relaxed Scotland who went onto vote with its heart at the last GE once the Independence issue had been settled. So my money is now on that gap being left unfilled by any party on the left in the next five years if the economy holds steady. And as for the prominence of either UKIP and the EU referendum in the current political landscape, I suspect that the trailed hype might yet fail to materialise.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Tampon
to clarify......That's the same Mr Jones that went to University college Oxford of course.