politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » Revised analysis of YouGov’s LAB selectorate poll has Corbyn with 57% of first preferences
The President of YouGov, Peter Kellner, explained in a separate article that they had looked at the polling figures again in the light of the data from the party showing the huge influx of names in the final few days. He goes on:-
To answer my own question, I was reminded all of a sudden of the Tories in 1710-4 and their failure to cultivate George I, which led to decades of Whig dominance. I can't think of many others though.
Some fatalists in Labour seem to be clinging to a Buddhist hope that death by Corbyn via a consensual political suicide pact will result in the reincarnation of the party a few years down the line.
There is always hope ....
Most recently the LibDems went over the cliff for the nation :
"It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known."
Truly a "Tale of Two Parties" - The rest for the LibDems and Labour may last some time ....
To answer my own question, I was reminded all of a sudden of the Tories in 1710-4 and their failure to cultivate George I, which led to decades of Whig dominance. I can't think of many others though.
We shall fall out if you refer to the Elector of Hanover before breakfast ....
JackW - great to have you back. I didn't get to say at the time but congratulations on getting the PM right. I've been following PB for about two years and when I first saw your ARSE I was sceptical, but by 21:50 on May 7th I'd come to the view that somehow Dave was going to win.
I do have one question, though. What surprised you more, how well the SNP did or how badly the Lib Dems did?
JackW - great to have you back. I didn't get to say at the time but congratulations on getting the PM right. I've been following PB for about two years and when I first saw your ARSE I was sceptical, but by 21:50 on May 7th I'd come to the view that somehow Dave was going to win.
I do have one question, though. What surprised you more, how well the SNP did or how badly the Lib Dems did?
Much thanks.
A couple of aspects of the eventual results undercooked my ARSE.
In Scotland I expected a slightly better result for Labour and the LibDems, indeed the yellow peril held up much better in a number of seats but the SNP tsumani swept almost all before them.
What surprised, both me and senior Conservatives much more was how the spectre of the SNP played as extensively as it did in England - it effectively handed the Tories their majority nudging about two dozen Labour and LibDem seats into the blue column.
Sturgeon and Cameron - Unlikely partners but they danced a highly successful fandango.
Looks done and dusted for Corbyn which seemed unimaginable until a month or so ago, fascinating stuff. Nobody will ever know the % of voters which are infiltrators, perhaps it's virtually none and he has genuine support within labour grass roots. Regardless of that it seems MPs don't want him, the briefing against him will be interesting, Darling spoke of "dogs of war" being unleashed. He'll have few contacts in the press, I suspect we're about to see an assassination of unprecedented levels.
Wherever the Tories are on holiday they'll be sleeping soundly with smiles on their faces.
I was surprised to hear on the BBC news that the Tianjin explosion was only the equivalent of 21 tonnes of TNT. That's less than 1% of the Halifax explosion.
Given Corbyn's coronation it's hard to overstress the importance of the deputy leader role in keeping some semblence of internal party sanity alive as the JC story pans out. Tom Watson may actually be pretty good at that, Falkirk notwithstanding. He won't win Labour a single vote but he can certainly slowdown the hard left infiltration as he knows how Labour works. If JC is forced out sooner rather than later that might save a few non-Corbynite MPs their jobs. Corbyn himself will have very little organisational and disciplinary nous, so will be leaving it to others.
The Tories have an exquisite problem. Do they throw everything at JC immediately and risk his early departure, or do they drip it out in the hope he will stick around as close to 2020 as possible? The slight risk with that is that this will give JC time to build a strong enough rapport with enough of the electorate to prevent a Tory majority in five years.
Finally, interesting that Farage sees a Corbyn leadership as a boost for the Out side in the forthcoming referendum. How will that affect UKIP attacks on Labour? It does seem as if the one significant piece of damage Corbyn could do the Cameron Tories is in the EU referendum. A defeat for the PM would set some pretty fascinating trails in motion. Maybe that's an incentive for all out Tory attack from Day One.
Len McCluskey has had a malign and pernicious effect on British public life. His destruction of the Labour party as an electable force in support of his frankly bizarre political views will be his crowning achievement.
Our democracy will not be the stronger for this idiocy but it will recover, eventually. The lessons of the 80s will have to be learned all over again.
Len McCluskey has had a malign and pernicious effect on British public life. His destruction of the Labour party as an electable force in support of his frankly bizarre political views will be his crowning achievement.
Our democracy will not be the stronger for this idiocy but it will recover, eventually. The lessons of the 80s will have to be learned all over again.
Let us hope Len enjoys Labour's impending annihalations, beginning next year.
Len McCluskey has had a malign and pernicious effect on British public life. His destruction of the Labour party as an electable force in support of his frankly bizarre political views will be his crowning achievement.
Our democracy will not be the stronger for this idiocy but it will recover, eventually. The lessons of the 80s will have to be learned all over again.
Let us hope Len enjoys Labour's impending annihalations, beginning next year.
It just seems incredible to me when you see the battles that Labour went through under Kinnock against entryism, extremism and Militant that that muppet of a leader left the door so wide open to all and sundry to vote again and regain a position in the party. Ed, who of course was also some Union's choice, probably didn't even think carefully about what he was doing. After all, he rarely did.
Len McCluskey has had a malign and pernicious effect on British public life. His destruction of the Labour party as an electable force in support of his frankly bizarre political views will be his crowning achievement.
Our democracy will not be the stronger for this idiocy but it will recover, eventually. The lessons of the 80s will have to be learned all over again.
Let us hope Len enjoys Labour's impending annihalations, beginning next year.
It just seems incredible to me when you see the battles that Labour went through under Kinnock against entryism, extremism and Militant that that muppet of a leader left the door so wide open to all and sundry to vote again and regain a position in the party. Ed, who of course was also some Union's choice, probably didn't even think carefully about what he was doing. After all, he rarely did.
Good to see Cooper get off the fence. Should have done it ages ago.
Absolutely. At least a month ago. As I was commenting last night her delivery is woeful but in this field any sane party intent on actually having an impact on public policy to protect those in need would vote for her in a heartbeat.
She has probably left it too late though. And as for Burnham, words fail me. I will stick with utterly pathetic.
Compared to saving the Union and the banks, saving Labour may be Brown's toughest gig yet.
Brown will have his man as deputy and a level of internal control over Labour. Then, when JC burns out, he'll get to set the rules and timetable for the election of a replacement. Of all the Grandees surveying the destruction Brown is probably least fussed.
@Mr_Eugenides: The original headline was “The Right are mocking Jeremy Corbyn because they fear him”. It has quietly been changed. http://t.co/ZL6uXTrUVM
@Mr_Eugenides: It now reads, "if Jeremy Corbyn wins, prepare for a firestorm." Funny that.
@Mr_Eugenides: "Editor's Note, 11 August 2015: The headline was changed at the request of the author."
Len McCluskey has had a malign and pernicious effect on British public life. His destruction of the Labour party as an electable force in support of his frankly bizarre political views will be his crowning achievement.
Our democracy will not be the stronger for this idiocy but it will recover, eventually. The lessons of the 80s will have to be learned all over again.
Let us hope Len enjoys Labour's impending annihalations, beginning next year.
It just seems incredible to me when you see the battles that Labour went through under Kinnock against entryism, extremism and Militant that that muppet of a leader left the door so wide open to all and sundry to vote again and regain a position in the party. Ed, who of course was also some Union's choice, probably didn't even think carefully about what he was doing. After all, he rarely did.
MPs had a veto, but didn't use it.
Gross irresponsibility. Their job was to identify potential Prime Ministers who the PLP could support, who could build a credible team and who had a reasonable prospect of winning.
Labour is not supposed to be a debating club in need of a wider discussion, it is a political party and should be focussed on results so its beliefs can actually be implemented.
Watching Burnham being interviewed very gently by the ladies on the ITV breakfast show, have never seen a man look less like a leader. He has absolutely no presence at all - the same problem as his opponents - except Corbyn who exudes confidence and positivity.
Len McCluskey has had a malign and pernicious effect on British public life. His destruction of the Labour party as an electable force in support of his frankly bizarre political views will be his crowning achievement.
Our democracy will not be the stronger for this idiocy but it will recover, eventually. The lessons of the 80s will have to be learned all over again.
Let us hope Len enjoys Labour's impending annihalations, beginning next year.
It just seems incredible to me when you see the battles that Labour went through under Kinnock against entryism, extremism and Militant that that muppet of a leader left the door so wide open to all and sundry to vote again and regain a position in the party. Ed, who of course was also some Union's choice, probably didn't even think carefully about what he was doing. After all, he rarely did.
MPs had a veto, but didn't use it.
Gross irresponsibility. Their job was to identify potential Prime Ministers who the PLP could support, who could build a credible team and who had a reasonable prospect of winning.
Labour is not supposed to be a debating club in need of a wider discussion, it is a political party and should be focussed on results so its beliefs can actually be implemented.
Its major problem, after EdM, is that it does not know what it believes in - the legacy from EdM who had to put his notes on a stone to remind him.
Good to see Cooper get off the fence. Should have done it ages ago.
Absolutely. At least a month ago. As I was commenting last night her delivery is woeful but in this field any sane party intent on actually having an impact on public policy to protect those in need would vote for her in a heartbeat.
She has probably left it too late though. And as for Burnham, words fail me. I will stick with utterly pathetic.
You've got that right ...Burnham is the single most spineless , craven , limp weather cock of a politician in living memory ...he makes the hand wringing Hamlet look decisive
There's something truly rotten in the LP , methinks
JackW - great to have you back. I didn't get to say at the time but congratulations on getting the PM right. I've been following PB for about two years and when I first saw your ARSE I was sceptical, but by 21:50 on May 7th I'd come to the view that somehow Dave was going to win.
I do have one question, though. What surprised you more, how well the SNP did or how badly the Lib Dems did?
Much thanks.
A couple of aspects of the eventual results undercooked my ARSE.
In Scotland I expected a slightly better result for Labour and the LibDems, indeed the yellow peril held up much better in a number of seats but the SNP tsumani swept almost all before them.
What surprised, both me and senior Conservatives much more was how the spectre of the SNP played as extensively as it did in England - it effectively handed the Tories their majority nudging about two dozen Labour and LibDem seats into the blue column.
Sturgeon and Cameron - Unlikely partners but they danced a highly successful fandango.
Jack, I did try to get you to nudge your ARSE away from the LibDems and towards the SNP.... I did predict SNP on 50% of the Scottish vote, but even though I had been aggressively bearish on the LibDems, with 17 seats in my pb.com sweepstake entry, going down to 8 was rather surprising. And fun....
Too soon to say the Labour Party Will Never Bag Prime Minister?
Good to see Cooper get off the fence. Should have done it ages ago.
Absolutely. At least a month ago. As I was commenting last night her delivery is woeful but in this field any sane party intent on actually having an impact on public policy to protect those in need would vote for her in a heartbeat.
She has probably left it too late though. And as for Burnham, words fail me. I will stick with utterly pathetic.
You've got that right ...Burnham is the single most spineless , craven , limp weather cock of a politician in living memory ...he makes the hand wringing Hamlet look decisive
There's something truly rotten in the LP , methinks
Len McCluskey has had a malign and pernicious effect on British public life. His destruction of the Labour party as an electable force in support of his frankly bizarre political views will be his crowning achievement.
Our democracy will not be the stronger for this idiocy but it will recover, eventually. The lessons of the 80s will have to be learned all over again.
Let us hope Len enjoys Labour's impending annihalations, beginning next year.
It just seems incredible to me when you see the battles that Labour went through under Kinnock against entryism, extremism and Militant that that muppet of a leader left the door so wide open to all and sundry to vote again and regain a position in the party. Ed, who of course was also some Union's choice, probably didn't even think carefully about what he was doing. After all, he rarely did.
MPs had a veto, but didn't use it.
Gross irresponsibility. Their job was to identify potential Prime Ministers who the PLP could support, who could build a credible team and who had a reasonable prospect of winning.
Labour is not supposed to be a debating club in need of a wider discussion, it is a political party and should be focussed on results so its beliefs can actually be implemented.
I think a lot of us are missing the big picture here. Labour lost the election greater its base turned away from it. A new face was never going to be enough. It definitely needed a debate and a renewal. Well it has sure as heck got that. It looks like the previous leadership is going to be swept away - voluntarily in some cases - and there is a huge influx of new members. This is a revolution. It might well destroy Labour as the official opposition. Or it might make all previous assumptions about politics invalid.
@Mr_Eugenides: The original headline was “The Right are mocking Jeremy Corbyn because they fear him”. It has quietly been changed. http://t.co/ZL6uXTrUVM
@Mr_Eugenides: It now reads, "if Jeremy Corbyn wins, prepare for a firestorm." Funny that.
@Mr_Eugenides: "Editor's Note, 11 August 2015: The headline was changed at the request of the author."
The url for the article still has the original header....
The Right are mocking Owen Jones because he's a Tw@.....
Cooper is pathetic and pleading but she is right ; but it's way too late now ...what they need is an attack dog to tear the deluded fool Corbyn apart before he can do anymore damage .And let's face it , he is just soooo vulnerable , the Tories are holding their fire until he is elected and then they will Blitz him ..he's going to be seeing more stars than Carl Sagan and hearing more deranged bell ringing than Quasimodo
Corbyn is an anachronistic fool and a real failure who has achieved nothing after 32 years in Parliament, and yet , he is going to turn the LP into a mirror image of himself ..the once mighty LP is set to become a pathetic protest party and debating society led by a sanctimonious old fool and preening poseur ..merely a party of political masturbation that pleasures themselves while producing nothing of value ...the Tories have good reason to laugh , so this is how great Parties die , not with a bang but with a whimper
All out attack = Lab rallying round = JC going nowhere soon = win-win for Cons.
Will he strike a chord with the electorate by 2020? We all worried whether the Cons had done too good a job of recovery such that people wondered "what was all the fuss about" and hence might vote Lab this last May.
Events notwithstanding it might be similar in 2020. Better/worse even. But the electorate showed at the GE that they are just as sophisticated as the commentariat. Corbyn either stays bonkers left in which case he will get a shellacking, or he tries to tack right in which case he will get a shellacking.
Good to see Cooper get off the fence. Should have done it ages ago.
Absolutely. At least a month ago. As I was commenting last night her delivery is woeful but in this field any sane party intent on actually having an impact on public policy to protect those in need would vote for her in a heartbeat.
She has probably left it too late though. And as for Burnham, words fail me. I will stick with utterly pathetic.
You've got that right ...Burnham is the single most spineless , craven , limp weather cock of a politician in living memory ...he makes the hand wringing Hamlet look decisive
There's something truly rotten in the LP , methinks
Its a close call as to who comes across the worst. from what I have heard Yvette is absolutely unconvincing and is a very poor speaker. Liz Kendall has been anonymous, Corbyn is bonkers and its hard not to agree with your description of Burnham.. but I think Uriah Heap rather than Hamlet
Len McCluskey has had a malign and pernicious effect on British public life. His destruction of the Labour party as an electable force in support of his frankly bizarre political views will be his crowning achievement.
Our democracy will not be the stronger for this idiocy but it will recover, eventually. The lessons of the 80s will have to be learned all over again.
Let us hope Len enjoys Labour's impending annihalations, beginning next year.
It just seems incredible to me when you see the battles that Labour went through under Kinnock against entryism, extremism and Militant that that muppet of a leader left the door so wide open to all and sundry to vote again and regain a position in the party. Ed, who of course was also some Union's choice, probably didn't even think carefully about what he was doing. After all, he rarely did.
MPs had a veto, but didn't use it.
Gross irresponsibility. Their job was to identify potential Prime Ministers who the PLP could support, who could build a credible team and who had a reasonable prospect of winning.
Labour is not supposed to be a debating club in need of a wider discussion, it is a political party and should be focussed on results so its beliefs can actually be implemented.
Kendall was good on Today on R4; but not likely to get far. Pity, she is far better than Burnham and Cooper, and while Corbyn will be entertaining, it is a bit soon to throw in the towel for 2020. Corbyn may be the best choice for an LD revival though, even if no MPs defect, many voters will.
Len McCluskey has had a malign and pernicious effect on British public life. His destruction of the Labour party as an electable force in support of his frankly bizarre political views will be his crowning achievement.
Our democracy will not be the stronger for this idiocy but it will recover, eventually. The lessons of the 80s will have to be learned all over again.
Let us hope Len enjoys Labour's impending annihalations, beginning next year.
It just seems incredible to me when you see the battles that Labour went through under Kinnock against entryism, extremism and Militant that that muppet of a leader left the door so wide open to all and sundry to vote again and regain a position in the party. Ed, who of course was also some Union's choice, probably didn't even think carefully about what he was doing. After all, he rarely did.
MPs had a veto, but didn't use it.
Gross irresponsibility. Their job was to identify potential Prime Ministers who the PLP could support, who could build a credible team and who had a reasonable prospect of winning.
Labour is not supposed to be a debating club in need of a wider discussion, it is a political party and should be focussed on results so its beliefs can actually be implemented.
I think a lot of us are missing the big picture here. Labour lost the election greater its base turned away from it. A new face was never going to be enough. It definitely needed a debate and a renewal. Well it has sure as heck got that. It looks like the previous leadership is going to be swept away - voluntarily in some cases - and there is a huge influx of new members. This is a revolution. It might well destroy Labour as the official opposition. Or it might make all previous assumptions about politics invalid.
It won't destroy Labour, but will do substantial and long-lasting harm to the party. It will guarantee an unenthusiastic Tory victory in 2020 and will so hasten the end the Union. Those of us still alive in 10 years time will be living in a different country, literally and metaphorically.
It's been said so many times, but for those of us who were on the wrong end of the late 70s/early 80s and saw what it did - we were inoculated from voting Labour for a very long time.
It took me until 1997 to vote for Tony The Tory. After Not Flash, Just Gordon [I mean really?] wrecked the economy - I suspect I won't vote for them again in my lifetime. But there's a whole fresh crop of starry-eyed numpties who won't believe how it ended back then.
Even now we have the most creative excuses as to why Foot lost in 1983 - and it was nothing to do with the Suicide Note apparently. When we're up against the Jezziah - it's pointless trying to reason with them.
Len McCluskey has had a malign and pernicious effect on British public life. His destruction of the Labour party as an electable force in support of his frankly bizarre political views will be his crowning achievement.
Our democracy will not be the stronger for this idiocy but it will recover, eventually. The lessons of the 80s will have to be learned all over again.
Len McCluskey has had a malign and pernicious effect on British public life. His destruction of the Labour party as an electable force in support of his frankly bizarre political views will be his crowning achievement.
Our democracy will not be the stronger for this idiocy but it will recover, eventually. The lessons of the 80s will have to be learned all over again.
Let us hope Len enjoys Labour's impending annihalations, beginning next year.
It just seems incredible to me when you see the battles that Labour went through under Kinnock against entryism, extremism and Militant that that muppet of a leader left the door so wide open to all and sundry to vote again and regain a position in the party. Ed, who of course was also some Union's choice, probably didn't even think carefully about what he was doing. After all, he rarely did.
MPs had a veto, but didn't use it.
Gross irresponsibility. Their job was to identify potential Prime Ministers who the PLP could support, who could build a credible team and who had a reasonable prospect of winning.
Labour is not supposed to be a debating club in need of a wider discussion, it is a political party and should be focussed on results so its beliefs can actually be implemented.
Kendall was good on Today on R4; but not likely to get far. Pity, she is far better than Burnham and Cooper, and while Corbyn will be entertaining, it is a bit soon to throw in the towel for 2020. Corbyn may be the best choice for an LD revival though, even if no MPs defect, many voters will.
I feel that Kendall is very good on a one-to-one basis or even with a small group. However, at present she seems to lack the stature that the job needs and could have done with better advisers. However, Labour was never going to listen to what it needed to hear - if John Cruddas had brought out his review a month or so earlier, then that was something on which she could have built.
Good to see Cooper get off the fence. Should have done it ages ago.
Absolutely. At least a month ago. As I was commenting last night her delivery is woeful but in this field any sane party intent on actually having an impact on public policy to protect those in need would vote for her in a heartbeat.
She has probably left it too late though. And as for Burnham, words fail me. I will stick with utterly pathetic.
You've got that right ...Burnham is the single most spineless , craven , limp weather cock of a politician in living memory ...he makes the hand wringing Hamlet look decisive
There's something truly rotten in the LP , methinks
Its a close call as to who comes across the worst. from what I have heard Yvette is absolutely unconvincing and is a very poor speaker. Liz Kendall has been anonymous, Corbyn is bonkers and its hard not to agree with your description of Burnham.. but I think Uriah Heap rather than Hamlet
He is the only one that sounds like a human being, the wind up muppets have been found out, something living even if it is talking mince is still better than the 3 donkeys.
SO No is still narrowly ahead in indyref2 polls and outside London the other area Corbyn polls well is Scotland
Corbyn may win Labour a few more votes in Scotland, but that won't stop the Tories getting 40% in England in 2020 and, therefore, an overall majority. The SNP will use the 2021 Scottish election to get a direct mandate for IndyRef2, they'll receive it, Osborne will have to agree and Scotland will be independent by 2025.
The way things are going, Corbyn could very easily win on the first round and therefore second, never mind third, preferences become as irrelevant as a debate on the merits of a chocolate teapot (which three of the candidates bear a curious resemblance to).
I know the polls haven't exactly covered themselves in glory this year, but if @david_herdson is right and 42% on first preferences would be enough to secure Corbyn overall victory on these kind of numbers it's impossible to see any other outcome. When was the last time a poll was out by 15 points?
To be quite candid though, given how shockingly inept the other three candidates have been the if anything the surprise is that 43% of people still intend to vote for them.
Len McCluskey has had a malign and pernicious effect on British public life. His destruction of the Labour party as an electable force in support of his frankly bizarre political views will be his crowning achievement.
Our democracy will not be the stronger for this idiocy but it will recover, eventually. The lessons of the 80s will have to be learned all over again.
Let us hope Len enjoys Labour's impending annihalations, beginning next year.
It just seems incredible to me when you see the battles that Labour went through under Kinnock against entryism, extremism and Militant that that muppet of a leader left the door so wide open to all and sundry to vote again and regain a position in the party. Ed, who of course was also some Union's choice, probably didn't even think carefully about what he was doing. After all, he rarely did.
MPs had a veto, but didn't use it.
Gross irresponsibility. Their job was to identify potential Prime Ministers who the PLP could support, who could build a credible team and who had a reasonable prospect of winning.
Labour is not supposed to be a debating club in need of a wider discussion, it is a political party and should be focussed on results so its beliefs can actually be implemented.
I think a lot of us are missing the big picture here. Labour lost the election greater its base turned away from it. A new face was never going to be enough. It definitely needed a debate and a renewal. Well it has sure as heck got that. It looks like the previous leadership is going to be swept away - voluntarily in some cases - and there is a huge influx of new members. This is a revolution. It might well destroy Labour as the official opposition. Or it might make all previous assumptions about politics invalid.
It won't destroy Labour, but will do substantial and long-lasting harm to the party. It will guarantee an unenthusiastic Tory victory in 2020 and will so hasten the end the Union. Those of us still alive in 10 years time will be living in a different country, literally and metaphorically.
Corbyn may destroy Labour. Although if Labour collapses, it's hard to see the Conservative Party continuing in it's current form (as Matthew Parris says). Without fear of Labour to unite the Conservatives, what's to hold right/left EU supporters/opponents together.
Morning all! Is this just a big and weird dream, or is Jeremy Corbyn actually going to be leader of the Labour Party in four weeks' time..?
==================== Too true ...if you had fallen asleep Rip Van Winkle style and then awakened after 2 months it would simply be unbelievable ...these events are best viewed through the lens of a quasi religion than politics ; something like the'' independence mania'' that gripped much of Scotland exactly one year ago ..the voters in England who have abandoned critical thinking skills and are walking lockstep like a crowd of zombies behind the saintly Corbyn are the same folks who followed Sturgeon in Scotland last August ..just political munchkins on the yellow brick road to Independence/ utopia .and let's face it , Sturgeon and Corbyn are the single most over rated politicians in Britain today ; but now it's all too late , they have tuned out any rational criticism and are now flying on autopilot
We Brits cannot be too smug about the failures of the Greeks when in Corbyn /Sturgeon we have are own version of Syriza ...simply gormless beyond belief !
Good to see Cooper get off the fence. Should have done it ages ago.
Absolutely. At least a month ago. As I was commenting last night her delivery is woeful but in this field any sane party intent on actually having an impact on public policy to protect those in need would vote for her in a heartbeat.
She has probably left it too late though. And as for Burnham, words fail me. I will stick with utterly pathetic.
You've got that right ...Burnham is the single most spineless , craven , limp weather cock of a politician in living memory ...he makes the hand wringing Hamlet look decisive
There's something truly rotten in the LP , methinks
Its a close call as to who comes across the worst. from what I have heard Yvette is absolutely unconvincing and is a very poor speaker. Liz Kendall has been anonymous, Corbyn is bonkers and its hard not to agree with your description of Burnham.. but I think Uriah Heap rather than Hamlet
He is the only one that sounds like a human being, the wind up muppets have been found out, something living even if it is talking mince is still better than the 3 donkeys.
Malcolmg, I think that's a very unfair remark. I've known some very sensible and hard-working donkeys. They don't deserve to be compared to Corbyn's rivals.
Len McCluskey has had a malign and pernicious effect on British public life. His destruction of the Labour party as an electable force in support of his frankly bizarre political views will be his crowning achievement.
Our democracy will not be the stronger for this idiocy but it will recover, eventually. The lessons of the 80s will have to be learned all over again.
Let us hope Len enjoys Labour's impending annihalations, beginning next year.
It just seems incredible to me when you see the battles that Labour went through under Kinnock against entryism, extremism and Militant that that muppet of a leader left the door so wide open to all and sundry to vote again and regain a position in the party. Ed, who of course was also some Union's choice, probably didn't even think carefully about what he was doing. After all, he rarely did.
MPs had a veto, but didn't use it.
Gross irresponsibility. Their job was to identify potential Prime Ministers who the PLP could support, who could build a credible team and who had a reasonable prospect of winning.
Labour is not supposed to be a debating club in need of a wider discussion, it is a political party and should be focussed on results so its beliefs can actually be implemented.
Kendall was good on Today on R4; but not likely to get far. Pity, she is far better than Burnham and Cooper, and while Corbyn will be entertaining, it is a bit soon to throw in the towel for 2020. Corbyn may be the best choice for an LD revival though, even if no MPs defect, many voters will.
I feel that Kendall is very good on a one-to-one basis or even with a small group. However, at present she seems to lack the stature that the job needs and could have done with better advisers. However, Labour was never going to listen to what it needed to hear - if John Cruddas had brought out his review a month or so earlier, then that was something on which she could have built.
Liz is good in small groups and meetings, but never really fleshed out her platform aside from having a balanced budget as well as an emphasis on early years development. On other policies she had little to say. Still gets my first pref though.
I'm astonished that the ABC candidates are only just starting to campaign. How could they possibly think that they'd have a month's window to win votes AFTER the ballots have gone out?
The vast majority of voters will know their choice already and send them straight back - a lesser number will still make their choice within a few days - that leaves a small rump of undecideds.
Jezza's been recruiting supporters from the stump twice a day every day, mass phone-banking, blitzing the union databases with one-click instant registrations, and actually saying eye-catching things [mad but memorable].
He's totally left them standing. He deserves to win just for effort alone. The rest have only themselves to blame here.
Almost a hundred years ago when Gravilo Princip shot Archduke Ferdinand no one could have predicted the bother it would cause. The same goes for September 25th 2010. Who could have predicted that the minor event on that day would be pinpointed by future historians as the day the slow death of the the Labour Party began......
....On the other hand those voting next week will reflect and despite being tempted by the tinsel an glitter of a Corbyn win will take the pragmatic route and vote Cooper. My feeling is that a Cooper Corbyn race would have gone decisively to Cooper. It's only the ordinaryness of Burnham thats making everyone but Corbyn look so dull
Watching Burnham being interviewed very gently by the ladies on the ITV breakfast show, have never seen a man look less like a leader. He has absolutely no presence at all - the same problem as his opponents - except Corbyn who exudes confidence and positivity.
Too true , Burnham needs to overdose on Viagra to give himself some backbone ...what a craven ,limp , opportunistic and totally untrustworthy person ...I wouldn't trust him to give me the correct time of day
SO Nope even now the Tories have a majority No is ahead and Scotland is getting more powers. By 2020 not impossible Alan Johnson could have replaced Corbyn as Michael Howard replaced IDS if Corbyn really polls poorly
@Mr_Eugenides: The original headline was “The Right are mocking Jeremy Corbyn because they fear him”. It has quietly been changed. http://t.co/ZL6uXTrUVM
@Mr_Eugenides: It now reads, "if Jeremy Corbyn wins, prepare for a firestorm." Funny that.
@Mr_Eugenides: "Editor's Note, 11 August 2015: The headline was changed at the request of the author."
But Plato, as MPs. they needed their summer holidays after all the months of stress leading up to the GE - probably also they had mentally discounted Corbyn as being too extreme.
The other problem, is that EdM had left them bereft of viable policies and so had nothing on which to build. However there was plenty of room for JC to build policies that are outside of their spheres of thinking. They are just starting to realise - too late - that overconfidence brings vulnerability.
I'm astonished that the ABC candidates are only just starting to campaign. How could they possibly think that they'd have a month's window to win votes AFTER the ballots have gone out?
The vast majority of voters will know their choice already and send them straight back - a lesser number will still make their choice within a few days - that leaves a small rump of undecideds.
Jezza's been recruiting supporters from the stump twice a day every day, mass phone-banking, blitzing the union databases with one-click instant registrations, and actually saying eye-catching things [mad but memorable].
He's totally left them standing. He deserves to win just for effort alone. The rest have only themselves to blame here.
@Sean_F - Corbyn could get up to 30% or so of the national vote and Labour will retain plenty of safe seats. What he won't do is win back any Tory voters, many SNP or UKIP voters or persuade non-voters to go to the ballot box. He will drive voters like me to the LDs, but we're not a huge block. So Labour will survive, but probably not as a party of government. What that does to the Tories is anyone's guess.
Almost a hundred years ago when Gravilo Princip shot Archduke Ferdinand no one could have predicted the bother it would cause. The same goes for September 25th 2010. Who could have predicted that the minor event on that day would be pinpointed by future historians as the day the slow death of the the Labour Party began......
....On the other hand those voting next week will reflect and despite being tempted by the tinsel an glitter of a Corbyn win will take the pragmatic route and vote Cooper. My feeling is that a Cooper Corbyn race would have gone decisively to Cooper. It's only the ordinaryness of Burnham thats making everyone but Corbyn look so dull
Almost a hundred year ago? Do you know what year it is, old bean?
O/T but my inner Grammar Nazi is seething this morning. From a BBC report on Heath:
Lord Armstrong was principle private secretary at Number 10 during Sir Edward's time as Conservative prime minister between 1970 and 1974.
Anyone got any good jokes about this being the only principle Heath had?
But as you know English Grammar is hardly taught in schools today, so how can you expect that BBC to get it right?
I seem to remember that Heath used to have plenty of young people to crew his yacht - including pretty girls.
I assure you, Financier, I am obsessive on SPaG. I can't speak for all schools, of course. Indeed, I turned down a job in one school in Oxfordshire, which shall be nameless, when I noticed that somehow they had managed to spell the school's name incorrectly on the sign at the entrance (disturbingly, that school was rated 'Outstanding' by OFSTED). But in all the four schools I have taught in, I have jumped on things like this.
I can't remember back as far as Heath, so I bow to your knowledge of his crewing practices. Maybe he thought they would provide good photographs the tabloid press would actually want to publish? Or am I being cynical?
SO No is still narrowly ahead in indyref2 polls and outside London the other area Corbyn polls well is Scotland
Corbyn may win Labour a few more votes in Scotland, but that won't stop the Tories getting 40% in England in 2020 and, therefore, an overall majority. The SNP will use the 2021 Scottish election to get a direct mandate for IndyRef2, they'll receive it, Osborne will have to agree and Scotland will be independent by 2025.
I doubt another Islington muppet will make much inroads in Scotland, it has not stopped yet. Every result we see now has SNP rising, the Tory leader has scuttled off to Edinburgh and stolen someone's place to giver her a chance of a losers consolation seat just to stay in charge. As you say it is only a matter of time now, a one way street.
JackW - great to have you back. I didn't get to say at the time but congratulations on getting the PM right. I've been following PB for about two years and when I first saw your ARSE I was sceptical, but by 21:50 on May 7th I'd come to the view that somehow Dave was going to win.
I do have one question, though. What surprised you more, how well the SNP did or how badly the Lib Dems did?
Much thanks.
A couple of aspects of the eventual results undercooked my ARSE.
In Scotland I expected a slightly better result for Labour and the LibDems, indeed the yellow peril held up much better in a number of seats but the SNP tsumani swept almost all before them.
What surprised, both me and senior Conservatives much more was how the spectre of the SNP played as extensively as it did in England - it effectively handed the Tories their majority nudging about two dozen Labour and LibDem seats into the blue column.
Sturgeon and Cameron - Unlikely partners but they danced a highly successful fandango.
Jack, I did try to get you to nudge your ARSE away from the LibDems and towards the SNP.... I did predict SNP on 50% of the Scottish vote, but even though I had been aggressively bearish on the LibDems, with 17 seats in my pb.com sweepstake entry, going down to 8 was rather surprising. And fun....
Too soon to say the Labour Party Will Never Bag Prime Minister?
I acclaim you as the great ARSE of Torbay ....
However .... as with south coast pundits and Labour misfortunes nothing is forever.
Meanwhile, you can still back Jeremy Corbyn at 1.38 on Betfair.
I've gone back to the well for another ton to bring up the profit on Jezza to just over 1100. I'm still well in with Cooper, and lose nothing if Andy somehow does it.
Mr. Observer, is it a straightforward move to the Lib Dems, or would you consider other parties?
Mr. Doethur, it irritated me, as someone who as quite good at grammar and spelling, that both combined got something pitiful like 3% of the total mark in English. One would've thought the ability to actually spell and construct the language correctly would be quite important.
Len McCluskey has had a malign and pernicious effect on British public life. His destruction of the Labour party as an electable force in support of his frankly bizarre political views will be his crowning achievement.
Our democracy will not be the stronger for this idiocy but it will recover, eventually. The lessons of the 80s will have to be learned all over again.
Let us hope Len enjoys Labour's impending annihalations, beginning next year.
It just seems incredible to me when you see the battles that Labour went through under Kinnock against entryism, extremism and Militant that that muppet of a leader left the door so wide open to all and sundry to vote again and regain a position in the party. Ed, who of course was also some Union's choice, probably didn't even think carefully about what he was doing. After all, he rarely did.
MPs had a veto, but didn't use it.
Gross irresponsibility. Their job was to identify potential Prime Ministers who the PLP could support, who could build a credible team and who had a reasonable prospect of winning.
Labour is not supposed to be a debating club in need of a wider discussion, it is a political party and should be focussed on results so its beliefs can actually be implemented.
Kendall was good on Today on R4; but not likely to get far. Pity, she is far better than Burnham and Cooper, and while Corbyn will be entertaining, it is a bit soon to throw in the towel for 2020. Corbyn may be the best choice for an LD revival though, even if no MPs defect, many voters will.
I feel that Kendall is very good on a one-to-one basis or even with a small group. However, at present she seems to lack the stature that the job needs and could have done with better advisers. However, Labour was never going to listen to what it needed to hear - if John Cruddas had brought out his review a month or so earlier, then that was something on which she could have built.
Liz is good in small groups and meetings, but never really fleshed out her platform aside from having a balanced budget as well as an emphasis on early years development. On other policies she had little to say. Still gets my first pref though.
I have only experience her at a smallish meeting and quite often on a on-to-one basis in relaxed surroundings. Somehow I feel she has not grown over the last couple of years.
Mr. G, remember Hubris and Nemesis. The Romans under Trajan probably couldn't imagine the following century would almost see the empire totally collapse.
Nothing lasts forever. Even the longest, the most glittering reign must come to an end someday.
JackW - great to have you back. I didn't get to say at the time but congratulations on getting the PM right. I've been following PB for about two years and when I first saw your ARSE I was sceptical, but by 21:50 on May 7th I'd come to the view that somehow Dave was going to win.
I do have one question, though. What surprised you more, how well the SNP did or how badly the Lib Dems did?
Much thanks.
A couple of aspects of the eventual results undercooked my ARSE.
In Scotland I expected a slightly better result for Labour and the LibDems, indeed the yellow peril held up much better in a number of seats but the SNP tsumani swept almost all before them.
What surprised, both me and senior Conservatives much more was how the spectre of the SNP played as extensively as it did in England - it effectively handed the Tories their majority nudging about two dozen Labour and LibDem seats into the blue column.
Sturgeon and Cameron - Unlikely partners but they danced a highly successful fandango.
=======================
It didn't surprise me one bit ; I predicted a Tory majority on an almost daily routine from December onwards because I knew intuitively that folks in England would never take the risk of a weak Miliband being held to ransom by Lady Macbeth , regardless of what the polls said
Cameron was always going to win the most seats but it was the witless Sturgeon proudly boasting on live TV that she was going to ''lock the Tories out '' that spooked the centrist voters into the arms of the Tories ...the voters in England were not going to allow the odious SNP to pick their pockets for 5 long years, that's for sure !
O/T but my inner Grammar Nazi is seething this morning. From a BBC report on Heath:
Lord Armstrong was principle private secretary at Number 10 during Sir Edward's time as Conservative prime minister between 1970 and 1974.
Anyone got any good jokes about this being the only principle Heath had?
But as you know English Grammar is hardly taught in schools today, so how can you expect that BBC to get it right?
I seem to remember that Heath used to have plenty of young people to crew his yacht - including pretty girls.
I assure you, Financier, I am obsessive on SPaG. I can't speak for all schools, of course. Indeed, I turned down a job in one school in Oxfordshire, which shall be nameless, when I noticed that somehow they had managed to spell the school's name incorrectly on the sign at the entrance (disturbingly, that school was rated 'Outstanding' by OFSTED). But in all the four schools I have taught in, I have jumped on things like this.
I can't remember back as far as Heath, so I bow to your knowledge of his crewing practices. Maybe he thought they would provide good photographs the tabloid press would actually want to publish? Or am I being cynical?
Good for you. I go back to the days when Eng Language and Eng Lit were separate subjects at O Level.. Most days in our office, someone asks how to spell something. In fact all client reports have to be vetted by me for good and simple English (jargon free) as well as correct technical and scientific content and conclusions.
Mr. Observer, is it a straightforward move to the Lib Dems, or would you consider other parties?
Mr. Doethur, it irritated me, as someone who as quite good at grammar and spelling, that both combined got something pitiful like 3% of the total mark in English. One would've thought the ability to actually spell and construct the language correctly would be quite important.
Mr. Observer, is it a straightforward move to the Lib Dems, or would you consider other parties?
Mr. Doethur, it irritated me, as someone who as quite good at grammar and spelling, that both combined got something pitiful like 3% of the total mark in English. One would've thought the ability to actually spell and construct the language correctly would be quite important.
Shakespeare couldn't spell. And for Good Queen Bess, the Queen's English varied from day to day.
As for "construct correctly", could you please give an example of good and bad English & say why each is which?
JackW - great to have you back. I didn't get to say at the time but congratulations on getting the PM right. I've been following PB for about two years and when I first saw your ARSE I was sceptical, but by 21:50 on May 7th I'd come to the view that somehow Dave was going to win.
I do have one question, though. What surprised you more, how well the SNP did or how badly the Lib Dems did?
Much thanks.
A couple of aspects of the eventual results undercooked my ARSE.
In Scotland I expected a slightly better result for Labour and the LibDems, indeed the yellow peril held up much better in a number of seats but the SNP tsumani swept almost all before them.
What surprised, both me and senior Conservatives much more was how the spectre of the SNP played as extensively as it did in England - it effectively handed the Tories their majority nudging about two dozen Labour and LibDem seats into the blue column.
Sturgeon and Cameron - Unlikely partners but they danced a highly successful fandango.
=======================
It didn't surprise me one bit ; I predicted a Tory majority on an almost daily routine from December onwards because I knew intuitively that folks in England would never take the risk of a weak Miliband being held to ransom by Lady Macbeth , regardless of what the polls said
Cameron was always going to win the most seats but it was the witless Sturgeon proudly boasting on live TV that she was going to ''lock the Tories out '' that spooked the centrist voters into the arms of the Tories ...the voters in England were not going to allow the odious SNP to pick their pockets for 5 long years, that's for sure !
Brilliantly the same tactic will work in 2020... imagine a Corbyn government backed up by La Sturgeon.
JackW - great to have you back. I didn't get to say at the time but congratulations on getting the PM right. I've been following PB for about two years and when I first saw your ARSE I was sceptical, but by 21:50 on May 7th I'd come to the view that somehow Dave was going to win.
I do have one question, though. What surprised you more, how well the SNP did or how badly the Lib Dems did?
Much thanks.
A couple of aspects of the eventual results undercooked my ARSE.
In Scotland I expected a slightly better result for Labour and the LibDems, indeed the yellow peril held up much better in a number of seats but the SNP tsumani swept almost all before them.
What surprised, both me and senior Conservatives much more was how the spectre of the SNP played as extensively as it did in England - it effectively handed the Tories their majority nudging about two dozen Labour and LibDem seats into the blue column.
Sturgeon and Cameron - Unlikely partners but they danced a highly successful fandango.
=======================
It didn't surprise me one bit ; I predicted a Tory majority on an almost daily routine from December onwards because I knew intuitively that folks in England would never take the risk of a weak Miliband being held to ransom by Lady Macbeth , regardless of what the polls said
Cameron was always going to win the most seats but it was the witless Sturgeon proudly boasting on live TV that she was going to ''lock the Tories out '' that spooked the centrist voters into the arms of the Tories ...the voters in England were not going to allow the odious SNP to pick their pockets for 5 long years, that's for sure !
Salmond "joking" that he was going to write Labour's Budget was a high point of hubris too.
That said, looking at his talent pool, Jeremy might be looking at outsourcing the Shadow Chancellor role....
JackW - great to have you back. I didn't get to say at the time but congratulations on getting the PM right. I've been following PB for about two years and when I first saw your ARSE I was sceptical, but by 21:50 on May 7th I'd come to the view that somehow Dave was going to win.
I do have one question, though. What surprised you more, how well the SNP did or how badly the Lib Dems did?
Much thanks.
A couple of aspects of the eventual results undercooked my ARSE.
In Scotland I expected a slightly better result for Labour and the LibDems, indeed the yellow peril held up much better in a number of seats but the SNP tsumani swept almost all before them.
What surprised, both me and senior Conservatives much more was how the spectre of the SNP played as extensively as it did in England - it effectively handed the Tories their majority nudging about two dozen Labour and LibDem seats into the blue column.
Sturgeon and Cameron - Unlikely partners but they danced a highly successful fandango.
=======================
It didn't surprise me one bit ; I predicted a Tory majority on an almost daily routine from December onwards because I knew intuitively that folks in England would never take the risk of a weak Miliband being held to ransom by Lady Macbeth , regardless of what the polls said
Cameron was always going to win the most seats but it was the witless Sturgeon proudly boasting on live TV that she was going to ''lock the Tories out '' that spooked the centrist voters into the arms of the Tories ...the voters in England were not going to allow the odious SNP to pick their pockets for 5 long years, that's for sure !
Another ARSE on PB.
However I must restrain my fulsome praise as your monicker of "Cromwell" has the Jacobite in me reaching for my Lochaber axe !!
SO No is still narrowly ahead in indyref2 polls and outside London the other area Corbyn polls well is Scotland
Corbyn may win Labour a few more votes in Scotland, but that won't stop the Tories getting 40% in England in 2020 and, therefore, an overall majority. The SNP will use the 2021 Scottish election to get a direct mandate for IndyRef2, they'll receive it, Osborne will have to agree and Scotland will be independent by 2025.
I doubt another Islington muppet will make much inroads in Scotland, it has not stopped yet. Every result we see now has SNP rising, the Tory leader has scuttled off to Edinburgh and stolen someone's place to giver her a chance of a losers consolation seat just to stay in charge. As you say it is only a matter of time now, a one way street.
1 - How many of the "entryists" come from the SNP? I don't think that has been mentioned. They were willing to tell all those economic lies to their own supporters, so I can't see principles the SNP hasn't got stopping them. Will any data be published by Labour after the fact?
2 - What happens to "supporters" after the Corbyngasm. Are they just names on an email list with new politico-callers, or is it gouing to be turned into a continuing affiliation?
3 - How long do these new members stick around? I can recall Green palpitations about a loss of new members after 3 years when authorisation for auto-payments had to be renewed.
Comments
Yeh baby !!
Have you or anybody else ever seen a clearer example of a major political party committing suicide?
Some fatalists in Labour seem to be clinging to a Buddhist hope that death by Corbyn via a consensual political suicide pact will result in the reincarnation of the party a few years down the line.
There is always hope ....
Most recently the LibDems went over the cliff for the nation :
"It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known."
Truly a "Tale of Two Parties" - The rest for the LibDems and Labour may last some time ....
I do have one question, though. What surprised you more, how well the SNP did or how badly the Lib Dems did?
A couple of aspects of the eventual results undercooked my ARSE.
In Scotland I expected a slightly better result for Labour and the LibDems, indeed the yellow peril held up much better in a number of seats but the SNP tsumani swept almost all before them.
What surprised, both me and senior Conservatives much more was how the spectre of the SNP played as extensively as it did in England - it effectively handed the Tories their majority nudging about two dozen Labour and LibDem seats into the blue column.
Sturgeon and Cameron - Unlikely partners but they danced a highly successful fandango.
Wherever the Tories are on holiday they'll be sleeping soundly with smiles on their faces.
Will the ABCs today be singing the Red Flag or LoB’s 'Always look on the bright side of life'?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-fWDrZSiZs
http://news.sky.com/story/1535425/labour-leadership-brown-will-endorse-cooper
Kiss of death from the demented one…
The Tories have an exquisite problem. Do they throw everything at JC immediately and risk his early departure, or do they drip it out in the hope he will stick around as close to 2020 as possible? The slight risk with that is that this will give JC time to build a strong enough rapport with enough of the electorate to prevent a Tory majority in five years.
Finally, interesting that Farage sees a Corbyn leadership as a boost for the Out side in the forthcoming referendum. How will that affect UKIP attacks on Labour? It does seem as if the one significant piece of damage Corbyn could do the Cameron Tories is in the EU referendum. A defeat for the PM would set some pretty fascinating trails in motion. Maybe that's an incentive for all out Tory attack from Day One.
Our democracy will not be the stronger for this idiocy but it will recover, eventually. The lessons of the 80s will have to be learned all over again.
In 10 days time it's likely the result will be sealed beyond doubt in the ballot box, but we won't hear about it for a further month.
Now her time has come, she's been (up until now) virtually invisible, inaudible and inhibited.
She has probably left it too late though. And as for Burnham, words fail me. I will stick with utterly pathetic.
Has come at some cost, mind.
@Mr_Eugenides: It now reads, "if Jeremy Corbyn wins, prepare for a firestorm." Funny that.
@Mr_Eugenides: "Editor's Note, 11 August 2015: The headline was changed at the request of the author."
Labour is not supposed to be a debating club in need of a wider discussion, it is a political party and should be focussed on results so its beliefs can actually be implemented.
There's something truly rotten in the LP , methinks
Too soon to say the Labour Party Will Never Bag Prime Minister?
The Right are mocking Owen Jones because he's a Tw@.....
Corbyn is an anachronistic fool and a real failure who has achieved nothing after 32 years in Parliament, and yet , he is going to turn the LP into a mirror image of himself ..the once mighty LP is set to become a pathetic protest party and debating society led by a sanctimonious old fool and preening poseur ..merely a party of political masturbation that pleasures themselves while producing nothing of value ...the Tories have good reason to laugh , so this is how great Parties die , not with a bang but with a whimper
Will he strike a chord with the electorate by 2020? We all worried whether the Cons had done too good a job of recovery such that people wondered "what was all the fuss about" and hence might vote Lab this last May.
Events notwithstanding it might be similar in 2020. Better/worse even. But the electorate showed at the GE that they are just as sophisticated as the commentariat. Corbyn either stays bonkers left in which case he will get a shellacking, or he tries to tack right in which case he will get a shellacking.
It took me until 1997 to vote for Tony The Tory. After Not Flash, Just Gordon [I mean really?] wrecked the economy - I suspect I won't vote for them again in my lifetime. But there's a whole fresh crop of starry-eyed numpties who won't believe how it ended back then.
Even now we have the most creative excuses as to why Foot lost in 1983 - and it was nothing to do with the Suicide Note apparently. When we're up against the Jezziah - it's pointless trying to reason with them.
The pie chart makes Corbyn look like an angry Pacman.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-33921047
The way things are going, Corbyn could very easily win on the first round and therefore second, never mind third, preferences become as irrelevant as a debate on the merits of a chocolate teapot (which three of the candidates bear a curious resemblance to).
I know the polls haven't exactly covered themselves in glory this year, but if @david_herdson is right and 42% on first preferences would be enough to secure Corbyn overall victory on these kind of numbers it's impossible to see any other outcome. When was the last time a poll was out by 15 points?
To be quite candid though, given how shockingly inept the other three candidates have been the if anything the surprise is that 43% of people still intend to vote for them.
Too true ...if you had fallen asleep Rip Van Winkle style and then awakened after 2 months it would simply be unbelievable ...these events are best viewed through the lens of a quasi religion than politics ; something like the'' independence mania'' that gripped much of Scotland exactly one year ago ..the voters in England who have abandoned critical thinking skills and are walking lockstep like a crowd of zombies behind the saintly Corbyn are the same folks who followed Sturgeon in Scotland last August ..just political munchkins on the yellow brick road to Independence/ utopia .and let's face it , Sturgeon and Corbyn are the single most over rated politicians in Britain today ; but now it's all too late , they have tuned out any rational criticism and are now flying on autopilot
We Brits cannot be too smug about the failures of the Greeks when in Corbyn /Sturgeon we have are own version of Syriza ...simply gormless beyond belief !
Yup
@YanniKouts: Tsipras survives with up to 42 rebel votes or abstentions. 43 is the lethal number. #Greece
Here, Corbyn has the explicit backing of just 20 members of the PLP...
But as you know English Grammar is hardly taught in schools today, so how can you expect that BBC to get it right?
I seem to remember that Heath used to have plenty of young people to crew his yacht - including pretty girls.
The vast majority of voters will know their choice already and send them straight back - a lesser number will still make their choice within a few days - that leaves a small rump of undecideds.
Jezza's been recruiting supporters from the stump twice a day every day, mass phone-banking, blitzing the union databases with one-click instant registrations, and actually saying eye-catching things [mad but memorable].
He's totally left them standing. He deserves to win just for effort alone. The rest have only themselves to blame here.
....On the other hand those voting next week will reflect and despite being tempted by the tinsel an glitter of a Corbyn win will take the pragmatic route and vote Cooper. My feeling is that a Cooper Corbyn race would have gone decisively to Cooper. It's only the ordinaryness of Burnham thats making everyone but Corbyn look so dull
Agree entirely – Corbyn at 66, has shown more oomph than the rest put together.
The other problem, is that EdM had left them bereft of viable policies and so had nothing on which to build. However there was plenty of room for JC to build policies that are outside of their spheres of thinking. They are just starting to realise - too late - that overconfidence brings vulnerability.
I seem to remember that Heath used to have plenty of young people to crew his yacht - including pretty girls.
I assure you, Financier, I am obsessive on SPaG. I can't speak for all schools, of course. Indeed, I turned down a job in one school in Oxfordshire, which shall be nameless, when I noticed that somehow they had managed to spell the school's name incorrectly on the sign at the entrance (disturbingly, that school was rated 'Outstanding' by OFSTED). But in all the four schools I have taught in, I have jumped on things like this.
I can't remember back as far as Heath, so I bow to your knowledge of his crewing practices. Maybe he thought they would provide good photographs the tabloid press would actually want to publish? Or am I being cynical?
Denny & Banknock (Falkirk) result:
SNP - 69.1% (+30.2)
LAB - 14.7% (-15.9)
CON - 11.6% (+7.9)
GRN - 4.6% (+4.6)
However .... as with south coast pundits and Labour misfortunes nothing is forever.
Feel I have reached 'final book' now tbh.
(Sorry. Wrong button. Ah well .. it's out there now.)
Mr. Doethur, it irritated me, as someone who as quite good at grammar and spelling, that both combined got something pitiful like 3% of the total mark in English. One would've thought the ability to actually spell and construct the language correctly would be quite important.
Nothing lasts forever. Even the longest, the most glittering reign must come to an end someday.
It didn't surprise me one bit ; I predicted a Tory majority on an almost daily routine from December onwards because I knew intuitively that folks in England would never take the risk of a weak Miliband being held to ransom by Lady Macbeth , regardless of what the polls said
Cameron was always going to win the most seats but it was the witless Sturgeon proudly boasting on live TV that she was going to ''lock the Tories out '' that spooked the centrist voters into the arms of the Tories ...the voters in England were not going to allow the odious SNP to pick their pockets for 5 long years, that's for sure !
'Almost' as in 'around'. I thought about 'almost a hundred and two ' years ago but it lacked bite!
I can't remember back as far as Heath, so I bow to your knowledge of his crewing practices. Maybe he thought they would provide good photographs the tabloid press would actually want to publish? Or am I being cynical?
Good for you. I go back to the days when Eng Language and Eng Lit were separate subjects at O Level.. Most days in our office, someone asks how to spell something. In fact all client reports have to be vetted by me for good and simple English (jargon free) as well as correct technical and scientific content and conclusions.
As for "construct correctly", could you please give an example of good and bad English & say why each is which?
That said, looking at his talent pool, Jeremy might be looking at outsourcing the Shadow Chancellor role....
However I must restrain my fulsome praise as your monicker of "Cromwell" has the Jacobite in me reaching for my Lochaber axe !!
3 questions:
1 - How many of the "entryists" come from the SNP? I don't think that has been mentioned. They were willing to tell all those economic lies to their own supporters, so I can't see principles the SNP hasn't got stopping them. Will any data be published by Labour after the fact?
2 - What happens to "supporters" after the Corbyngasm. Are they just names on an email list with new politico-callers, or is it gouing to be turned into a continuing affiliation?
3 - How long do these new members stick around? I can recall Green palpitations about a loss of new members after 3 years when authorisation for auto-payments had to be renewed.