I'm sorry to say it sounds like the BBC elicited a resignation, which may or may not have otherwise happened, in exchange for airtime which a junior minister would otherwise struggle to attract It would be a scandal if the party in question were in any way relevant to the future of British governance but, erm, it's Corbyn's Labour
To be fair it must have been a very easy job for him: everyone on the right-hand side of the classroom would fail, everyone on the left would pass, and those on the far left would become prefects.
Still, it's good to see when he's against 'unqualified' teachers in the classroom he knows what he's talking about from personal experience.
He didn´t claim to be a geography teacher, though. Only that at the age of 18, he taught geography.
Your point being?
Not qualified, not trained, just chancing it when he was given the opportunity.
No need to have a go at the teaching professiion, just because of the limitations of Mr Corbyn.
Ok, this is serious now - even if some people, unaccountably to my mind, think Abbott and Livingstone are good spokespersons for the Labour leadership, they are being overused surely?
Who else have they got?
There are about twenty people in the shadow cabinet, aren't there? One might have thought that any of them were capable of doing a TV interview. Perhaps there is another reason why the party leadership doesn't let them in front of the cameras.
There are about twenty people in the shadow cabinet, aren't there? One might have thought that any of them were capable of doing a TV interview. Perhaps there is another reason why the party leadership doesn't let them in front of the cameras.
Lisa Nandy was on the DP. Genuine lefty. Should be a solid Corbynista on paper
Said she agreed with Pat McFadden...
That is not the Corbynista line, that only the inner circle can be trusted to deliver with a straight face
Ok, this is serious now - even if some people, unaccountably to my mind, think Abbott and Livingstone are good spokespersons for the Labour leadership, they are being overused surely?
Who else have they got?
There are about twenty people in the shadow cabinet, aren't there? One might have thought that any of them were capable of doing a TV interview. Perhaps there is another reason why the party leadership doesn't let them in front of the cameras.
If having two feet in their mouths and bizare political views were a problem they would have no spokespeople at all.
I agree. Making news should be for other people. The BBC should not be competing in that area. It should just be an impartial reporter of fact and explanation. It has lost sight of what its remit should be. A cheap publicity stunt that harms one party (Labour). It was not an impartial reporting of the news.
I'm sorry to say it sounds like the BBC elicited a resignation, which may or may not have otherwise happened, in exchange for airtime which a junior minister would otherwise struggle to attract It would be a scandal if the party in question were in any way relevant to the future of British governance but, erm, it's Corbyn's Labour
Ok, this is serious now - even if some people, unaccountably to my mind, think Abbott and Livingstone are good spokespersons for the Labour leadership, they are being overused surely?
Who else have they got?
John McDonnell? Jihadi Jez himself?
I take your point...
The odd thing is they are trashing the Corbyn brand internally. At least a third of his vote were old labour not far left types who went for his new, kinder, gentler politics line. I think sending Ken, diane and McDonnell - three very divisive figures - to personally insult and trash his opponents is not good politics. The 1980s london-centric group is also not a good look - particularly when you are arguing your opponents are a 'clique'.
There seems to be the first signs of disquiet from some of his 'softer' support. And while he personally is obsessed with trident and anti-imperialism hardly anyone gives a shit. Putting it front and centre of his move to the left rather than (say) rail re-nationalisation or eonomic issues is also ham fisted.
Sections of the M90 tonight were less than fun with what amounted to streams running across the carriageway, in places strong enough to carry type 1 gravel onto the road surface. Not nice to drive in the dark and this time of the year it is dark all the time (or at least it feels that way).
As someone who voted against independence I clearly carry an element of responsibility for this. An independent Scotland that had broken away from England would no doubt have been in the Carribean by now.
Apparently, the BBC’s political editor Laura Kuenssberg set it all up. From the blog post:
Just before 9am we learned from Laura Kuenssberg, who comes on the programme every Wednesday ahead of PMQs, that she was speaking to one junior shadow minister who was considering resigning. I wonder, mused our presenter Andrew Neil, if they would consider doing it live on the show?
The question was put to Laura, who thought it was a great idea. Considering it a long shot we carried on the usual work of building the show, and continued speaking to Labour MPs who were confirming reports of a string of shadow ministers considering their positions.
Within the hour we heard that Laura had sealed the deal: the shadow foreign minister Stephen Doughty would resign live in the studio.
Wow, lost a bit of respect for Laura K for that. It is different if he spontaneously resigned on air, but to plan it out and have the BBC PolEd scheme like that to get a story is just grubby. The national broadcaster should be above such actions.
I agree. Making news should be for other people. The BBC should not be competing in that area. It should just be an impartial reporter of fact and explanation. It has lost sight of what its remit should be. A cheap publicity stunt that harms one party (Labour). It was not an impartial reporting of the news.
I don't think it's that big a deal. If someone speaks to a journalist the journalist may ask if it's on the record, that sort of thing, and whether they do or not can have an impact on how much a particular party. This is really not that different - he was thinking of resigning, they asked if he would be prepared to do it live, how is it that different from if they'd just announced it themselves that they heard he was going to (heard from him, that is)? As I said, I am sure they'll have asked someone this sort of thing before, it's still up to the person to decide, barely different than if he'd done it on air without telling them first.
I do think it's unnecessary, and invites attacks of impartiality, but I don't think it is, it was just trying to be dramatic - that isn't making the news, it's enhancing the reporting of it. Now someone might still have a problem with that and fair enough, but it is not as big of a deal of accusations of impartiality or unprofessionalism. I think its important to make that distinction even if one thinks it should not have been done - ultimately, Doughty made a choice, and his resignation and any harm it did to labour was already happening, he would have been asked the same things and said the same things, so in actual terms, virtually nothing was altered by the BBC actions and we shouldn't pretend otherwise.
Other than party morale I can't see who wins the London mayor making any difference to national politics, London is a completely different animal to any other part of the country. I'd be interested to see how many people, both in and out of London, know who the mayor is.
To be fair it must have been a very easy job for him: everyone on the right-hand side of the classroom would fail, everyone on the left would pass, and those on the far left would become prefects.
Still, it's good to see when he's against 'unqualified' teachers in the classroom he knows what he's talking about from personal experience.
He didn´t claim to be a geography teacher, though. Only that at the age of 18, he taught geography.
Your point being?
Not qualified, not trained, just chancing it when he was given the opportunity.
No need to have a go at the teaching professiion, just because of the limitations of Mr Corbyn.
I was not 'having a go' at the teaching profession. Although I could if you like.
The nutter shot dead in Paris today was wearing a fake suicide belt, perhaps he failed the interview to be a suicide bomber and wanted to make a point.
The way I see it, there are 3 conditions that must be in place before mainstream grassroots members will acquiesce to a leadership change.
1) It must be demonstrated at the ballot box that Corbyn is a big liability - so that means he's safe for atleast this May's set of elections, quite possibly the 2017 ones too. Even I think he should get atleast one go at it just to be sure (even though I'm 95% sure he'll flop).
2) It must be demonstrated that the PLP have "learnt their lesson" from last summer's fiasco after the election where they were all falling over themselves to say how much they agreed with the Tories on absolutely everything (not least the Welfare Bill)
3) It must be shown that hope is not completely lost for Labour permanently and that, if they get their act together, a win in 2020 is a possibility (some more polls showing how toxically unpopular Osborne is, and how beatable he'd be by a decent Labour leader, will help with this) . Perversely enough, one thing that might help Corbyn stay in place is if people start thinking so fatalistically, that Labour are so 100% screwed in 2020 no matter who the leader is that they might as well leave Corbyn in place.
I've never been a Labour member but as a sometime voter for the party, there's something else that Labour could wake up to: there are people who would greatly benefit from a Labour Government.
I'm quite comfortably off at the moment but, heck, nothing in life is certain and I find myself thinking what I would hope for from a political party if I were on my uppers. And I think that Blair/Brown Labour was (in a somewhat stealthy way) quite redistributive and also spent a lot of money on the NHS, by no means all of which was wasted. And I'd think that would be a party and a government that would help me.
The current version of Labour doesn't seem like it gives a flying shit about the poor or disadvantaged. Are Labour members going to wake up to the fact that there are people that *need* something other than a Tory government not in 2025 or 2030 or 2035 but at the first opportunity?
Other than party morale I can't see who wins the London mayor making any difference to national politics, London is a completely different animal to any other part of the country. I'd be interested to see how many people, both in and out of London, know who the mayor is.
I suspect it's fairly high, London centric news reporting and all that, but admittedly actually the role itself seems less important than people probably think it is. But effect on party morale, national party morale, is still significant, and a loss by Labour cannot be written off like hundreds of lost council can,
@nickphippssky: . @HackneyAbbott is pretty unequivocal re Labour defence policy on #skynewstonight: "we're not reviewing our membership of NATO"
It's OK, Ken will be due back on tomorrow and can change it again...
The crack has opened though and the wedge can be driven. As if that is not enough we have a unilateralist as a shadow defence minister. Labour's direction of travel is pretty clear.
Despite today's headlines (and the media like a disaster) world growth is likely to be benign and no one really knows what China's growth is anyway. The other point about Osborne's speech was his comment on rising interest rates. But that - rising interest rates- is a symptom of success, of growth, of rising employment. But shhh... don't tell Mr Brind that.
The nutter shot dead in Paris today was wearing a fake suicide belt, perhaps he failed the interview to be a suicide bomber and wanted to make a point.
LOL. On a serious note. He had his ISIS flag. Given how crude his attack was, I presume "Inspired by ISIS" (sounds a bit like Intel Inside, dooo dooo dooo doo) .
Apparently, the BBC’s political editor Laura Kuenssberg set it all up. From the blog post:
Just before 9am we learned from Laura Kuenssberg, who comes on the programme every Wednesday ahead of PMQs, that she was speaking to one junior shadow minister who was considering resigning. I wonder, mused our presenter Andrew Neil, if they would consider doing it live on the show?
The question was put to Laura, who thought it was a great idea. Considering it a long shot we carried on the usual work of building the show, and continued speaking to Labour MPs who were confirming reports of a string of shadow ministers considering their positions.
Within the hour we heard that Laura had sealed the deal: the shadow foreign minister Stephen Doughty would resign live in the studio.
Wow, lost a bit of respect for Laura K for that. It is different if he spontaneously resigned on air, but to plan it out and have the BBC PolEd scheme like that to get a story is just grubby. The national broadcaster should be above such actions. I agree. But it seems to be acceptable practice for the BBC to create these events and manufacture news. Caused by having too many staff and too much airtime to fill.
The nutter shot dead in Paris today was wearing a fake suicide belt, perhaps he failed the interview to be a suicide bomber and wanted to make a point.
LOL. On a serious note. He had his ISIS flag. Given how crude his attack was, I presume "Inspired by ISIS" (sounds a bit like Intel Inside, dooo dooo dooo doo) .
Other than party morale I can't see who wins the London mayor making any difference to national politics, London is a completely different animal to any other part of the country. I'd be interested to see how many people, both in and out of London, know who the mayor is.
I think London mayor is the one local government role that does have national visibility. People know who "Boris" is. At least, out here in darkest Worcestershire we do. Can't speak for Lancashire
Other than party morale I can't see who wins the London mayor making any difference to national politics, London is a completely different animal to any other part of the country. I'd be interested to see how many people, both in and out of London, know who the mayor is.
I suspect it's fairly high, London centric news reporting and all that, but admittedly actually the role itself seems less important than people probably think it is. But effect on party morale, national party morale, is still significant, and a loss by Labour cannot be written off like hundreds of lost council can,
I must admit I thought Boris had to stand down from being mayor to be an MP
The shadow cabinet, a group of people who pretend to have jobs they do not actually have, is now missing several key positions including under-minister for Pompously Walking Out On Principle.
The nutter shot dead in Paris today was wearing a fake suicide belt, perhaps he failed the interview to be a suicide bomber and wanted to make a point.
LOL. On a serious note. He had his ISIS flag. Given how crude his attack was, I presume "Inspired by ISIS" (sounds a bit like Intel Inside, dooo dooo dooo doo) .
How dare you call them ISIS it's the so called Islamic State, as the BBC reminds us every 5 minutes
The way I see it, there are 3 conditions that must be in place before mainstream grassroots members will acquiesce to a leadership change.
1) It must be demonstrated at the ballot box that Corbyn is a big liability - so that means he's safe for atleast this May's set of elections, quite possibly the 2017 ones too. Even I think he should get atleast one go at it just to be sure (even though I'm 95% sure he'll flop).
2) It must be demonstrated that the PLP have "learnt their lesson" from last summer's fiasco after the election where they were all falling over themselves to say how much they agreed with the Tories on absolutely everything (not least the Welfare Bill)
3) It must be shown that hope is not completely lost for Labour permanently and that, if they get their act together, a win in 2020 is a possibility (some more polls showing how toxically unpopular Osborne is, and how beatable he'd be by a decent Labour leader, will help with this) . Perversely enough, one thing that might help Corbyn stay in place is if people start thinking so fatalistically, that Labour are so 100% screwed in 2020 no matter who the leader is that they might as well leave Corbyn in place.
I've never been a Labour member but as a sometime voter for the party, there's something else that Labour could wake up to: there are people who would greatly benefit from a Labour Government.
I'm quite comfortably off at the moment but, heck, nothing in life is certain and I find myself thinking what I would hope for from a political party if I were on my uppers. And I think that Blair/Brown Labour was (in a somewhat stealthy way) quite redistributive and also spent a lot of money on the NHS, by no means all of which was wasted. And I'd think that would be a party and a government that would help me.
The current version of Labour doesn't seem like it gives a flying shit about the poor or disadvantaged. Are Labour members going to wake up to the fact that there are people that *need* something other than a Tory government not in 2025 or 2030 or 2035 but at the first opportunity?
So you would vote for a party that would screw the economy then? Where does that help with 'redistribution'? This story has been done to death - Brown as chancellor and PM wasted countless billions, increasing spending by 50% in real terms. And racking up debt in a period of growth whilst doing it. This tory govt is spending shedloads on the NHS. You need to tell us where Labour would find its money for all this largesse. I'll tell you where - just go and look in the mirror.
How long can Corbyn get away with putting up Abbott and Livingstone as spokespeople for labour. Labour has lost creditability already but when it moves to derision the end must follow
Other than party morale I can't see who wins the London mayor making any difference to national politics, London is a completely different animal to any other part of the country. I'd be interested to see how many people, both in and out of London, know who the mayor is.
I think London mayor is the one local government role that does have national visibility. People know who "Boris" is. At least, out here in darkest Worcestershire we do. Can't speak for Lancashire
They might know who he is but they won't know what he does.
Other than party morale I can't see who wins the London mayor making any difference to national politics, London is a completely different animal to any other part of the country. I'd be interested to see how many people, both in and out of London, know who the mayor is.
I think London mayor is the one local government role that does have national visibility. People know who "Boris" is. At least, out here in darkest Worcestershire we do. Can't speak for Lancashire
Losing London if combined with expected wipeout in Scotland and not great results in Wales could see him challenged this year. A win would be spun but Sadiq is distancing himself from Corbyn at every opportunity. One should not underrate the impact on both morale and organisational capacity of losing lots of council seats though. You lose profile and campaigners in key marginals.
Sections of the M90 tonight were less than fun with what amounted to streams running across the carriageway, in places strong enough to carry type 1 gravel onto the road surface. Not nice to drive in the dark and this time of the year it is dark all the time (or at least it feels that way).
As someone who voted against independence I clearly carry an element of responsibility for this. An independent Scotland that had broken away from England would no doubt have been in the Carribean by now.
Got stuck for several hours at Kinlochearnhead, a few years ago, when there was a landslide in Glen Ogle. The route to Callander was also cut off, and the road round Loch Earn was impassible due to a collapsed culvert. I owe thanks to the kind couple who offered cups of tea and shelter. It was surreal watching TV, as helicopters were flying and filming overhead. There was a great deal of water flowing down hill, but it looks tame compared to Aberdeenshire tonight.
Oddly enough the Met Office forecast was sunny showers, very different from the outcome.
How long can Corbyn get away with putting up Abbott and Livingstone as spokespeople for labour. Labour has lost creditability already but when it moves to derision the end must follow
I presume it is Red Ken go on Newsnight tonight after Dianne "Evvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvannnnnnn" Abbott was on last night.
The nutter shot dead in Paris today was wearing a fake suicide belt, perhaps he failed the interview to be a suicide bomber and wanted to make a point.
LOL. On a serious note. He had his ISIS flag. Given how crude his attack was, I presume "Inspired by ISIS" (sounds a bit like Intel Inside, dooo dooo dooo doo) .
How dare you call them ISIS it's the so called Islamic State, as the BBC reminds us every 5 minutes
perhaps the BBC can negotiate so that the next one kills him/herself during a live interview..
The nutter shot dead in Paris today was wearing a fake suicide belt, perhaps he failed the interview to be a suicide bomber and wanted to make a point.
LOL. On a serious note. He had his ISIS flag. Given how crude his attack was, I presume "Inspired by ISIS" (sounds a bit like Intel Inside, dooo dooo dooo doo) .
How dare you call them ISIS it's the so called Islamic State, as the BBC reminds us every 5 minutes
perhaps the BBC can negotiate so that the next one kills him/herself during a live interview..
Well they seem to have the phone numbers / skype handles of a lot of them.
I've never been a Labour member but as a sometime voter for the party, there's something else that Labour could wake up to: there are people who would greatly benefit from a Labour Government.
I'm quite comfortably off at the moment but, heck, nothing in life is certain and I find myself thinking what I would hope for from a political party if I were on my uppers. And I think that Blair/Brown Labour was (in a somewhat stealthy way) quite redistributive and also spent a lot of money on the NHS, by no means all of which was wasted. And I'd think that would be a party and a government that would help me.
The current version of Labour doesn't seem like it gives a flying shit about the poor or disadvantaged. Are Labour members going to wake up to the fact that there are people that *need* something other than a Tory government not in 2025 or 2030 or 2035 but at the first opportunity?
So you would vote for a party that would screw the economy then? Where does that help with 'redistribution'? This story has been done to death - Brown as chancellor and PM wasted countless billions, increasing spending by 50% in real terms. And racking up debt in a period of growth whilst doing it. This tory govt is spending shedloads on the NHS. You need to tell us where Labour would find its money for all this largesse. I'll tell you where - just go and look in the mirror.
On the economy I'm quite right-wing myself but I also recognise that there are losers from the policies that I advocate and those are the people that look to Labour to represent their interests. In that post I'm looking at it from that point of view. Where is the anger amongst Labour members that the people they are meant to be looking out for are being thrown on the mercies of IDS?
I also think it's desirable that we sometimes have governments that look at the problem from the point of view of people that are relative losers in society.
And sure, the money for redistribution will come from me (as long as I'm doing OK). And?
The nutter shot dead in Paris today was wearing a fake suicide belt, perhaps he failed the interview to be a suicide bomber and wanted to make a point.
LOL. On a serious note. He had his ISIS flag. Given how crude his attack was, I presume "Inspired by ISIS" (sounds a bit like Intel Inside, dooo dooo dooo doo) .
How dare you call them ISIS it's the so called Islamic State, as the BBC reminds us every 5 minutes
perhaps the BBC can negotiate so that the next one kills him/herself during a live interview..
There's got be some sort of TV elimination programme to be made, perhaps the audience can decide which suicidal nut job gets to meet his virgins first, whereupon he blows himself up on stage with Terry Wogan.
The nutter shot dead in Paris today was wearing a fake suicide belt, perhaps he failed the interview to be a suicide bomber and wanted to make a point.
LOL. On a serious note. He had his ISIS flag. Given how crude his attack was, I presume "Inspired by ISIS" (sounds a bit like Intel Inside, dooo dooo dooo doo) .
How dare you call them ISIS it's the so called Islamic State, as the BBC reminds us every 5 minutes
perhaps the BBC can negotiate so that the next one kills him/herself during a live interview..
There's got be some sort of TV elimination programme to be made, perhaps the audience can decide which suicidal nut job gets to meet his virgins first, whereupon he blows himself up on stage with Terry Wogan.
Sounds like more of a goer than their latest panel show that I had the misfortune to tune into the other night on BBC2.
The nutter shot dead in Paris today was wearing a fake suicide belt, perhaps he failed the interview to be a suicide bomber and wanted to make a point.
LOL. On a serious note. He had his ISIS flag. Given how crude his attack was, I presume "Inspired by ISIS" (sounds a bit like Intel Inside, dooo dooo dooo doo) .
How dare you call them ISIS it's the so called Islamic State, as the BBC reminds us every 5 minutes
perhaps the BBC can negotiate so that the next one kills him/herself during a live interview..
There's got be some sort of TV elimination programme to be made, perhaps the audience can decide which suicidal nut job gets to meet his virgins first, whereupon he blows himself up on stage with Terry Wogan.
Losing London if combined with expected wipeout in Scotland and not great results in Wales could see him challenged this year. A win would be spun but Sadiq is distancing himself from Corbyn at every opportunity. One should not underrate the impact on both morale and organisational capacity of losing lots of council seats though. You lose profile and campaigners in key marginals.
Right. Also, opposition parties are supposed to gain council seats - a hit to morale, as you say.
Sadiq's distancing himself is often quite funny. He knows how the game is played and must be tearing his hair out. He will probably win anyway, though.
The nutter shot dead in Paris today was wearing a fake suicide belt, perhaps he failed the interview to be a suicide bomber and wanted to make a point.
LOL. On a serious note. He had his ISIS flag. Given how crude his attack was, I presume "Inspired by ISIS" (sounds a bit like Intel Inside, dooo dooo dooo doo) .
How dare you call them ISIS it's the so called Islamic State, as the BBC reminds us every 5 minutes
perhaps the BBC can negotiate so that the next one kills him/herself during a live interview..
There's got be some sort of TV elimination programme to be made, perhaps the audience can decide which suicidal nut job gets to meet his virgins first, whereupon he blows himself up on stage with Terry Wogan.
So long as the virgins are all over 80 years of age.
The nutter shot dead in Paris today was wearing a fake suicide belt, perhaps he failed the interview to be a suicide bomber and wanted to make a point.
LOL. On a serious note. He had his ISIS flag. Given how crude his attack was, I presume "Inspired by ISIS" (sounds a bit like Intel Inside, dooo dooo dooo doo) .
How dare you call them ISIS it's the so called Islamic State, as the BBC reminds us every 5 minutes
perhaps the BBC can negotiate so that the next one kills him/herself during a live interview..
There's got be some sort of TV elimination programme to be made, perhaps the audience can decide which suicidal nut job gets to meet his virgins first, whereupon he blows himself up on stage with Terry Wogan.
Pop Idol
Lol.
What was the one where the compère used to say "come on down". You can picture it now
Labour is losing local Carlisle by election... As its happening... A former safe seat and one of most deprived in the north west of England, it's looking bad for them...
Talking about the about the BBC How on earth did they go from " here is some messages for our friends in occupied countries" to we cannot refer to them as the government wishes as we have to be seen to be completely impartial."
Want to know why Trident is such a big issue even though it is going to be introduced and there is nothing that labour can do to stop it? Once party policy is officially to oppose Trident it makes it nigh on impossible for someone who is pro-Trident to stand for the leadership. That rules out the likes of Dan Jarvis, Chukka etc.'
I think you have overlooked the contribution of Harriet Harman to Corbyn's election. Had it not been for her dim-witted response to Osborne's July Budget , Corbyn would not have gained anything like the momentum that he did. The other three contenders as members of the Shadow Cabinet were forced to go along with the official line and abstained on the key vote relating to Osborne's proposals - leaving Corbyn to bask in the glory of opposing austerity. With hindsight, Cooper and Burnham should have resigned from the Shadow Cabinet and so freed themselves up to take on Corbyn. Had it not been for Harman's cock up Corbyn would have done no better than come in a respectable third place. She - rather than those who agreed to nominate him - should carry the can for his election
Corbyn should not have been on the ballot and if so then following Harman's nudge there was some chance of Labour trying to rebuild trust on the economy. The policy of cutting welfare back is the right one. Maybe Labour activists do not like hard truths but that does not mean they should not be told them.
I think you make a good point about Trident - the labour Right are being isolated. But Labour's move to what is in effect Stop the War led pacifism and isolationism (well isolationism would be a bonus - it really wants to move to an anti Western Alliance position) will alienate it from the broad base of the electorate.
I've never been a Labour member but as a sometime voter for the party, there's something else that Labour could wake up to: there are people who would greatly benefit from a Labour Government.
I'm quite comfortably off at the moment but, heck, nothing in life is certain and I find myself thinking what I would hope for from a political party if I were on my uppers. And I think that Blair/Brown Labour was (in a somewhat stealthy way) quite redistributive and also spent a lot of money on the NHS, by no means all of which was wasted. And I'd think that would be a party and a government that would help me.
The current version of Labour doesn't seem like it gives a flying shit about the poor or disadvantaged. Are Labour members going to wake up to the fact that there are people that *need* something other than a Tory government not in 2025 or 2030 or 2035 but at the first opportunity?
snip
On the economy I'm quite right-wing myself but I also recognise that there are losers from the policies that I advocate and those are the people that look to Labour to represent their interests. In that post I'm looking at it from that point of view. Where is the anger amongst Labour members that the people they are meant to be looking out for are being thrown on the mercies of IDS?
I also think it's desirable that we sometimes have governments that look at the problem from the point of view of people that are relative losers in society.
And sure, the money for redistribution will come from me (as long as I'm doing OK). And?
Again this has been done to death. We have a welfare system - its a very big welfare system. We should and do help people in difficulty. But the best way to stop people falling into a welfare trap to offer a chance for jobs and a better life is to have a sound economic policy and to look at welfare through the eyes of well known tories as Frank Field.
(and do you really think you would end up doing 'OK' under a labour govt?)
Talking about the about the BBC How on earth did they go from " here is some messages for our friends in occupied countries" to we cannot refer to them as the government wishes as we have to be seen to be completely impartial."
I don't know, but in any case I happen to think the BBC's terminology is the more appropriate and cutting, regardless of motivation.
The nutter shot dead in Paris today was wearing a fake suicide belt, perhaps he failed the interview to be a suicide bomber and wanted to make a point.
LOL. On a serious note. He had his ISIS flag. Given how crude his attack was, I presume "Inspired by ISIS" (sounds a bit like Intel Inside, dooo dooo dooo doo) .
How dare you call them ISIS it's the so called Islamic State, as the BBC reminds us every 5 minutes
I think the "so called" tag is justified. The deat cult isn't worthy of being called Islamic, and it definitely isn't a state, no matter how grand it thinks it is.
The nutter shot dead in Paris today was wearing a fake suicide belt, perhaps he failed the interview to be a suicide bomber and wanted to make a point.
LOL. On a serious note. He had his ISIS flag. Given how crude his attack was, I presume "Inspired by ISIS" (sounds a bit like Intel Inside, dooo dooo dooo doo) .
How dare you call them ISIS it's the so called Islamic State, as the BBC reminds us every 5 minutes
Comments
It would be a scandal if the party in question were in any way relevant to the future of British governance but, erm, it's Corbyn's Labour
No need to have a go at the teaching professiion, just because of the limitations of Mr Corbyn.
Said she agreed with Pat McFadden...
That is not the Corbynista line, that only the inner circle can be trusted to deliver with a straight face
Andy Burnham seems strangely reticent though!
There seems to be the first signs of disquiet from some of his 'softer' support. And while he personally is obsessed with trident and anti-imperialism hardly anyone gives a shit. Putting it front and centre of his move to the left rather than (say) rail re-nationalisation or eonomic issues is also ham fisted.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3388988/Businesswoman-Year-nominee-seeking-5MILLION-payout-op-unfairly-dismissed-following-rows-floor-office-on.html
As someone who voted against independence I clearly carry an element of responsibility for this. An independent Scotland that had broken away from England would no doubt have been in the Carribean by now.
I do think it's unnecessary, and invites attacks of impartiality, but I don't think it is, it was just trying to be dramatic - that isn't making the news, it's enhancing the reporting of it. Now someone might still have a problem with that and fair enough, but it is not as big of a deal of accusations of impartiality or unprofessionalism. I think its important to make that distinction even if one thinks it should not have been done - ultimately, Doughty made a choice, and his resignation and any harm it did to labour was already happening, he would have been asked the same things and said the same things, so in actual terms, virtually nothing was altered by the BBC actions and we shouldn't pretend otherwise.
https://twitter.com/hendopolis/status/685213933150597120
@jessphillips: @VincentN15N17 @IsabelHardman @janemerrick23 as I worked in sexual health MSM means Men who have Sex with Men. Imagine my initial confusion
I'm quite comfortably off at the moment but, heck, nothing in life is certain and I find myself thinking what I would hope for from a political party if I were on my uppers. And I think that Blair/Brown Labour was (in a somewhat stealthy way) quite redistributive and also spent a lot of money on the NHS, by no means all of which was wasted. And I'd think that would be a party and a government that would help me.
The current version of Labour doesn't seem like it gives a flying shit about the poor or disadvantaged. Are Labour members going to wake up to the fact that there are people that *need* something other than a Tory government not in 2025 or 2030 or 2035 but at the first opportunity?
Despite today's headlines (and the media like a disaster) world growth is likely to be benign and no one really knows what China's growth is anyway.
The other point about Osborne's speech was his comment on rising interest rates. But that - rising interest rates- is a symptom of success, of growth, of rising employment. But shhh... don't tell Mr Brind that.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3388580/Former-home-secretary-sacked-voters-porn-expenses-shame-pockets-50-000-year-two-day-week-NHS-job-supposed-working-free.html
I agree. But it seems to be acceptable practice for the BBC to create these events and manufacture news. Caused by having too many staff and too much airtime to fill.
What exactly do they see in the incompetent muppet that two NHS trusts think she can do a top at board level?
https://twitter.com/dfosterevans/status/685088693850341377
http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/politics/politics-headlines/shadow-minister-for-self-important-political-gestures-resigns-20160107105130
The shadow cabinet, a group of people who pretend to have jobs they do not actually have, is now missing several key positions including under-minister for Pompously Walking Out On Principle.
This tory govt is spending shedloads on the NHS. You need to tell us where Labour would find its money for all this largesse. I'll tell you where - just go and look in the mirror.
"I don't see any possibility of meaningful negotiations with IS state."
Sky News.
Over to you Jez !
Oddly enough the Met Office forecast was sunny showers, very different from the outcome.
https://twitter.com/hendopolis/status/685223435795075073
I also think it's desirable that we sometimes have governments that look at the problem from the point of view of people that are relative losers in society.
And sure, the money for redistribution will come from me (as long as I'm doing OK). And?
The Paris attacks were simply IS ‘responding to what it sees as an assault on itself’,
There ‘is no Islamic threat’ and ‘no evidence or proof’ that ‘so-called radicalisation is actually happening’,
The Government are ‘white-supremacists’ who want to ‘isolate’ Muslims,
There is nothing wrong with ‘being extreme’ and that the very notion of extremism is racist,
They should support convicted terrorists, many of whom been ‘wrongly imprisoned’ due to ‘prejudice’ and ‘fabricated accounts’.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3389444/Fanatics-campaign-hate-campus-revealed-Islamic-zealots-backed-Jihadi-John-poisoning-minds-students.html
Would he have been any less resigned if he had posted his letter first?
Sadiq's distancing himself is often quite funny. He knows how the game is played and must be tearing his hair out. He will probably win anyway, though.
What was the one where the compère used to say "come on down". You can picture it now
"Jihadi john, come on down,"
Booooooooommmmmmmm
How on earth did they go from " here is some messages for our friends in occupied countries" to we cannot refer to them as the government wishes as we have to be seen to be completely impartial."
I think you make a good point about Trident - the labour Right are being isolated. But Labour's move to what is in effect Stop the War led pacifism and isolationism (well isolationism would be a bonus - it really wants to move to an anti Western Alliance position) will alienate it from the broad base of the electorate.
New Thread New Thread
(and do you really think you would end up doing 'OK' under a labour govt?)