*If* they are only one sensible decision away from a large improvement, then what are the chances of them actually making that change?
If the improvement is replacing Corbyn with someone competent, then: 1) Corbyn will have to stand-down / fall ill / fall down a manhole he is inspecting 2) Have the MPs select sane candidates. 3) Have the electorate select the sanest candidate and not Corbyn Mk II. 4) Have that candidate, once leader, face down and win against the Corbynistas/Momentum.
Even if the first of these was to happen, it is far from certain that the others would. Labour is in a deep hole; they are not yet at the bottom, and half of them are arguing over the colour the rescue rope should be whilst the other half look longingly further into the abyss.
An important question is whether one thinks that Labour's poor ratings are mainly due to the the public view of Corbyn or mainly due to left-wing policies. I don't think that people follow policy to the degree that we'd like, and a new leader from any wing of the party would be given a hearing, though would also come under immediate attack from the media for whatever weaknesses they could find. The Momentum wing of the party would mainly go into revolt if Corbyn was forced out - if he voluntarily decided to call it a day, they'd look at the options like anyone else, and a left of centre leader in that situation wouldn't face a huge uproar. (Obviously we aren't going to elect Peter Mandelson, for all his undoubted talents.)
That's why it's in the party's interest that there is an escape route available if Corbyn eventually decided to take it which doesn't exclude a left-wing candidate, because without that he won't, I predict, go voluntarily. Risking losing an argument is one thing, being prevented from having a candidate representing your views is something else.
That's a very good question. It might well be both Corbyn and the policies: Labour has a terrible CEO and incompetent salesmen trying to sell an unappealing product.
Basically, the're the political equivalent of British Leyland in the late 1970s.
Labour need new messages that will resonate.
It's strange that Theresa May has borrowed so much of the same rhetoric used by Ed Miliband, if that was the case
Maybe the rhetoric in opposition needs a good sales person .Wilson and Blair could do that.
lol. You sound like Peter Hitchens dismissing the World Wide Web as a passing fad.
The general consensus is that driverless trucks will conquer within a decade.
"It seems highly likely that competition between the various companies developing these technologies will produce practical, self-driving trucks within the next five to 10 years"
Until the first fatality (and there will be one, it is unavoidable) results in a backlash and various states banning them. I am not advocating it, just pointing out it is what will happen.
*If* they are only one sensible decision away from a large improvement, then what are the chances of them actually making that change?
If the improvement Even if the first of these was to happen, it is far from certain that the others would. Labour is in a deep hole; they are not yet at the bottom, and half of them are arguing over the colour the rescue rope should be whilst the other half look longingly further into the abyss.
(snipped)
That's a
Likewise, the cuts. People have been hurt, but the dire claims made by Labour generally haven't occurred. Life's gone on.
Labour need new messages that will resonate.
I've thought for a long time that Labour need to go right back to the drawing board and do some serious thinking about what 'Labour' would be like if it had arisen today.
Conditions have changed out of all recognition since Labour arose to fill a genuine need. Generally speaking, those needs have been met - Labour has succeeded in making them mainstream concerns.
So, what needs are today's equivalent of yesteryear?
It might be that the rise of AI-powered 'labour' will provide a wide-spread common problem and that 'Labour' will be able to engage with ways to enable a reasonable standard of living for ordinary people when human effort is no longer wanted.
Indeed. There was a long article in the FT about the "death of the trucker" this week, as self driving trucks take over. This stuff isn't science fiction any more, it's happening right now
There are 3.5m truck drivers in America, it's one of the last well-paid jobs for fairly uneducated people. Virtually all of these jobs will likely be gone in 5-10 years.
And that's just one industry. There's gonna be millions and millions of unemployed people, across the West, and politicians don't seem to have a clue, or they haven't realised, or they are in denial.
This revolution will transform political attitudes. 1. We will probably need a universal wage, and 2. Countries will need much much less immigration. The fewer people the better.
The first party to seize on these truths will seize power, in time.
"Where's the revolution? Come on people, You're letting me down!"
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Come on people,
You're letting me down!"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsCR05oKROA