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politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » The star who plays a LAB MP in tonight’s new BBC political thriller right is worried about state of the party
David Mars is a Labour MP worried about the state of his party and at odds with his leader. Described as a “frustrated but hard-working member of the shadow cabinet” the central character in tonight’s BBC2 thriller Collateral “despairs at the state of the Labour Party and many of its policies .. he’s not afraid to be outspoken and on more than one occasion he finds himself in hot water with the party leader.”
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The Westminster graveyard is littered with the corpses of party leaders who claimed it would be “alright on election night”. As increasing numbers of people are observing, if Labour cannot put the Conservatives on the canvas when Mrs May is leading them, then what chance will they have against another Conservative leader? Labour has been lucky that everyone’s attention has been on Conservative woes. That luck will not last forever.”
If he had the surname ‘Master’ that would have caused another geekgasm.
Also, I think it's a serious blunder for Labour to claim renationalisation would be free, even if they can produce sums to support their position. The public is very cynical. It would be more easily convinced if Labour claimed that there was a meaningful cost, but that cost was worthwhile. Trying to persuade the public that there's such a thing as a free lunch, particularly if - as Labour is - you're a party with a mediocre at best reputation for prudence with public finances, is much harder. It makes Labour look fiscally irresponsible again.
Really?
Spectacular complacency.
Nevertheless, the housing crisis has probably slowed the typical tendency for the middle aged to switch toward the Tories, so on that he has a point.
I'm not sure that Labour can count on things getting worse for under 45's over the next four years. If the Labour market remains tight, and immigration from Eastern Europe falls, then wages will probably rise in real terms; and housebuilding is now running at a 20 year high.
The idea that nationalisation would not cost taxpayers anything is just ludicrous.
There was also a suggestion that labour will provide free internet access for all.
Corbyn and McDonnell will never win middle England and hence they will not see power
Not working when they put it into practice
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-43032241
I am more cynical. They are often a convenient way of being seen to do something without actually doing anything effective to find out what happened, why and what needs to be done to diminish the chances of it happening again.
My son is watching 'Frozen', and he just asked me why ice was slippery. I said it was because part of the ice melts, and forms a very thin layer of liquid that is slippery. He then asked why it melts, and I replied 'pressure'
It turns out I was wrong, and it's much more complex:
http://dujs.dartmouth.edu/2013/04/what-causes-ice-to-be-slippery/
https://www.livescience.com/32507-why-is-ice-slippery.html
http://physicstoday.scitation.org/doi/full/10.1063/1.2169444
It's quite amazing that we still cannot fully answer 'why is ice slippery?'
Not that it matters when you're trying to get from your front door to the car across some sheet ice ...
Tories - "We can erect trade barriers with a major trading partner and it will have no effect. We can also make up any shortfall from trading with rich economies by trading with poor economies who cannot afford our products"
Labour - "We can take whatever we want without paying and the economy will be boosted"
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/russias-anti-eu-tweets-eclipsed-leave-campaign-8q6sr0hgm
Anti-EU articles published by Russian media outlets had four times more social media impact before the Brexit vote than the official Leave campaigns, analysis suggests.
It's an ill wind .....
It has a dreadful leader who if he stays in post will destroy the Labour party.
What makes the situation worse is that many have interpreted last year's election result as a vindication of Corbyn and the hard left.
It wasnt. Not only was it another defeat, and in terms of seats as bad as 2010's, but also it was also a better than the expected meltdown in spite of and not because of Corbyn.
All the omens are in place for the catastrophe to come including the latest polls which even at the low point in Tory performance have Labour 3 or 4 points behind.
But what makes the situation for Labour particularly dire is that the leadership team is so abysmally incompetent and ideologically extreme, that it would be actually be worse in the long term if a miracle occurred and they got into power. The resulting chaos would toxify Labour so badly that it would pave the way for a generation of Tory rule. It would be Winter of Discontent propaganda for Tory PPBs for decades "Do you remember the government of Jeremy Corbyn?" He will let the young down so badly that it will drive them into the hands of other parties or of politics altogether for the forseeable future.
Labour is gradually being taken over by the old Militant of the 1980s rebranded as Momentum. It is becoming an intolerant extreme nasty stain on our national life. Millions like me who voted for Labour instinctively are now repelled and disgusted by it.
Maybe next time, they will be.
However, as I said, fortunately most voters aren't stupid enough to think that there's no catch in doing so.
Something similar happened to the mediaeval Church and the sale of indulgences.
Sadly true. It means that the only value in the major parties is their comedy potential.
The British Social Attitudes Survey does suggest however they are on the popular side of the public services/taxes divide:
"There are signs of a reaction against the fiscal discipline of recent years, 48% now say the
government should increase taxes and spend more, a higher proportion than at any point
during the last 10 years."
http://www.bsa.natcen.ac.uk/media/39145/bsa34_role-of-govt_final.pdf
There is some polling showing TM improving with the female vote
Equality on the march now
Labour's proposed nationalisations are favoured by the general public according to the polling.
https://yougov.co.uk/news/2017/05/19/nationalisation-vs-privatisation-public-view/
I find it surprising water is so high, might just be the people I know, but I don't hear people moan about their water provider/water bills very much.
Whereas energy + the direct debit billing system comes up a lot.
And trains... well....
I bet he bloody did.
See electricity, water, gas, rail...
Telecommunications and air travel seem to have been privatised correctly and the market works well.
Besides, the Magic Money Tree always gives. Why not do both?
Timing is of the essence, of course, and they may be right in letting things run a bit more before adopting the full-teapot posture but I don't think they should risk leaving it too long. That would invite the question 'why didn't you speak up sooner?' and that would never do.
I'd give it a few more months, no more.
Rail privatisation has worked. Passenger numbers have doubled, and train travel is safer than ever before. It's hard to paint this as anything other than a success.
Where the rail network is failing, it is Network Rail, not the privatised companies as a whole. Not only are they failing on enhancements, but they are also failing on their bread-and-butter renewals and maintenance work.
These failures do not seem a good precedent for putting operations and train ownership into public hands ...
Its a monopoly - which may explain why the pressures to provide a good service arent there.
Unions aren't that bad to most people now. They haven't wielded unfettered power and caused disruption in most voters memory.
Freedom of movement (we still wouldn't be subject to it).
Northern Ireland border.
Chlorinated chicken.
The grim irony (for the Tories) is that business would be happy with that, but Theresa dare not go there for fear of the Dream Team.
In many ways central government is in a better place to provide disaster relief and emergency supplies to peoples who are in crisis.
You could argue it is a beneficial global projection of UK to see the Nation providing help rather than the abstract Oxfam, Red Cross etc.
As for it being a monopoly: I'm unsure it classes as such, as there are so many alternatives: private car, taxi, bus, coach and, for long distance, flying. If you take the business as 'rail travel', then it is a monopoly. If you take it as 'getting from A to B', which is what most people use it for, then in most cases it isn't.