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politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » The real cost of Corbyn’s reshuffle — Labour is talking abo

SystemSystem Posts: 12,114
edited January 2016 in General

imagepoliticalbetting.com » Blog Archive » The real cost of Corbyn’s reshuffle — Labour is talking about itself not what voters care about.

I woke up this morning to hear a devastating critique of the Chancellor George Osborne’s record on the Today programme. Under him “we haven’t rebalanced the economy towards manufacturing, exports and the regions .. fixing the roof when the sun shines never happened.”

Read the full story here


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Comments

  • Danny565 said:
    The thing is, it doesn't matter what she says or does. She is never going to be Defence Secretary. Corbyn probably knows this. He's just interested in reshaping Labour in his own image, which while great fun to watch, doesn't do the Nation any favours..
  • ThomasNasheThomasNashe Posts: 5,307
    Danny565 said:
    Try adding demon eyes, a la Blair 1997?
  • Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453
    FFS, Diane is back on telly again
  • Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453
    FT leader says 'moderates' should quit the shadow cabinet
    It was this Labour tradition of forbearance in the face of all logic that allowed Mr Brown and then Ed Miliband to contest general elections despite their obvious unpopularity among voters.

    Mr Corbyn is much worse than those two. His leadership cannot be made to work. Labour is already performing historically badly in opinion polls for a party at this stage in the electoral cycle. Its reputation on matters of security slips by the week. Labour gave Britain perhaps its most important postwar foreign secretary, Ernest Bevin, and helped to found Nato. Its defence policy is now in the hands of Emily Thornberry
    http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f17ca1a4-b536-11e5-b147-e5e5bba42e51.html#ixzz3waOteNOz
  • ThomasNasheThomasNashe Posts: 5,307
    While I don't think anyone could argue with the broader thrust of Don's article that there is no effective opposition to the government at the moment, I have to say I found Cameron's litany of Shakespeare play titles tedious in the extreme.
  • OmniumOmnium Posts: 10,661

    Danny565 said:
    The thing is, it doesn't matter what she says or does. She is never going to be Defence Secretary. Corbyn probably knows this. He's just interested in reshaping Labour in his own image, which while great fun to watch, doesn't do the Nation any favours..
    Everything about Labour is pretty broken. Their people though aren't - there's a lot of sense talked by even Corbyn. The left just needs to re-form. Corbyn, Abbot, and all of the trendy lefty brigade will have to either be shot, locked up, or at the least shut up. Labour did though, 100 years ago, latch onto something that is true. There is no class in wisdom.

    I dislike, disapprove of, and would generally like the end of, the left in politics, but they have the right end of the stick sufficiently frequently that they're clearly a necessary evil.
  • MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 38,518
    Scott_P said:

    FT leader says 'moderates' should quit the shadow cabinet

    It was this Labour tradition of forbearance in the face of all logic that allowed Mr Brown and then Ed Miliband to contest general elections despite their obvious unpopularity among voters.

    Mr Corbyn is much worse than those two. His leadership cannot be made to work. Labour is already performing historically badly in opinion polls for a party at this stage in the electoral cycle. Its reputation on matters of security slips by the week. Labour gave Britain perhaps its most important postwar foreign secretary, Ernest Bevin, and helped to found Nato. Its defence policy is now in the hands of Emily Thornberry
    http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f17ca1a4-b536-11e5-b147-e5e5bba42e51.html#ixzz3waOteNOz

    Bevan - Tory.
  • Danny565 said:
    'The Bucket residence, the lady of the house speaking!'
  • dr_spyndr_spyn Posts: 11,300
    Donald Brind's piece implies that Labour under Corbyn has not learnt from the 2010 or 2015 defeats, it also implies that the current leadership have still to come to terms with vote losses to the SNP, and UKIP.

    Was reading Cowley & Kavanagh's book which noted that when push came to shove, enough Labour voters looked at Ed Miliband, and thought I don't want him to be PM, and 80% of these waivers turned out and ended up voting Conservative. The party's then perceived economic incompetence seems mild compared to the current leadership's failings. Miliband's leadership is characterised as indecisive, uncertain and prone to leave themes underdeveloped. If Corbyn is perceived to share these faults, how on earth will Labour voters turn out to back their party.

    Two other areas of weakness Labour v UKIP in The North, and Labour v SNP in Scotland, not really understood by a London centric leadership. Given Corbyn's reliance on London Labour is that weakness amplified? Khan may want a fare freeze on London commuter routes, but how will that be sold to Labour supporters outside London?

    Immigration was also highlighted as a problem area for Labour, but have perceptions worsened in the last 8 months since the election?

    Given Miliband's weaknesses on economic competence and leadership are magnified by Corbyn & McDonnell, Labour are in dire straits. They must be hoping that Cameron's EU vote is so damaging to the Tories that a spilt happens.
  • Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453
    O/T
    Dair Posts: 5,901
    December 2015 edited December 2015
    The floods have had me thinking back to a rather excellent documentary by Iain Stewart called "Scotland's Water" (not currently on iPlayer, sadly). One of the striking messages I learned from it is that there is practically not one drop of water in Scotland which is not managed from the moment it falls by Scottish Water.

    This includes being able to reroute rainfall between different Watersheds using artificial (tunnels and dug trenches/canals) and natural links (dry rivers) and how much of Scotland's farmland is, basically, bog which shouldn't have people on it at all but due to good management, not only is productive land but seldom floods.
    @Popher: Aberdeen airport runway got a hole in it, because of the rain.
    Wow. I thought they were meant to be tougher than that?

    @northsoundnews: Flights are being diverted away from Aberdeen Airport due to the hole in the runway. Engineers working to repair it.

  • jayfdeejayfdee Posts: 618

    While I don't think anyone could argue with the broader thrust of Don's article that there is no effective opposition to the government at the moment, I have to say I found Cameron's litany of Shakespeare play titles tedious in the extreme.

    But the Con MPs loved it, and the opposition squirmed,job done.
  • Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453
    @andy_sawford: Just a reminder again that Corby is an awesome town in the Midlands, not the leader of a political party https://t.co/z8ZqhIo8E2
  • AlastairMeeksAlastairMeeks Posts: 30,340
    Donald Brind is right: the Labour party has become an exclusively meta grouping. That's endlessly fascinating for Labour party members and political obsessives. For others, not so much.

    To win new voters, the Labour party will need to speak to the concerns of potential voters, not to each other.
  • Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453

    To win new voters, the Labour party will need to speak to the concerns of potential voters, not to each other.

    Corbyn's Labour wants new voters, as long as they never voted for Blair, or any other Tory
  • JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 42,139
    Scott_P said:

    O/T

    Dair Posts: 5,901
    December 2015 edited December 2015
    The floods have had me thinking back to a rather excellent documentary by Iain Stewart called "Scotland's Water" (not currently on iPlayer, sadly). One of the striking messages I learned from it is that there is practically not one drop of water in Scotland which is not managed from the moment it falls by Scottish Water.

    This includes being able to reroute rainfall between different Watersheds using artificial (tunnels and dug trenches/canals) and natural links (dry rivers) and how much of Scotland's farmland is, basically, bog which shouldn't have people on it at all but due to good management, not only is productive land but seldom floods.
    @Popher: Aberdeen airport runway got a hole in it, because of the rain.
    Wow. I thought they were meant to be tougher than that?

    @northsoundnews: Flights are being diverted away from Aberdeen Airport due to the hole in the runway. Engineers working to repair it.



    It's unusual for someone making a silly claim on PB to be pwned by mother nature herself so quickly.

    He really did make himself a hostage to fortune with that one.
  • Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453
    @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...
  • jayfdeejayfdee Posts: 618
    Scott_P said:

    To win new voters, the Labour party will need to speak to the concerns of potential voters, not to each other.

    Corbyn's Labour wants new voters, as long as they never voted for Blair, or any other Tory
    Yes their potential voter pool shrinks further,need to concentrate on those who did not vote last time, a huge untapped resource.
  • Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453
    jayfdee said:

    Yes their potential voter pool shrinks further,need to concentrate on those who did not vote last time, a huge untapped resource.

    Wasn't that Ed's cunning plan?
  • dr_spyndr_spyn Posts: 11,300
    @JosiasJessop A video clip of Flying Scotsman on the move at last. Some purists will hate to see it in black, with those Germanic smoke deflectors, and the Kylchap double chimney.

    www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8jLyfVX__w

    Some of the parts might be original, but that is open to interpretation.

  • jayfdeejayfdee Posts: 618
    Scott_P said:

    jayfdee said:

    Yes their potential voter pool shrinks further,need to concentrate on those who did not vote last time, a huge untapped resource.

    Wasn't that Ed's cunning plan?
    Yes but it is all Partys plan.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 49,411
    Scott_P said:

    @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...

    Doesn't this mean that Ken is opposing the will of The Leader and The Party? Which, of course, means he is a Tory.
  • watford30watford30 Posts: 3,474
    Danny565 said:
    Big old unit.

    Did she star in a cookery programme with another lady of similar stature and a motorcycle/sidecar?
  • Today it emerged identical sex gangs are operating in neighbouring Austria, while more than 150 woman across five German cities have reported attacks.

    And in Switzerland, six women reported identical crimes in Zurich on New Year's Eve, while Finnish police intercepted information suggesting similar attacks were planned.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 49,411
    Scott_P said:

    O/T

    Dair Posts: 5,901
    December 2015 edited December 2015
    The floods have had me thinking back to a rather excellent documentary by Iain Stewart called "Scotland's Water" (not currently on iPlayer, sadly). One of the striking messages I learned from it is that there is practically not one drop of water in Scotland which is not managed from the moment it falls by Scottish Water.

    This includes being able to reroute rainfall between different Watersheds using artificial (tunnels and dug trenches/canals) and natural links (dry rivers) and how much of Scotland's farmland is, basically, bog which shouldn't have people on it at all but due to good management, not only is productive land but seldom floods.
    @Popher: Aberdeen airport runway got a hole in it, because of the rain.
    Wow. I thought they were meant to be tougher than that?

    @northsoundnews: Flights are being diverted away from Aberdeen Airport due to the hole in the runway. Engineers working to repair it.



    What is interesting is that, in the past, water management in the UK in general was distributed but quite thorough - farmers maintaining their runoff, towns the rivers etc.

    The problem has come with the modern Rousseauian idea that there is some abstract natural state BeforeManTouchedTheLand that can be returned to.

    I was talking to an environmentalist just yesterday - a highly intelligent person - who was telling me the party line on how dredging rivers kills everything. He was utterly flumoxed when I pointed out that dredging rivers had been done for centuries. It is done in sections. So, presumably the wildlife would recolonise the dredged bit after a certain amount of time. Further (I asked) would it not be the case that the wildlife would adapt to this process and might even come to depend on it? Bit like forest fires.... So by ending the dredging, you've probably massively disrupted as eco-system... Just silence at that point.
  • Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453
    @ScottishEPA: #Flooding is expected overnight in along vulnerable areas of the Rivers Deveron & Don, stay vigilant & keep updated https://t.co/azOfKk1Je7
  • Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453
    Somehow, this seems an appropriate forum to post this...

    @MouldS: Still a few tickets left for our Evening Of Unnecessary Detail show. Spoken Nerds +guests doing exiting new stuff https://t.co/epxPwrc6KJ
  • MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 38,518
    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/12087780/Cologne-assault-Cultural-difference-is-no-excuse-for-rape.html

    Telegraph finally reporting on the German crisis with a decent opinion piece. No sign of any stage 3 "don't cause a backlash" rubbish.
  • Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453
    @MrHarryCole: BREAKING: Jeremy Corbyn really was a geography teacher once! https://t.co/bLAbXWTfoH - Top @NewsAnnabelle hit
  • Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453
    @BradenDavy: #Aberdeen is now cut off, no trains north or south due to flooding and the airport is closed! #UKfloods #Floods

    I am sure the MP and MSP for the North East will be all over it...

    What, he's in London? For a radio show?

    Oh
  • JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 42,139

    Scott_P said:

    O/T

    Dair Posts: 5,901
    December 2015 edited December 2015
    The floods have had me thinking back to a rather excellent documentary by Iain Stewart called "Scotland's Water" (not currently on iPlayer, sadly). One of the striking messages I learned from it is that there is practically not one drop of water in Scotland which is not managed from the moment it falls by Scottish Water.

    This includes being able to reroute rainfall between different Watersheds using artificial (tunnels and dug trenches/canals) and natural links (dry rivers) and how much of Scotland's farmland is, basically, bog which shouldn't have people on it at all but due to good management, not only is productive land but seldom floods.
    @Popher: Aberdeen airport runway got a hole in it, because of the rain.
    Wow. I thought they were meant to be tougher than that?

    @northsoundnews: Flights are being diverted away from Aberdeen Airport due to the hole in the runway. Engineers working to repair it.

    What is interesting is that, in the past, water management in the UK in general was distributed but quite thorough - farmers maintaining their runoff, towns the rivers etc.

    The problem has come with the modern Rousseauian idea that there is some abstract natural state BeforeManTouchedTheLand that can be returned to.

    I was talking to an environmentalist just yesterday - a highly intelligent person - who was telling me the party line on how dredging rivers kills everything. He was utterly flumoxed when I pointed out that dredging rivers had been done for centuries. It is done in sections. So, presumably the wildlife would recolonise the dredged bit after a certain amount of time. Further (I asked) would it not be the case that the wildlife would adapt to this process and might even come to depend on it? Bit like forest fires.... So by ending the dredging, you've probably massively disrupted as eco-system... Just silence at that point.

    AIUI (and IANAE) there are many problems with dredging as it is done nowadays. Modern long-reach machines can be much more destructive (apparently, although I cannot see how an old-style dragline would have been much better), and there are regulations stating (I think) that dredged silt can only be deposited within a few metres of the bank, rather than being spread over the fields as used to happen.

    Were there enough I-don't-know-what-I'm-talking-about clauses in that? :)
  • Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453
    @PerthKinPolice: Drive with extra caution on roads in Tayside which are badly affected by weather conditions
    https://t.co/ji5qZzuzzf
  • JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 42,139
    dr_spyn said:

    @JosiasJessop A video clip of Flying Scotsman on the move at last. Some purists will hate to see it in black, with those Germanic smoke deflectors, and the Kylchap double chimney.

    www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8jLyfVX__w

    Some of the parts might be original, but that is open to interpretation.

    Thanks for that: I hadn't seen it. What an utter waste of public money that project's been.

    And the purists can go hang: locomotives always evolved and changed through their lives. That's why I like a crimson 8F. :)
  • richardDoddrichardDodd Posts: 5,472
    ScottP.....but every drop of rain that falls in Scotland is man managed...Dair said....
  • MikeKMikeK Posts: 9,053
    In my forecast for January 2016 I said it would snow. Well it's coming next week, so get out your mufflers, scarves, gloves, overcoats, hoodies and fur hats. Don't say you haven't been warned.
  • JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 42,139
    Scott_P said:

    @MrHarryCole: BREAKING: Jeremy Corbyn really was a geography teacher once! https://t.co/bLAbXWTfoH - Top @NewsAnnabelle hit

    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.
  • PaulyPauly Posts: 897
    https://twitter.com/JWoodcockMP/status/685138726926823425

    Possible signal the moderates aren't moving.
  • richardDoddrichardDodd Posts: 5,472
    MK...Don't forget the skis..
  • MikeKMikeK Posts: 9,053

    Scott_P said:

    O/T

    Dair Posts: 5,901
    December 2015 edited December 2015
    The floods have had me thinking back to a rather excellent documentary by Iain Stewart called "Scotland's Water" (not currently on iPlayer, sadly). One of the striking messages I learned from it is that there is practically not one drop of water in Scotland which is not managed from the moment it falls by Scottish Water.

    This includes being able to reroute rainfall between different Watersheds using artificial (tunnels and dug trenches/canals) and natural links (dry rivers) and how much of Scotland's farmland is, basically, bog which shouldn't have people on it at all but due to good management, not only is productive land but seldom floods.
    @Popher: Aberdeen airport runway got a hole in it, because of the rain.
    Wow. I thought they were meant to be tougher than that?

    @northsoundnews: Flights are being diverted away from Aberdeen Airport due to the hole in the runway. Engineers working to repair it.

    What is interesting is that, in the past, water management in the UK in general was distributed but quite thorough - farmers maintaining their runoff, towns the rivers etc.

    The problem has come with the modern Rousseauian idea that there is some abstract natural state BeforeManTouchedTheLand that can be returned to.

    I was talking to an environmentalist just yesterday - a highly intelligent person - who was telling me the party line on how dredging rivers kills everything. He was utterly flumoxed when I pointed out that dredging rivers had been done for centuries. It is done in sections. So, presumably the wildlife would recolonise the dredged bit after a certain amount of time. Further (I asked) would it not be the case that the wildlife would adapt to this process and might even come to depend on it? Bit like forest fires.... So by ending the dredging, you've probably massively disrupted as eco-system... Just silence at that point.

    There is no doubt that Scotland bottled most of it's water and sent it to England, so if the Scots are thirsty they have only themselves to blame.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 49,411
    MikeK said:

    Scott_P said:

    O/T

    Dair Posts: 5,901
    December 2015 edited December 2015
    The floods have had me thinking back to a rather excellent documentary by Iain Stewart called "Scotland's Water" (not currently on iPlayer, sadly). One of the striking messages I learned from it is that there is practically not one drop of water in Scotland which is not managed from the moment it falls by Scottish Water.

    This includes being able to reroute rainfall between different Watersheds using artificial (tunnels and dug trenches/canals) and natural links (dry rivers) and how much of Scotland's farmland is, basically, bog which shouldn't have people on it at all but due to good management, not only is productive land but seldom floods.
    @Popher: Aberdeen airport runway got a hole in it, because of the rain.
    Wow. I thought they were meant to be tougher than that?

    @northsoundnews: Flights are being diverted away from Aberdeen Airport due to the hole in the runway. Engineers working to repair it.

    What is interesting is that, in the past, water management in the UK in general was distributed but quite thorough - farmers maintaining their runoff, towns the rivers etc.

    The problem has come with the modern Rousseauian idea that there is some abstract natural state BeforeManTouchedTheLand that can be returned to.

    I was talking to an environmentalist just yesterday - a highly intelligent person - who was telling me the party line on how dredging rivers kills everything. He was utterly flumoxed when I pointed out that dredging rivers had been done for centuries. It is done in sections. So, presumably the wildlife would recolonise the dredged bit after a certain amount of time. Further (I asked) would it not be the case that the wildlife would adapt to this process and might even come to depend on it? Bit like forest fires.... So by ending the dredging, you've probably massively disrupted as eco-system... Just silence at that point.
    There is no doubt that Scotland bottled most of it's water and sent it to England, so if the Scots are thirsty they have only themselves to blame.

    I thought is was stolen by the English after they massacred the heroic Scots, led by a blue painted Australian?
  • MikeKMikeK Posts: 9,053

    MK...Don't forget the skis..

    Snow shoes are better on the flat. ;)
  • Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453
    Pauly said:

    Possible signal the moderates aren't moving.

    If they do nothing, they are guaranteed another 4 years pay cheques, before de-selection or losing their seat. Why make a fuss?
  • JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 42,139

    MikeK said:

    Scott_P said:

    O/T

    Dair Posts: 5,901
    December 2015 edited December 2015
    The floods have had me thinking back to a rather excellent documentary by Iain Stewart called "Scotland's Water" (not currently on iPlayer, sadly). One of the striking messages I learned from it is that there is practically not one drop of water in Scotland which is not managed from the moment it falls by Scottish Water.

    This includes being able to reroute rainfall between different Watersheds using artificial (tunnels and dug trenches/canals) and natural links (dry rivers) and how much of Scotland's farmland is, basically, bog which shouldn't have people on it at all but due to good management, not only is productive land but seldom floods.
    @Popher: Aberdeen airport runway got a hole in it, because of the rain.
    Wow. I thought they were meant to be tougher than that?

    @northsoundnews: Flights are being diverted away from Aberdeen Airport due to the hole in the runway. Engineers working to repair it.

    What is interesting is that, in the past, water management in the UK in general was distributed but quite thorough - farmers maintaining their runoff, towns the rivers etc.

    The problem has come with the modern Rousseauian idea that there is some abstract natural state BeforeManTouchedTheLand that can be returned to.

    I was talking to an environmentalist just yesterday - a highly intelligent person - who was telling me the party line on how dredging rivers kills everything. He was utterly flumoxed when I pointed out that dredging rivers had been done for centuries. It is done in sections. So, presumably the wildlife would recolonise the dredged bit after a certain amount of time. Further (I asked) would it not be the case that the wildlife would adapt to this process and might even come to depend on it? Bit like forest fires.... So by ending the dredging, you've probably massively disrupted as eco-system... Just silence at that point.
    There is no doubt that Scotland bottled most of it's water and sent it to England, so if the Scots are thirsty they have only themselves to blame.
    I thought is was stolen by the English after they massacred the heroic Scots, led by a blue painted Australian?

    I heard that the Scots are so hard they have D2O rather than H20 ...
  • justin124justin124 Posts: 11,527

    Plato_Says said:
    Glen OHara
    'BTW, #Labour has *never* in the modern age risen from its poll rating at this stage in a Parl to record a better score at the GE. Never.'

    I think he needs to look at the same stages of the 1959 and 1987 Parliaments . Labour did better in 1964 than polls were suggesting in Mid 1960. Likewise Labour did better in 1992 than the polling figures in Jan 1988 implied.
  • CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758
    MikeK said:

    In my forecast for January 2016 I said it would snow. Well it's coming next week, so get out your mufflers, scarves, gloves, overcoats, hoodies and fur hats. Don't say you haven't been warned.

    Are you thinking 1 or 2 flakes or 102?
  • Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453
    Laura K's take on the reshambles

    @bbclaurak: 'The weak fighting the weak?' https://t.co/X0tjoyQQ0S
  • justin124justin124 Posts: 11,527

    SouthamObserver said:

    'I don't think members chose Corbyn because he is on the far left. They chose him because they felt - a la Nick Palmer - that he was polite, consensual, anti-spin, to the left of the other three candidates and prepared to build a big tent. That none of that is really true (though he may be polite to your face) is besides the point. They projected. And like Nick, they chose to ignore or disregard his 30 years of cosying up to apologists for and advocates of terrorism, the subjugation of women and the killing of homosexuals. They voted in reaction to defeat and in disgust at triangulation. They wanted a Labour party that stands for something; one that made them feel good about themselves. At some stage, for many of them that will no longer be enough. They will want to win again. The far left's challenge is to seize as much control as possible before that moment comes.

    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
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 49,411

    Scott_P said:

    O/T

    Dair Posts: 5,901
    December 2015 edited December 2015
    The floods have had me thinking back to a rather excellent documentary by Iain Stewart called "Scotland's Water" (not currently on iPlayer, sadly). One of the striking messages I learned from it is that there is practically not one drop of water in Scotland which is not managed from the moment it falls by Scottish Water.

    This includes being able to reroute rainfall between different Watersheds using artificial (tunnels and dug trenches/canals) and natural links (dry rivers) and how much of Scotland's farmland is, basically, bog which shouldn't have people on it at all but due to good management, not only is productive land but seldom floods.
    @Popher: Aberdeen airport runway got a hole in it, because of the rain.
    Wow. I thought they were meant to be tougher than that?

    @northsoundnews: Flights are being diverted away from Aberdeen Airport due to the hole in the runway. Engineers working to repair it.

    What is interesting is that, in the past, water management in the UK in general was distributed but quite thorough - farmers maintaining their runoff, towns the rivers etc.

    The problem has come with the modern Rousseauian idea that there is some abstract natural state BeforeManTouchedTheLand that can be returned to.

    I was talking to an environmentalist just yesterday - a highly intelligent person - who was telling me the party line on how dredging rivers kills everything. He was utterly flumoxed when I pointed out that dredging rivers had been done for centuries. It is done in sections. So, presumably the wildlife would recolonise the dredged bit after a certain amount of time. Further (I asked) would it not be the case that the wildlife would adapt to this process and might even come to depend on it? Bit like forest fires.... So by ending the dredging, you've probably massively disrupted as eco-system... Just silence at that point.
    AIUI (and IANAE) there are many problems with dredging as it is done nowadays. Modern long-reach machines can be much more destructive (apparently, although I cannot see how an old-style dragline would have been much better), and there are regulations stating (I think) that dredged silt can only be deposited within a few metres of the bank, rather than being spread over the fields as used to happen.

    Were there enough I-don't-know-what-I'm-talking-about clauses in that? :)

    Grin.

    When you point out that the mud from rivers is now cleaner than any time since 17th Cent (industrial discharge non-existent, domestic rubbish gone, drains connected to toilets etc) you are regarded as a savage.
  • richardDoddrichardDodd Posts: 5,472
    MK..Do some cross country stuff..good for you..
  • Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453

    When you point out that the mud from rivers is now cleaner than any time since 17th Cent (industrial discharge non-existent, domestic rubbish gone, drains connected to toilets etc) you are regarded as a savage.

    At one time the most heavily industrialised waterway in Europe allegedly

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_of_Leith

    I used to collect sticklebacks there in my youth
  • Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453
    Scientific evidence for Zoomerism from the US...

    @kevverage: Fascinating insight into misinformed (not uninformed) Trump supporters.

    Ring any bells?

    https://t.co/c1pjOBVh7j https://t.co/Bu1ImtyYmz
  • MikeKMikeK Posts: 9,053
    A Half hour to go ( I think ) and the Dow has fallen over 400 points already, and at the moment still dropping.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 49,411
    Scott_P said:

    When you point out that the mud from rivers is now cleaner than any time since 17th Cent (industrial discharge non-existent, domestic rubbish gone, drains connected to toilets etc) you are regarded as a savage.

    At one time the most heavily industrialised waterway in Europe allegedly

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_of_Leith

    I used to collect sticklebacks there in my youth
    Salmon in the river is a sign the water is very, very good.
  • HaroldOHaroldO Posts: 1,185
    Corbyn's clique love this stuff, it is what they have done for their entire political careers; plan how they will get even with anyone of the "not we" once they finally got power.
    Now that this has happened, operation; get even has begun and all the Blairities (even the minor ones no-one has heard of) are being turfed out of office a few months after being put into office and told that the Eagles and Diane "blinky" Abbott, John McDoneell et al are better material for power.
    Imagine being sat there and watching those useless intellectually incestuous extremists running your party, it would depress the hell out of me.
    I am no massive fan of Cameron or his cabinet, but at least they are the dull middle management types rather than sneering Ricks from The Young One's unable to connect with anyone but each other.
  • MikeKMikeK Posts: 9,053

    MK..Do some cross country stuff..good for you..

    Well I'll certainly throw you a snowball or two.
  • MikeKMikeK Posts: 9,053
    Charles said:

    MikeK said:

    In my forecast for January 2016 I said it would snow. Well it's coming next week, so get out your mufflers, scarves, gloves, overcoats, hoodies and fur hats. Don't say you haven't been warned.

    Are you thinking 1 or 2 flakes or 102?
    Snowballs!
  • MikeK said:

    In my forecast for January 2016 I said it would snow. Well it's coming next week, so get out your mufflers, scarves, gloves, overcoats, hoodies and fur hats. Don't say you haven't been warned.

    Will you be predicting a bit of sunshine in June or July?
  • Danny565Danny565 Posts: 8,091

    MikeK said:

    In my forecast for January 2016 I said it would snow. Well it's coming next week, so get out your mufflers, scarves, gloves, overcoats, hoodies and fur hats. Don't say you haven't been warned.

    Will you be predicting a bit of sunshine in June or July?
    !!
  • MikeKMikeK Posts: 9,053

    MikeK said:

    In my forecast for January 2016 I said it would snow. Well it's coming next week, so get out your mufflers, scarves, gloves, overcoats, hoodies and fur hats. Don't say you haven't been warned.

    Will you be predicting a bit of sunshine in June or July?
    Well I did predict quite a cold year with some snow in June. It's happened a few times in my lifetime, so not that unusual.
  • OllyTOllyT Posts: 5,006
    Scott_P said:

    Pauly said:

    Possible signal the moderates aren't moving.

    If they do nothing, they are guaranteed another 4 years pay cheques, before de-selection or losing their seat. Why make a fuss?
    How does that differ from all the right wing, antiEU, anti SSM Tories passing go and collecting their salaries for years under Cameron instead of joining their spiritual home in UKIP? MPs of all parties are no different as the expenses scandal showed,
  • DaemonBarberDaemonBarber Posts: 1,626
    Scott_P said:

    When you point out that the mud from rivers is now cleaner than any time since 17th Cent (industrial discharge non-existent, domestic rubbish gone, drains connected to toilets etc) you are regarded as a savage.

    At one time the most heavily industrialised waterway in Europe allegedly

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_of_Leith

    I used to collect sticklebacks there in my youth
    I walked the stretch from Balerno to Leith not that long ago, and regularly walk the stretch from Leith to Stockbridge. The bit through the Dean Village is lovely. You'd never know you were in the middle of the city.
  • MTimTMTimT Posts: 7,034

    Scott_P said:

    O/T

    Dair Posts: 5,901
    December 2015 edited December 2015
    The floods have had me thinking back to a rather excellent documentary by Iain Stewart called "Scotland's Water" (not currently on iPlayer, sadly). One of the striking messages I learned from it is that there is practically not one drop of water in Scotland which is not managed from the moment it falls by Scottish Water.

    This includes being able to reroute rainfall between different Watersheds using artificial (tunnels and dug trenches/canals) and natural links (dry rivers) and how much of Scotland's farmland is, basically, bog which shouldn't have people on it at all but due to good management, not only is productive land but seldom floods.
    @Popher: Aberdeen airport runway got a hole in it, because of the rain.
    Wow. I thought they were meant to be tougher than that?

    @northsoundnews: Flights are being diverted away from Aberdeen Airport due to the hole in the runway. Engineers working to repair it.

    What is interesting is that, in the past, water management in the UK in general was distributed but quite thorough - farmers maintaining their runoff, towns the rivers etc.

    The problem has come with the modern Rousseauian idea that there is some abstract natural state BeforeManTouchedTheLand that can be returned to.

    I was talking to an environmentalist just yesterday - a highly intelligent person - who was telling me the party line on how dredging rivers kills everything. He was utterly flumoxed when I pointed out that dredging rivers had been done for centuries. It is done in sections. So, presumably the wildlife would recolonise the dredged bit after a certain amount of time. Further (I asked) would it not be the case that the wildlife would adapt to this process and might even come to depend on it? Bit like forest fires.... So by ending the dredging, you've probably massively disrupted as eco-system... Just silence at that point.

    That is the kind of environmentalist who would do away with the hedgerows in Devon as they are 'manmade'
  • OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 33,284

    MikeK said:

    Scott_P said:

    O/T

    Dair Posts: 5,901
    December 2015 edited December 2015
    The floods have had me thinking back to a rather excellent documentary by Iain Stewart called "Scotland's Water" (not currently on iPlayer, sadly). One of the striking messages I learned from it is that there is practically not one drop of water in Scotland which is not managed from the moment it falls by Scottish Water.

    This includes being able to reroute rainfall between different Watersheds using artificial (tunnels and dug trenches/canals) and natural links (dry rivers) and how much of Scotland's farmland is, basically, bog which shouldn't have people on it at all but due to good management, not only is productive land but seldom floods.
    @Popher: Aberdeen airport runway got a hole in it, because of the rain.
    Wow. I thought they were meant to be tougher than that?

    @northsoundnews: Flights are being diverted away from Aberdeen Airport due to the hole in the runway. Engineers working to repair it.

    What is interesting is that, in the past, water management in the UK in general was distributed but quite thorough - farmers maintaining their runoff, towns the rivers etc.

    The problem has come with the modern Rousseauian idea that there is some abstract natural state BeforeManTouchedTheLand that can be returned to.

    I was talking to an environmentalist just yesterday - a highly intelligent person - who was telling me the party line on how dredging rivers kills everything. He was utterly flumoxed when I pointed out that dredging rivers had been done for centuries. It is done in sections. So, presumably the wildlife would recolonise the dredged bit after a certain amount of time. Further (I asked) would it not be the case that the wildlife would adapt to this process and might even come to depend on it? Bit like forest fires.... So by ending the dredging, you've probably massively disrupted as eco-system... Just silence at that point.
    There is no doubt that Scotland bottled most of it's water and sent it to England, so if the Scots are thirsty they have only themselves to blame.
    I thought is was stolen by the English after they massacred the heroic Scots, led by a blue painted Australian?

    Arent Australians often descended from English criminals?
  • PClippPClipp Posts: 2,138

    Scott_P said:

    @MrHarryCole: BREAKING: Jeremy Corbyn really was a geography teacher once! https://t.co/bLAbXWTfoH - Top @NewsAnnabelle hit

    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.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,028
    edited January 2016
    I have just caught up properly with recent disasters. I fully agree with Don Brind, for once. Some thoughts:

    1) The media operation could only have been bungled more impressively if Corbyn had been photographed wearing nothing but a strategically placed banana. If this is how badly Milne performs in a low stress period like this, what disasters will he propagate in May?

    2) Corbyn is as weak as Brown was that time he couldn't sack Darling. But in the absence of an ejection system, like Brown he will cling on to the bitter end. The damage to the Labour party is already great. By 2020 it may well be irreversible.

    3) Cameron's government is in a mess, and even Andrew Burnham would have landed some heavy blows this week. In the absence of a good opposition, we are suffering complacent government, and it's not as though it even has a large mandate.

    Do any other commentators feel like Cassandra for predicting all this if Corbyn won, and the Labour Party going ahead and committing hara-kiri anyway?
  • JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 42,139
    PClipp said:

    Scott_P said:

    @MrHarryCole: BREAKING: Jeremy Corbyn really was a geography teacher once! https://t.co/bLAbXWTfoH - Top @NewsAnnabelle hit

    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?
  • david_herdsondavid_herdson Posts: 17,656
    On topic, stripped of its spin, Don's piece is right: Labour isn't capable of landing a punch on the government at the moment because Labour is only interested in itself.

    That is a problem for Labour. It's also a problem for the Tories as it encourages complacency - at some point the opposition will get its act together, whether it be this parliament or next, and when it does the Conservatives will be well behind the game going by current actions. However, not yet.
  • Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453
    @TomBlenkinsop: @DearMeYes calm down and have a tunnock's tea cake. Ah forgot you've mcfatwa'd them #patritoticteacake

    McFatwa. Genius.
  • SquareRootSquareRoot Posts: 7,095
    FWIW , no one is listening at anything Labour is saying bar to laugh at it. EG that moron MCDonnell saying "we have been in power for three months."

    When it comes to Labour , most are looking for the next major gaffe.. I mean Diane Abbott on Newsnight.. Deary me.. voters are now waiting foe Emily to pontificate about something on which her knowledge is very limited.. Prepare for the next car crash..think Trump thinking Paris was in Germany.
  • david_herdsondavid_herdson Posts: 17,656
    MikeK said:

    A Half hour to go ( I think ) and the Dow has fallen over 400 points already, and at the moment still dropping.

    The Dow's drop looks to be largely in line with European markets - off 2% or so.
  • RodCrosbyRodCrosby Posts: 7,737

    Scott_P said:

    When you point out that the mud from rivers is now cleaner than any time since 17th Cent (industrial discharge non-existent, domestic rubbish gone, drains connected to toilets etc) you are regarded as a savage.

    At one time the most heavily industrialised waterway in Europe allegedly

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_of_Leith

    I used to collect sticklebacks there in my youth
    Salmon in the river is a sign the water is very, very good.
    The Mersey was the most polluted river in Europe at one time.

    Look what you find there now... all the way up to a humpback whale
    http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/10-things-you-wouldnt-expect-9464690
  • foxinsoxukfoxinsoxuk Posts: 23,548
    OllyT said:

    Scott_P said:

    Pauly said:

    Possible signal the moderates aren't moving.

    If they do nothing, they are guaranteed another 4 years pay cheques, before de-selection or losing their seat. Why make a fuss?
    How does that differ from all the right wing, antiEU, anti SSM Tories passing go and collecting their salaries for years under Cameron instead of joining their spiritual home in UKIP? MPs of all parties are no different as the expenses scandal showed,
    I was just watching Daniel Kawczynski MP on Channel 4 news claim that the Saudi dissidents recently beheaded had had fair trials. He shilled in other ways for the Saudis. Apologists for Islamic radicals are not just in the shadow cabinet it seems.

    The animals looked from pig to man and man to pig, but could no longer see any difference.
  • WandererWanderer Posts: 3,838
    OllyT said:

    Scott_P said:

    Pauly said:

    Possible signal the moderates aren't moving.

    If they do nothing, they are guaranteed another 4 years pay cheques, before de-selection or losing their seat. Why make a fuss?
    How does that differ from all the right wing, antiEU, anti SSM Tories passing go and collecting their salaries for years under Cameron instead of joining their spiritual home in UKIP? MPs of all parties are no different as the expenses scandal showed,
    I think it's a little harsh to blame moderate Labour MPs for not doing "something" when none of us can think of any something that in the short to medium term would help. It really is puzzling. Go back in time and stop people nominating Corbyn is my suggestion.
  • WandererWanderer Posts: 3,838

    OllyT said:

    Scott_P said:

    Pauly said:

    Possible signal the moderates aren't moving.

    If they do nothing, they are guaranteed another 4 years pay cheques, before de-selection or losing their seat. Why make a fuss?
    How does that differ from all the right wing, antiEU, anti SSM Tories passing go and collecting their salaries for years under Cameron instead of joining their spiritual home in UKIP? MPs of all parties are no different as the expenses scandal showed,
    I was just watching Daniel Kawczynski MP on Channel 4 news claim that the Saudi dissidents recently beheaded had had fair trials. He shilled in other ways for the Saudis. Apologists for Islamic radicals are not just in the shadow cabinet it seems.

    The animals looked from pig to man and man to pig, but could no longer see any difference.
    Did he? My God!
  • david_herdsondavid_herdson Posts: 17,656
    justin124 said:


    Plato_Says said:
    Glen OHara
    'BTW, #Labour has *never* in the modern age risen from its poll rating at this stage in a Parl to record a better score at the GE. Never.'

    I think he needs to look at the same stages of the 1959 and 1987 Parliaments . Labour did better in 1964 than polls were suggesting in Mid 1960. Likewise Labour did better in 1992 than the polling figures in Jan 1988 implied.

    1935-45?

    The general point is probably right though, as long as Corbyn stays in post. The public has already largely made up their mind about him and were push to come to shove at an election, he'd be roundly rejected. I wouldn't be quite so confident about the series holding if both Labour and the Tories change leader before 2020.
  • Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453
    Wanderer said:

    I think it's a little harsh to blame moderate Labour MPs for not doing "something" when none of us can think of any something that in the short to medium term would help.

    They could all refuse to serve in the shadow cabinet, as advocated by the FT amongst others
  • foxinsoxukfoxinsoxuk Posts: 23,548

    MikeK said:

    A Half hour to go ( I think ) and the Dow has fallen over 400 points already, and at the moment still dropping.

    The Dow's drop looks to be largely in line with European markets - off 2% or so.
    The Chinese are learning about markets this week. The spike in Chinese stocks in the last year or so was always absurd and going to end badly. The commodity slump to me is a more significant sign of real problems in their economy.
  • Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453
    @STJamesl: Corbyn supporters complaining about the BBC breaking news on air is a new level of madness (in England)
  • Danny565Danny565 Posts: 8,091
    edited January 2016
    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.
  • dr_spyndr_spyn Posts: 11,300
    RodCrosby said:

    Scott_P said:

    When you point out that the mud from rivers is now cleaner than any time since 17th Cent (industrial discharge non-existent, domestic rubbish gone, drains connected to toilets etc) you are regarded as a savage.

    At one time the most heavily industrialised waterway in Europe allegedly

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_of_Leith

    I used to collect sticklebacks there in my youth
    Salmon in the river is a sign the water is very, very good.
    The Mersey was the most polluted river in Europe at one time.

    Look what you find there now... all the way up to a humpback whale
    http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/10-things-you-wouldnt-expect-9464690
    Reminds me of the unflattering comparison of The River Mersey and a new penny.
  • JonathanJonathan Posts: 21,471
    Danny565 said:

    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 90% 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.

    Above all, with all leadership issues, there HAS to be an alternative. Someone who will obviously do better electorally, which demands some semblance of party unity as a prerequisite.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 95,576
    A fine piece from Mr Brind I think. A lot does seem to be riding on Khan, for good and ill.
  • MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 38,518
    MikeK said:

    A Half hour to go ( I think ) and the Dow has fallen over 400 points already, and at the moment still dropping.

    It looks like a correction. Possibly an over correction, but we'll have to wait and see.

    The fundamentals of the US economy are still sound, same with here, especially with weaker Sterling and low oil prices. If manufacturers can't jump start their companies now then they need to rethink their management and business model.
  • WandererWanderer Posts: 3,838
    edited January 2016

    On topic, stripped of its spin, Don's piece is right: Labour isn't capable of landing a punch on the government at the moment because Labour is only interested in itself.

    That is a problem for Labour. It's also a problem for the Tories as it encourages complacency - at some point the opposition will get its act together, whether it be this parliament or next, and when it does the Conservatives will be well behind the game going by current actions. However, not yet.

    Yes, it must be de-skilling for the Tories. Young CCHQ staff and newly minted MPs must be thinking this politics lark is easy.

    It's not just that Labour is bad at opposing the Government, it's also proving pitifully easy to attack itself. No doubt every Conservative is taught while a suckling babe that one should seek to portray Labour as weak on defence. Often it's hard to do that. But now? When Cameron made his "terrorist sympathisers" remark Labour seemed determined to repeat it, just to make sure it made the news. And now this business with McFadden. They are, quite literally, giving Cameron his ammunition and positioning their own bodies so that the bullets do as much damage as possible.

    As punters we are entitled to ask if the fix is in.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 95,576
    justin124 said:



    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

    An interesting what if scenario indeed.
  • LondonBobLondonBob Posts: 467
    MikeK said:

    A Half hour to go ( I think ) and the Dow has fallen over 400 points already, and at the moment still dropping.

    Will be a close run thing but I suspect Russia will have stronger GDP growth this year than the US. Obama has managed an entire business cycle that has avoided the boom stage, and with little deleveraging occurring. Atlanta Fed GDPNow cast has dropped like a stone. Bad news for the incumbent, great news for Trump, who is now pushing towards the 40s.

    http://elections.huffingtonpost.com/pollster/2016-national-gop-primary
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 95,576

    While I don't think anyone could argue with the broader thrust of Don's article that there is no effective opposition to the government at the moment, I have to say I found Cameron's litany of Shakespeare play titles tedious in the extreme.

    Me too, personally, but some people love anything to do with Shakespeare perhaps. Plus the standard for political jokes is pretty low, and it was passable in that respect.
  • Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453
    Wanderer said:

    As punters we are entitled to ask if the fix is in.

    Seaumas Milne, the ultimate Tory sleeper agent...
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 95,576
    Scott_P said:

    FFS, Diane is back on telly again

    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?
  • Plato_SaysPlato_Says Posts: 11,822
    edited January 2016
    How fascinating https://alittleecon.wordpress.com/2016/01/07/the-bbc-admits-it-co-ordinated-in-advance-the-on-air-resignation-of-stephen-doughty/

    Laura strikes.
    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.
  • foxinsoxukfoxinsoxuk Posts: 23,548
    kle4 said:

    A fine piece from Mr Brind I think. A lot does seem to be riding on Khan, for good and ill.

    I cannot see Zac beating Sadiq; though I wouldn't vote for either. It would be like being asked to choose which turd is better.
  • Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453
    kle4 said:

    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?
  • Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453

    Laura strikes.

    And the Corbynistas are going absolutely mental
  • foxinsoxukfoxinsoxuk Posts: 23,548
    Scott_P said:

    kle4 said:

    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...
  • Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453
    @Mr_Eugenides: I’m startled and disturbed at the suggestion Eoin Clarke might be a lackwitted dullard so stupid that he needs watering twice a day.
  • John_MJohn_M Posts: 7,503
    Scott_P said:

    Laura strikes.

    And the Corbynistas are going absolutely mental
    Mental is the Corbynistas' ground state.
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 52,207
    edited January 2016
    Scott_P said:

    @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...

    deleted - misread in haste!
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 95,576
    edited January 2016

    How fascinating https://alittleecon.wordpress.com/2016/01/07/the-bbc-admits-it-co-ordinated-in-advance-the-on-air-resignation-of-stephen-doughty/

    Laura strikes.

    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.
    Curious indeed. I certainly don't think it's sinister, but some might say it was going a bit far suggesting it, even if just in the name of cracking television (inasmuch as any resignation by a minor shadow minister can be), but at the end of the day it was only a suggestion and Doughty was game for it. I'd hazard a guess other people who have resigned from government and shadow positions have been floated the same idea in the past.
    Scott_P said:

    kle4 said:

    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?
    Try some 2015 intake newbie with no experience, they might shine at it, or they do poorly but no one minds that much because it's only from inexperience.
This discussion has been closed.