Hastings Forum
Labour leadership race
Re: Labour leadership race
The Labour leadership contest is painful for the party to go through and painful for others to watch at a distance. A bit like watching an old friend, who always was a bit eccentric, slowly going off his head, doing crazy things, hurting himself, talking a lot of nonsense. He doesn't hurt anyone else, even so should one intervene, try to do something, or just watch the inevitable decline with all its suffering?
The current contenders seem to be largely in a state of denial about the election result. Numerous statements have been made about Corbyn not being a reason for the defeat, nor the manifesto, nor anti-semitism - then what? Not many scapegoats left! The party is likely to endure a prolonged period of political irrelevance until it works the insanity out of its system and some completely new and focused thinking comes into play.
The current contenders seem to be largely in a state of denial about the election result. Numerous statements have been made about Corbyn not being a reason for the defeat, nor the manifesto, nor anti-semitism - then what? Not many scapegoats left! The party is likely to endure a prolonged period of political irrelevance until it works the insanity out of its system and some completely new and focused thinking comes into play.
Re: Labour leadership race
After every defeat their message is always the same. We didn't explain ourselves clearly enough.
Re: Labour leadership race
That's just it!
Funnily enough, the Tories used the same excuse prior to the 1997 election - "we are not getting our message through to the electorate", until the cataclysm of their defeat by Blair finally forced them to face the fact that the electorate really did not like what they had to offer.
Maybe all political parties have these periods of arrogance and detachment from reality - until the painful lessons of politics bring about a return to realism and focused thinking!
Funnily enough, the Tories used the same excuse prior to the 1997 election - "we are not getting our message through to the electorate", until the cataclysm of their defeat by Blair finally forced them to face the fact that the electorate really did not like what they had to offer.
Maybe all political parties have these periods of arrogance and detachment from reality - until the painful lessons of politics bring about a return to realism and focused thinking!
Re: Labour leadership race
Corbyn was an outsider, seen as unelectable, the antithesis of Blair, he really got in by accident after the 'one member one vote' set up by Miliband to prevent the Unions using their muscle to influence Party nominations.
Additionally membership of the Labour Party was reduced to £3, attracting a flood of new members affiliated to a group known as 'Momentum'.
Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and Milband were all from the moderate wing of the Party and had not felt inclined to talk seriously about Socialism since Michael Foot stepped down in 1983.
'Militant' were previously protesting in force against Thatcher's Poll Tax and had taken over Liverpool City Council.
Corbyn stood alone and was opposed by the Blairites, his lack of relationships within the wider Labour Party left him isolated and vulnerable.
Corbyn had few personal connections with Momentum, the 60,000 strong pressure-group, despite it being a power-base built out of his election campaign.
The rise of Corbyn saw him appear from nowhere out of a grass-roots powerbase of left-wing activists, overturning Blair's 20 year 'New Labour' project which took the Party into the centre ground and his three consecutive general election victories in 1997, 2001 and 2005.
Since Labour's left-wing leadership contenders were pitifully weak, Campbell and Skinner were in their 70's and 80's, Andy Burnham, Cooper and Meacher, Mcdonell and Abbott, had done badly in their previous attempts, that shows why this only left Corbyn who was also thought to lack support or credibility.
Corbyn understandably seemed a reluctant contender but McDonnell suggested that the grassroots Party members would not forgive them if Corbyn was not given a chance, a decision they would later regret.
Mcdonnell knew Corbyn would fall far short of the nominations he needed from other MP's to get on the ballot, so he contacted Ben Sellers, a former member of Militant, the group who were expelled from Labour in the 80's.
With contacts in 'Red Labour' and in touch with an online audience via Facebook and Twitter, Sellers was then able to contact an audience of tens of thousands to persuade MP's to nominate Corbyn. Sellers reckoned that between 8 and 10 MP's nominated Corbyn as a direct result of this lobbying.
Corbyn's friend Jon Lansman (a Jewish intellectual) was one of the most important architects of Corbyn's victory.
In the 1970's Lansman was instrumental in persuading the Party to introduce 'mandatory re-selection', a policy giving Constitutional Labour Party branches the power to 'deselect' their MP's if they displeased them.
Previously, once an MP had secured his or her seat, they could reasonably expect to remain an MP for life, or until they lost the seat at a general election.
Deselection was heavily favoured by Militant, a Marxist group that successfully and covertly infiltrated the Labour Party in the 70's and 80's. One of Militant's big policy successes was deselection. Unsurprisingly this new power was soon abused and MP's were deselected for their political views, even if they were popular with voters.
There was a massive and successful effort by former leader, Neil Kinnock, to kick Militant out of the Party and to change the deselection process.
Whether Lansman was a member of Militant or not he sympathised with many of that group's policies and as a champion of deselection controlled Corbyn's powerbase which terrified moderate Labour MP's.
Lansman told the Jewish Chronicle that Corbyn was not his first choice but that he wanted someone from the Left, "various other people had declined and I eventually settled on Jeremy".
Corbyn went on to great success at the Hustings and became very popular in Rallies speaking without Clichés or slogans, using straightforward arguments he really believed in.
So much for the background...
https://www.businessinsider.com/momentu ... ?r=US&IR=T
Additionally membership of the Labour Party was reduced to £3, attracting a flood of new members affiliated to a group known as 'Momentum'.
Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and Milband were all from the moderate wing of the Party and had not felt inclined to talk seriously about Socialism since Michael Foot stepped down in 1983.
'Militant' were previously protesting in force against Thatcher's Poll Tax and had taken over Liverpool City Council.
Corbyn stood alone and was opposed by the Blairites, his lack of relationships within the wider Labour Party left him isolated and vulnerable.
Corbyn had few personal connections with Momentum, the 60,000 strong pressure-group, despite it being a power-base built out of his election campaign.
The rise of Corbyn saw him appear from nowhere out of a grass-roots powerbase of left-wing activists, overturning Blair's 20 year 'New Labour' project which took the Party into the centre ground and his three consecutive general election victories in 1997, 2001 and 2005.
Since Labour's left-wing leadership contenders were pitifully weak, Campbell and Skinner were in their 70's and 80's, Andy Burnham, Cooper and Meacher, Mcdonell and Abbott, had done badly in their previous attempts, that shows why this only left Corbyn who was also thought to lack support or credibility.
Corbyn understandably seemed a reluctant contender but McDonnell suggested that the grassroots Party members would not forgive them if Corbyn was not given a chance, a decision they would later regret.
Mcdonnell knew Corbyn would fall far short of the nominations he needed from other MP's to get on the ballot, so he contacted Ben Sellers, a former member of Militant, the group who were expelled from Labour in the 80's.
With contacts in 'Red Labour' and in touch with an online audience via Facebook and Twitter, Sellers was then able to contact an audience of tens of thousands to persuade MP's to nominate Corbyn. Sellers reckoned that between 8 and 10 MP's nominated Corbyn as a direct result of this lobbying.
Corbyn's friend Jon Lansman (a Jewish intellectual) was one of the most important architects of Corbyn's victory.
In the 1970's Lansman was instrumental in persuading the Party to introduce 'mandatory re-selection', a policy giving Constitutional Labour Party branches the power to 'deselect' their MP's if they displeased them.
Previously, once an MP had secured his or her seat, they could reasonably expect to remain an MP for life, or until they lost the seat at a general election.
Deselection was heavily favoured by Militant, a Marxist group that successfully and covertly infiltrated the Labour Party in the 70's and 80's. One of Militant's big policy successes was deselection. Unsurprisingly this new power was soon abused and MP's were deselected for their political views, even if they were popular with voters.
There was a massive and successful effort by former leader, Neil Kinnock, to kick Militant out of the Party and to change the deselection process.
Whether Lansman was a member of Militant or not he sympathised with many of that group's policies and as a champion of deselection controlled Corbyn's powerbase which terrified moderate Labour MP's.
Lansman told the Jewish Chronicle that Corbyn was not his first choice but that he wanted someone from the Left, "various other people had declined and I eventually settled on Jeremy".
Corbyn went on to great success at the Hustings and became very popular in Rallies speaking without Clichés or slogans, using straightforward arguments he really believed in.
So much for the background...
https://www.businessinsider.com/momentu ... ?r=US&IR=T
Re: Labour leadership race
There was another element Richard besides Momentum. I know 3 people who joined the Labour party after Milliband introduced the £3 membership (£1 if you were ex-forces). They were not Labour members but joined 'for fun' Once Corbyn accepted the nomination, he himself not believing he had a chance, they voted for him. I don't think the only people who did this were the three I know. This, I think, is why they changed the rules this time around - £25 to vote in the leadership election?
Re: Labour leadership race
Rates for both major Parties are not miles apart and contain concessions:
https://join.labour.org.uk/
https://www.conservatives.com/join
https://join.labour.org.uk/
https://www.conservatives.com/join
Re: Labour leadership race
You miss my point. Labour realised what had happened with the £3 gimmick and altered
it before this particular leadership vote. No-one is going to spend £25 just to get up to
mischief.
it before this particular leadership vote. No-one is going to spend £25 just to get up to
mischief.
Re: Labour leadership race
Except that it is just fellow parliamentarians, local party groups, trade unions and affiliates who can vote in the Labour Leadership contest.
Previously any tom dick or harriet could pay £3 to join the Labour Party at large.
Previously any tom dick or harriet could pay £3 to join the Labour Party at large.
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