Manchester Gorton Labour MP Gerald Kaufman died today. Another by election to follow. His lead was very solid in 2015.
I'm pretty certain I come from a very different political position to you, but I agree with part of this. Yes, there are no signs that Corbyn's brand of leftish social democracy is going to win any time soon - to say the least. Partly because of the permanent war launched by the right of the party, partly because even such a soft left position can't just be plonked in front of the electorate. It has to be built, there has to be communication, there has to be trust. None of this has happened - partly because of the right certainly, but partly because momentum/Corbyn/the new membership haven't created it.
But you seem to be forgetting that Brown lost in 2010 and Miliband in 2015. That brand of capital friendly politics with a veneer of 'social inclusion' has gone. Blairism was a successful politics for a period of economic growth that appealed to the middle classes and assumed the working class had nowhere else to go. Every bit as much as Austerity it has alienated working class voters and can't be put back together again. Blairism isn't there to be had - thankfully, given the damage it actually did to working class voters. Tragedy is nothing else is happening or emerging in terms of any other sort of left alternative - but the absence of a left alternative doesn't revive Blairism as a plausible position.
Labour is already committed to 'controlled' immigration and the replacement of Trident.
Hope so - Gorton is the neighbouring constituency to me so I could get some free entertainment when someone eggs him.Let's hope Nuttall stands again.
farmerbarleymow : aren't UKIP fairly weak anyway in Manc, compared to lots of other places in the North?
What's this mean? That you'd accept a neo-liberal Labour Party (not that it isn't that at the moment) if it was able to defeat the Conservatives?Whichever version of the Labour Party can manage to encourage better turnout because a Labour vote has some chance of improving stuff locally, would have a chance.
Don't see that happening any time soon though
Maybe down to Kaufman? He probably had more name recognition than most MPs, been in the seat forever, 'old' labour and these days on the left of the party.Gorton is quite interesting though - they only polled 7.8% in 2015, less than Manchester Central. Gorton is relatively deprived like the satellite towns so I'd have expected them to poll higher than that.
Knowing how tight you are you'd offer to scrape the egg off him for an omeletteHope so - Gorton is the neighbouring constituency to me so I could get some free entertainment when someone eggs him.
Who is john o'donnell?Voters had had enough of Labour by 2010 and clearly weren’t ready for them again in 2015, especially under a leader who they perceived to be weak.
By the time voters are sick of the tories, not enough of them regardless of ‘class’ are going to vote for a Labour Party which they consider to be too left wing and the tories will simply win again by default.
The idea that Labour lost Copeland or that they are so far behind in the polls because of ‘a permanent war by the right’ is just plain daft. Hearing John O’Donnell blame Owen Smith for Copeland on Any Questions was excruciating.
Corbyn and his followers need to recognise that the electorate don’t want them. I know it’s become a cliché, but Labour really do need to start listening. Unity and standing by Corbyn isn’t going to win the any election.
What's this mean? That you'd accept a neo-liberal Labour Party (not that it isn't that at the moment) if it was able to defeat the Conservatives?
I didn't I was asking for clarification hence the question marks. Your post is incredibly unclear as to what it is actually arguing.Yes, that absolutely must be exactly what I meant, being such a notorious fan of neo-liberalism and Blairism on Urban ...
Alternatively, you could avoid making assumptions about my political position. Thanks.
Improve local conditions for who?TBF my post wasn't too clear, I admit. I wasn't arguing anything really, other than vaguely suggesting that if it's going to revive itself the LP needs to offer a platform that'll genuinely improve local conditions. That has to be a left wing and anti-neoliberal platform if it's going to mean anything at all. I'm not optimistic though.
How is that possible?Everyone?
Gorton is a funny place , overwhelmingly Labour constituency but about ten years ago the Lib Dems had the majority of the Council seats. And it voted Remain .
How is that possible?
Manchester Gorton Labour MP Gerald Kaufman died today. Another by election to follow. His lead was very solid in 2015.
OK fine, the stuff about 'versions' of Labour confused me.redsquirrel : TBF my post wasn't too clear, I admit. I wasn't arguing anything really, other than vaguely suggesting that if it's going to revive itself the LP needs to offer a platform that'll genuinely improve local conditions. That has to be a left wing and anti-neoliberal platform if it's going to mean anything at all. I'm not optimistic though.
Don't hold your breathSearch me! But a radically (and genuinely) left wing LP would be better than previous incarnations.
Don't hold your breath
But that's not responding to the issues I raised. You seem to think Labour can shift policies and get a new leader, bingo, electable. It doesn't work like that. Apart from the fact that 2017 isn't 1997, economically or politically, it isn't like turning a tap on or off. You seem to find 'class' a dodgy term, but then ignore Brexit and a whole set of indicators and events that show whole swathes of Britain have become sick of the political class (particularly the bit of it that was supposed to closest to them in terms of Labour).Voters had had enough of Labour by 2010 and clearly weren’t ready for them again in 2015, especially under a leader who they perceived to be weak.
By the time voters are sick of the tories, not enough of them regardless of ‘class’ are going to vote for a Labour Party which they consider to be too left wing and the tories will simply win again by default.
The idea that Labour lost Copeland or that they are so far behind in the polls because of ‘a permanent war by the right’ is just plain daft. Hearing John O’Donnell blame Owen Smith for Copeland on Any Questions was excruciating.
Corbyn and his followers need to recognise that the electorate don’t want them. I know it’s become a cliché, but Labour really do need to start listening. Unity and standing by Corbyn isn’t going to win the any election.
Gorton is a funny place , overwhelmingly Labour constituency but about ten years ago the Lib Dems had the majority of the Council seats. And it voted Remain .
ie naive gullible fools, as you can see from the lib dem votePlenty of students in the area.