Labour leadership

[Pickman's model]

Nigel Farage might be a good example - he's 'everyman'

and dresses like arthur daley without arthur's ready charm and wit.

 

[kebabking]

4 mills not a bad showing is it. Although that is wider party rather than farage in thanet

well, if you think about the objective conditions - a discredited opposition with a laughable leader, a discredited governing party who appear to not share the same planet as the electorate, a discredited coalition partner at war with itself and parodied by everyone, an economy in the toilet, inumerable examples of spectacular incompetance, and around 50% of the electorate sharing several large opinions with UKIP, suddenly only managing to get 4m votes looks like rank incompetance...

 

[Idris2002]

Jesus?

He is Herbert West, Re-animator.

 

[J Ed]

well, if you think about the objective conditions - a discredited opposition with a laughable leader, a discredited governing party who appear to not share the same planet as the electorate, a discredited coalition partner at war with itself and parodied by everyone, an economy in the toilet, inumerable examples of spectacular incompetance, and around 50% of the electorate sharing several large opinions with UKIP, suddenly only managing to get 4m votes looks like rank incompetance...

I really think that if prior to the May election UKIP had emulated the Front National and came out with some social democratic sounding policies on housing, welfare and maybe rail nationalisation, alongside anti-immigrant populism they would have won handsomely in a few areas at least. The massive disconnect in the every day lives of their leadership and most of their voters and a lot of their activist base means that never could have happened though.

 

[ViolentPanda]

Corbyn seems pretty populist to me...

I dont think so - he doesn't have the charismatic leader thing going at all - its quite confusing to me in fact to have someone not using their charisma and look to win people over. The fact there are Corbynistas and attempts to make Che-style images of him has a big dose of irony about it I think, at least in the way that it comes across.

Hes a populist in as much as he is a socialist and he wants whats best for the majority of the populace - but in terms of presentation and rhetoric he doesnt fit my idea of a populist leader....

...not sure im being very clear here.

You both seem to be conflating populism and popularity. Populism is about policy, popularity is about personal appeal.

 

[ska invita]

You both seem to be conflating populism and popularity. Populism is about policy, popularity is about personal appeal.

yes because theres a historic link with populist leaders having a particularly strong personal appeal - an almost paternal/maternal populism - im sure theres a way of picking it all apart into neater categories, but there is that historic conflation around populism, and JC doesnt fit the usual mold IMO

 

[ViolentPanda]

yes because theres a historic link with populist leaders having a particularly strong personal appeal - an almost paternal/maternal populism - im sure theres a way of picking it all apart into neater categories, but there is that historic conflation around populism, and JC doesnt fit the usual mold IMO

Attlee didn't have very much personal appeal, yet pushed through some of the most populist policies in 20th-century Britain.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

think 'populist' is one of those words that can mean pretty much what you want it to mean, either as a positive or negative thing, about a politician.

quite a few politicians manage to be 'populist' by talking bollocks with enough of an air of authority that people don't stop and think about it. or a "don't you agree that your existing prejudices are right?" sort of line.

 

[ska invita]

Attlee didn't have very much personal appeal, yet pushed through some of the most populist policies in 20th-century Britain.

I'm not saying there aren't exceptions.. Atlee did benefit from a number of historical forces that had the people moving in that direction of their own will... he also smoked a pipe poll gold!

 

[goldenecitrone]

I'm not saying there aren't exceptions.. Atlee did benefit from a number of historical forces that had the people moving in that direction of their own will... he also smoked a pipe poll gold!

and was bald, poll lead balloon in the TV age.

 

[brogdale]

A little local spat just went national....
Tony Benn’s granddaughter delivers blow to Corbyn by calling for policy chief to go

Emily Benn, the granddaughter of Tony Benn and a former parliamentary candidate, has asked the Labour party to consider expelling Jeremy Corbyn’s new head of policy, Andrew Fisher, for supporting the anarchist Class War party at the general election.

As recriminations grow over Fisher’s appointment, Benn – who stood for Labour in Croydon South in May – has written to Labour’s general secretary, Iain McNicol, saying that Fisher’s previous behaviour “contradicts Labour party rules”, which state that supporting a non-Labour candidate will lead to automatic expulsion.

 

[J Ed]

A little local spat just went national....
Tony Benn’s granddaughter delivers blow to Corbyn by calling for policy chief to go

​

Takes after her father then

 

[brogdale]

Takes after her father then

Stephen?

 

[butchersapron]

Listen to the desperation:

Her dramatic intervention is a severe embarrassment to Corbyn... It reflects deep dismay across much of the party...notoriously outspoken

Is this milquetoast catspaw all they have?

 

[J Ed]

Stephen?

Oh, I thought she was Hillary's sprog

 

[brogdale]

Listen to the desperation:

Her dramatic intervention is a severe embarrassment to Corbyn... It reflects deep dismay across much of the party...notoriously outspoken

Is this milquetoast catspaw all they have?

And she can salve her conscience knowing that she didn't run to the tory press!

 

[J Ed]

Listen to the desperation:

Her dramatic intervention is a severe embarrassment to Corbyn... It reflects deep dismay across much of the party...notoriously outspoken

Is this milquetoast catspaw all they have?

Look at the coverage of that Lord resigning the whip today, he hasn't done anything since 2011, crazed hysteria is the new normal for the liberal media

 

[littlebabyjesus]

and was bald, poll lead balloon in the TV age.

Is there actually any evidence of this?

It should be possible to produce a statistically relevant sample of elections across the world in the TV age to test this idea.

 

[JimW]

Someone you've never heard of slates someone you didn't know was appointed.

 

[butchersapron]

Good old thread on her here.

 

[killer b]

Listen to the desperation:

Her dramatic intervention is a severe embarrassment to Corbyn... It reflects deep dismay across much of the party...notoriously outspoken

Is this milquetoast catspaw all they have?

the Sunday Times have no less a man than Martin Amis pitching in today. That's sure to turn the tide.

 

[butchersapron]

the Sunday Times have no less a man than Martin Amis pitching in today. That's sure to turn the tide.

All the big gums.

 

[butchersapron]

It's nice to find the artillery room is actually empty for once.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Good old thread on her here.

Fullyplumped! I'd forgotten about her. She thought Benn was fantastic. Probably nuff said.

 

[J Ed]

the Sunday Times have no less a man than Martin Amis pitching in today. That's sure to turn the tide.

My favourite headline this weekend comes from the scabby New $tatesman, 'I wanted to believe in Jeremy Corbyn. But I can't believe in Seumas Milne' which is pretty fucking rich considering their months long hate spasm which is still going stronger than ever. Fabians are worse than Tories

 

[J Ed]

OF COURSE, hypothetically it could be argued that Liz Kendall is totally right about everything especially Iraq and you are all misogynist brocialists. A Progress greeting to all of you! NATO! EU! The Silent Majority! We the 4.5%!

 

[rekil]

the Sunday Times have no less a man than Martin Amis pitching in today. That's sure to turn the tide.

He's been "a leading figure on the British left for 3 decades". What have you done?

 

[butchersapron]

He's been "a leading figure on the British left for 3 decades". What have you done?

View attachment 78507

That is fantastic.

 

[J Ed]

He's been "a leading figure on the British left for 3 decades". What have you done?

View attachment 78507

Three decades? I've underestimated the amount of time that Nick Cohen can continue to re-write the same article, it's been well over a decade but no wonder he is still going strong.

 

[butchersapron]

Fluky (sic) beneficiary given his rather lucky birth is even better.