Jeremy Corbyn To Defend Leadership Of Labour

[naomi24]

//It comes after criticism of his leadership from a number of Labour MPs.//

So soon! He’s not been in the job long. Does it bode well for his future? I doubt it.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-34819130

[Zacs-Master]

Well, his speech should crystallise his stance on certain matters which is desperately needed if Labour stand any chance of moving forward (with or without him at the helm).

[Gromit]

As soon as he massively crushed the Blairites in the leadership contest it was clear they would be awkward. He has a clear mandate from all sections of the Labour Party so he should be able to control the Blairites. Anyone unable to fit into this re-positioned Labour Party can go join another Party or be de-selected.
There will be ructions but Cameron has those with his Euro-Skeptics.

[janbee]

He was a poor choice but then , he didn't have much in the way of competition did he? Is there anyone better now? No. He's probbly the best there is. Oh dear... very worrying for the party faithful.

[mikey4444]

Corbyn is settling into his new job. We all knew that it would take some time for the Party to get used to a really left-wing Leader again. The rabid right-wing media in Britain will use every opportunity to try to trip Corbyn up, as we all expected.

But he isn't the only party Leader with problems is he ? dave is going to have the mother of all battles when it comes to the Euro in-out referendum...its already started with his prevarication over whether he will advocate staying or leaving. Bill Cash, et al are getting their knives ready to plunge into his back as soon as the chance comes along.

As he has said that he won't service a full term as Leader and PM, perhaps he should resign now, rather then wait to be pushed over that cliff.

[Gromit]

Janbee,
He was the only candidate of change. The other 3 were ministers/shadow ministers and were offering more of the same, and that had lost Labour two consecutive elections.
Blairism New Labour is old hat and no one believes it anymore. Whether the electorate takes to Corbyn's re-positioned Labour remains to be seen, but standing still was not an option.

[Jackdaw33]

Given the recent events in Paris it won't be much of a battle. The EU is now a lost cause.

[Marshwarble]

The EU-not just EU but all of Europe-is our marketplace. We need to protect it.

[Gromit]

Jackdaw33

The EU is a club of self interest. Britain's interest and the EU's were not the same, so we got nowhere. Suddenly there have been a chain of events where the tide has turned, and we find everyone else is now on our side. So the EU will change on open borders. That will strengthen our membership of it, not weaken it.

[Prudie]

I thought being Labour meant following a set line of views as laid down in a manifesto. Surely if you are really left-wing you shouldn't have the title of a being a Labour supporter/leader, you come under a different political title (Marxist springs to mind). It's no more acceptable to have a really left wing leader of Labour than it would to have a really right wing one.

[Zacs-Master]

Prudie, Labour did OK under Blair. You can't get much more right wing (for a Labour politician) than him.

[Prudie]

Agreed because he was very charismatic and by being so right of the norm he was embraced by a large proportion of the country. but that's my point, he also should not have titled himself as true Labour. True Labour surely doesn't hold the extreme anti-establishment views of Jeremy Corbyn.

[Old_Geezer]

I don't think it bodes either well nor badly. Probably relates to the amount of mud slinging made by those concerned he might do well.

[Zacs-Master]

True labour means making life and working conditions better for the working man, mainly in manual working employment. As this seems to have been largely achieved they've had their day hence the present directionless floundering around wondering what to champion next, other than general Conservative bashing. Labour are an anachronism in 21st century Britain.

[Old_Geezer]

Surely you don't believe that the working folk have anything like a fair crack of the whip ? Their power to protest effectively has been eroded by right wing politicians for the last what, thirty odd years. And employers can more or less demand what they want of employees and just tell them if they don't like it then they can lump it. Representation of their needs is as needed now as it ever was.

[Zacs-Master]

'employers can more or less demand what they want of employees'

Really? Any examples?

[Prudie]

Maybe if their protests in the past hadn't gone so way over the top. holding the country to ransom, there may not have been such the need to stomp on their rights. Having said that where I work we had 8 days lost to strike action last year.

[Old_Geezer]

How about a personal one. Like when the job conditions changed and the employees were told to provide their own workplace at their home and was given little in the way of compensation for providing the broadband/heating/lighting/etc.. Who felt the loss of colleagues around was somehow irrelevant as they could communicate by electronic means. And refused to discuss the issue nor admit they should pay redundancy to those who felt this was an unacceptable change ? And I'm sure there are a million stories out there like that. What about how the unions now have to jump through ridiculous hoops in order to call their members to withdraw their labour due to politician's cynical attempts to prevent any working folks' voice having weight ? I'm sure you must be well aware of what has happened over time without me listing specific incidents.

[Old_Geezer]

So an opinion that some made what was considered an "over the top" demand is a valid excuse to remove the clout from one side of the negotiation table and leave all the control on those on the other side.

[Gromit]

The British electorate tends to jump from Labour or Tory regularly and effortlessly. The difference comes when one wins a landslide like Thatcher in 1983 and Blair in 1997. They are harder to shift, and the opposition goes into meltdown. Labour were unelected for 18 years, and the Tories for 13 years.

This time, the Tories have a wafer thin majority that could be gone in 5 years.

The Consrvatives, and their friends in the media will try to paint Corbyn as unelectable. He may well be, but it is very early to tell. In 5 years time, he may be just what the country wants.

[Zacs-Master]

'What about how the unions now have to jump through ridiculous hoops in order'

I don't see how anyone living in a capitalist society can see that as a bad thing.

Maggie improved the lot of the 'working man' beyond recognition during her tenure doing more for them than any labour govt and certainly more than the unions.