The Papers Are Out, So Who Would Yo Uput Your Mark On Today?

[youngmafbog]

My hard earned would be on Corbyn. Not because he wont win an election but because I really do think he is speaking the minds of many of his Parties core voters.

If he wins will labours Blairites pack in the sniping and rally round him?

http://news.sky.com/story/corbyn-wants-magic-circle-to-be-broken-10547247

[Bazile]

ludwig

Why are most of your posts being duplicated - do you know ?

[ludwig]

I don't know bazile, something to do with my browser config fighting against all the pop ups and adverts that AB throws at it probably. It's random.

IE posts things twice, Chrome doesn't work at all. I haven't tried any others yet.

[ichkeria]

Branding all non Corbyn Lavour supporters as 'Blairites' is lazy stereotyping. Danny's right: Corbyn will probably win and the consequences for Labour will be dire. If Smith wins the consequences will also be uncertain but at least the fall off will be more expendable

[EDDIE51]

Few of you on AB seem to realize the huge support Corbyn has among ordinary Labour supporters who are totally fed up with a party that was indistinguishable from the Conservatives.
Contrary to what most of you think, I think that a 'Corbynist Labour' party would win enough seats in the old 'Traditional Labour' strongholds to give the Tories a problem. Possibly even winning enough seats to form a coalition with the SNP ( who are far more in tune politically with Old Labour) to form a government.
I do not expect this view to find much if any sympathy on AB though!

[EDDIE51]

^^ Add the Welsh nationalists to the coalition as well !

[EDDIE51]

Just how many current Labour MP's would be prepared to adopt a more 'Traditional Old Labour' stance is another matter. However if Corbyn wins by as big a majority as I think he will, they may decide to save their backsides by rapidly learning to sing 'The Red Flag'!

[ichkeria]

Corbyn of course does have huge support in some places: just as Michael Foot did in 1983...
Sadly though the outcome is likely to be the same electorally for him as it was for Michael. I still think it most unlikely Labour would split though. What exactly would it split into?
Corbyn is very damaged by the fact that people like Sadiq Khan have come out against him. And Andy Burnham is likely to become Manchester mayor. Also, the PLP will not roll over, and arguably those are people more in touch with actual voters.

[douglas9401]

Oh EDDIE, it's not often you're right but you're wrong again.

http://www.scotsman.com/news/kezia-dugdale-rules-out-labour-snp-westminster-coalition-1-4203472

[youngmafbog]

Corbyn certain does have the support of the hard left, perhaps more traditional, labour voters.

The problem he has is that the world has moved on. The main reason for the labour parties formation no longer exists, workers, on the whole, are not downtrodden by the management and many of the so called working class would consider themselves home owning middle class.

Labour does need to reinvent itself, but I would suggest not based on the Tories. Clearly some of UKIPs policies resonate with their voters so perhaps they should look in that direction?

[naomi24]

Neither. Labour has become a farce.

[EDDIE51]

douglas9401 That is a statement by the Scottish labour party not the SNP.

[Gromit]

Labour have lost the last two general elections, so the public have rejected Blairism offered by Brown and Miliband. What is the point of electing another Blairite, they would lose again.

Labour can't stand still. They can either be MORE like the Tories, or LESS like them. The MPs want to be MORE like the Tories. But the membership and probably Labours core voters want them to be LESS like the Tories.

The current stalemate is very damaging. There will have to be a split.

I have predicted since the Brexit vote that an Autumn General Election is likely. May would call it at the Conservative Party Conference, and she would win a bigger majority.

Labour would lose a lot of seats. What remained would divide into Torylite Labour and Old Labour.

[Jackdaw33]

The timing of a general election is no longer the prerogative of the PM.

[ichkeria]

I'm inclined to agree with a lot of ymb's last post: the left of the Labour Party is mired in the past, be it the ancient past and the outdated language of class conflict, or the recent past with the glib accusations of 'Blairism'
The battle currently being fought out is between those in the party who pragmatically want to achieve change, and those who would campaign endlessly and ineffectively for lost causes. It may give Corbyn a stiffie seeing all those new members (so to speak) but last time I checked elections were won by votes not numbers of members. And without power you achieve nothing. Other than a lot of posturing and pontificating. The votes labour will gain from this will largely serve only to increase majorities in already safe seats.