Jeremy Corbyn re-elected: what now for Labour?

May calls a general election & then we get SNP as the opposition..    It might actually be what's needed to focus what's left of labour & shake out some sense.  

Jeremy's just sent me an email. (How did he know I was reading this thread )

Comrade

I am honoured to have won the votes of thousands of members and supporters who have given me the second mandate in a year to lead our party.

I will do everything I can to repay that trust and support to bring our party together — to make it an engine of progress for our country and the people who depend on Labour.

Always remember that in our party, we have much more in common than that which divides us.

We are now the largest political party in western Europe. Our new members are now part of a nationwide movement who can now take our message into every community in the country to win support for the election of a Labour government.

Now is the time for all of us to focus every ounce of our energy on exposing and defeating the Tories and the damage they are doing to our country. Theresa May's Government isn't a new government — it's David Cameron's Government repackaged but threatening to take the country backwards and dithering as we face the historic challenges of Brexit.

Together, arguing for the real change this country needs, I have no doubt that Labour can win the next election whenever Theresa May decides to call it — and form the next government.

My responsibility as Labour leader is to unite this party. And it's also the responsibility of the whole party to work together and respect the democratic choice that has been made.

Labour is a party brimming full of ideas — of talent and creativity — and so is Britain. Unleashing that potential is the job of all of us.

Let's work together for real change.

Jeremy Corbyn MP
Leader of the Labour Party

Yes, he sent it to me too. Let's see what happens.

I can only see a split, unelectable or not, the perception of many is they will be tonked at election time.

Add to that the suspicions of a newish Red Wedge element infiltrating the party, anti Semitic tendencies perhaps, a party led by a weak leader that can't face up to the man on the other side of The Commons floor, let alone other world leaders, who has bananas ideas about how to deal with friends, enemies, the press and hecklers and frankly lacks much in the way of presence or gravitas in his official role as leader of the opposition isn't going to survive in its current state. At least, and I don't like saying this, I now hope it doesn't.

The country leads Labour v.3.0.2 beta now...

Political debate needs to move away from the winner-takes-all quizz show mentality which the media have conditioned everybody to accept. Corbin seems to have the will to stage manage an outbreak of sane, relevant and focused debate. But he will not be allowed to. Not enough drama. Thatcher's legacy. Hate her all you want - she was highly effective. She rapidly dumbed it all down and created New Labour. 

I don't know what happened to my voting slip, NCU said I was qualified as a retired member.

It seems democracy has won over backstabbing and trying the Caesar strategy.

I just hope JC can unite the members, MPs and act like a competent and plausible leader of a decent opposition.

I think there is plenty of drama around Corbyn.

Indeed, so incapable does he seem of escaping the perpetual soap opera that he and his friends have gone to great lengths to create, I assume he doesn't want to remove himself from the dizzying spectacle that is Corbynmania. And in fact this all just seems a massive ego trip, a vanity project writ large for an ordinary chap who has seen his chance for personal glory, supported by the playground bullies who he always secretly wanted to be liked by, and he's not letting go.

So, twinned with ignomy and self flagelation, a walking death wish if you like, he will carry on believing in himself and his sense of destiny, secure in the knowledge that when and if it finally does go tits up, then it will of course be someone else's fault, a cruel blow struck by others, only for reasons of unfathomable conspiracies.

History (and the present day) is littered with bullying and unpopular leaders tyrants many of them, who accused anyone who stood up to them, those who disagreed with The Leader, of disloyalty and one way or another were dispatched, never to stand on the way of 'progress' again.

I honestly worry that somewhere here lies the seeds of something truly nasty and his calls for everyone to stop disagreeing with him and unite to save the party ring hollow, more like unite to save Corbyn and his mates.

Well I'm no socialist, have never voted Labour and I doubt ever will but when Jeremy Corbyn was elected leader last year - I was actually quite pleased - a true socialist who believed in Clause 4 and was not willing to maintain the New Labour facade. But I doubt that is a recipe for government although a Labour/SNP/Lib Dem coalition must be possible.

But it's this point about "party unity" that perplexes me.  The simple fact is that political parties are rarely unified in fact they pride themselves more often on being a broad church which can accommodate a broad range of views. But what they will do is sniff the opportunity to gain and retain power.  The Tories were never unified under Margaret Thatcher but the various factions held together in an act of expediency because they sensed how to win elections but once in 1997 that sniff had gone it fell apart.  Similarly, Labour under Tony Blair were never really unified but they were willing to ride on the coattails even  if it meant (reluctantly) accepting PFI arrangements for the running of our hospitals. 

But we are now in unchartered waters - a Labour party split between its grass routes (very left - somewhat like the Red Wedge movement of the 80s) and its parliamentary wing (still somewhat the remnants of New Labour), and a now neo-Tory Government as opposed to the more liberal model that went before.  And as for me as a free market/social liberal Fallon at the moment isn't inspiring me with any confidence.

Regards,

Lindsay

Hungryhalibut posted:

It's hardly unexpected, but Jeremy has been re-elected with a larger mandate than last year. At a time when the country is about to embark on Brexit, which will affect the country for years to come, an effective opposition is critical, yet for the past year Labour has been looking inwards and fighting amongst themselves, rather than pulling together and doing what it's supposed to be doing. This can go one of two ways; MPs rally behind the leader with a massive mandate from the membership, or they continue to bicker and backstab and blow the party apart. While I didn't vote for Jeremy he now has the mandate and in my view it's the party's responsibility to get behind him, whether they want to or not. Jeremy too needs to make concessions, including on how the shadow cabinet is elected. I do so hope they can find a compromise and move forwards, as recent months have been an appalling display. 

I don't see enough MPs rallying behind Corbyn. And I anticipate a significant migration of previous Labour Voters and most of the "Floating Voters" away from Labour at any election where Corbyn is the Leader of the Labour Party. There is a lot more to an effective Opposition or a potential new government than the wishes of a couple of hundred thousand "Members" of a Party. Especially new members.

Unfortunately, MPs in general are a self-serving bunch of gits. They share a status in my mind slightly below that of bankers and estate agents. They will look after themselves first and foremost. The people they represent in our democratic system are simply a means to an end. If those MPs who had any sense of respect for the values they purport to espouse, they would now state that the Labour Party has been stolen from them by Corbyn, they will resign, form a new Party and seek re-election as such. IMHO, this would leave Corbyn leading an insignificant minority in a faux-labour party.

I believe that rather than Red Wedge, you are thinking of Militant, which the party struggled to oust from its ranks. Red Wedge was a grouping of left leaning pop people such as Billy Bragg and Paul Weller, if I recall corrrectly - it was a long time ago. Militant and Momentum make an interesting comparison; I heard something the other day about Momentum nurseries, to look after members' children while they were campaigning. 

fatcat posted:

Jeremy's just sent me an email. (How did he know I was reading this thread )

Comrade

I am honoured to have won the votes of thousands of members and supporters who have given me the second mandate in a year to lead our party.

I will do everything I can to repay that trust and support to bring our party together — to make it an engine of progress for our country and the people who depend on Labour.

Always remember that in our party, we have much more in common than that which divides us.

We are now the largest political party in western Europe. Our new members are now part of a nationwide movement who can now take our message into every community in the country to win support for the election of a Labour government.

Now is the time for all of us to focus every ounce of our energy on exposing and defeating the Tories and the damage they are doing to our country. Theresa May's Government isn't a new government — it's David Cameron's Government repackaged but threatening to take the country backwards and dithering as we face the historic challenges of Brexit.

Together, arguing for the real change this country needs, I have no doubt that Labour can win the next election whenever Theresa May decides to call it — and form the next government.

My responsibility as Labour leader is to unite this party. And it's also the responsibility of the whole party to work together and respect the democratic choice that has been made.

Labour is a party brimming full of ideas — of talent and creativity — and so is Britain. Unleashing that potential is the job of all of us.

Let's work together for real change.

Jeremy Corbyn MP
Leader of the Labour Party

It's a pity that he didn't see fit to enact these sentiments during his past year as leader.

I think it's all a bit hollow.

Corbyn claims in his letter to the public that  'We are now the largest political party in western Europe'.  Is this a true fact?  It's news to me..

Having advised friends to stay and finish off their dinner rather than rush off to vote in a referendum, the outcome of which would undoubtedly force UK to remain in Europe, I feel suitably unqualified to read this political moment for Labour!

Corbyn is a hopeless case.  The UK political system will ensure that he will not succeed.  The Tories are dead set against him.  Many Labour MPs are equally set against him.  How can this possibly lead to success for Labour?  It cannot.

My suspicion is that the MPs who attempted to oust Corbyn will be lined up against the proverbial wall and given the choice of a slow bleed political death in the salt mines of Labour's outer Siberian heartland OR jump ship and join up with the Lib Dems (or perhaps even attempt to form a new party [BAD idea!]).

Whatever twist is to materialise, the Tories will have no effective opposition for the foreseeable future. That is such a shame for this country  and it has been very frustrating to see this unfurl so publicly.   The 'Eurocrats' must be licking their lips at their perceived prospect of negotiating terms with a weakened political entity.

I just cannot see an up side to Corbyn in British politics.  Ho Hum....

Peter

Romi posted:

Corbyn claims in his letter to the public that  'We are now the largest political party in western Europe'.  Is this a true fact?  It's news to me..

I wondered this as well. But I assumed it was based on the number of "signed-up" members who contribute to Party Funds. In which case he might well be correct.

It just shows how (representative) democracy here really is controlled. A few thousand people dictate a Party's policy and the rest of us get to choose which set of such policies we could live with from two or three such Parties.

Looks like more of us will have to join and fund Parties in future if we really want change

I like that Jeremy doesn't fit into the shape of a typical leader. That he fluffs his speeches and wears corduroy.

I think it would be interesting to have a principled truly progressive unified effective powerful Labour Party - I would vote for it  

Don Atkinson posted:

Looks like more of us will have to join and fund Parties in future if we really want change

Is that such a bad thing?.. I think the funding is optional, although when you join a political party fund raising activities do seem to be prominent.. but joining a political party is a great way to get engaged and in what ever way you want help shape the course of your future country....or at least shape the options for your fellow countrymen. 

The current situation is almost as sad and depressing as the days of militant tendency and of Michael Foot.  A disaster for the Labour Party as a political forces but, more importantly, almost certainly dooming the country to a decade of Tory rule.  If he can't event gain the support of Labour Party MPs how is he ever going to gain support from those area that are not Labour Party heartlands?  The Labour Party and its processes for electing a leader leave it vulnerable to a small group of people who are far removed from the rest of the electorate and his proposals for electing the front bench take it even further in that direction.  I suppose it could have been worse, we could have seen tens of thousands of people sign up in the past and vote Dereck Hatton in as leader.  Having said that, we're all doomed.

Third pic down (taken by Getty photographer) of Labour members in the hall in Liverpool yesterday, worth a thousand words.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-37449631

Chris

I'm unsure what those words might be.

Sadly (from many comments) it appears Labour is doomed to fail due to its adherence to democratic principles!

Nope, Labour is doomed to electoral failure under Corbyn because it will fail to win the affections of a sizeable proportion of a liberal, white-collar middle-class.

C.

Christopher_M posted:

Nope, Labour is doomed to electoral failure under Corbyn because it will fail to win the affections of a sizeable proportion of a liberal, white-collar middle-class.

C.

 

That is good news.

Best join the Conservative party or if that's a no no, then it leaves the jehovahs wittness's as the only alternative....  actually on reflection best stay with Jeremy 

Romi posted:

That is good news.

Good news that a sizeable proportion of the population will head closer and closer to the poverty line, unable to afford decent accommodation and families will have to choose between feeding their family, heating the house or providing decent clothing; while the 1% continually get richer and richer while paying les and less tax and at the same time the civil liberties of the common man are reduced further with the increase of the surveillance society... that kind of good news?