The Politics Thread

[Hoboh]

I think Simon Danczuk is a bit of a cock and leads not you'd call 'the norm' in terms of his private life.
To be honest his judgement is questionable looking back at an apparently battle axe of a first wife, a selfie cleavage flashing second hitch and a young dominatrix bit on the side, I do however, sense someone digging and leaking this to the press, wonder who is their pin up boy.

[Bijou Bob]

Listening to him on 5 live today, he seemed to be suggesting that he'd been entrapped and the circumstances do seem rather suspicious in that respect. In any case, the "Lurid, sex messages" the papers reported seem to consist of an offer to spank her in response to a sexual text from her. It's hardly Pleb gate or Clapham Common stuff.

[thebish]

on what basis do you say "our view is the only view" relates specifically to Corbyn?

not sure I understand this attack at all...

Then you have had little experience of the brothers comrade.

or you could just tell me what justifies the charge "our view is the only view" relating to Corbyn specifically... as opposed to any other politician who says what s/he thinks...

I'll wait for his cabinet ramblings reshuffle to explain

ok hobes - shuffle all done...

ready to explain?

[bobo the clown]

"The Night of the Blunt Knives".

[Lost Leopard Spot]

"The Night of the Blunt Knives".

The entire year of the blunt tossers.

[Bruce Rioja]

on what basis do you say "our view is the only view" relates specifically to Corbyn?

not sure I understand this attack at all...

Then you have had little experience of the brothers comrade.

or you could just tell me what justifies the charge "our view is the only view" relating to Corbyn specifically... as opposed to any other politician who says what s/he thinks...

I'll wait for his cabinet ramblings reshuffle to explain

ok hobes - shuffle all done...

ready to explain?

Seems quite obvious to me. Those that disagree with Corbyn get sacked and their sympathisers walk out as a matter of principle. Ergo: Corbyn's view is the only acceptable view as far as the Labour Party are concerned.

[thebish]

^ except, not... Benn is still very much there. in fact - Corbyn is still very much in a minority for many of his views in his own shadow cabinet... his view is very much NOT the only view in the shadow cabinet - quite the opposite.

so - if any charge sticks on Corbyn, it's absolutely not that his cabinet is merely a bunch of yes-men/women picked only because they all agree with him... that's Blair/Cameron/just about any other party leader other than Corbyn that you're thinking about!

[Bruce Rioja]

^ except, not... Benn is still very much there. in fact - Corbyn is still very much in a minority for many of his views in his own shadow cabinet... his view is very much NOT the only view in the shadow cabinet - quite the opposite.

so - if any charge sticks on Corbyn, it's absolutely not that his cabinet is merely a bunch of yes-men/women picked only because they all agree with him... that's Blair/Cameron/just about any other party leader other than Corbyn that you're thinking about!

Yes, as demonstrated amply by him sacking two dissenters and three agree-rs walking out. Benn has been told to pipe down and toe the party line like a good little apparatchik too.

[bobo the clown]

^^^ which Benn denies (& I have to say would be a typical of him). So THAT situation is yet to be bottomed out.

[BWFC_Insane]

^ except, not... Benn is still very much there. in fact - Corbyn is still very much in a minority for many of his views in his own shadow cabinet... his view is very much NOT the only view in the shadow cabinet - quite the opposite.

so - if any charge sticks on Corbyn, it's absolutely not that his cabinet is merely a bunch of yes-men/women picked only because they all agree with him... that's Blair/Cameron/just about any other party leader other than Corbyn that you're thinking about!

Yes, as demonstrated amply by him sacking two dissenters and three agree-rs walking out. Benn has been told to pipe down and toe the party line like a good little apparatchik too.

I'm not sure that having a shadow cabinet with wildly different views would be a good thing?

Damned if he does and damned if he doesn't.

How much dissent does Cameron allow in his front bench? I suspect less than Corbyn has thus far.

[Bruce Rioja]

^ except, not... Benn is still very much there. in fact - Corbyn is still very much in a minority for many of his views in his own shadow cabinet... his view is very much NOT the only view in the shadow cabinet - quite the opposite.

so - if any charge sticks on Corbyn, it's absolutely not that his cabinet is merely a bunch of yes-men/women picked only because they all agree with him... that's Blair/Cameron/just about any other party leader other than Corbyn that you're thinking about!

Yes, as demonstrated amply by him sacking two dissenters and three agree-rs walking out. Benn has been told to pipe down and toe the party line like a good little apparatchik too.

I'm not sure that having a shadow cabinet with wildly different views would be a good thing?

Damned if he does and damned if he doesn't.

How much dissent does Cameron allow in his front bench? I suspect less than Corbyn has thus far.

And how much dissent does Corbyn allow? Clearly not much, or even none. Cameron's allowing ministers to campaign on either side of the European debate.

[Lost Leopard Spot]

^ except, not... Benn is still very much there. in fact - Corbyn is still very much in a minority for many of his views in his own shadow cabinet... his view is very much NOT the only view in the shadow cabinet - quite the opposite.

so - if any charge sticks on Corbyn, it's absolutely not that his cabinet is merely a bunch of yes-men/women picked only because they all agree with him... that's Blair/Cameron/just about any other party leader other than Corbyn that you're thinking about!

Yes, as demonstrated amply by him sacking two dissenters and three agree-rs walking out. Benn has been told to pipe down and toe the party line like a good little apparatchik too.

I'm not sure that having a shadow cabinet with wildly different views would be a good thing?

Damned if he does and damned if he doesn't.

How much dissent does Cameron allow in his front bench? I suspect less than Corbyn has thus far.

And how much dissent does Corbyn allow? Clearly not much, or even none. Cameron's allowing ministers to campaign on either side of the European debate.

Not too sure 'allowing' it is quite accurate. More like 'forced into not disallowing it'.

[thebish]

^ except, not... Benn is still very much there. in fact - Corbyn is still very much in a minority for many of his views in his own shadow cabinet... his view is very much NOT the only view in the shadow cabinet - quite the opposite.

so - if any charge sticks on Corbyn, it's absolutely not that his cabinet is merely a bunch of yes-men/women picked only because they all agree with him... that's Blair/Cameron/just about any other party leader other than Corbyn that you're thinking about!

Yes, as demonstrated amply by him sacking two dissenters and three agree-rs walking out. Benn has been told to pipe down and toe the party line like a good little apparatchik too.

I'm not sure that having a shadow cabinet with wildly different views would be a good thing?

Damned if he does and damned if he doesn't.

How much dissent does Cameron allow in his front bench? I suspect less than Corbyn has thus far.

And how much dissent does Corbyn allow? Clearly not much, or even none. Cameron's allowing ministers to campaign on either side of the European debate.

are you REALLY arguing this?? Corbyn allowed shadow cabinet members a free-go over the bombing of Syria... and - I repeat - Benn is still in the cabinet!

there might be LOTS to quibble over with Corbyn - but insisting that he's particularly prone to "my way is the only way" in any unusual way isn't one of them! fact is - he was monumentally and almost universally ridiculed and pilloried for trying as hard as he did to work with a shadow cabinet of such hugely varied opinion - now he's made a couple of very small tweaks - he's pilloried for NOT allowing people who openly dissent from his leadership in his cabinet?

[Beefheart]

Labour need sort themselves the feck out either way. MPs are actually getting into twitter spats and blocking each other.

[BWFC_Insane]

Labour need sort themselves the feck out either way. MPs are actually getting into twitter spats and blocking each other.

Aye. And I predicted this will happen. It will only get worse until the point Corbyn is forced to go and the party necessarily realigns itself to some sort of sensible centre left position and (this is the hard bit) finds a credible leadership and cabinet team that isn't filled with absolute jokers.

I feel for Corbyn. But what has happened to him was entirely predictable and the mess Labour are in, was entirely predictable. And given people on the outside could see it, it seems little mitigation has taken place within the party to avoid it.

Given how shambolic it is now, imagine how it would be under the scrutiny of a general election campaign? It would be unbearable. And will not (IMO) happen.

[Harry Genshaw]

The membership voted overwhelmingly to move away from Blairite - new Labour policies. It surely makes sense that the shadow cabinet reflects that wish?

[Lost Leopard Spot]

The membership voted overwhelmingly to move away from Blairite - new Labour policies. It surely makes sense that the shadow cabinet reflects that wish?

Don't be so sensible. Tis politics!

[Beefheart]

The membership voted overwhelmingly to move away from Blairite - new Labour policies. It surely makes sense that the shadow cabinet reflects that wish?

Don't be so sensible. Tis politics!

Aye, he's only been in charge 3 or 4 months. You'd think they'd back him for a while, wait for a few polls or local elections before burning the entire thing down like they seem to be doing now.

[thebish]

Labour need sort themselves the feck out either way. MPs are actually getting into twitter spats and blocking each other.

Aye. And I predicted this will happen.

well done you!

[Prufrock]

are you REALLY arguing this?? Corbyn allowed shadow cabinet members a free-go over the bombing of Syria... and - I repeat - Benn is still in the cabinet!

there might be LOTS to quibble over with Corbyn - but insisting that he's particularly prone to "my way is the only way" in any unusual way isn't one of them! fact is - he was monumentally and almost universally ridiculed and pilloried for trying as hard as he did to work with a shadow cabinet of such hugely varied opinion - now he's made a couple of very small tweaks - he's pilloried for NOT allowing people who openly dissent from his leadership in his cabinet?

He's not particularly prone to it, in the sense that he's done it any more than any other leader might, but he's done it.

The Corbyn supporter loop goes like this:

"Corbyn is great because he won't do X like all the other politicians"
[Corbyn doesn't do X]
[It goes tits up]
[Corbyn does X]
"You can't criticise Corbyn for doing X, all the rest of them do it!"

FWIW the Tory cuts loop goes like this:

"Dave, we want to make £1bn of cuts to X"
"OK George, announce £2bn of cuts to X"
[Everyone loses their mind about £2bn cuts]
"OK everyone, we've listened, we'll only make £1bn cuts to X"
[£1bn cuts to X]