to thank Emily Thornberry profusely

[longfingernails]

She has just shown how much Labour detest the aspirational working class, the swingiest of swing voters. Labour will be hit with this again and again and again; ever denial and denunciation will just bring Labour's true views to a wider audience. Fundamentally, it will only reinforce the undeniable fact that Miliband's centre of gravity is firmly ensconced in Islington.

She has made a Tory/UKIP coalition, perhaps the best possible electoral outcome, much more likely. Thank you Emily!

[Toadinthehole]

A total beat-up, in my opinion.

[Summerisle1]

I despair. Totally.

[BOFster]

Reasons why anything to do with UKIP is a disaster for women.

[AuntieStella]

I don't think Labour want to win.

They know the next govt will have to continue to make cuts, they don't seem to be making much headway with plans for what they would do (so much easier to criticise than state their plans) and they want to sot pretty I the sidelines until there is more money to do 'feel good' stuff again.

To use a loose domestic comparison, they want someone else to do all the nagging to get the revision done, and just wing in when a good exam result is actually on the cards.

[scatteroflight]

Yanbu. She has demonstrated the contempt of today's Labour party for the working classes - they want their votes, but they don't want to stoop to representing them. Very sad. There are a couple of good Lab MPs left - Frank Field, Kate Hoey. But the rest? Urgh.

[AskBasil]

I wonder why you categorise this particular person as "aspirational" working class?

What's aspirational about him?

What's the different between his aspirational working class-ness and unaspirational working-class-ness?

[mymummademelistentoshitmusic]

I remember brown, calling a woman with legitimate fears, though put badly, a bigot. They're hypocritical tears that expect others to live with their unrealistic ideals.

[Toadinthehole]

Roll on yet another two-minutes hate.

[BakewellSlice]

I'd guess it's the white van AskBasil - it's associated with small businesses in my mind at least.

[cherubimandseraphim]

Emily Thornberry did excellent work on low conviction rates for sexual violence against women. Though people seem to think a photo on Twitter is far more important

[AskBasil]

Just watching Andrew Neill and apparently Emily T grew up on council estate.

So maybe she's not aspirational enough.

[BakewellSlice]

Emily Thornberry appears to be an excellent MP with a background in human rights law (a natural Liberal I would have thought.) I just think her joke shows up her lack of instinct re ordinary people and reinforces the disconnect between Labour and it's former voters. Maybe time for Labour to rebrand and call itself London Labour?

Or the SNP could start a franchise south of the border.

[BakewellSlice]

The council estate thing is odd, did she mix? I don't get how she did what she did if she grew up poor. It's the sort of unthinking mockery my young teenager comes out with because he's rather sheltered.

[RichTeas]

YABU. She was just making a light hearted dig at possible UKIP voters. Didn't need to resign.

[BakewellSlice]

It reads so differently depending on your point of view doesn't it?

[FreudiansSlipper]

There will never be a Tory/UKIP coalition

she was foolish but there is something far more important going on. It makes Ed look more assertive so it may turn out to work in labours favour in time

[AskBasil]

Yes I think it's difficult to know what the hell the point she was making ws tbh.

[BakewellSlice]

Which goes to show politicians should not be tweeting.

[chopinbabe]

I don't know about the council estate but as her father was assistant General Secretary to the United Nations (according to her profile on the BBC website) it would suggest that she didn't grow up worrying about how school trips were going to be paid for.

However, for all I know the going rate for assistant General Secretary to the United Nations could just be minimum wage.

[BoulevardOfBrokenSleep]

This is absolutely mind-boggling. I saw the image she'd tweeted to cause said resignation and thought, oh aye, what's she said? Whole world of rude possibilities.

'Image from Rochester'. Oh. OK.

So just to recap: letting kids drown in the Med - good; breaking up the NHS to sell to your mates - fine and dandy; tweeting a picture of England flags - instant resignation. I am just having a massive WTF? moment over this.

Also, is it not patronising in itself to say that the 'aspirational working classes' are prone to cover their houses in St George flags? Because no-one in my town got that memo. Maybe

[Dawndonnaagain]

Oh do pack it in longfingernails it's boring now.

[outofcontrol2014]

Labour urgently need to sack their entire communications team and their leader and start again.

[LeopardInABobbleHat]

It's like media training and advice never troubles their minds, isn't it.
I don't think it's representative of Labour thinking, however, just one person's stupidity.

[itsaknockout]

'Oh do pack it in longfingernails it's boring now.'

Who the heck are you to dictate what .people can post?