To ask you what you would like to say to the Labour Party leadership?

[happyon]

This is a bit of a TAAT, but I didn't want to take the other excellent thread in only one direction, so here is a new one.

I'm a member of the Labour Party and I know there are other members here and plenty of voters. I also know that there's a world of rage out there about what this government is doing to this country and how ineffectually Labour seem to be responding.

I suspect that important Labour types will read this if get enough people involved. They need to listen to us or we will have to deal with another Tory government.

I'll begin by saying that I want Labour to:

Support a living wage for everyone, in all parts of the country. Immediately.

[diaimchlo]

I would also like to see Labour if they get elected to bring David Cameron, Gideon, IDS, McVey and their cohorts to book for their systematic sadistic actions that have brought this country to the sad state it is in.

[diaimchlo]

The Labour party died and was buried along with John Smith. It has not had an honest and effective leader since.

I whole heartedly agree with this, he was a man who you could warm to and trust just by looking at him.

You need to look at your old school MPs and learn valuable lessons from their passion and commitment:

Dennis Skinner
Michael Meacher
Glenda Jackson
John McDonnel

just to name a few.

Labour is supposed to advocate socialism looking after all in society.

[Illumanting]

Get rid of Ed. Simply not credible on an international level.

[CountessOfRule]

Yes, I'm not bothered about a good leader if the whole party/government is any good.

[LividofLondon]

Have some actual polices. I have no idea what Labour stand for any more.

Regulate the housing industry, i.e. estate and letting agents, private landlords. No-one should be fucked over trying to have a roof over their heads.

Renationalise the utility companies. No-one should be fucked over just trying to stay warm or cook a meal.

Reduce student fees dramtically. Make some courses, such as science based ones, free.

Bring back apprenticeships, but don't have an age limit on them so that adults can retrain.

Close the tax loopholes

No privatisation in the NHS


"I think leaders with charisma are part of the problem"
Totally agree, Temporarilyjerry. I don't want a "charismatic" leader, I just want a fair and honest one.

To those who have said they have no idea who to vote for if they can't vote Labour and don't want the tories in, have you considered the Green Party? I was rather impressed watching a YouTube video on them at a press conference. They seemed to have put a lot of thought into how their policies would work and they held up to argument. Shame they are seen as not worth voting for by many because they reckon they don't have the might to beat the main 3 in the elections I'd love to see the back of the main 3, and that's without allowing UKIP in!

[mrscog]

Stop the handwringing 'cost of living crisis' campaign. Most of the issues with cost of living spiralled out of control under the las t labour government (utilities and housing) but was masked by the huge economic boom so no one noticed. Very hard to take them seriously when they take no responsibility for out of control house prices etc.

[letsgomaths]

Get rid of MPs' second homes, give them a hall of residence instead.

Recruit MP's who have worked in the real world first (for at least ten years).

Make wealthy criminals pay for the cost of prison (and I mean really pay: make them sell their mansions and other assets, especially when they have lots of them.)

Tony Blair: get him in prison where he belongs, take the grinning fucker down a peg or two. (His assets could be very useful to the state indeed, if they were confiscated; see above.)

[whatsgoinon]

Don't feel obliged to come back with instant responses to rubbish policies but think properly first

For example backing the terrible pensions idea

[HeeHiles]

Same old shit!!

Labour going to say Yes to Tory welfare cap

[LetZygonsbeZygons]

scrap this 'human rights' crap for criminals. and the deportation fiasco.

tougher jail sentences.

MORE help, ANY help for disabled and their carers.

[LetZygonsbeZygons]

That all 6 of my local labour mps answer the emails ive sent from a month ago and HELP us.

that I thought Milliband spoke brilliantly today in the budget speech.

absolutl;y spot on.

if he keeps promise about scrapping the bedroom tax hell get my vote.

cant stand that bloody shiny face smugeron.

[WhosLookingAfterCourtney]

Rent controls and tenants' rights - we are a growing proportion of the electorate.

Make it a lot less attractive to be a btl landlord. Houses should be homes, not investments.

Referendum on PR to make everyone's vote count (I live in the SE - why do only Tory votes count?)

Save our NHS.

No more state-funded faith schools, 'collective worship' in schools and bishops in the HoL.

Bring house prices back within the reach of normal people.

Reverse spiteful Tory benefits changes.

.... not necessarily in that order!
Also, I like you Ed!

[SheherazadeSchadenfreude]

Get a proper leader. Get rid of the Eds and bring back David Miliband. He's the only one who might possibly lead you to victory in the next election.

[ukatlast]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-26639542

Bring some prosecutions and make some examples to make people take the existing law against FGM seriously.

[Tanacot]

I don't know what their vision is for the country. What's the plan? Why don't we do something properly exciting and new? Is it just impossible and we should all just kill ourselves now because that's what they come off as thinking.

Raspberry Pi is English and awesome. Why don't we give every school child a Pi and some server space? Why don't we think about getting public wifi provision? We could have a dev hour every night where anyone can get online for free (in a city) so kids can do homework and people can tinker.

Why don't we hook up the universities and the NHS and get robotics into people's homes like Robots for Humanity and so on in the US. Why don't we go into space and mine asteroids for resources? Why don't we sack off these wind farms that are not very good and figure out wave power when we've got this amazing resource in the Gulf Stream? Why don't we throw up an airB&B type booking system for jobs instead of the horror of the JobSearch thing. Why is everything so rubbish, ITwise, that the government does? Why don't we just run Linux like the French? Why don't we build a Hyperloop? Why don't we rewood all our cleared, yet unused, farmland and start to sort the flooding?

Why don't we DO ANYTHING about anything? Why do all politicians just piss and moan and repeat their stock phrases. What is the point of them if they can't DO anything?

[dolphinsandwhales]

We've got to reduce immigration, it's lowering wages and allowing employers to pay less to foreign workers, reducing employment and opportunities for Britons. Immigration is capitalism at its worst when uncontrolled.

[Tanacot]

Stop with these robotic freaks chanting their soundbites who don't believe in anything and can't do anything.

You know, it does matter. I've met a lot of interesting Labour Party members but they didn't do PPE at Oxford so they don't "get on" in the party. If Labour can't figure out how to make it possible for ordinary people to thrive in the Labour Party, I hold out no hope for them doing so in the country in general.

[Hassled]

I'm a Labour member and activist. And I'm exasperated - absolutely agree that Ed Miliband is not the right leader. You don't ever look at him and think "potential future PM". There's no charisma in Ed - much as I think he's a good man. Labour at the moment are reactive, seldom proactive. They're often slow to even be reactive. We need a clear message - it's not enough to say "Coalition policies are bad and this is why" - we need to know how they would be different, in clear, concise terms.

There's a consultation on Labour's policy programme at the moment - here. I hope something good comes out of it - something inspiring.

And I realise I'm virtually alone in the world in thinking this, but I still think Ed Balls would be a good leader.

[Fusedog]

Add message | Report | Message poster Catkinsthecatinthehat Wed 19-Mar-14 15:37:53
NOi clearly heard him say when it came to secondary he wouldn't rule out private school or boarding

[2013go]

Merry mouse- exactly so, they seem hellbent on losing it.

[merrymouse]

It's almost as though they don't really want to win the next election.

[happyon]

l like Ed but it's pretty clear he's not winning over voters. I doubt they will get rid of him though. The Labour Party has traditionally kept leaders in well beyond their shelf life.

Who else for leader? I like Yvette Cooper a lot. Am I alone?

[Dinosaursareextinct]

I don't understand why they don't throw him out? Do they have no-one in the party who actually cares about changing the Government?

[mummymeister]

Just heard millibland on 5live and another labour politician from the treasury. honestly, it was painful. the usual crap about - too little too late, hard working families, nasty bankers. change the bloody record. the labour guy was asked outright would you keep the benefit cap? he fudged it and refused to answer. they have to have answers. they have to have credible policies. on todays showing, don't know who would vote for them, certainly not me at the moment. get the top tier out. they are tarnished, damaged goods. get in a brand new team with radical ideas who think, right we have lost the next election so lets say what we really think and want to do and bring people along with us long term.