To love Jeremy Corbyn and hope he wins

[derxa]

I'm not a Labour/Tory supporter but this man actually has principles.

His voting record in the HoC speaks volumes

He voted for homeopathy. So I'm out.

I hate unauthentic politicians.

In modern politics, I'd say, that rules most of them out. I think plastic politicians are the future. Spin doctors and policy wonks do all the thinking, and then they stick a young public school man on their arm and their words come out of his mouth...

Liz is going to find the whole thing uncomfortable. Maybe they'll change the model in her case.

No, he lost for the reasons state above. That and he alienated the electorate with the help of the right wing press. The election was not won on the economy, it was won on the rhetoric of immigration, terrorism, Europe and benefits.

Why on earth would they trust Corbyn?

I'd trust him, when he says that we're all going to eat borscht and call each other Comrade. When he says it, I think he really means it.

countryandchickens out of interest, who did you vote for? It's relevant because to win Labour needs to take votes from the Tories. Everyone's overlooking this. They will not do so without a centrist leader - Dr Dre made that point.

sooty deluded? That's a better label for those who don't see that in that budget Osborne has made a smash and grab raid on the Labour and Lib Dem ideas he decided would be most appealing and bagged them for the Tories, eg new policy on non-doms. I dislike him intensely but it's a bold move which pushes the other parties away from the appealing centre ground. They need to fight back and reclaim that now. Corbyn could have a really useful role to play in a future Labour government, as I think could Ed M, but they aren't going to get there with him as leader. Then it's the terrifying inevitability of George or Boris till 2025.

He is so genuine and I will be voting for him.

We as a local party are to vote and from those I have spoken to, my guess is he will get our backing.

I love that Tory members are joining for a vote and are funding our party in the process.

Tories are joining Labour to vote for Corbyn in the hope of destroying the party? That's funny.

I voted conservative waits for everyone to kick me

You kind of disprove my point then countryandchickens

I still don't think it will be a significant number of votes!

You're probably right but I'd rather have the option of voting for a party who's (whose?) policies I'm 100% behind than one who I feel "don't agree with all their policies BUT they are best of a bad bunch."

Exactly, TendonQueen.

That and he alienated the electorate with the help of the right wing press.

The 'right-wing press' is often presented as Labour's bogeymen, but I'm dubious that many floating voters are persuaded by their lurid headlines, any more than the same voters are persuaded by the equally lurid, though opposing, headlines of the Mirror. The longer the Left believe this, the longer they'll be in the wilderness.

Yes I'm what you would call a floating voter but I don't take a blind bit of notice what the press says.

I think the press was pretty vile to Miliband, to be fair. But even if they'd loved him as a personality, it wouldn't have changed the fact that Labour wasn't trusted on the economy - the party allowed the Tories to use the "no money left" narrative and did nothing to counter it. People felt that if you weren't on benefits or in a zero-hours contract Labour had nothing to offer you.

The stuff the press published about Miliband's father was disgraceful.

As a LD voter who is an interested observer it seems that Labour are at a bit of a crossroads. They either go with a "Tory lite" leader and try to win over tussle in the central ground for floating voters or they swing to the left and try to win the green, SNP and non-voters.

Neither route is easy and unless the Tory party implode (not unthinkable esp considering there will be a GO/ BJ leadership contest at some point) then it does look like 2020 is another Tory win.

For democracy in this country I think it is healthier for Labour to have a left wing leader so that the full spectrum of opinion is represented by the main parties and not just a narrow centralist view.

But a party becomes "main" by representing the views of the electorate. If there was enough support for left-wing ideas, the Green party would have more than one MP.

I don't think being responsible on the economy is "Tory-lite" - that's Tory rhetoric that enough people have swallowed that as soon as a candidate puts forward sensible ideas on the economy, they're labelled a Tory. It's shocking that we've allowed Cameron and Osborne to claim a monopoly on that.

It's relevant because to win Labour needs to take votes from the Tories
No they don't. They need to persuade the 35% of people that didn't actually vote, to vote for them.

but I'm dubious that many floating voters are persuaded by their lurid headlines,
If people didn't believe the papers we would not have had the shirker/worker they're all scroungers narrative running through the whole of the election. We would not be afraid of terrorists, we would be aware that most of those on benefits are in work. But, many, including people on here, are not aware.

Tory lite is not helping those who need it whilst ensuring the status quo at the top remains the same, with the occasional sop thrown to those of semi socialist sentiment.
Socialism is still about a sensible economy but making it work for those who are in the greatest need, not those in need the least.

"Tory lite is not helping those who need it whilst ensuring the status quo at the top remains the same, with the occasional sop thrown to those of semi socialist sentiment." - No, that's just Tory. See the most recent budget.

Ed milliband was unelectable as a British pm and so is Jeremy corbyn, and I say that as someone to the left of the Labour Party. It would be nice if it was not so, but that's realpolitik for you.

If Len mccluskey hadn't put unite's backing behind ed milliband, we would have david milliband as pm now, or else a left leaning coalition, and we wouldn't be looking now at the worst anti trade union legislation since 1927.

And I agree with much of what corbyn has to say.

I think he would be great for democracy - a lot of people on the left think / say they have no real option to vote for. This would put a clear line between the Conservatives and Labour and give people on the left, disillusioned with the political process, a candidate and a party to vote for. I don't actually agree with his policies and wouldn't vote for him (or any Labour politician), but I think we need a higher turnout in elections and a more politically engaged public and Corbyn could be the catalyst for this.

Has anyone ever done any detailed analysis of possible voting intentions of the 35% of non-voters. I think a lot of people assume that they are all left-wingers who don't vote because Labour aren't socialist enough. Is this really the case? I remember reading somewhere that non-voters actually are split along "party lines" so that Labour would actually only be able to appeal to a subset if them anyway.

Turn out has never been over 78% over the last 50 years:

www.ukpolitical.info/Turnout45.htm

It was 66% at the last election. Even if you could get it up to 78% again, which is unlikely, there is no guarantee the missing 12% would all vote Labour.
While it is true that getting the missing 35% to vote for Labour would ge them back into power, I don't think it is going to happen

YY, Figment. But people in the party just refuse to see that, and as a consequence we're going to get Andy Burnham, five years of continuity Miliband and then Gideon or Boris as PM. It's fucking depressing.