To think Jeremy Corbyn & the rest of the Labour Party should read this.

[MangoMoon]

On the vague off chance that Jezza & chums (and the rest of the Labour Party, in fact) are MN readers, perhaps this article could give them a nudge in the right direction:

http://howtobeacompletebastard.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/how-labour-can-stop-being-shit.html?m=1

S'ok Jezza, you can thank me later

It's quite a jaunty read, isn't it?

He's nailed a few things, definitely.

"Have a look at the Chartists and people in your history who achieved things and weren't complete shitheads. Stop sneering at working class people with ordinary views and stop being determined to call everybody racists just for expressing the view that certain immigrant communities should stop treating women like property. Y'see, that's actually a left wing view as I understand it. Unless times have changed? I can't keep up with it all now that left wing is now defined by how hard you emote about something pointless."

I don't think quite the right emoji exists, but he's on to something about the emoting.

It's a serious point though. We need an opposition capable of actually opposing, and representing large chunks of the population. I'm not sure the current unedifying civil war is that at all. It seems to be a choice between student-type grandstanding about abstruse issues on one hand (seriously, stop banging on about Palestine) or dreary and self-righteous centrism (Yvette Cooper ) on the other. Neither of which really seems to be setting the people alight.

Agreed Manatee. The party is no longer about representing anyone much at all. It is just a big university-style debating squabbling club.

How sweet, OP actually believes that Corbyn might listen to somebody else. That's so cute!!

You're grumpy today ljkk. He might listen. Where there's life, there's hope

Or he could look to the otherside of the house see how they are quickly pulling themselves together and already have 2020 in their sights

But he has no intention of pulling labour together

As long as Corbyn is at the helm, we can predict a solid majority Tory govt to be elected in 2020. I am not cheered by that prospect, no.

It feels like we've moved to a tinpot dictatorship party system. Since Corbyn never cooperated with the PLP, he doesn't care if they cooperate with him. I can only conclude that he doesn't actually care about getting anything done while he's the leader of the PLP. He doesn't care about having an effective opposition. He is giving a carte blanche to the Conservatives to do what they like until 2020, because Labour sure as Hell can't hold the Tories to account. Thank goodness Tories only have a small majority right now & some have wafer thin majorities in their constituencies so they have to vote with conscience not party line.

And thank Fig for SNP who are willing to work together and rattle chains hard.

I'm ready to bet money that when Labour lose the 2020 election that Corbyn will still refuse to go. Why would an election disaster mean he needs to leave?

If he would like to have a Labour party worth keeping he might be advised to look and listen, to what people are saying.

He is giving a carte blanche to the Conservatives to do what they like until 2020, because Labour sure as Hell can't hold the Tories to account.

Yes, the amount of legislation being pushed through parliament with very little media coverage and scrutiny is frightening.

Even right now (in the middle of Brexit, resignations, reshuffles) a very controversial higher education bill is going through parliament with almost no attention being paid to it.

We need an opposition that is credible and can fight these things with vigour and show strength. I'm not feeling any of that at the moment.

Agree. Seeing John McDonnell on stage calling his colleagues 'fucking useless plotters' to rapturous applause, sums it up for me.

Bricks through windows, it has all the makings of a farce...

It is just a big university-style debating squabbling club

^^ Yes good article.

They need their heads knocking together, and yet where are the labour MPs who were in tune with the electorate and supported Brexit?
Where are they?

Like May has done - someone needs to cull all the dubious removed labour figures and cut out the dead wood.

As long as Corbyn is at the helm, we can predict a solid majority Tory govt to be elected in 2020. I am not cheered by that prospect, no.

It's true. I still think he'll be made to go, though. Maybe that's just blind optimism because I can't bear to consider another term of Conservative nastiness.

contemplate ^ another term...

How sweet, OP actually believes that Corbyn might listen to somebody else. That's so cute!!


I am one of life's eternal optimists lljkk....

Fantastic article.

Corbyn is a clever man with unshakeable moral principles. He is occupying a difficult but vital position in the face of immense pressure and has huge grass roots support for doing so. I would far rather see Labour taking this line than losing its identity entirely as it did under Blair. In part, Corbyn is being blamed for a failure to lead by MPs who have made a choice to rebel against him.

I think it's a shit article.

What is shit about it specifically?

Is this quote shit?

"...Also, giving less of a fuck about Palestinians and more about Northerners might do you some good..."

Or perhaps this one?

"...You might have to get your head round the fact that nobody cares who owns the NHS so long as it is free and nobody really gives a toss who owns the trains either so long as they turn up on time and you don't need to remortgage to get a season ticket..."

Or maybe this one?

"...We don't need you just to loath the Tories. We have the SNP for that. And they are better at it..."

I would far rather see Labour taking this line than losing its identity entirely as it did under Blair.

What line?
Seriously, what line are Labour actually taking now?

What are their actual policies, tangible objectives & concrete suggestions for the route to achieving them?

What specifically is it that Labour are offering their core traditional vote at this time?

Why are former Labour voters from the working classes now defecting to UKIP with their support?

complete crap - this
" Also hating Jews is still inexcusable even if you need the local Islamist vote to rig a council by-election. In fact you should probably pack that in completely."

and what the fuck is this meant to mean@
'Being hypocritical misogynist Trotskyite shit-heads is passé and that's why you lose elections.'

and yeah, like white men are not abusers to sometimes. Jeeze
'stop being determined to call everybody racists just for expressing the view that certain immigrant communities should stop treating women like property.'

The way I see it, Mr Corbyn sees parliament as only part of the political system. It doesn't matter what the PLP MPs debate, as the real socialism can be introduced by non-parliamentary means - strike action, takeover of local government etc. It's the early 1980s again - Michael Foot, Militant, Miners... It seems as though Mr Corbyn is more interested in changing the political system than making people's lives better.