Corbyn still hanging in there

[NightWanderer]

I actually quite admire that. Hanging tough. I think it shows a sharp contrast to Cameron who can't get out of things soon enough.

Could Corbyn actually be the next PM?

I wondered why the Labour party would choose now to implode. Then I realised the Chilcot report is due soon and that Corbyn is one of the few Labour MPs would be honest about dealing with it.

Or maybe it's because if there is a snap GE then with him in charge they will lose loads of seats!

Or maybe the were deeply disappointed and embarrassed by his actions during the referendum campaign and know that many voters just simply do not believe him or worse support him

The SNP MPs were about not voting for labour not independence.

The vote for the SNP might have been a protest vote, but at the moment Sturgeon is more popular than Corbyn in England, never mind Scotland.

Definitely more popular than Corbyn but she only has a minority government and I don't think she is as popular in Scotland as it is portrayed. They are making a poor job of running the country - especially education and the health service. They provide a mainstream alternative to labour which doesn't exist in England until the Lib Dems can pull themselves together (or Labour splits).

From a Westminster point of view though, there is no indication that Labour could win Scottish seats any time soon- definitely at some point in the future (either as part of an independent Scotland or because talks of independence have blown over), but not in the aftermath of the referendum.

Snp have done a very good job of positioning themselves as being the people's left wing socialist party. I know of a fair number of no voters who voted snp. I think at the last GE many Scots effectively had a choice between a party with a goal they fundamentally disagreed with, a party who have shown themselves to be disorganised muppets with a revolving door of ineffective leadership, or Ruth Davidson.

Yes, they portray themselves as a left wing socialist party but actually they are not. They are pretty centrist. I also know a lot of 'no' voters who voted for the SNP. The problem with Politics at the moment is labour have become so weak there is no effective opposition to the SNP (Scotland) or the conservatives (UK) - and that is very bad for democracy.

Good point about the Chilcott report.

I understand why JC isn't everyone's cup of tea, but if the Labour party could have united behind him there could have been a lot of capital to be made while the Tory party have their own battle. One advantage JC has is the fact that he's fairly ambivalent about the EU - he's always been open about it's failings. He could actually be a good person to bring both sides together on that front, having not taken up an extreme position on either side.

The Blairites have repeatedly been rejected by the voters. Who is likely to stand in the event of another leadership contest who will offer something other than that which has already been offered and rejected? Tom Watson possibly - one of the few who may be acceptable to the party and plp. This rebellion against JC has been brewing since he was elected, and has precious little to do with Brexit, given that the exit polls show he delivered rather more of the labour vote to remain than Cameron did with the Tories.

It frustrates me no end that after all the clamouring for politicians you can trust, who aren't in it for themselves etc etc - when presented with just that people still don't want it and are asking for someone with more - more what? Media savvy? Spin? All the things people have been saying they don't want? It is truly sad that people would rather have someone like Boris, a self-serving, scheming liar who is at home in the media circus, than someone with integrity who won't play those games.

I like him, but purely as an observer of things I think he may go today or at least by the end of the week. He's just got a lot of people against him in the PLP - all those resignations in the last few days. I think the Labour party have been such idiots, especially since the referendum. Also idiots not to have run a better pro-Remain campaign. I'm pretty annoyed with them ATM, and generally the opposition to the Tories seems almost as shambolic as the Tory party itself. What a mess

I agree OP. I dont like him, but I actually hope he hangs on. Its the irony, that the only high profile Labour MP (its leader) actually in touch with the Labour heartland voter (last weeks leave vote), is now being ousted by the remain leading party. Hes too traditional (?) Not the Blairite club member (?)

Its not this week thats his problem. The 170 have declared, and due process will happen. What is his problem is last monday, when we get to the party members, the members of the Labour Party, would simply have voted him back in. By next monday, they may not.

The reason, there is a high profile '"join the labour party here. It costs £3.5 (or whatever) and you dont even have to proove youre a labour supporter"' campaign to fill the voting ranks.

Can the heartland of the Labour movement resist this interference from the dying Blairite breed? I really dont know.

With Chilcot just around the corner, it would have been a far more sensible move to withdraw to the safety of the traditional labour principles. Thats where their supporters are,and Corbyn indeed was 'their man'. Theyve forgotten thats exactly why he was voted in.

Yet more silly silly arrogant self serving politics at work? Absolutely, and isnt it fascinating to watch.

Someone needs to tell the Labour Party that it's not a competition to see who can cause the most chaos right now.

Absolutely Noofly

So what are his wonderful principles then?

What has he actually achieved sincentre he has been leader?

What are his actual policies and how is he going to achieve it?

All I hear is sound bites and no substance.

Whether people like it or not if he us losing Labour heartlands (and he is) then how do you think he is going to win marginals?

Oh and let's stop talking about the 'Blairite coup'. There are some very notable MPs that have resigned who are about as far from being Blairites as Corbyn is.

How can I be behind a man that has close connections with terrorists and has lied his way through the referendum campaign

Yet we are being told he is an honest man

Corbyn is an anti-establishment figure and and as such his primary goal of making the UK a more socially democratic country is completely at odds with careerist Blairites and mainstream Tories who prefer to maintain the status quo. Unfortunately, it is the Blairites and the Tories who control much of what the mainstream media put out so it is little wonder the population as a whole thinks negative things about Corbyn (e.g. he doesn't sing the national anthem, he doesn't bow low enough before the Cenotaph, he doesn't campaign hard enough for Remain, etc).

The fact is, the Blairites in the Parliamentary Labour Party have been waiting for this moment for ages, ever since Corbyn was elected as leader in fact. Indeed, this actual coup was conceived as far back as April, long before anyone knew how Corbyn would campaign in the brexit debate.

The long and the short of it is that people in power want to create and maintain two things: power and profit. Corbyn is an old-school socialist who wants to return power to the ALL of the people, and to renationalise profitable (for a very few at least) features like the railways, so that ordinary folk won't have to pay colossal ticket prices in order to line the pockets of the already very well-off.

Is it any surprise that the establishment wants him out? And, by the same token, is it any wonder so many 'ordinary' people want him to stay and try and change the political landscape?

Oh, and it might just be coincidental but the Chilcott Report is due out soon and Corbyn has hinted that he may well accuse Blair of war crimes for his role in the Iraq War (which potential leader candidate Angela Eagle voted in favour of).

www.thecanary.co/2016/06/28/blairite-labour-coup-plotters-protected-media-giant-tied-tony-blair/

www.facebook.com/billybraggofficial/

That's all vet well Beau but what are his actual policies and what has he actually done?

It's all still soundbites.

There is also rumours about him letting George Galloway back. If he does they will lose members and voters.

Hi Piglet,

In a nutshell, Corbyn is for: renationalisation of the railways, community-owned renewables, and a major state-funded housing programme. He is against: renewing Trident, further private investment in the NHS, TTIP and extreme welfare cuts.

I should say that, while I admire Corbyn and what he is trying to do, I don't agree with all his policies.

With regard to what he has done so far, I would say his greatest achievements up to now are: weathering the huge media shit-storm which has been forced upon him, giving a voice to ordinary working people and - hopefully - managing to keep his job...

We keep being told, by the media and right wing labour MPs, that labour is unelectable under Corbyn, so what is the truth of the matter?

Looks pretty electable to me.

Since Corbyn became Labour leader:
4 Westminster by-elections
Tooting 8.7% increase in vote
Ogmore -0.3% drop
Sheffield Brightside 6.8% increase
Oldham West 7.3% increase

Council elections
lost 18 seats, compared to Conservative loss of 48 seats

London Mayor
Won from Tories with 3.9% increase

London Assembly
Drop of 0.8% in vote

Welsh Assembly
Lost 1 seat, compared to Tory loss of 3 seats and LDs 4 seat loss

Scottish Elections

And this article gives you a view of his success as opposition leader: www.newstatesman.com/politics/staggers/2016/04/six-months-jeremy-corbyn-already-one-historys-great-opposition-leaders
Hmm. Where has this view that he is ineffective and a bit crap come from, I wonder?

I notice you missed the Scottish election stats.

Scottish parliament - lost 13 seats

Scotland is a traditional labour heartland and the loss of those seats wasn't about independence alone, they went to the tories not the snp.

Council seats. Not all were contested.

Mayoral election Corbyn had little to do with. In fact they distanced themselves from him.

Oldham fought on local issues again Corbyn didn't campaign. Also Jim was a very popular councilor.

Try knocking on doors and campaigning to see what people are saying.

Try sitting on CLP meeting and see what people are saying.

He is unelectable.

Shameful behaviour in HoC at PMQ's.

Labour joined in the booing as JC got up to speak.

DC told him: 'resign man, just go'.

Speaker did nothing to quieten down the hurleyburley.

JC asked some good and pertinent questions with dignity, I thought.

The PLP are acting like playground bullies. They are so desperate to unseat him by forcing a resignation when they should be putting forward a challenger. They are doing this in the most destructive way possible to the Labour Party at precisely the time when Corbyn's anti-austerity narrative is needed post-referendum.

I'm sure if those seats had been lost, you would have blamed Corbyn. Funny how wins are nothing to do with him and losses (including the referendum FFS) are all his fault.
youre right about the Scottish results, but I think we can all agree they were genuinely more to do with Sturgeon than Corbyn. If it's so easy to win despite him, why are you worrying? Or do you really know it is because of him but don't want to admit it?

I don't really agree re the Scottish results. A lot of the lost Scottish seats went to the tories because they were seen as a strong opposition for the snp. Labour are perceived as weak- I don't think there's much distinction in perception between Scottish and uk labour parties in that regard.