The Westministenders / Media Baron Hunger Games continues. Who is trying to outmanoeuvre who?

[RedToothBrush]

Don't worry we've all lost track.

In the Blue Corner
It started out with Cameron and Osborne trying to win the battle of the Tories, but they got stung in a UK wide vote. Some of us thought it was about the 'EU'. Instead it has turned out it was an internal Tory Bitch fight between some old Oxford and Eton mates, whilst for others a protest vote at being disenfranchised.
Gove and Johnson stabbed Cameron & Osborne in the back to run for Team Leave. Then they won when they didn't expect to. And there was no Plan. Uh Oh. Then it all started to go really wrong.
Cameron quit in disgust. Johnson went all President Churchill, before he also got stabbed by Gove (possibly with the assistance of the dark influence of Osborne).
We now have a Tory Smackdown with the shadowy influence of the Media Barons in the background.

#Team Gove has been doing their best with the knives. This is a mission to stab as many Tory MPs in the back as possible in order to become PM. Sponsored and supported by Murdoch

#Team Leadsom has been selling more unicorns and trying to pretend her CV and tax return are completely transparent. Think positive and the economy will be just fine. She is the homeopathy of politics. Sponsored and supported by Arron Banks, Leave.eu, UKIP and Britain First.

#Team May has been threatening to deport everyone if the EU don't play nice. Sponsored and supported by The Daily Mail's Dacre

In The Purple Corner
Tragically, it appears that not only do UKIP have a Plan A, they also have outwitted everyone by having Plan B. Yes that’s right TWO plans.
Farage has swanned off –sacked—for a life on CBB so they are looking for a new leader.
The potential candidates are all equally loathsome. They include Arron Banks himself, a suspended member of the party and several other people with an uncanny ability to put their foot in their mouths.
If this wasn't horrible enough, Team Leadsom is increasingly starting to look like a UKIP take over bid of the Conservative Party, which might be a neat way of avoiding a leadership battle of their own considering the quality of the candidates on offer.

In short, its a bit like a Bad Dystopian Movie that invokes Godwin, set in 2016 Westminster. Except its real.
In the Red Corner
Meanwhile the WMD has finally gone off in the Labour Camp, as Chilcot has been published. However the Chicken Coup rattles on regardless.

Corbyn is STILL clinging on, putting in a good claim for the Westminster 'Charlie off Casualty' Award. He has however had his Big Moment in the Commons. Which was a bit of a let down really. ...

The Unions have been trying to talk some sense into everyone. Meanwhile everyone else is has given up and are now just praying for a ruddy miracle to end this torture and give the country an opposition party.

Angela Eagle is still outside for the 5th day in a row, going "I will stand. Soon. If he doesn't quit" The BBC now qualify for a discount deal at the local Travel Lodge.

We FINALLY know who the fuck Owen Smith is! He's a Welsh MP and sounds like he's not completely away with the political fairies.

George Galloway appears to be trying to make a late bid to be included on the ballot paper for any leadership election.
Bliar's cried. We didn't. Chilcot took over 2 million words to tell us everything we already knew. As well as the fact that Mi6 like Nicholas Cage a lot.

The Cult of Momentum are still worshiping their Dear Leader by sending death threats to PR companies they suspect of disloyalty. Somehow they still manage not to get the title of the most vile pressure group in the UK.

And I suppose I should ask, when will a50 be triggered....? And by whom?

All these questions and more.
Tin foil hats now available upon request

Sense of humour compulsory. No experience necessary though

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/eu_referendum_2016_/2670552-Has-Boris-been-outmanoeuvred?pg=1 Previous thread 1

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/eu_referendum_2016_/2672388-Has-Boris-been-outmanoevered-Will-someone-please-tell-me-who-is-in-charge Previous thread 2

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/eu_referendum_2016_/a2673982-Have-Boris-and-Jeremy-been-stabbed-in-the-back-Please-can-we-have-some-leaders Previous thread 3

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/eu_referendum_2016_/2675432-Boris-outmaneovered-Et-tu-Gove-Corbyn-The-Westministenders-Hunger-Games-Continues? Previous thread 4

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/eu_referendum_2016_/2678198-The-Westministenders-Hunger-Games-continues-Boris-still-trying-not-to-be-outmanoeuvred Previous thread 5

Sayeeda Warsi - AL was naive not mean spirited. Shows inexperience.

AE is up now. Peston says she will challenge.
RP - What's he done wrong?
AE - Can't communicate with the electorate and lost support of party. TW and others have tried to convince him to step down, he's hiding behind closed doors. I was lucky, I had a comprehensive ed, went to Oxford from wc background, I have Labour principles same as Jeremy but you have to be able to be elected to help people. I'm ready to have a contest and debate with whoever is on the ballot. It's not for me to decide if JC is there or not

Delurking on this fabulous thread to ask what's the shock about Ed Balls ?

Please explain in simple terms why the Labour party is stabbing Jeremy Corbyn in the back and front. Is it because they think he is unelectable as PM? Is it because his policies are too left wing?
I voted Tory last time but I would vote for Jeremy Corbyn over Andrea Leadsom as PM in a GE. I listened to the way he talked. He was measured calm and I believe what he says.

RP - if you won without JC on the ballot people would say you aren't legitimate.
AE - it's never been the case the leader gets there by right, that is for the NEC to decide, not me, I will go up against whoever is on the ballot. I'm concentrating on setting out my vision, the NEC will decide on who is on the ballot on Monday, not up to me.
RP - if you don't win the party will split?
AE - not about party splitting, we need to win some elections so we can help people. We lost councillors in the election, lost the referendum, we need to win to help people. JC not a bad man, I tried to make it work. He doesn't connect, doesn't reach out to other parts of the party, doesn't try to make things work, it is not leadership.
Tory fight has ripped the country apart, we could have a GE soon, I believe I am the right person to lead the party into that, it won't be as late as 2020, we have to be united and strong, put a vibrant series of programmes to the electorate, not concentrate on protesting.
My constituency party has lots of new members who were thrown out in the 80s who are causing trouble, but I have more support than you think. I won't put pressure on other MPs to run or not, I think this is a battle to heal and unite the party and be a strong opposition. I'm a strong supporter of the unions, they know they have a friend in me.

sorry cathy I hadn't heard he was going to be on, it was just the shock of seeing his face on my tv at 10am on a Sunday, especially as I'm only one cup of coffee into the day!!

Angela Eagle seemed less jellyfish like on AM than she has done for the last two weeks on her doorstep. She sounded quite convinced she could do this.

Owen Smith says he's going to see Corbyn tomorrow, doesn't want party to split (twitter)

Aww shucks, was hoping it involved him a unicorn and a sink plunger or something, anything for a bit of light relief from the AL fear factor.

derxa I'm not a labour party member but as a voter, my perspective is that we have a Leader of the Opposition who, in a time of crisis has failed to either lead or oppose.

RP to IDS - was it hard to choose to support her?
IDS - no. I've known her a long time, supported her charity. She's very concerned with turning around the lives of children. I long ago decided that if she ever stood I'd support her. Times i/v was a slip, plenty of cabinet ministers and PMs have been stitched up
RP says she stitched herself up, she was asked a range of questions
IDS - journo wanted a headline, AL is mortified how it came across but she's passionate about her kids, she talks about them a lot. TM would be very good if she was PM, but AL would be better on the issue of Brexit.
RP - Priti Patel says she'd be the JC of your party
IDS - I'd say calm for fgs, they will regret saying stupid things, has been a 'blackops' operation to denigrate her, if she wasn't qualified PM wouldn't have appointed her, DC didn't have experience when he became leader
RP - that's because the Tories weren't in power
IDS - irrelevant.AL can engage with people on the ground, she represents people's real fear and concerns, if we use smears and fears we are cementing the idea we aren't fit to govern
RP - not great look that Britain First and Farage are backing her is it?
IDS - no, but these people are on the fringes, they don't have a vote they are taking advantage to play sides of the Tory party against each other. I have no time for BF, was disgusted with Farage, they are trying to split us. TM would be good as would AL, lets have positive campaigns, I would serve under TM if she asked but I want to concentrate on social justice.

I definitely need more coffee. Ed Balls looks less punchable than he used to.

*By the sound of it, he's really not interested in doing the day to day stuff of leadership. He has his particular interests he wants to do and is passionate about, but beyond that? No. He doesn't do compromise, which unfortunately you do need to do, at least at first to bring in change and to steer the ship on a different course effectively.

When it comes to it, he has the moral purpose but not the ability nor willingness to work as a team to make that purpose work and appeal to more people than those who are already converts to the cause. Instead he appears to have ended up surrounded by yes men.*

Red you have articulated exactly the problem I have with JC now. I really hoped he was 'the one'. He isn't.

TM would be very good if she was PM, but AL would be better on the issue of Brexit
IDS made a slip. He said TM will be a good PM

There's a painful time lag between RP's studio and Alex Salmond up in Inverness.

Ed Balls looks less punchable than he used to. No still extremely punchable

derxa - in my defence, I am still only halfway down cup of coffee number two. I don't usually resemble a fit and proper person until at least cup 3. Anything I say before that point has a serious 'Caution: May be idiotic' warning!

Another thank you for these excellent threads.
A realignment in UK politics is long, long overdue. I had hopes that we would move to a more proportional voting system during Coalition times and was very disappointed it didn't happen (of course Tories and apathy scuppered it).
Anyway, if a realignment comes about, and given that the Palace of Westminster needs millions spent on it, why not abandon it as an unsuitable Parliament building, turn it ino a museum of something or other, and build a modern Parliament, location to be carefully chosen (Midlands? North?)? We could abandon the carbuncle that is to be HS2 and use that money to improve our democracy instead.

Hugh Dennis I think just about covered it - "Every day you wake up to something you didn't think could happen"

BJ wasn't Shakespearean because Shakespeare didn't get up the next day and write a column for the DT, MG was screwed by AL because he was anti-expert and she came out and said she was an expert!

That stuff about Arron Banks and more referendums makes blood run cold.

To win an election JC has to win over not labour party members, or even potential labour party members but people who have voted Tory.

He has to turn blue votes into red votes, and halt the expansion of UKIP in the labour heartlands.

This is a really difficult job for anyone. However, JC and his supporters appear to despise even the people in the centre if their own party, never mind the substantial part of the electorate who voted conservative at the last election.

This thread is so good i have rest my password to join in. Loving the unicorns which have now entered my family lexicon. Like the idea of turning HOP into a museum and building fit for purpose parliament in the middle of the country. Where would that be though ? V Interested in the idea of centre realignment - watching eagerly to see what happens. Love this thread because it talks about the ideas without the bullshit.

The idea of a new party in the middle is very tempting. Interesting guardian article today in opinion about the opportunity for a rejigging of the political landscape - federal uk with English, Welsh, Scottish snd NI assemblies, written constitution with limits on pm power and PR. Inc new parliament.

If we can have a fundamental rethink of that nature (and not end up with UKIP!) the whole thing becomes slightly more worthwhile. We can't retreat further into our own echo chambers while the country slides into an uber right wing chaos. And that goes for JC too.

Also - a thought. Does anyone think the coup in the PLP partly took place because the hard left were coming back and threatening to deselect the MPs - encouraged by momentum who seem banks-ish.

Parliament in Newcastle would get my vote, with superfast trains to manchester and Edinburgh.

Agreed anna. Or Derby.

PLP re Corbyn: unelectable as head of government - isn't that enough? Despite being MP for decades, never taken THAT seriously as a barometer of Labour. Unable to coordinate effective opposition to Tory implosion. But evicting a leader who millions voted for and getting a Prime Minister who could be elected if 75,001 Tories say so…Hope you are reading, all you leavers who voted for 'democracy'

According to the Times
Nicky Morgan, Philip Hammond, Anna Soubry and Nick Boles are all off if AL wins. Apparently NB is seriously frightened by the idea of her as leader
And a leading figure in vote leave says she would be a disaster as pm and has branded her as Andrea Loathsome.