The Westministenders Hunger Games continues. Hunting for the Opposition.

[RedToothBrush]

THE BREXIT FALLOUT OUT CONTINUES - THREAD EIGHT!

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Each of the parties seem to have a taken a very different style to their leadership contests.

The Tory party have been well documented as doing in the classic style of Hamlet. After the entire Conservative Party have spent two weeks stabbing each in the back and front, May steps forward to take the crown for herself.

But what about the others?

The UKIP leadership contest seems to be in comedy style of Peter Kay’s Phoenix Nights. In a strange turn of events, that no one predicted and seem quite absurd, they seem to be changing their rules so their new leader must have been a member for 5 years. The punchline is this rules just about everyone out, apart from Neil Hamilton and Steven Woolfe. As BigChocFrenzy points out, we are expecting Arron Banks to hand out the brown envelopes. We are just waiting for the poorly thought out, and badly booked racist band to turn up and make everyone cringe in horror and distract everyone from UKIP's candidates and their manifestos in the process.

Meanwhile Labour Party decide to do what they thought was Star Wars Panto. After spending a week going “She’s Standing”, “Oh No She’s Not” Angela Eagle is declared the Empire Strikes Back candidate by Diane Abbot. Well if she’s the rebel leader, then who is Darth Vader and the Emperor?

Unfortunately, you’d be forgiven for thinking the performance is starting to look more and more like a re-enactment of One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, by the minute:

A battle of wills between two forces locked together in a room with ultimately different and opposing self-interests. This is only resolved when the new leader to the dynamic who sought to upset the institution, and give the others their freedom, is lobotomised and subsequently killed in an act of mercy. His murderer manages to escape the prison to the cheers of those still stuck inside.

The Greens of course are a foreign language film, no one has heard of and no one is really that interested in watching.

The Lib Dems are merely sat in the audience. With Tim Farron heckling.

But where is Gandalf?

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At least some sanity has returned and we now have some leaders. May can now get stuck into the job of handing the nightmare that is Brexit whilst making herself at home at Number 10. Rumours are circulating that it’s been left a bit of a pigsty.

We will follow May, on her new adventures to foreign lands to persuade Merkel and Juncker to hand over a mythical unicorn to the UK. Meanwhile will we continue our own hunt for the opposition, whilst we all consult our dictionaries for the meaning of the word ‘Brexit’ in bafflement in the wake of ‘Brexit means Brexit’.

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Sense of humour compulsory. No experience necessary though

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/eu_referendum_2016_/2682358-The-Westministenders-Media-Baron-Hunger-Games-continues-Is-it-about-to-all-implode?pg=1 Previous thread 7

Damn, I am actually getting hopeful that Corbyn may lose the vote...

#staynegative
#betterpessimisticthandisappointed

I like Jeremy. What a spineless bunch of turncoats.

Red

Surely only Darth Vaders death march will do?

Laura Kuenssberg ‏@bbclaurak 3m3 minutes ago
NEC has apparently gone on a break - this may be some time

Michael Crick ‏@MichaelLCrick 48s49 seconds ago
I understand Jeremy Corbyn has left the room where the Labour NEC is being held but he hasn't left the building

George Eaton ‏@georgeeaton 2m2 minutes ago
On paper, Corbyn has NEC majority of up to six. Rebels need unions to change sides in secret ballot.

This blog has the potential votes: medium.com/@tom_d_/is-the-fix-in-9979898b18a3#.18s4zc706

gah tiggy I've just realised I read that tweet wrong, and read it as he'd have enough votes to get on the ballot!! I've been thinking all day that if that was the case, this whole thing was about principle, but clearly it isn't!

I used to rather like Corbyn and I agree with most of his positions. I just want a functioning (dare I say effective) opposition, so he needs to go.

Guardian blog:
3m ago
17:17
A spokesman for Jeremy Corbyn has said that reports that he had refused to leave the NEC meeting when asked (see 4.34pm) were “a total fabrication” and that he left straight away.

This FT article says a lot of what we have been saying - the journalist was at Durham at the weekend:
" I was surprised by just how backward-looking many of the trade unionists and other labour movement dignitaries present were, and how rose-tinted was their view of the past.
For instance, Dennis Skinner, the veteran Labour MP for Bolsover, talked of the “dignity of work” that coal miners enjoyed (the perilous and unhealthy conditions aside), rehearsed old jokes about the Social Democrat party’s promise to break the mould of British politics and insisted that the 2020 general election could be “like 1945 all over again”."

Éoin ‏@LabourEoin · 10m10 minutes ago
If you circulated this mocking your fellow workers, you would be sacked. Yet, Plotting MPs claim to be socialists?

I know I shouldn't but can I have a giggle at Andy Burnham on his own, being called Jellyfish?

(I generally quite like Burnham in fairness).

yes, it's about as opaque as it is possible to be, with deals on top of deals.

'I used to rather like Corbyn and I agree with most of his positions. I just want a functioning (dare I say effective) opposition, so he needs to go.'

Yep. He's dithering and pootling about when he should be making political hay.

That list was in response to the one the leaders' office had, though, wasn't it?

I thought it was quite funny!

Why the desperation by everyone to return to the 1950s?!

I have to say that adding Momentum to my feed this morning, especially now Mensch seems to have shut the fuck up, really does change the echo chamber effect!

I think it's on a knife edge at the NEC.

If JC loses I bet he will go to the courts.

He's got more lives than Rasputin.

Heather Stewart ‏@GuardianHeather 4m4 minutes ago
Am told the NEC's decision to hold secret ballot was swung by two female members particularly distressed about threat of intimidation.

Mensch will wake up again, though, and then you get about 400 tweets from her in the first hour!!

George Eaton ‏@georgeeaton 43m43 minutes ago
If there is a legal challenge to NEC result by either side, lawyers expect it would fail.

David Allen Green ‏@DavidAllenGreen 11m11 minutes ago
David Allen Green Retweeted George Eaton
This is probably correct. The Court will defer to NEC on matters of procedure, unless there is a very good reason.

Maybe we are already there....'no blacks, no irish, no dogs'

Just replace it with different ethnic groups...bang we are back!

.

That fear of intimidation has possibly taken root in the Labour Party is really pretty shocking. This is where some senior figures need to get a grip of things. It's like a poison when it spreads in any organisation.

iain watson ‏@iainjwatson 3m3 minutes ago
BBC's @sean__clare reports that Jeremy Corbyn is locked in discussion with trade union reps outside nec meeting st #labour hq

Mensch will wake up again, though, and then you get about 400 tweets from her in the first hour!!

You've noticed that too then. I have been thinking how hilarious it is, that she obviously wakes up and the very first thing she does in her PJs is tweet about how the whole world is wrong and should shut up and listen to her. Usually in fairly impolite terms. Its so incredibly tragic.

Oh yes. I do quite enjoy her being very rude to the more obvious ukip trolls, but only for about 5 minutes!

I'm just off to a party- JC is billed as being there...
I will eat my hat