Westminstenders: Election Special 3

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Beat me to it, Edith! I live equidistant between Peterborough and Cambridge, they really couldn’t be more different.

Jess Phillips is a great communicator. She's very popular with soft left types so, of course, Momentum types hate her. But Labour don't need to chase Momentum members as they have no other option but Labour to vote for. I'm not sure she's a leader but she'd be a great health secretary or with a dwp remit.

Labour need to produce someone who looks as though they could be PM. Corbyn didn't. I was going to say appointing someone Jewish might knock the anti-semitism story on its head, but Ed Miliband was Jewish - still he was the wrong brother.

I know Johnson doesn't look like PM material either, but now his minders have let him off the leash again, he can start to put his foot in it. I expect him to do the most damage to the party.

It will be interesting to see who returns to the Labour front bench with Corbyn and Macdonnell (and presumably Abbott) gone ....

I don’t particularly like Boris but given he married a British Asian I do wonder just how racist he is.

Marina is mixed race - half Pakistani who could pass for white British any day of the week.

If she had been a ‘picaninny’ with a ‘watermelon smile’ things might have been different. Thanks to his journalism and so-called ‘gaffes’ we don’t have to wonder how racist he is, we know.

Will they appoint a woman? It really is about time that they did. She might also come across as a breathe of fresh air after the stale pale male of overprivileged Johnson.

I've always quite liked Chris Bryant. I'm struggling to think of many obvious candidates though. Certainly, other than Starmer, none of the ones who are close to Corbyn.

I don’t particularly like Boris but given he married a British Asian I do wonder just how racist he is

It’s the classic racist response “But I have black friends” or “But I don’t mean you”.

Also, as the euphoria wears off, it's worth reminding the Toryistas that for all his backing of Boris, Dominic Cummings is not a Tory and could just as well use this solid majority platform to finally burn the old guard to the ground so his New World Order can rise from it. If that happens, please don't go "My God ! How could we have known that would happen ?" as it's hardly been kept a secret.

Yes but please explain in words of one/two syllables what this New World Order actually means. What's in it for him?

Sorry to quote myself, but the reply needs context ...

I think - possibly affected by experience - Cummings believes there is no real mechanism to effect change - at least in UK politics. Therefore you have to rip the whole thing down, and start from scratch. It's actually a more idealist position than it appears so far.

If you want to tear (or burn) the building down, and you are serious, and you have the talent, and you have the backing, what would the roadmap look like ? In broad brush strokes ? In order, although not necessarily sequential ...

1. Secede from the EU (which after all was deliberately formed, and allowed to grow into an institution deliberately designed to prevent member states tearing themselves down, although admittedly on very slim evidence)

2. Change the UK constitution to weaken, or remove parliamentary and judicial oversight

3. Begin restructuring to remove vested interests, inherited privilege and institutionalised factions which prevent or disincentivise the exploitation of natural human resources.

Now a lot of the people that have been quite happy to back DC in the Leave.EU jape, might not realise that (3) is where it's all intended to go, or even that (3) is possible. Alternatively, they knew all along, and were just happy to sing along with the chorus until the guitar solo starts where they dump the vocalist.

I don't think Cummings is a Tory. I think he actively despises them. However (and fair play, because if I am right, he must have a capacity for holding vomit in I can only dream of) he does seem to know exactly how to play them and make them dance.

Obvious this is all speculation, and probably a residual effect of powerful alcoholic drinks that would probably have worked better as Molotov cocktails. But if I am right, there could be some very interesting times ahead for the people currently thinking they "won".

3 years in Russia was easily enough to expose Cummings to some notions and ideas that just aren't extant in the West.

Sorry I went slightly over-budget syllable wise. ... Anyway, let's see what happens.

Maybe Jess Phillips identifies as working class ?

It’s the classic racist response “But I have black friends” or “But I don’t mean you”.

Yep.

I'm not sure his wife will be happy about "removing inherited privilege".

Dominic Cummings is a nihilist anarchist but the Tories think they can control him

Labour is a goldfish with no memory. It gets so fed up with losing it gets serious and moves to the centre, and wins. Then the left start whining about not being left enough and take over, and lose again and again, until everyone gets fed up with losing and moves back to the centre, etc until the end of the solar system in five billion years or so.

This. Just like in the 1980s, the Conservatives have given the far left a landslide to remember and the opportunity to move towards a moderate, electable position that doesn’t involve tearing down the entire economy. The only question is how many elections it will take for Labour to get it this time.

Dominic Cummings is a nihilist anarchist but the Tories think they can control him

Maybe they can ? Maybe they can push him so far into the corner the pips squeak ?

During the 1950s and 60s, the arguably the most powerful man in the US was not elected.

The problem for the Tories, if I'm anywhere near on the money, is they have a long and proud tradition of shitting on their own the moment it suits them. So now they're in, feet under the table, it could be a long time before they realise plan Boris is going wrong and it's really plan Cummings.

*Then a Jehovah's Witness came to the door and asked my DS what the answer to all questions was. I nearly said Brexit."

Everybody knows that the ultimate answer is 42 though!

This. Just like in the 1980s, the Conservatives have given the far left a landslide to remember and the opportunity to move towards a moderate, electable position that doesn’t involve tearing down the entire economy. The only question is how many elections it will take for Labour to get it this time.

And leaders ?

Foot->Kinnock->Smith->Blair

although to be fair the Tories went Hague->IDS->Howard->Cameron (from memory).

Well I will be interested to see how this all plays out with Cummings. I remember how depressed I felt in 1992. Labour looked tired with old messages, despite the fact that people were by then fed up with Thatcherism. I have to hope that things can change seeing how much more invigorated they were by 1997.

Admittedly Johnson has a much much bigger majority than Major managed then, but he lacks the ability to control people - not being able to control himself.

DS asked me today why Blair got elected. I mentioned that the Conservatives had been in power for 18 years and the country needed a change.

Why did Blair get elected?

I worry about Farage waiting in the wings to pounce in the North/Midlands if Boris fails.

There should be a gap after Kinnock - Smith's premature death was a tragedy. I suspect Labour might not have got quite the Blair size landslide with him, but I think he could have built a more enduring base.

Whereas the Tory time-line - all failures.

If johnson delivers a softer a brexit we wont be rid of farage who will complain that it's not a proper brexit. Forever at war with eastasia...

Blair got in when Smith died prematurely. I remember that the leadership contest was between him and Brian Gould - who I think was a New Zealander and went back there after that.

I think Farage is finished - I could be wrong. Don't forget he needs the EU Parliament for his representation. If Johnson keeps his promise and takes us out on 31st January then his position is gone.

Welcome to University Centre Peterborough

A satellite campus of Anglia Ruskin in a converted hospital building.

Blair got elected because as soon as he became leader he talked to Murdoch and found out the price for his support

• which was to legally ensure that Murdoch's media interests in the Uk were not blocked Once Murdoch was on side, the rest of the rightwing media gang lost much of their venom

The 1992 Sun headline was repeated by many commentators in 1997:
"It was the Sun wot won it"

To repeat Blair's feat of getting elected, the new leader also needs to buy off a major rightwing media baron