The Labour Party leadership election

[Amethyst24]

Make leader, male deputy, male candidate for London Mayor. I fucking despair, I really do. I've been going on about this on social media and I can't seem to make myself shut up about it, it makes me so incredibly angry.

It isn't the 1970s though. There's nothing to say that policies that made the party unelectable in the 70s would make the party unelectable now. Society evolves. It doesn't stand still.

The Labour party has been Tory lite since Blair and I'm glad that's been rejected. Perhaps people who've not voted or who voted Green will vote labour now. I'm not sure winning back votes from the people in the country who voted conservative is the main issue. Conservative voters were a minority anyway.

I think Corbyn's sex is hugely significant. I suspect that if a woman had been standing with his policies they wouldn't have been elected.

That said I'm cautiously optimistic. Would have been better if Creasey had been deputy because she's blooming marvellous.

This makes me fucking angry.

I voted for those I think are the best candidates. Sometimes they were men, sometimes they were women (actually I think I voted mainly women, overall)

But the implication that somehow it's the fault of the Labour party is ridiculous and actually pretty stupid.

There were plenty of female candidates. It just happened that people didn't vote for them. That's what happens in a democracy.

Oh, and I was blocked on Twitter for disagreeing with someone on these grounds - if it was one of you - then shame on you. And how childish.

I'm with Lass on this one. Look at what the Tories are doing/have done. Changes in the benefits system which have led to documented casesof people with disabilities dying, huge numbers of women in particular pitched into poverty, the NHS on the brink of collapse while the private health care companies circle like vultures. If we don't get rid of the Tories in 2019 we are stuffed as a country. Yes the Labour leadership contest is a democratic vote, but not among the people who will actually decide the next election. A fit of far left posturing has condemned us to five more bloody years of the Tories and I can hear Neil Kinnock in my head: you'd betternnot be poor, you'd better not be sick.

I also agree with Buffy - there's a pretty long track record of extreme left wingers turning out to have feet of clay on women's rights.

What I find most depressing is that there aren't enough people in the party who take the view that, you know what, it's 2015, it's hugely fucking important to make a statement about women's place in society and in government. Of course it's a democratic process, and that makes it even more depressing.

Women only train carriages, for God's sake. And Corbyn's first wife was interviewed in the Torygraph this morning saying, "Oh yes, he helped with the housework sometimes, when he wasn't too busy." That sounds familiar, doesn't it?

"Women only train carriages, for God's sake. And Corbyn's first wife was interviewed in the Torygraph this morning saying, "Oh yes, he helped with the housework sometimes, when he wasn't too busy." That sounds familiar, doesn't it?"

Did you read what he said about women only carriages and not just the headline?

Yes, and it sounded no less out of touch than the headline did.

Do you expect the Torygraph to report accurately anything regarding JC?

Suzanne Moore put it brilliantly.

www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/sep/12/jeremy-corbyn-not-one-female-voice

What?

He said something along the lines of 'I've been lobbied by some activist groups that want women-only carriages. I would rather have mixed-sex carriages that are safe enough for women to ride. However, I also think it is important to listen to what people want, and if that is the overriding preference then we have to pay attention'.

It isn't out of touch at all (certainly not as out of touch as Liz K generally is). The Tory minister was suggesting the possibility last year. We had women only carriages until pretty recently.

He said he would consult with women if they felt it was important, not that he would introduce them, Amethyst.

And I am not going to vote for a woman if I think there's a male candidate better suited than her.

Suzanne Moore didn't put it brilliantly. She is just a very long-term disgruntled whinger of all sorts when the universe doesn't unfurl in the exact way she would like it to.

"Corbyn has floated the idea of reintroducing women-only carriages on trains to cut sexual assault cases. He says this is not his preferred choice but he will consult women on the proposal after being contacted by women lobbyists."

Maybe not perfect but willing to listen to women on the matter. Seems reasonable to me.

Actually, yes, I do in this instance. It wasn't a gloating, ranty column by Toby Young or someone - it was an interview and a balanced one.

??He??s totally committed to politics, so your emotional life as part of a relationship takes a back seat,?? said Prof Chapman. ??He just didn??t attach much importance to the domestic side or to anything other than interest in politics.??

It was therefore she who did all the cooking, with Corbyn helping out around the house only ??a bit, when he had the time.??

He was the only one who voted against the welfare bill, the welfare bill that will push more women into poverty as women bear the brunt of idealistic austerity.

Talk about turkeys voting for Christmas. The champagne must be flowing at Conservative HQ

I bet the best bottles have been cracked open.

This man is something else. I am reading about his affection for ISIS, sad Bin Laden killed, encouraged Iraq to attack British Troops, it goes on, un controlled immigration.

Oh well, thankfully he isn't in power, and he is a breath of change for the party..

www.theguardian.com/politics/1999/may/13/uk.politicalnews2

David Willetts, the Conservative education spokesman, said: 'I hope this will have made him think very hard about the policies he is advocating. He faces a dilemma if the system he supports does not even appeal to the mother of his own child.'

Women only carriages were ended in 1977, and even then they had dwindled to a few trains between London and Essex. I don't remember ever seeing one.

It was a gaffe he should have seen coming. Women only carrages are offered on some trains in Japan, India, Egypt, Iran, Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates. With the possible exception of Japan hardly countries which spring to mind as shining examples of promoting women's rights.

Exactly Lumpy

So Jeremy Corbyn's wife insisted on going ahead with something that would be against her husband's political beliefs? And that should make us think badly of him?!

WTAF are you on.

If anything, that piece demonstrates just how important Jeremy Corbyn's beliefs are. In other words, that he has total integrity.

You say "total integrity" like that's a good thing, which is debatable. No doubt Corbyn's comments about Osama Bin Laden, his relationship with the IRA, his views on Palestine and Hamas and the like are also evidence of his "total integrity". Fine.

Anyway, this thread wasn't intended to be for Corbyn-bashing, although I think he's going to be a disaster for the party. It's about the fact that three months ago, we had the prospect of a woman Labour leader, woman deputy and woman London mayoral candidate. Now, we've got none of the above and that's something that I think should concern anyone who's a feminist (or a woman, or father of a daughter).

I voted for Creasey as deputy but I can't disagree with the result.
I'd only be concerned that a woman hadn't been elected if the winning male was demonstrably worse than a defeated woman.