Current Affairs The Labour Party

[catcherintherye]

That’s kinda the impression I get. Know a lad who used to be in militant. Very nice and intelligent guy.

Militant, as with most Trotskyist groups tended to put quite a high emphasis on theory and brains, very much in the image of the followers. Momentum don't really have that tradition. Even in terms of Jon Lansman, I'm sure he's a nice guy, but when you listen to him speak, the guys a functionary really. I'm sure he'd be good at filing things, but not sure he has much of an aptitude for strategy.

 

[Spadge Vernacular]

Unherd seem impartial lol

As I say, a prophetic article.

 

[catcherintherye]

So, in your informed opinion can an equivalence be made to say Momentum and the EDL for example as being both as bad as each other?

Well it would obviously depend on what your world view was! I mean I wouldn't say they were mirror images of each other though. The EDL seemed to want to go and protest against Muslims upm and down the country on a semi regular basis. Momentum really seem to send emails around, until election time, then they do a bit of door knocking for different MP's. I'd say, even in their own words, they have/had quite different goals.
I never got much of a sense that the EDL had any interest in electoral politics.

 

[tsubaki]

Nit picking at its finest ^^^

Im using momemtum/Corbyn as an example - I've already told you why in my opinion Brown and Miliband lost their appeal to voters you just dont want to listen.

You said they'd been in charge though - the problem with this line of argument is that we are listening and comparing it to what you've recently said.

 

[tsubaki]

Guess it’s subjective but from what I know, militant were far further left than momentum. I would imagine @tsubaki knows a fair bit more than me on this subject.
Does anyone slagging them off actually know what momentum are or do, or have any first hand experience of them? Just curious like

TBF Momentum are probably where the PLP was (in terms of official ideology at any rate) back when Militant was a thing.

 

[JimmyJeffers]

TBF Momentum are probably where the PLP was (in terms of official ideology at any rate) back when Militant was a thing.

Yeah I’ve heard that before. Mate said they used to call Corbyn ‘soft left’

 

[tsubaki]

Miliband lost because he wasn't very good and the press savaged him for his stance on Leveson. Post 2012 the bubble burst for him, at around that time. I mean in all honesty, when you factor in the collapse of the Lib Dems, who's voters were mainly left wing, he had an open goal election- just win the 15% of Lib Dem voters who defect and you've got 45% of the vote. Absolutely no idea how he messed that up. I don't really count Brown in the same league as him really. Brown had an almost impossible hand that he played ok.

He lost because he didn't run that election on Leveson and Syria, which were both achievements for him. Leveson especially should have been the primary focus of the campaign because it was the best possible answer to the monstering he was getting in the papers - an election on "who runs the country" would have done well.

Instead of course there was the pink van, and the menhir.

 

[tsubaki]

Yeah I’ve heard that before. Mate said they used to call Corbyn ‘soft left’

Absolutely, and of course that was why calling him extremist / far left etc was always a good indicator of someones either maliciousness or ignorance.

 

[JimmyJeffers]

Absolutely, and of course that was why calling him extremist / far left etc was always a good indicator of someones either maliciousness or ignorance.

Personally think it’s largely due to national perception of what is the ‘centre ground’ Years of neoliberalism has taken its toll.

 

[Charro]

Yeah, it’s mad how people think Corbyn is far left.

Then again, I’m sure there’s millions of people who think that about Joe Biden and he’s as centrist as it gets.

 

[davek]

This is the first sign that the policies adopted in previous years will be diluted and even ditched by Starmer.

Labour 2019 pledge to scrap Ofsted will go, new education team suggests - LabourList

Members of the new Labour education team have suggested that the party’s 2019 general election policy pledge to…

labourlist.org

Expect economic policy to come more into line with what the business wants.

 

[catcherintherye]

This is the first sign that the policies adopted in previous years will be diluted and even ditched by Starmer.

Labour 2019 pledge to scrap Ofsted will go, new education team suggests - LabourList

Members of the new Labour education team have suggested that the party’s 2019 general election policy pledge to…

labourlist.org

Expect economic policy to come more into line with what the business wants.

Agree with all of this, but it's not the first sign.

 

[davek]

Agree with all of this, but it's not the first sign.

What is / was (RLB's sacking?) the first sign?

 

[catcherintherye]

What is / was (RLB's sacking?) the first sign?

I'd say so mate yes. It didn;t begin with Corbyn's expulsion, and it won't end with it either.

 

[Spadge Vernacular]

A blast from the past.