Current Affairs The Labour Party

[dannyboy]

Labour should probably get him back into Westminster and on the front bench. He's one of the most capable people in the party.

He will get a really good personal vote I'd say, so hard to say exactly what it means on a wider scale.

There has been a shift on Burnham's reputation amongst the left of the party in the last year. I think he's someone they'd really get behind. I really don't think the likes of Mandelson would stomach him though.

 

[Lapeno77]

Labour should probably get him back into Westminster and on the front bench. He's one of the most capable people in the party.

He will get a really good personal vote I'd say, so hard to say exactly what it means on a wider scale.

Why would he return to the front bench though? He's in a comfortable position with little possibility of loss.
Maybe if the top job became available again, but otherwise, stay where he is, in a position of relatvie power.

 

[NilSatisOptimum]

Why would he return to the front bench though? He's in a comfortable position with little possibility of loss.
Maybe if the top job became available again, but otherwise, stay where he is, in a position of relatvie power.

Has more actual power than the London role...

 

[tsubaki]

To be fair, would be hard for him to find somebody within the Labour party who isn't a serial failure.

The people who were around Corbs at least won leadership elections; the crowd around Starmer can't even say that.

 

[NilSatisOptimum]

Labour have been shedding votes for 20 years and are finitio

The centrist bores can laugh at Corbyn but I bet Labour never get 262 seats and surpass his 2017 result again

SNP have a stranglehold on Scotland and Plaid will hopefully become the biggest party in Wales in the next 5-10 years

Got any sense Senedd Labour will seek coalitions in the left, and be independent of Westminster Labour...

 

[ToffeeTim]

Why would he return to the front bench though? He's in a comfortable position with little possibility of loss.
Maybe if the top job became available again, but otherwise, stay where he is, in a position of relatvie power.

I have no idea if he has any interest in being an MP again. But he'd definitely be an asset there and there isn't a huge amount of people with his experience or popularity on the shadow cabinet.

 

[PaulPowersTash]

But how far can you take a party from its 'roots' before it is no longer that party anymore? If that even makes any sense? (it did in my head).

Labour's biggest issue to me seems to be that it is fundamentally a party built upon ideology - whereas the only ideology the Tories have ever adhered to is winning at all costs. The problem with that is when the ideology that was instrumental to the creation of the party no longer has any relevance, it's difficult to define what the party is anymore - and you're always going to have a sizable minority who will resist any attempts to take the party away from that founding ideology (regardless of its irrelevance).

That my friend does make sense.
However, you get into the Ship of Theseus thought experiment.
But navel gazing isn't the solution the Labour party need right now.

 

[PaulPowersTash]

Great to see Manchester showing their support for a former New Labour man who is a big fan of Keir Starmer. A clear message to the party.

Burnham is a fraud. Manchester as a city is a squalid place. He got elected on helping and sorting out the homeless
(which Manchester is a magnet for). He has done nothing at all. He surrounds himself with consultants and does what
they advise. Andy Burnham is all about Andy Burnham.

 

[LEONARD]

Starmer will be bricking himself tonight, waiting for these results.

 

[roydo]

Burnham is a fraud. Manchester as a city is a squalid place. He got elected on helping and sorting out the homeless
(which Manchester is a magnet for). He has done nothing at all. He surrounds himself with consultants and does what
they advise. Andy Burnham is all about Andy Burnham.

Aliaster Campbell agrees with you. Which is hugely ironic, granted.

"Spineless coward" was the phrase iirc.

 

[davek]

Spot on.

Although Burnham leaves a lot to be desired.

 

[davek]

Starmer will be bricking himself tonight, waiting for these results.

"We need to do more to get the electorate to take a look at us."

Absolute knocker he trundles that BS out.

 

[arminisgod]

I understand, but if you take Labour as meaning the party of the poor and the working class, then they need to move with the times to properly represent the poor and the working class.

Their voter base aren't working down the mines anymore.

Exactamundo. The working class man now drives a nice car, has a nice phone, goes on Holiday every year.

And generally despises people 'sponging' off benefits and sat on their arse all day watching Jeremy Kyle.

sounds like a Tory doesn't it? Hence why they keep winning

 

[NilSatisOptimum]

The problem is that the debate has shifted so much that what is considered hard left policies are actually just pretty normal in a lot of places.

Good policies for me would include the government embarking on a real house building programme to drive down prices and make homes more affordable. I'd also love to see more done on zero hour contracts because there's absolutely no safety net if the money/work dries up.

More on housing certainly needs to be done. Building yes, Also moving them back to being a home rather just an asset. The system is geared (mortgage and tax) towards landlording rather than owner occupier... Probably because wage and pensions are decreasing in value and people seek attain and maintain their living standard, be it at the expense of others.

 

[dannyboy]

More on housing certainly needs to be done. Building yes, Also moving them back to being a home rather just an asset. The system is geared (mortgage and tax) towards landlording rather than owner occupier... Probably because wage and pensions are decreasing in value and people seek attain and maintain their living standard, be it at the expense of others.

Can only speak for me and my social circle but all of us struggling to get on the housing ladder without support from parents. What we lack in pensions we make up for in student debt that we will spend the next 20 years paying back without really scratching the surface of it.