Mailwatch(ed) Forum

The Weeping Angel wrote: ↑Wed Jan 31, 2024 2:51 am

mattomac wrote: ↑Wed Jan 31, 2024 1:10 am The problem is they seem to forget Labour is in opposition.

What clout does it have, it’s in opposition in Israel too, the situation is now a mess.

There is a party in power with far more clout, that is in power that its natural allies are in power and yet they disappeared for 4 weeks.

Would they want them back for another term?

Also evidently didn’t read the Labour amendment on it.

Well there acting on it

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... aza-stance

Keir Starmer’s office has begun polling British Muslim voters amid growing concern in senior Labour ranks about the damage done to their core vote by the row over the party’s position on the Middle East.

Labour sources have told the Guardian that the party is running polls and holding focus groups around the country after senior officials became concerned they were losing support among one of their staunchest bases of support.

The outreach effort is just one aspect of how the Middle East crisis has transformed the party in the last few months. MPs who care about the issue have established new groups to lobby Starmer, while the leader’s office has been forced to rethink how it communicates with parts of the party who say they have long been ignored.

Problem I have with “labour sources” is are they the same ones who tell us every week that green deal is going be junked only for Labour to deny it within an hour.

https://www.itv.com/news/2024-01-29/la ... k-campaign

Labour’s notorious '£28bn' green pledge to be scrapped after exploitation by Sunak campaign


Well, I can’t help but be disappointed. I thought the green investment pledge was an eye-catching, imaginative, and attractive initiative. But I can well understand the reasons why it needs to be modified. It’s that priceless porcelain vase again.

A senior Labour source said: “Rachel [Reeves] is quite clear that it’s the green initiatives that matter, not the symbolism of £28 billion. That’s why it makes sense to ditch any part of the policy that can be abused to damage us.”

That’s about right. This doesn’t mean the commitment to green investment is dead.

Yeah, but it's the U-turn that's the news. Why on earth they pulled this number out of their arse in the first place, God only knows.

I can see why they want a fiscal rule, and "debt falling as a percentage of GDP in 5 years" isn't the most severe looking one. But in view of the shit everywhere else they're walking into, the £28bn wasn't plausible. It wasn't just "Tory attacks". They'd have had anybody remotely independent calling it out as nonsense.

Idea for a way out of the mess here

As James Ball points out dropping and then saying it's not dropped isn't a good way to run policy.

Problem is the official line on this has always been Starmer’s position.

Ultimately he will win out because Reynolds and Reeves don’t have the talent to be centre stage.

So, in a humorous move Angela Rayner wore tartan Doc Marten's for a Scottish gig. The Mail Online took the piss (naturally) but it went down well in some quarters (me too)

mattomac wrote: ↑Fri Feb 02, 2024 1:01 am Problem is the official line on this has always been Starmer’s position.

Ultimately he will win out because Reynolds and Reeves don’t have the talent to be centre stage.

Or the other two are softening things up for Starmer?

I think we'll have to see the manifesto. Hopefully something solid on outputs, that Sunak'll probably have to criticize to keep his goons quiet.

https://www.politicshome.com/news/artic ... VqpDGRzViM


Rebel Labour MPs Face Final Warning Over Breaking Ranks With Party Line


Good news for us here in the Birmingham Hall Green constituency, where we've been saddled with the useless Tahir Ali ever since he was dropped in to replace the disgusting homophobe Roger Godsiff just before the 2017 election, and who made an arse of himself (again) at last week's PMQs by standing up and accusing Sunak, ridiculously, of having "blood on his hands", and giving him some (much-needed) ammunition to fire back at Starmer.

Tahir joined the Campaign Group as soon as he could, and I can confirm from personal experience that he is an absolutely shit MP. Even Corbyn at least looks after his constituents. A deselection of Tahir and the imposition of a decent candidate would indeed be a blessing.

Nah, I think this is much too strong.

"The chief whip was annoyed that a lot of them voted with the SNP on Gaza, and he says he's at the end of his tether with a lot of them," a Labour source told PoliticsHome.

"And if they're going to vote against the whip in future, they're on last warning – they're just going to remove the whip, there's not even any messing about anymore."

Are you going to chuck Jess Philips, Naz Shah and Andy Slaughter out? Nobody cares about MPs they've never heard of voting against the whip.

Abernathy wrote: ↑Sat Feb 03, 2024 3:03 pm https://www.politicshome.com/news/artic ... VqpDGRzViM


Rebel Labour MPs Face Final Warning Over Breaking Ranks With Party Line


Good news for us here in the Birmingham Hall Green constituency, where we've been saddled with the useless Tahir Ali ever since he was dropped in to replace the disgusting homophobe Roger Godsiff just before the 2017 election, and who made an arse of himself (again) at last week's PMQs by standing up and accusing Sunak, ridiculously, of having "blood on his hands", and giving him some (much-needed) ammunition to fire back at Starmer.

Tahir joined the Campaign Group as soon as he could, and I can confirm from personal experience that he is an absolutely shit MP. Even Corbyn at least looks after his constituents. A deselection of Tahir and the imposition of a decent candidate would indeed be a blessing.

Why can't MPs be allowed to have an opinion on any policy? Dissent is an essential part of democracy, but Starmer is behaving like a dictator. The Campaign Group MPs are too small in number and haven't any influence. My fear that if these deselections go ahead, it could lead to a public backlash at a time the party least needs it so close to the general election. Labour need to recognise why there is anger in Muslim communities over the Middle East crisis and they cannot afford to lose what is part of their core supporter base.

Because the electorate really don't go for paties they think are in any way disunited.

And the precious vase...

Nobody has heard of these MPs though. This isn't John Major losing votes on the Maastricht Treaty.

NevTheSweeper wrote: ↑Sat Feb 03, 2024 7:23 pm Labour need to recognise why there is anger in Muslim communities over the Middle East crisis and they cannot afford to lose what is part of their core supporter base.

Malcolm Armsteen wrote: ↑Sat Feb 03, 2024 7:32 pm Because the electorate really don't go for parties they think are in any way disunited.

And the precious vase...

Both can be right but once the policy is set every MP should be aware that the Tories would like nothing better than to make the crisis about Labour. ‘Terrorist supporting’ MP said this or that will be Monday’s headline and that will set the news cycle for the rest of the week. Every bloody week would be fire fighting.

I don't think so. They've not had any poll boost from Gaza.

Tubby Isaacs wrote: ↑Sat Feb 03, 2024 3:10 pm Nah, I think this is much too strong.



Are you going to chuck Jess Philips, Naz Shah and Andy Slaughter out? Nobody cares about MPs they've never heard of voting against the whip.

Jess resigned her shadow post in order to vote contrary to the agreed Gaza policy. Now that the consequences of doing so again are clear, I can’t see her repeating the stunt before the election.

When Godsiff was blocked from standing in 2017, the twat stood as an independent and had his arse handed to him. Jess would never copy such an act of idiotic vanity. Neither would Naz or Andy, I think.

I mean, we can really do without this sort of guff .

Even if this guy is a shit MP, I think in practical terms it's not worth making him famous by kicking him out. It's not the local vote you have to worry about. It's a chunk of the national vote deserting over somebody they'd likely never heard of.

Alas, I think that faced with such a threat to his pocket, Tahir would cave in and toe the line.

That position is absurd.
There'll only be another ceasefire in Gaza if and when Netanyahu and Hamas decide it's in their interests to have one.
Neither of them give a flying fuck what Sunak thinks.

This was briefed a few months back and at the time was talking about the likes of Coyle and others who have had accusations thrown at them.

This guy is the latest in a number of MPs who we best can do without like Webbe.

As for Labour sources I wouldn’t believe anything with that next to it, easy to get social media moaning mind.