[Malcolm Armsteen]

I understand your anger, Matt, and I sympathise with it.

I hope your ma gets a good outcome. Send her my best wishes.

[Crabcakes]

I see that Saint Jez has rocked up on the picket lines at Euston.

Well it’s not like he has anything else to do. Thankfully.

[Boiler]

I see certain sections of the Fourth Estate are making much of Tarry's alleged relationship with Angela Rayner.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

Keir Starmer has now made it clear in several interviews that Tarry wasn't fired for being on the picket line - though that was unhelpful - but for booking a number of unsanctioned broadcast interviews in which he expressed a policy that was not consistent with the agreed Shadow Cabinet position.

No-one could keep their job after that.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

JO'B with an interesting take:

[Abernathy]

I see certain sections of the Fourth Estate are making much of Tarry's alleged relationship with Angela Rayner.

There's nothing "alleged" about it. It's open and readily acknowledged and has been for some timr.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

I see that John McDonnell has jumped on the rightwing press bandwagon of claiming that Tarry was fired for being on the picket line, not for arranging interviews without informing LOTO's office and making up policy not agreed by the Shadcab.

Like Saint Jez showing up at Euston, what a coincidence...

Time these people were expelled.

[RedSparrows]

There's a curious thing happening: Starmer, like or loathe or indifferent, is in danger of having his voice drowned. There's a danger in the old 'Red Tory' story being put on rocket boosters with this, when he's also clearly said he supports 'workers' (if not 'I back strikes', which I'd like to hear tbh). But I intuitively feel the Corbynista bubble is expanding to include others. There's a carefu line to tread and think Starmer could do with a wee bit more care of the left side of that path atm.

[Abernathy]

For a time, I put it down to sheer ignorance of any kind of political strategy or tactics, rather than just malevolence. Now, I'm not so sure.It could be a combination of the two .Certainly in Tarry's case, it is entirely down to malevolence, or a shameless attempt to raise his profile with the Trots in his own CLP, where all ten branches have voted to trigger a full selection contest, and where in any case he was parachuted in by Corbyn ahead of a well-thought-of local candidate, to the chagrin of members. Starmer was absolutely correct to sack Tarry from the front bench. In fact he had no alternative.

James O' Brien, as ever, put his finger on it this morning when he pointed out that Keir Starmer is trying to get his party elected to government in a country in which a substantial part of the electorate has been conditioned and gaslit over decades to believe that that trades unions are inherently A Bad Thing, endlessly inflicting strikes and hardship on good honest hardworking folk. But Labour needs the votes of those electors to get back to government.

As ever, what the Trots etc. fail to understand is that unless Labour gets back to government, all the principles in the world are basically absolutely pointless.

Imagine if the entire Shadow Cabinet were out on the picket line at Euston station. Corbyn and his Trots would be delighted, but Labour's chances of returning to government would be completely fucked.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

For some reason I am not authorised to 'like' this post, but I like this post.

[Crabcakes]

Imagine if the entire Shadow Cabinet were out on the picket line at Euston station. Corbyn and his Trots would be delighted, but Labour's chances of returning to government would be completely fucked.

It's the shortsightedness that gets me. Things that are very obviously done to avoid falling into traps are projected as personal failings and evidence that Starmer (or whoever is the villain du jour) is really just Tory etc. Whereas Corbyn walked happily (and probably cluelessly) into every single trap because for him it was more important to be seen as 'good' (by his definition) than to apply some thought so that he may later be in a position to actually *do* good.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

Liked.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Actual academic here (and Corbynite union leader). Mary Creagh lost Wakefield, which wasn't even safe in 2010). No word alas on Dennis Skinner losing Bolsover personally or Laura Pidcock losing North West Durham. Nor on Jon Trickett, having a much bigger swing against him in Hemsworth next door than Creagh.

Grady pitches up below the line to get Creagh's 2015 majority wrong as well, and hasn't corrected when this is pointed out as far as I can see.

[The Weeping Angel]

Actual academic here (and Corbynite union leader). Mary Creagh lost Wakefield, which wasn't even safe in 2010). No word alas on Dennis Skinner losing Bolsover personally or Laura Pidcock losing North West Durham. Nor on Jon Trickett, having a much bigger swing against him in Hemsworth next door than Creagh.

Grady pitches up below the line to get Creagh's 2015 majority wrong as well, and hasn't corrected when this is pointed out as far as I can see.

This confirms my theory that a lot of the people who run our unions are the sort of people who shouldn't be running them.

[Spoonman]

For some reason I am not authorised to 'like' this post, but I like this post.

Me two (again!)

[Tubby Isaacs]

I looked up the figures from Bolsover.

2010- Skinner majority is 11,000
2010- Creagh majority is under 2,000.

2019- Creagh loses by under 3,500
2019- Skinner loses by over 5,000.

Grady makes much of Creagh doing badly in 2005, but Skinner's boundaries changed so can't do direct comparison. Though the idea that the electorate knew all that much about Creagh in 2005 is patent nonsense. She seemed to do pretty well once she was known.

[Tubby Isaacs]

This confirms my theory that a lot of the people who run our unions are the sort of people who shouldn't be running them.

Assume she was elected on a fairly low turnout, like lots of others.

No idea what the challenger was like. But as an academic, that stuff she's talking is nonsense that would shame a GCSE student.

[The Weeping Angel]

Along with jouornalists academia has been the most profession damaged by twitter.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Guardian doing both sides (in disarray) stuff.

Up to 70 Labour MPs could join union picket lines on Friday as Keir Starmer faces a renewed battle to maintain party unity over support for striking workers.

Starmer's never said Labour MPs can't do it. But how many?

A CWU source said the union expected between 30 and 70 MPs to join BT workers at pickets

Oh, so a single source says 30-70. Good luck to them, but that's not really 70. Nor all that much of a "challenge" to Starmer.

But a bunch of frontbenchers, sure that would be a challenge. So how many?

several shadow cabinet ministers are known to have concerns

[Tubby Isaacs]

Along with jouornalists academia has been the most profession damaged by twitter.

Not sure about that. I've found lots of people on Twitter I'd never have heard of and learnt lots from them.

Dr Jo Grady may not be all that typical.