[The Weeping Angel]

On the other hand, this is very funny. I didn't realise he'd had a formal role under Corbyn. I'm impressed Jez was as sane as he was with people like this around him, apparently serious about deselecting 200 MPs.

Our parliamentary candidate was working for the Party in 2019 he told us at a dinner that it was chaos.

[davidjay]

I might take these people a (microscopically tiny) bit more seriously if they could ever admit that the blessed St Jeremy ever did a single thing wrong.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Oh they admit he did stuff wrong. Didn't "deal with the Blairites" or something. And ahead of his time and too much of a perfectionist, I expect.

[Tubby Isaacs]

This is good. There's actually a fair bit of scope for Labour to improve the Brexit deal, in ways in which only the most boneheaded Brexiter (which most of Labour's weren't and aren't) would care about.

https://chrisgreybrexitblog.blogspot.co ... ns-to.html

This is the key, I think. I'm still waiting for one of the "just rejoin" people how that happens.

All of this could be done without violating Labour’s red lines on rejoining the EU, the single market or the customs union. Those red lines don’t prematurely box Labour into a corner because there’s just no way that, simply from an EU perspective, the UK re-joining is viable in the timeframe of the next parliament: we’re in that corner anyway.

[davidjay]

Oh they admit he did stuff wrong. Didn't "deal with the Blairites" or something. And ahead of his time and too much of a perfectionist, I expect.

Like the apocryphal drill sergeant who told his new recruits, "I've only been wrong once. I thought I'd made a mistake but it turned out I hadn't."

[mattomac]

Sharing a platform with Ken Loach was clearly a mistake, but it's something I think could be apologised for. Doesn't reflect well on him that he hasn't done that yet, mind.

Clearly a mistake, a mistake he didn’t apologise for.

If you think the Labour Party can let this stuff go to one side, it was under special measures it was facing multiple court cases.

The party has to be over zealous on this and to be honest I wish it was over zealous on a few other areas.

Schneider talks about a shame they didn’t get rid of more, the problem is if his lot had strangleheld then it would have been sued into bankruptcy.

The fact they couldn’t was because some of us stayed and wouldn’t let the party die.

[Crabcakes]

Oh they admit he did stuff wrong. Didn't "deal with the Blairites" or something. And ahead of his time and too much of a perfectionist, I expect.

“He’s just too handsome and kind!”

[Crabcakes]

On the other hand, this is very funny. I didn't realise he'd had a formal role under Corbyn. I'm impressed Jez was as sane as he was with people like this around him, apparently serious about deselecting 200 MPs.

That gentleman seems to have what could generously be referred to as ‘very flexible morals’

[Tubby Isaacs]

This is positive.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Yeah, Sir Keir. Stop deslecting people who want investment in UK steel. Like, er, the MP for Aberavon (no idea why the constituency is called this, and not Port Talbot), Stephen Kinnock.

What's "action on rampant profiteering" anyway? TIf it's beefing up the Competition and Markets Authority, I'll go with that. If it's wading in all over the places setting price controls, which I expect is what she means, I'm not so sure. Sir Keir's getting stick from Greg Hands for spending too much on "watchdogs", so I'm hopeful for now.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Another zinger. Closing libraries? No way Sir Keir comes back from that.

In so far as there is a plan at all, it seems to be to take social class into consideration. Ben Bradley will doubtless be delighted at this news, having claimed they wanted to do this but that it wasn't in the Equality Act (it was, the Tories hadn't activated that bit).

[Andy McDandy]

Sorry if you've heard this one before.

Gloucestershire, 2007. Budget cuts mean we have to look at closing branch libraries. Hester's Way (a rough part of Cheltenham, they do exist) and Chipping Camden (twee cotswold village) branches have the same opening times, staffing levels, and operating costs. HW is very heavily used. CC is not. Which one gets closed?

Yes, you guessed correctly. Because people in CC may not use the local library, but they like it being there. And they know how to complain effectively. The HW people will make a noise, but will eventually lump it.

In the end, both stayed open, but it was touch and go.

[Tubby Isaacs]

I'm sure I've told you this before, but Cheltenham is my hometown. People didn't believe me that it had rough areas in it. Hesters Way was like an old piece of East London, and about as crime free as that was. Not that near the centre of town either, pretty much the best possible location for a branch library. My impression is that it's better now.

I'm sure I've told you before one of my bugbears is small primary schools in posh villages being kept open amid carnage in the rest of the budget.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

Well I never...

[Tubby Isaacs]

I don't think he's all that bright. This wasn't impressive either (it's actually a bit better than it sounds from the summary, but still not good).

[Malcolm Armsteen]

WYSIWYG

[Tubby Isaacs]

Some predictably sanctimonious responses to this.

Fielding, as I understand it, isn't saying "tell all the lies you like". He's saying "you might not want to say too much about this right now".

I don't know if the people BTL are rejoinders, but are they advocating going into an election saying "We're quite likely to get knocked back, and for sure there'll be no rebate, no Schengen opt out. And they'd try and make us join the Euro"? The most effective left of centre politician in the British Isles the last decade was Nicola Sturgeon, not exactly known for levelling with people about trade offs. Why should Sir Keir have to be Mr Honesty?

[Youngian]

You can get elected in Robert Redford movies by speaking from the heart but not FPTP elections.

[davidjay]

There's a lot of kinder, gentler politics in the comments.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Leftwing Labour MP Beth Winter attacks 'unjust' process after being defeated in selection contest by Starmer loyalist
The leftwing Labour Beth Winter has complained that “unacceptable obstacles” led to her losing the battle to be her party’s candidate in a new seat.

Winter was defeated by Gerald Jones in the contest to be Labour’s candidate in Merthyr Tydfil and Upper Cynon. Jones, a shadow Welsh Office minister, is seen as much more loyal to Keir Starmer than Winter, a member of Corbynite Socialist Campaign Group.[/quote]

I can't comment on the process, but Gerald Jones isn't some pal of Mandelson's from London. He was on Caerphilly Council for 20 years, and has been the MP in one of the predecessor seats for 8 years. Winter has been there 4 years and signed the Stop The War letter. She might as well walk out now, I reckon.