The UK Politics and EU Referendum thread - merged

[The Camel]

I'm inclined to wait and see how Corbyn acts as leader and will try to judge him on his merits now rather than his past.
No doubt if we trawled over his previous statements we could come up with '24 things that David Cameron Believes' that would give cause for concern too.
Membership of The Bullington Club would suggest that at one stage in his life he believed that the wealthy should enjoy privileges that the hoi polloi can't...

Meantime, the interview with Hillary Benn on the Today Programme seems to suggest that the BBC have adopted a surprisingly aggressive stance toward Labour's new regime.

Do you really think the BBC has a "stance" on these things?

I would have thought it varies very much from programme to programme and edtor to editor.

I find it difficult to believe that the BBC will have a corporation wide "anti-Corbyn" stance, especially as the Cameron government are a known threat to the BBCs existence and Corbyn would be very sympathetic to the Beeb.

[Woodsey]

I'm inclined to wait and see how Corbyn acts as leader and will try to judge him on his merits now rather than his past.
No doubt if we trawled over his previous statements we could come up with '24 things that David Cameron Believes' that would give cause for concern too.
Membership of The Bullington Club would suggest that at one stage in his life he believed that the wealthy should enjoy privileges that the hoi polloi can't...

Meantime, the interview with Hillary Benn on the Today Programme seems to suggest that the BBC have adopted a surprisingly aggressive stance toward Labour's new regime.

They all cop some stick from the BBC and they have some aggressive interviewers, I think you are being a little one eyed mate.

[Jon MW]

It's a well known phenomena - every side in a political debate always argues that the BBC are biased against them.

[Skippy]

The BBC is biased Labour's way - it's a socialist-style organisation- a service funded by taxation, so naturally it mostly employs socialist-leaning people. I used to work at a university- another organisation mostly funded by the taxpayers with a public-sector mindset, and most people there were left leaning. I now work at a company in the private sector and most people who work there are right leaning. I think that's fairly natural and not even that undesirable. As long as they try to be unbiased, it's not too bad- it balances the bulk of commercial broadcasting being slightly right leaning.

As for Corbyn, it's a case of no such thing as bad publicity at the moment, surely? I feel like I know far more about him than Ed Miliband already.

[TightEnd]

all satire is rooted in truth..

[AndrewT]

People in the BBC generally are soft-left, but they also have the Tory boot on their neck. The decision makers at the BBC sometimes come across as battered wives trying to keep the husband sweet so he doesn't raise his fist

[david3103]

I'm inclined to wait and see how Corbyn acts as leader and will try to judge him on his merits now rather than his past.
No doubt if we trawled over his previous statements we could come up with '24 things that David Cameron Believes' that would give cause for concern too.
Membership of The Bullington Club would suggest that at one stage in his life he believed that the wealthy should enjoy privileges that the hoi polloi can't...

Meantime, the interview with Hillary Benn on the Today Programme seems to suggest that the BBC have adopted a surprisingly aggressive stance toward Labour's new regime.

They all cop some stick from the BBC and they have some aggressive interviewers, I think you are being a little one eyed mate.

If you think I'm being 'one-eyed' over this you obviously haven't been paying attention over the last few months of political debate on here.

[samurai]

It's a real struggle to see where Corbyn can attract votes from to challenge the Tories in places that matter. I can't see why he will gain much in Scotland, after all why would anti austerity Scots vote for an English version of St Nicola and even if they do its completely irrelevant as the Blues only have 1 seat there anyway.  I don't see that the Lib Dem to Tory switchers at the last election are likely to veer seismically left to support him if they weren't prepared to do so for Miliband, and most of all the Tory/Labour battlegrounds in the last election didn't stay Tory because Labour weren't left wing enough.

If Corbyn proposes some sort of coalition with the SNP then the Tories will be able to use the same (very effective) tactics that helped them this year. I guess Labour will regain some support from the Greens, but at what cost elsewhere? All they will succeed in doing is piling up votes, geographically and demographically where they are already strong. ie amongst immigrants and welfare recipients and could potentially even lose some of their more centrist civil service supporters.

The Tories biggest enemy must be complacency and hubris, for them its vital not to go too much to the right of the centre ground.  If I was a strategist for them I would be trying to ensure that Cameron stays on till at least 2020 because whether they like it or not he is massively more popular than the Conservatives as a whole. Personally I very much doubt they would have won a a majority with any of the alternatives as leader in 2015.

What Labours travails may do is open the gate for either UKIP or the Lib Dems  to make headway particularly in the north of the country, however in Ukips case they need to find a less divisive and equally charismatic leader to build on their large amount of 2nd places this year. Local elections results recently make it look like they're struggling but that could easily change with the EU referendum.  Can't help thinking that with an untainted Clegg as leader the Libs could have seriously challenged Labour for 2nd place next time. He was, for me, the best speaker in both the debates that took place and it wasn't even particularly close. What a waste.

Finally it amuses me when Labour supporters suggest that Corbyn could be a useful catalyst to gain support before someone like Chuka or Dan Jarvis take over. Both of these as politicians have more in common with David Cameron and George Osborne than they do with JC.  If the only way Labour can win is to disguise themselves as Tories then perhaps they've already lost the argument.

[TightEnd]

i don't think they will do it, but tactically what the Conservatives should do in the run to 2020 is move to the soft left on some issues, take the gap that will be vacated by a hard left opposition, and try and cement the marginal vote and lock labour out

[samurai]

Yes.  Completey agree. There's a real opportunity to gain centre left votes who will be repelled by the likes of McDonell. Osborne is definitely pragmatic enough to try it too. I have my doubts whether the right of the tories would be so keen. I guess the danger is pushing voters in ukips direction.
The referendum is going to see a spike in their support I'd imagine.

[ripple11]

i don't think they will do it, but tactically what the Conservatives should do in the run to 2020 is move to the soft left on some issues, take the gap that will be vacated by a hard left opposition, and try and cement the marginal vote and lock labour out

This would be clever.....and Blair and Brown will be tearing their hair out!

.....and all this because the unions voted for the wrong brother....mistake,big mistake.

[bergeroo]

Tom Watson is my MP. Whilst he is seen somewhat as being on the left of the party, I was very surprised that he was not one of the Labour MPs who voted against the Tory austerity measures a couple of months ago. Instead he joined many of his colleagues in abstaining. I've yet to see him give a reason why. So whilst in the past I considered him a good bloke and liked the cut of his jib, right now I am suspicious of and disappointed in him.

[Woodsey]

Yes.  Completey agree. There's a real opportunity to gain centre left votes who will be repelled by the likes of McDonell. Osborne is definitely pragmatic enough to try it too. I have my doubts whether the right of the tories would be so keen. I guess the danger is pushing voters in ukips direction.
The referendum is going to see a spike in their support I'd imagine.

And depending on where they are with the national debt come the next election they might start having more cash to splash around.

[MANTIS01]

Corbyn thinks the media are a nuisance and that's a poor error of judgement. The reporter chasing him down the street asking him normal questions was like something out of Rogue Traders.

[AndrewT]

i don't think they will do it, but tactically what the Conservatives should do in the run to 2020 is move to the soft left on some issues, take the gap that will be vacated by a hard left opposition, and try and cement the marginal vote and lock labour out

It would also be a great spot for the Lib Dems if it weren't for the fact you could fit them all in a minibus.