UK: Jeremy Corbyn re-elected as opposition Labour Party leader

[rooster59]

UK: Jeremy Corbyn re-elected as opposition Labour Party leader

Alasdair Sandford

 

 

Jeremy Corbyn has been comfortably re-elected leader of the UK opposition Labour Party.

 

The incumbent party leader and veteran left-winger won 61.8 percent of the just over 506,000 Labour Party members, trade unionists and registered supporters who voted in the leadership contest.

 

His only challenger was Owen Smith, the former Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary. Corbyn’s margin of victory was greater than when he was first elected as leader a year ago, as was the turnout of 77.6 percent.

 

Many members of the parliamentary party had opposed his leadership, especially in the wake of the vote for “Brexit” in the EU referendum in June.

 

Corbyn’s victory is due to Labour’s new members – 300,000 have joined since last year, making the party the largest in Europe. A change in the internal rules for electing the leader before last year’s contest has given the membership more weight.

 

Following the announcement ahead of the Labour Party conference in Liverpool, the leader immediately called for unity.

 

“We have much more in common than that which divides us. As far as I am concerned let’s wipe that slate clean from today and get on with the work we’ve got to do with our party together,” he told the gathering.

 

Owen Smith has congratulated Corbyn on his victory; however last week he accused Momentum, the grass-roots movement set up to support the leader, of intimidatory tactics in trying to impose a left-wing agenda.

 

Corbyn’s supporters had called the challenge to his position a “coup” led by Labour MPs, many of whom see the party under his leadership as too left-wing and unelectable. Some of his supporters have complained of a campaign of vilification in the media.

 

The 67-year-old has long sat on the left of the party, often among an isolated fringe voting against centrists such as former Prime Minister Tony Blair and lobbying with others to restore more socialist policies. Thousands of former party members had left in the wake of the party’s centrist drive, and Blair’s decision actively to back the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. A peace campaigner, Corbyn is opposed to Britain having nuclear weapons.

 

Fellow lawmakers criticised him for a lack of leadership and what they said was a lukewarm campaign to keep Britain in the European Union, which he wants to reform. In late June, 172 of his colleagues passed a motion of no confidence.

 

The immediate question is whether more centrist Labour MPs who had opposed Corbyn will rally behind him.

 

Beyond that a battle lies ahead over future policy and whether the party can mount a serious challenge for power. The next general election is due in 2020.

 

Critics say the in-fighting has left a vacuum in opposition that has been filled by the Eurosceptic hard right. Corbyn himself has been accused of doing little to hold the government to account over its stance on Brexit, preferring instead to concentrate on domestic social policy.

 

 

-- © Copyright Euronews 2016-09-25

 

 

[Mosha]

A long time before they form a government though. Getting 68% of the members will be easier than 68% of the voting population.

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[RuamRudy]

39 minutes ago, Mosha said:

A long time before they form a government though. Getting 68% of the members will be easier than 68% of the voting population.

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Especially with the naked bias of virtually all print and television media against the man. Considering the barrage of abuse he has been receiving almost continuously since he was elected, that he got 68% of the vote is telling. Of course, it is too much to expect the establishment to play fair - they have everything to lose if the UK's subjects were to, one day, awaken from their slumber and actually take control of their lives. 

[Mosha]

People like Derek Hatton are trying to rejoin. The kind of people who drove me away from voting for them.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/n3ct0c4h

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[Grouse]

Such a shame PR was not accepted when it was offered. Current electoral system makes it very hard for 3rd, 4th, 5th parties to win seats. Only sensible way forward is to have coalition governments. I feel quite disenfranchised. I agree with some Tory left wingers and Labour right wingers. I guess I am mostly Liberal but disagreed with the student fees sell out. We should have a game of fantasy government! Corbyn is utterly useless though I would re-nationalise the railways and utilities. 

Edited September 25, 2016 by Grouse
Typo

[Krataiboy]

Millions of ordinary voters desperate for Britain to be led by someone of integrity who really means what he or she says will welcome this result.

 

However, if Jeremy Corbyn wishes to morph from Opposition leader into the nation's next Prime Minister, his next move must be wholeheartedly to embrace Brexit and press the tardy Tory leadership to speed up the process of disentangling ourselves from the coils of this failed EU neoliberal superstate.

 

Get stuck in, Jeremy! You've won the battle. Now win the war.

[JetsetBkk]

[KarenBravo]

Sorry, but, his Trident fiasco (believing that having nuclear submarines with no missiles on board, was a serious deterrent) and a few other dodgy things he has said, or done makes him into a buffoon stuck in the 60's and 70's. His kind of Socialism became extinct in the 1980's and extinct it should stay.

 

Labour can never become a credible, loyal opposition whilst this man is head of the party.

Oh well, he won't be leader for long. After the next general election, this Labour revolution will start eating it's own babies...........as every revolution eventually does.

Edited September 25, 2016 by KarenBravo

[SgtRock]

7 minutes ago, Krataiboy said:

Millions of ordinary voters desperate for Britain to be led by someone of integrity who really means what he or she says will welcome this result.

 

And you think this is Corbyn ?

 

A man who spent 20 odd years as a backbencher campaigning against the EU to suddenly support the EU when he becomes party leader.

 

Leaders and integrity are 2 words that cannot be used in conjunction with the word politician.

 

[yardrunner]

I think my nightmare is starting to come true, a world with Jeremy Corbyn as UK prime minister and Donald Trump as US president

[Baerboxer]

3 hours ago, RuamRudy said:

 

Especially with the naked bias of virtually all print and television media against the man. Considering the barrage of abuse he has been receiving almost continuously since he was elected, that he got 68% of the vote is telling. Of course, it is too much to expect the establishment to play fair - they have everything to lose if the UK's subjects were to, one day, awaken from their slumber and actually take control of their lives. 

 

The amount of "new members", registered supporters, etc that voted for him suggest it's all like minded people. That is a tiny % of the UK electorate mind. 

I share you disdain for the real lack of electorate control and democracy in the UK but given the far left's track record of wanting to totally control everything by the "state" hardly see a far left fringe leader as being a solution or better option.

Given his past, the organizations he's supported, his stance on disarmament, and the type of crony that surrounds him I can't really see his appeal extending to any outside the already established amount of like minded people.

This lack of credible opposition, the Lib Dems are done and dusted, will see the protest vote continue to go to the non mainstream parties who pursue narrow objectives.

I think Smith was even worse. A nothing at all opponent. And you have to wonder if he was put up just to fail. All the ones who might have seriously challenged, the more center left highly credible politicians wouldn't run. Which says a lot about their spine and self protectionism.

UK politics are in the worst condition I can ever remember. It says a lot when the only decent leader who springs to mind is Martin MacGuiness!

[SgtRock]

1 minute ago, yardrunner said:

I think my nightmare is starting to come true, a world with Jeremy Corbyn as UK prime minister and Donald Trump as US president

 

Deep breath and relax.

 

Only 50% of your worst nightmare can come true. I have got more chance of becoming UK PM than Corbyn has.

[pitrevie]

History repeating itself, just like Michael Foot a highly principled man but whose general election manifesto was described as the longest suicide note in history.

[Steely Dan]

Give the Corbynistas a bit of credit. They know full well their man is unelectable but they are engaged in a process where they believe the electorate given time can be educated to think like them. In other words the Labour Party should be to the Country what momentum is to the Labour Party. Expect agitprop, threats and intimidation wherever they can achieve it. Local government, education, the public sector and anywhere there are unions are the places to watch.


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[Basil B]

A party leader without the confidence of most of his MP's...

 

With the proposed boundary changes there will be 50 or so less constituencies by the time of the next election, so many sitting MP's will have no seat to defend, others are likely to be deselected by their constituency parties,  given that Jeremy had only 30 or so MP's support him apart from a few turn coats and a few constituency parties that are "real world" members and can keep out the loony left I doubt the Labour party will have many MP's reelected at the next general election and certainly will have less MP's than the 230 they have now.

 

Another factor is that some of the deselected MP's may well stand as independents in opposition to official Labour Party candidates splitting the vote where by another party will win, that is if the Labour party has not split by then.

 

[stevenl]

Same happening all over the world with a populist leader getting confidence of the people while the party establishment wants one of their own.

[dunroaming]

I have mixed feelings over this.  On one hand I think that Corbyn is a good man and that the world would be a better place if politicians had his integrity and moral compass.  However in the real world it just doesn't work.  The world is very screwed up and we end up with politicians who are pretty much disgusting in most areas.  There are some exceptions but as time goes by they are being pushed aside by the rotten core.

 

In an odd way Corbyn is similar to Trump in that he is attracting the people who are sick of corrupt lying politicians.  The difference is that it is the young who are embracing Corbyn whereas in the USA it is the  old.  The other difference is so obvious that it isn't worth bringing up.

[CharlieK]

6 hours ago, RuamRudy said:

 

Especially with the naked bias of virtually all print and television media against the man. Considering the barrage of abuse he has been receiving almost continuously since he was elected, that he got 68% of the vote is telling. Of course, it is too much to expect the establishment to play fair - they have everything to lose if the UK's subjects were to, one day, awaken from their slumber and actually take control of their lives. 

 

Rubbish he just has to open his mouth, is enough to put the general public off voting for him.  

[RuamRudy]

21 minutes ago, CharlieK said:

 

Rubbish he just has to open his mouth, is enough to put the general public off voting for him.  

 

But the public don't get to hear what he has to say - unless you refer to those words attributed to him which are misrepresented, taken out of context or simply invented by print and TV media. 

[CharlieK]

Really? It isn't the case that he just doesn't go down well with the majority of the public so it's easy to blame the media rather than the man?

 

There is something sinister about this guy, I can't quite put my finger on it. But I don't trust him, he sounds weak and feeble during PMQ's. He will split the Labour party. And he will become marginalised as the green or Lib Dem parties are. Even if they hold on to the name LABOUR party it will not be the same as it was. 

 

Party politics is one thing it is totally different running a country. The world has changed trying to turn the clock back to the seventies won't work. Union strikes, go slows, work to rule, job demarcation, etc. The have nots thinking that he is going to hand out money to them without having to work for it. Any idea that somehow his type of politics is going to make the working man's life easier is a joke. It just doesn't work like that.

 

The UK really would be left behind if that idiot ever became PM. 

 

Party politics is dead, but politics isn't. We need Politicians that are progressive not regressive. He want's to go back to the dark ages! the blackouts of the 70's. 

 

 

  

[dunroaming]

He is not a politician for today which is a shame.  I have no allegiance to any party but Britain really does need a credible opposition party or we end up with another Thatcher fiasco.  It is still early days for May and so far she hasn't screwed up.  When she does you need a strong party to pull her back and that isn't one run by Corbyn 

[nausea]

I agree he doesn't fit the Parliamentary mould, so he will either redefine politics, or disappear into obscurity. He's got some balls though, I will give him that.

[Basil B]

Quote

Lewis plays down Trident speech row

Posted at17:18

Labour's shadow defence secretary Clive Lewis plays down reports of a clash over last-minute alterations to his party conference speech.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-37472042

 

OMG... still old labour where even shadow ministers have to read from a script, with a bit of luck it will be a short conference with so many unfilled shadow cabinet posts there will not be so many taking to the rostrum...

 

 

[SgtRock]

On 9/25/2016 at 9:34 AM, rooster59 said:

UK: Jeremy Corbyn re-elected as opposition Labour Party leader

 

He might have been re-elected but how long is it going to last ?

 

Quote

Jeremy Corbyn rules out any pledge to cut immigration

 

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/sep/27/jeremy-corbyn-rules-out-pledge-cut-immigration

 

It would appear that Corbyn is trying to single handedly destroy the Labour Party. Disregarding the wishes of the electorate is not the brightest of ideas.

 

Labour for Government 

[NongKhaiKid]

Just now, SgtRock said:

 

He might have been re-elected but how long is it going to last ?

 

 

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/sep/27/jeremy-corbyn-rules-out-pledge-cut-immigration

 

It would appear that Corbyn is trying to single handedly destroy the Labour Party. Disregarding the wishes of the electorate is not the brightest of ideas.

 

Labour for Government 

When elected for the first time the vote was announced in the morning but no celebrations etc he ' disappeared ' only to re-surface in the afternoon at a rally in support of Syrian migrants and demanding more be taken in.

His message was loud and clear then !

[SgtRock]

1 hour ago, NongKhaiKid said:

When elected for the first time the vote was announced in the morning but no celebrations etc he ' disappeared ' only to re-surface in the afternoon at a rally in support of Syrian migrants and demanding more be taken in.

His message was loud and clear then !

 

 

I think this message is loud and clear

 

Quote

Polls show Labour Party would win only 190 seats at general election – the worst performance since 1935

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/labour-jeremy-corbyn-polls-general-election-performance-1935-worst-80-years-a7333316.html

 

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