bojo is king, brexit is on, stuff is fvcked, tomorrow starts here -- new govt new thread new battle

That Novara piece was one of the things I was thinking of and couldn't find this morning. Of course packaging a message isn't the entirety of politics and nor should it be, no one's saying go full Blair here, but it does matter, as being able to communicate a coherent and easily understandable narrative about what you will do with the power you're asking for.

Johnson was able to capitalise on the fact that people were sick of Westminster procedure and manoeuvring and the simplicity of that message drowned out nearly everything else despite the Tories' manifest failures. This wasn't just a rejection of Corbyn, above all it was a rejection of people like Dominic Grieve.

It's also a rejection of meetings, stationery and neat handwriting. Give me the man as much power as he wants and let him roll with it. What are all these people actually even for?

Meadway piece is good

as Bill Clinton put it in his autobiography, one of his earliest political lessons was that given a choice between “strong and wrong” vs “weak and right” the public will go for the former every time

Don't think that's really how it's worked out. Parliament were wrong to play those games, it was irresponsible.

This though, is more of what I'm talking about and as big a reason why socialism loses. There just aren't enough good, decent people around.

Keep thinking about people sneering at stuff like this, and all the anecdotes of Corbyn helping constituents with housing, and how we were in rental poverty in a freezing cold & dangerously damp house in Streatham yet felt there was no point even bothering contacting Chuka Umunna pic.twitter.com/FNN63yLR1T

— Wolfgang La Rouge (@TreborRhurbarb) December 18, 2019

That account is a prize cunt, whoever’s behind its. They were always banging on about Corbyn’s support for the IRA and backing it up with coverage of shite like him voting against the Anglo-Irish agreement. When I was trying to unpick various undercurrents of the arguments against him, one of the ones people itt will remember me mentioning a million times is anti-Irish sentiment. This account was going on about how opposing the Anglo-Irish agreement was an extremist position, and then calling ordinary Irish people replying to point out that Fianna Fáil had opposed it at home provos. It was as clear as day to me because these things bleed through. Hope the cunt enjoyed a well-deserved drink when there were No Surrender chants at the Uxbridge & South Ruislip count.

Of all the insane bollocks they've spouted "even if we didn't have any new nurses, just by reducing the number who leave, you would end up with more nurses in the NHS" may be the thing that finally broke mepic.twitter.com/Qp2oOlZufZ

— James Felton (@JimMFelton) December 18, 2019

I like Starmer's pitch. So far I think I support him of the candidates who've moved towards standing. His appeal will probably grow as Brexit worsens, too. Crucially, he's said that the policies need to remain radical

Emily Thornberry now too, I don't know why she's bothering though.

Obviously it would be nicer to have someone who's not from London and not male - let's see if anyone suitable emerges. Can't wait for the ILX poll

Thornberry, RLB, Burgon etc are political detritus now and Malcolm Tucker needs to tell them so

RLB is the favourite to win, hardly detritus!

yes, this is just like "In The Thick Of It"

She's the favourite to win because she's got good principles, was close to Corbyn, has been groomed for the role and has Cabinet support. If she became leader I'd fall in line but she is not, as it stands, popular with the public at large, and from what I've seen of her I'm not convinced she could win an election.

Persuade me!

Who are the 'people at large' and who says she isn't popular with them? This isn't the football forum again is it?

This thread: an echo chamber out of touch with the real world
The legendary football forum: salt of the earth lads who have no politics except banter

Mostly from the deep science of looking at the most-liked responses to tweets tbf

The football forum is mostly middle-aged office workers!

Do persuade me, though

Twitter. Even better.

(And it isn't banter, more like centrist-dad haranguing sprinkled with a few progressives and the occasional incoherent far-right rant)

xxp as opposed to here?

I would be interested in hearing more canvassing tales from alphie tbh

anvil said it - he said that the next leader needs to be decisive and convincingly promise action. Can RLB be that person? Can anyone connected to Corbyn be that person? McDonnell could have been that person, and I think Rayner could still, but it seems neither are going to stand.

Persuade me. Post clips if you can. Canvassing tales too

What is “promise action”? Does she need to be banging her fist on the table, demanding military action? Do you understand the different things that apply to women in political life that would be thrown at her?

Steps to podium, "I promise action" *cut to wildly cheering crowds*

Just speaking directly and confidently will do, and handling difficult interlocutors well. Any existing evidence of this will be gratefully received

Can’t wait til RL-B is “strident”, “shrill” and “overbearing” lads

And yes, obviously the misogyny of mainstream perception makes her job that much harder

Am really disgusted with Labourites trying to get noticed and bolster their 'woke' credentials by painting Jess Phillips as racist.

You don't help the anti-racist cause by conjuring up claims out of thin air.

Especially if you kept quiet about anti-Semitism in the party.

— Sunny Hundal (@sunny_hundal) December 18, 2019

Of all the candidates I really can't imagine why anyone would go for Emily Thornberry. Every other name in the frame has some point of differentiation, some reason to vote for them even when I disagree with it (Cooper, Nandy etc). I don't see hers at all and she's proving to be gaffe-prone.

RLB so far is as much a blank canvass for projection as Starmer is, a point of identification more than anything else. That will change as we move forward I'm sure. I've noticed they've started calling her Becky, if they can make that stick it might help. Everyone knows a Becky.

Presumably Steven Kinnock is about to announce his candidacy as well? Stoked for the madness.

Yeah nobody will be voting for Thornberry imo.

All this 'people imo what went wrong is that things weren't done well enough and the solution is to do things well enough' is as agonising as the result.

Any singular 'what went wrong' is nonsense (though digging into specific aspects can be good - thanks for the Novara article, nashwan)

If I were Jeremy Corbyn I would simply;;;; win an election

Worth mentioning at this stage that Corbyn is pretty much a unique figure in the UK Parliament and no other candidate is going to have the, ahem, rich backstory for the press to plunder as he does. Won't stop the bacon sandwich treatment though.

Keir can say what he wants now but look at his achievements in 4 years in parliament

RLBs big policy push was 'merging green issues with industrial strategy to get unions onside with fighting climate change'

KS policy was 'do a people votes so we can trade 50 seats for Putney" https://t.co/nNXSyIQ2ca

— bread and poses (@MrJackGrant) December 17, 2019

Maybe RLB wrote up 'Up the RA' in a school book when she was 12.

Was that his policy or the brief he was landed with? xp

Thornberry will never get over that tweet of the house with the flags. Hates England, hates the working class, hates our boys.

I only objected to the size of the flag on the house. Or was it the size of the house.

Maybe RLB wrote up 'Up the RA' in a school book when she was 12.

Here’s the real dealbreaker for ILX

Emirates stadium - Arsenal about to kick off our season: sunshine & hope! Great.

— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) August 14, 2016

This is more difficult: but as an Arsenal fan, I have to accept that was also incredible by Spurs! https://t.co/U6GJun61cj

— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) May 8, 2019

After too many injuries, I, for one, am much enjoying Jack Wilshere’s return to form. ‘Super Jack’.

— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) December 28, 2017

goontinuity

With a side of i DoNt EvEn NoTiCe My Tv

Great to talk to @bbcnickrobinson for his Political Thinking podcast: the ups & downs of growing up, Brexit, Arsenal & how I didn’t notice burglars stealing my TV!https://t.co/hjhjVBk1rp

— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) March 10, 2018

do we know about his music taste yet? i mean there's a perfectly good geir starmer joke going to waste here

TBF I got burgled in Camden and didn’t notice they took my American-made portable stereo for a day until I glanced over and saw a US/UK adapter just sitting there on its own in the socket, rendering the thieves’ efforts pretty much useless.

tl;dr, don’t make me tap the sign
🐦[How many times must I post Stephen Bush’s speech to Progress from last year? pic.twitter.com/P6qwpf7FIM🕸
— Phil Battersby (@WoyHattersly) August 20, 2019🕸]🐦

just had massive row with my French gilet-jaune father-in-law who literally was like 'a deal? why do you need a deal? what deal are you talking about? that's all bullshit, the PEOPLE have decided' - he's very anti-EU and his lip was quivering and he was being a complete asshole to me about it and what could i say, my wife is sitting there horrified, and I'm like, i live here, this is important to me, if we don't have a deal there will be real economic problems and he's like "stop, stop, no, that's all lies". he says Europe is trying to "humiliate" the UK by making it beg. for a deal. which he has just said is unnecessary. i mentioned that the EU actually did offer a deal, which they negotiated with theresa may's government and he just said "that's not true." it's just impossible to speak to him because there is no shared set of facts.

🐦[this is just like an episode of In The Thick of It.
— Simon Hedges (@Orwell_Fan) November 8, 2017🕸]🐦

so what happens tomorrow if boris instructs brenda to deny royal assent to the no-no-deal bill? is that even an option?

🖼

🐦[**** Humongous Labour Policy just announced ****

• Labour will CUT RAIL FARES by 33% from this January
• This will save average commuters £1,096 a year
• Labour will introduce free rail for those under 16
• Labour will introduce a fair fare scheme for our part time workers pic.twitter.com/bdDMZiBDzH🕸
— Tory Fibs (@ToryFibs) December 1, 2019🕸]🐦

i feel mcdo and corb in interviews always call RL-B "becky" long-bailey

SIR Keir Starmer selected Ode To Joy – the music adopted as an anthem by the European Union – when he took part in a Desert Island Discs-style event on Thursday evening.

As politicos scanned his choices for coded messages, the Holborn and St Pancras MP also picked The Israelites and Bridge Over Troubled Water as he appeared on stage at a Labour Party fundraiser.

Mr Starmer, who has been leading the party’s response to Brexit, said he picked Ode To Joy because it was always an “incredible noise” when musicians performed Beethoven’s classic work.

...

Stormzy’s version of the Simon and Garfunkel classic Bridge Over Troubled Water was chosen because it had been recorded to highlight the inequalities and injustice behind the Grenfell Tower fire tragedy. The MP also revealed a love of Northern Soul music, choosing Dobie Gray’s Out On The Floor.

He revealed that one of his favourite musicians was Edwyn Collins, picking his version of Pale Blue Eyes. He said he now played football on Sundays with the singer’s son; his luxury item in the Desert Island Discs format was a football.

...

The evening had begun, however, with Jim Reeves’ Welcome To My World, which Mr Starmer said was dedicated to his mother, who passed away just two weeks before he was first elected in 2015. She had suffered from Still’s Disease, a rare condition which affects the joints and the immune system.
...


Mr Starmer said Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No 5 would always be special to the couple, who have two children and live in Kentish Town, after playing at their 2007 wedding

anvil said it - he said that the next leader needs to be decisive and convincingly promise action

Thats not what I meant. And even if I did its no longer the run up to the election. Its a different moment and need to look forward not back.

The idea that anyone is going to be standing up and skewering Boris with their superior brain ninja skills, legal training or whatever else is nonsense. Or the idea there is someone they are going to 'fear'. Not with a majority that size. Boris can say 'I have a mandate you have blank piece of paper with 'Shoot!' written on, you have nothing, no one likes you, go home'. Getting caught up about some particular saviour or other who is going to shout the best isn't it

hmmm, classy but kinda boring? xp

xp Becky with the good (ish) hair?