Labour's poll rating today is 34% ie exactly matching the score Kinnock got in 1992 when, like Corbyn, he also expected to become PM on his second attempt.
In the end voters may just not be willing to hand over the keys of No 10 to Corbyn as they were not to Kinnock and even if Corbyn does become PM it will almost certainly only be due to SNP support and without an overall majority
It isn't actually - because Yougov provide GB figures. In 1992 Labour polled 35.2% in GB under Kinnock.
So Corbyn is now doing even worse than Kinnock did in 1992 then
Depends which poll you pick to believe and which ones you ignore. On a lot of them he is doing better than any Labour leader for decades
Well deserved, as was Olivia Coleman's Best Actress for Queen Anne in The Favourite.
Oscars next? The Academy does love a dysfunctional Royal.....
A tip for Bohemian Rhapsody? 50/1 yesterday; 9/4 after the Golden Globes.
That surprised a few - hence the 50/1 I suppose.....the HFPA may be more 'liberal' than the Academy.....
Also Ben Wishaw won for 'A Very English Scandal' - though Hugh Grant and the series (despite being very good, deservedly) lost out to American Crime Story & Darren Criss.
It was a smart move by her, and she is reaping a fair amount of positive media coverage. It also takes away oxygen from the rest of the non front runners, as they will be declaring as part of a large pack.
Labour's poll rating today is 34% ie exactly matching the score Kinnock got in 1992 when, like Corbyn, he also expected to become PM on his second attempt.
In the end voters may just not be willing to hand over the keys of No 10 to Corbyn as they were not to Kinnock and even if Corbyn does become PM it will almost certainly only be due to SNP support and without an overall majority
It isn't actually - because Yougov provide GB figures. In 1992 Labour polled 35.2% in GB under Kinnock.
So Corbyn is now doing even worse than Kinnock did in 1992 then
Depends which poll you pick to believe and which ones you ignore. On a lot of them he is doing better than any Labour leader for decades
Pretty much all of the ones which are above 35.2%, which is most of them.
That's the party not Corbyn.
"So all Corbyn's polling is great, if we ignore the ones about him."
That's the argument is it?
It's something Corbyn's latter day fans refuse to accept but I think that his inner circle are very aware of, that the Labour brand is so much stronger than the Corbyn one in the country. Social democracy with boosted public spending and leftist economic policies that allow (or give the illusion of) 'taking back control', to use a well worn phrase, popular. A man who can't explain how that will work properly, is unbearably self-righteous and buys into some deeply unpleasant crank views on some subjects, not so much.
Of course within the party the reverse is true - and It's actually been in the Labour leadership's interest to do down the Labour brand beyond Corbynism by rubbishing the party's other traditions as anti-Jez conspiracies or not 'real' Labour. The calculation is that keep control of Labour you get the votes of the brand for your more narrow faction as others have nowhere else to go.
It vaguely worked in 2017 as the centre-left rallied to Labour both out of fear of a massacre and revulsion towards the Tories and Brexit. Doesn't usually end well in the long run as people only take so much. It may in the end be Labour's ultimate tragedy of missed opportunity. That there probably is a progressive majority for a transformative left-wing Labour government, but the left have chosen as their standard bearer the one man who makes building that electoral coalition very unlikely.
I don’t understand why the PM didn’t take the opportunity when interviewed today, to close down any talk of a second referendum, making very clear that it’s her deal or no deal - and if her deal doesn’t pass next week then the no-deal preparations will go full steam ahead.
Right now she’s got two or maybe three groups of MPs who oppose her deal for opppsoite reasons, who together can block it. She’s got to get some of them back onside (or at least abstaining) by ruling out their preferred option and leaving them with a binary choice.
I’m still not sure that Corbyn doesn’t pull an Ed-Miliband-on-Syria and whip an abstention on the day of the vote under pressure from his own MPs. His reasoning would be that the deal vote going through forces a VoC in the government from the DUP.
You're right. She didn't close down any talk of a second referendum. She said Brexit was in danger if her deal wasn't passed and that we would then be in "uncharted waters". An interesting phrase. It sounds a bit like "all options would then be on the table".
That’s what I don’t get. If all options are still on the table, then she’s going to lose the vote by 150-200 as everyone who doesn’t like the deal votes against it - whether they’d prefer to see a referendum, a revocation, a renegotiation or to leave with no deal. If that is the scale of the defeat she’ll be lucky if she’s not forced out by the Cabinet.
Given that her own party are 95% for either her deal or no deal, it would make sense for her to leave those as the two options, and start making it very clear (by way of announcements on funding, on Parliamentary timetabling etc) that voting down the deal leads to no-deal as the outcome.
Theresa May doesn't control the agenda. She can't close down the second referendum option and define the choice entirely between her deal and no deal, even though she wants to.
Labour's poll rating today is 34% ie exactly matching the score Kinnock got in 1992 when, like Corbyn, he also expected to become PM on his second attempt.
In the end voters may just not be willing to hand over the keys of No 10 to Corbyn as they were not to Kinnock and even if Corbyn does become PM it will almost certainly only be due to SNP support and without an overall majority
It isn't actually - because Yougov provide GB figures. In 1992 Labour polled 35.2% in GB under Kinnock.
So Corbyn is now doing even worse than Kinnock did in 1992 then
Depends which poll you pick to believe and which ones you ignore. On a lot of them he is doing better than any Labour leader for decades
Pretty much all of the ones which are above 35.2%, which is most of them.
That's the party not Corbyn.
"So all Corbyn's polling is great, if we ignore the ones about him."
That's the argument is it?
.
Of course within the party the reverse is true - and It's actually been in the Labour leadership's interest to do down the Labour brand beyond Corbynism by rubbishing the party's other traditions as anti-Jez conspiracies or not 'real' Labour. The calculation is that keep control of Labour you get the votes of the brand for your more narrow faction as others have nowhere else to go.
It vaguely worked in 2017 as the centre-left rallied to Labour both out of fear of a massacre and revulsion towards the Tories and Brexit. Doesn't usually end well in the long run as people only take so much. It may in the end be Labour's ultimate tragedy of missed opportunity. That there probably is a progressive majority for a transformative left-wing Labour government, but the left have chosen as their standard bearer the one man who makes building that electoral coalition very unlikely.
It's the 'traditional' Labour dichotomy, isn't it, between Methodism and Marx. If either is totally ascendant the thing doesn't work, and since Corbyn's election the Marxist wing have been well on top, particularly since his potential CotE is McDonnell. Labour needs more of the Watsons and Ashworths in the policy making areas.
Labour's poll rating today is 34% ie exactly matching the score Kinnock got in 1992 when, like Corbyn, he also expected to become PM on his second attempt.
In the end voters may just not be willing to hand over the keys of No 10 to Corbyn as they were not to Kinnock and even if Corbyn does become PM it will almost certainly only be due to SNP support and without an overall majority
It isn't actually - because Yougov provide GB figures. In 1992 Labour polled 35.2% in GB under Kinnock.
So Corbyn is now doing even worse than Kinnock did in 1992 then
Depends which poll you pick to believe and which ones you ignore. On a lot of them he is doing better than any Labour leader for decades
Pretty much all of the ones which are above 35.2%, which is most of them.
That's the party not Corbyn.
"So all Corbyn's polling is great, if we ignore the ones about him."
That's the argument is it?
.
Of course within the party the reverse is true - and It's actually been in the Labour leadership's interest to do down the Labour brand beyond Corbynism by rubbishing the party's other traditions as anti-Jez conspiracies or not 'real' Labour. The calculation is that keep control of Labour you get the votes of the brand for your more narrow faction as others have nowhere else to go.
It vaguely worked in 2017 as the centre-left rallied to Labour both out of fear of a massacre and revulsion towards the Tories and Brexit. Doesn't usually end well in the long run as people only take so much. It may in the end be Labour's ultimate tragedy of missed opportunity. That there probably is a progressive majority for a transformative left-wing Labour government, but the left have chosen as their standard bearer the one man who makes building that electoral coalition very unlikely.
It's the 'traditional' Labour dichotomy, isn't it, between Methodism and Marx. If either is totally ascendant the thing doesn't work, and since Corbyn's election the Marxist wing have been well on top, particularly since his potential CotE is McDonnell. Labour needs more of the Watsons and Ashworths in the policy making areas.
Its the nasty people behind him too. Milne for starters.
Labour's poll rating today is 34% ie exactly matching the score Kinnock got in 1992 when, like Corbyn, he also expected to become PM on his second attempt.
In the end voters may just not be willing to hand over the keys of No 10 to Corbyn as they were not to Kinnock and even if Corbyn does become PM it will almost certainly only be due to SNP support and without an overall majority
It isn't actually - because Yougov provide GB figures. In 1992 Labour polled 35.2% in GB under Kinnock.
So Corbyn is now doing even worse than Kinnock did in 1992 then
Depends which poll you pick to believe and which ones you ignore. On a lot of them he is doing better than any Labour leader for decades
Pretty much all of the ones which are above 35.2%, which is most of them.
That's the party not Corbyn.
"So all Corbyn's polling is great, if we ignore the ones about him."
That's the argument is it?
.
Of course within the party the reverse is true - and It's actually been in the Labour leadership's interest to do down the Labour brand beyond Corbynism by rubbishing the party's other traditions as anti-Jez conspiracies or not 'real' Labour. The calculation is that keep control of Labour you get the votes of the brand for your more narrow faction as others have nowhere else to go.
It vaguely worked in 2017 as the centre-left rallied to Labour both out of fear of a massacre and revulsion towards the Tories and Brexit. Doesn't usually end well in the long run as people only take so much. It may in the end be Labour's ultimate tragedy of missed opportunity. That there probably is a progressive majority for a transformative left-wing Labour government, but the left have chosen as their standard bearer the one man who makes building that electoral coalition very unlikely.
It's the 'traditional' Labour dichotomy, isn't it, between Methodism and Marx. If either is totally ascendant the thing doesn't work, and since Corbyn's election the Marxist wing have been well on top, particularly since his potential CotE is McDonnell. Labour needs more of the Watsons and Ashworths in the policy making areas.
Its the nasty people behind him too. Milne for starters.
It's the 'traditional' Labour dichotomy, isn't it, between Methodism and Marx. If either is totally ascendant the thing doesn't work, and since Corbyn's election the Marxist wing have been well on top, particularly since his potential CotE is McDonnell. Labour needs more of the Watsons and Ashworths in the policy making areas.
Its the nasty people behind him too. Milne for starters.
Same section of the party.
It's amusing that Watson is now seen as a 'moderate'. Whatever his personal successes fighting his diabetes (and I congratulate him on that), he is a nasty piece of work whose intriguing against his own party did much to herald the way for the likes of Corbyn.
And that's without getting onto his campaigning to muzzle and control the press. It's odd how he's gone silent on that recently ...
Well deserved, as was Olivia Coleman's Best Actress for Queen Anne in The Favourite.
Oscars next? The Academy does love a dysfunctional Royal.....
A tip for Bohemian Rhapsody? 50/1 yesterday; 9/4 after the Golden Globes.
That surprised a few - hence the 50/1 I suppose.....the HFPA may be more 'liberal' than the Academy.....
Also Ben Wishaw won for 'A Very English Scandal' - though Hugh Grant and the series (despite being very good, deservedly) lost out to American Crime Story & Darren Criss.
Having seen most of the nominated films (and a fair bit of the TV) not much in the Golden Globes to argue about (although I think The Favourite will do better with the BAFTAs). Big loser was A Star is Born, only getting best song.
Richard Madden as next Bond is my tip coming out of them.
Labour's poll rating today is 34% ie exactly matching the score Kinnock got in 1992 when, like Corbyn, he also expected to become PM on his second attempt.
In the end voters may just not be willing to hand over the keys of No 10 to Corbyn as they were not to Kinnock and even if Corbyn does become PM it will almost certainly only be due to SNP support and without an overall majority
It isn't actually - because Yougov provide GB figures. In 1992 Labour polled 35.2% in GB under Kinnock.
So Corbyn is now doing even worse than Kinnock did in 1992 then
Depends which poll you pick to believe and which ones you ignore. On a lot of them he is doing better than any Labour leader for decades
Pretty much all of the ones which are above 35.2%, which is most of them.
That's the party not Corbyn.
"So all Corbyn's polling is great, if we ignore the ones about him."
That's the argument is it?
.
Of course within the party the reverse is true - and It's actually been in the Labour leadership's interest to do down the Labour brand beyond Corbynism by rubbishing the party's other traditions as anti-Jez conspiracies or not 'real' Labour. The calculation is that keep control of Labour you get the votes of the brand for your more narrow faction as others have nowhere else to go.
It vaguely worked in 2017 as the centre-left rallied to Labour both out of fear of a massacre and revulsion towards the Tories and Brexit. Doesn't usually end well in the long run as people only take so much. It may in the end be Labour's ultimate tragedy of missed opportunity. That there probably is a progressive majority for a transformative left-wing Labour government, but the left have chosen as their standard bearer the one man who makes building that electoral coalition very unlikely.
It's the 'traditional' Labour dichotomy, isn't it, between Methodism and Marx. If either is totally ascendant the thing doesn't work, and since Corbyn's election the Marxist wing have been well on top, particularly since his potential CotE is McDonnell. Labour needs more of the Watsons and Ashworths in the policy making areas.
Its the nasty people behind him too. Milne for starters.
Well deserved, as was Olivia Coleman's Best Actress for Queen Anne in The Favourite.
Oscars next? The Academy does love a dysfunctional Royal.....
A tip for Bohemian Rhapsody? 50/1 yesterday; 9/4 after the Golden Globes.
That surprised a few - hence the 50/1 I suppose.....the HFPA may be more 'liberal' than the Academy.....
Also Ben Wishaw won for 'A Very English Scandal' - though Hugh Grant and the series (despite being very good, deservedly) lost out to American Crime Story & Darren Criss.
Having seen most of the nominated films (and a fair bit of the TV) not much in the Golden Globes to argue about (although I think The Favourite will do better with the BAFTAs). Big loser was A Star is Born, only getting best song.
Richard Madden as next Bond is my tip coming out of them.
Well deserved, as was Olivia Coleman's Best Actress for Queen Anne in The Favourite.
Oscars next? The Academy does love a dysfunctional Royal.....
A tip for Bohemian Rhapsody? 50/1 yesterday; 9/4 after the Golden Globes.
That surprised a few - hence the 50/1 I suppose.....the HFPA may be more 'liberal' than the Academy.....
Also Ben Wishaw won for 'A Very English Scandal' - though Hugh Grant and the series (despite being very good, deservedly) lost out to American Crime Story & Darren Criss.
Having seen most of the nominated films (and a fair bit of the TV) not much in the Golden Globes to argue about (although I think The Favourite will do better with the BAFTAs). Big loser was A Star is Born, only getting best song.
Richard Madden as next Bond is my tip coming out of them.
209 MPs sign a letter to May organised by Dame Caroline Spelman and Jack Dromey asking her to rule out a No Deal Brexit. Still well short of the 326 needed for a majority though
Salami tactics. NATO isn't telling us whether or not we can zero rate VAT on fuel, nor placing limits our immigration policy. It is a clearly defined organisation that does a job in a specific area of competency, one we could withdraw from at any time. The EU just grabs more and more power for itself. Over time that power grab has been so great we are only now seeing how difficult it is to get out of.
All organisations tend to centralisation over time, unless there is some is some extenuating factor. Look at the Federal Government rather than the States in the US. Look at UK central government versus councils.
The real, genuine point of power is money. Is the centre reliant on the willingness of its parts to send money? Or is the centre the source of money for the regions?
Why we need a written constitution that secures the place and rights of local government, like most sensible countries.
Well deserved, as was Olivia Coleman's Best Actress for Queen Anne in The Favourite.
Oscars next? The Academy does love a dysfunctional Royal.....
Saw the Favourite at the Weekend and it was a bit of a farce but Coleman played the part well.
Madden deserves his award for having the nation gripped last autumn
I see Christian Bale also thanked 'Satan' for his win for playing former VP Dick Cheney
It's a remarkable performance. Just playing a guy in his twenties through to his sixties so seamlessly deserved it. Hair and Make-up looks nailed on for Vice.
“I have no idea what the PM’s Brexit plans [ie what she is negotiating with the EU] are.”
Dear f£cking god.
Some useful honesty. This is May's negotiations, May's deal and May's alone.
Unfortunately she forgot she needs to take over 300 MPs with her and can't ratify it on her own.
May got the only Deal on the table from the EU.
According to Rentoul even EUref2 with a Remain option only has 300 MPs, still well short of the 326 needed for a Commons majority. The Deal has 220 MPs and No Deal has the fewest MPs backing it on 119. So Deal and No Deal also lack a majority but combined have more support than EUref2 with a Remain option.
That does leave May with a Deal v No Deal referendum as a last resort if she can get it through and once all other alternatives to No Deal have been voted down
209 MPs sign a letter to May organised by Dame Caroline Spelman and Jack Dromey asking her to rule out a No Deal Brexit. Still well short of the 326 needed for a majority though
Well deserved, as was Olivia Coleman's Best Actress for Queen Anne in The Favourite.
Oscars next? The Academy does love a dysfunctional Royal.....
Saw the Favourite at the Weekend and it was a bit of a farce but Coleman played the part well.
Madden deserves his award for having the nation gripped last autumn
I see Christian Bale also thanked 'Satan' for his win for playing former VP Dick Cheney
It's a remarkable performance. Just playing a guy in his twenties through to his sixties so seamlessly deserved it. Hair and Make-up looks nailed on for Vice.
209 MPs sign a letter to May organised by Dame Caroline Spelman and Jack Dromey asking her to rule out a No Deal Brexit. Still well short of the 326 needed for a majority though
“I have no idea what the PM’s Brexit plans [ie what she is negotiating with the EU] are.”
Dear f£cking god.
Some useful honesty. This is May's negotiations, May's deal and May's alone.
Unfortunately she forgot she needs to take over 300 MPs with her and can't ratify it on her own.
May got the only Deal on the table from the EU.
According to Rentoul even EUref2 with a Remain option has 300 MPs, still well short of the 326 needed for a Commons majority. The Deal has 220 MPs and No Deal has the fewest MPs backing it on 119. So Deal and No Deal also lack a majority but combined have more support than EUref2 with a Remain option.
That does leave May with a Deal v No Deal referendum as a last resort if she can get it through and once all other alternatives to No Deal have been voted down
209 MPs sign a letter to May organised by Dame Caroline Spelman and Jack Dromey asking her to rule out a No Deal Brexit. Still well short of the 326 needed for a majority though
You cannot rule out a no-deal Brexit unless you put something in place to prevent it.
Even at this late stage they cannot agree what that should be. So no guarantee to avoid a no deal can be created.
That's the thing. I really do think someone needs to make it clear what the options are. Personally I would put Mark Herdson's referendum questions in Parliament.
1) Do you actually want No Deal - to which the answer is going to be No from most MPs.
Then vote
2) Vote Aye for May's Deal, vote No for Revoke...
The important thing is to close off 1 avenue ASAP so that only 2 options are left on Parliament's table and they have to decide on (and own) something.
And to be frank - I've got to the point where I don't care what is decided - just decide on and commit to something....
“I have no idea what the PM’s Brexit plans [ie what she is negotiating with the EU] are.”
Dear f£cking god.
Some useful honesty. This is May's negotiations, May's deal and May's alone.
Unfortunately she forgot she needs to take over 300 MPs with her and can't ratify it on her own.
May got the only Deal on the table from the EU.
According to Rentoul even EUref2 with a Remain option has 300 MPs, still well short of the 326 needed for a Commons majority. The Deal has 220 MPs and No Deal has the fewest MPs backing it on 119. So Deal and No Deal also lack a majority but combined have more support than EUref2 with a Remain option.
That does leave May with a Deal v No Deal referendum as a last resort if she can get it through and once all other alternatives to No Deal have been voted down
No Deal has the fewest supporters - but it does have inevitability on its side too. So no reason for those 119 to budge....
No but some of them bar the diehards may agree to a Deal v No Deal referendum as only the ultras are really committed to No Deal ideologically and if EUref2 with a Remain option is put forward under the Grieve amendment and is also voted down a few of those Remain backing MPs may back a Deal v No Deal referendum too as a last resort to avoid default No Deal
You are the frog sitting in the pan of water unaware that it is already heading towards boiling point.
Everything that has happened since we joined the EEC has been moving towards the ultimate aim of a single European state. It is written right there in the treaties and has been declared as an explicit aim by successive honest European politicians (unlike the dishonest UK ones) repeatedly over the last 60 years. Just because it takes time and occasionally suffers setbacks does not mean it is not still the ultimate goal. Indeed some on here like William welcome it. Much as I disagree with him on many points he is far more honest than those Europhiles who try to pretend it is not the goal.
+1
Anybody with eyes can see that the direction of travel, of ever closer union, is inevitably towards a single European state. I also have much more respect for those who argue in favour of it, than those who dishonestly tell us that it won't ever happen.
In my opinion, it was the biggest lie of the entire referendum campaign. The only options on the ballot should have been "do you wish to leave the EU" or "do you wish to slowly become part of a federal superstate?" The status quo was never on the menu. It was one or the other and we made our choice.
I agree that the choice isn't real until there are real options on the table - which is of course the core argument for a further referendum.
If we accept your assumption, then it is worth noting that the first option is effectively "do you wish to be just outside and dominated by a neighbouring federal superstate", which is a rather different proposition to returning to the days of Britain's former greatness that so many Brexit pensioners appear to want.
Well deserved, as was Olivia Coleman's Best Actress for Queen Anne in The Favourite.
Oscars next? The Academy does love a dysfunctional Royal.....
A tip for Bohemian Rhapsody? 50/1 yesterday; 9/4 after the Golden Globes.
A good bet. I always thought Bohemian Rhapsody was a much better film than the latest incarnation of A Star is Born which I didn't think was even as good as the Barbara Streisand version. The UK critics didn't like Bohemian Rhapsody because it concentrated more on Freddy Mercury as a performer and not enough -in their opinion- on his lifestyle.
Rami Malek as Mercury and and Glen Close as the 'wife were brilliant.
Well deserved, as was Olivia Coleman's Best Actress for Queen Anne in The Favourite.
Oscars next? The Academy does love a dysfunctional Royal.....
A tip for Bohemian Rhapsody? 50/1 yesterday; 9/4 after the Golden Globes.
A good bet. I always thought Bohemian Rhapsody was a much better film than the latest incarnation of A Star is Born which I didn't think was even as good as the Barbara Streisand version. The UK critics didn't like Bohemian Rhapsody because it concentrated more on Freddy Mercury as a performer and not enough -in their opinion- on his lifestyle.
It's a tragedy that it wasn't the film proposed to be starring Sacha Baron-Cohen. Apparently the estate objected to the warts and all portrayal that would have been that version.
Well deserved, as was Olivia Coleman's Best Actress for Queen Anne in The Favourite.
Oscars next? The Academy does love a dysfunctional Royal.....
A tip for Bohemian Rhapsody? 50/1 yesterday; 9/4 after the Golden Globes.
A good bet. I always thought Bohemian Rhapsody was a much better film than the latest incarnation of A Star is Born which I didn't think was even as good as the Barbara Streisand version. The UK critics didn't like Bohemian Rhapsody because it concentrated more on Freddy Mercury as a performer and not enough -in their opinion- on his lifestyle.
Indeed. We nearly didn't bother with Bohemeian Rhapsody because of the the meh reviews. We should know better by now, it is a great film.
Coleman is brilliant in The Favourite (as are Stone and Weisz) and yet the film overall is a bit of a disappointment imho - a grating soundtrack and overly 'arty' camera work.
It vaguely worked in 2017 as the centre-left rallied to Labour both out of fear of a massacre and revulsion towards the Tories and Brexit. Doesn't usually end well in the long run as people only take so much. It may in the end be Labour's ultimate tragedy of missed opportunity. That there probably is a progressive majority for a transformative left-wing Labour government, but the left have chosen as their standard bearer the one man who makes building that electoral coalition very unlikely.
I'm not so sure. ANY Labour leader gets lynched by the press for things they said and did X years ago, and if all else fails they get done for trivia ("Nobody who eats a bacon roll like that can be PM", "Here's our future potential PM falling over on the beach"). If, say, John McDonnell were leader, you wouldn't be getting the same lynching, but you'd get a different one (IRA, Mao, etc.), including "Labour made a mistake when it dropped Corbyn for him" - the media are always agreeably nostalgic about the past leaders.
1. I aware of what an optimal currency area is. I do not support U.K. membership of the Eurozone. Very few do. While Britain being out of the EZ creates a new power dynamic, on balance I think Britain ought to grasp the opportunity to lead a new cadre of countries inside the EU but outside the Eurozone. Indeed, I would argue this is also in the EU’s interests also. So, simply saying “optimal currency area” is not enough but I will also be charitable and assume you mean that QMV allows the Eurozone bloc to outvote the U.K. on critical issues like financial regulation and that this is unacceptable.
2. I am also aware of the difference between common law and civil law. However, you don’t explain why the fact we have two different legal traditions is such a problem. England also has a different legal tradition to Scotland, but (and legal scholars, tell me otherwise) we’ve somehow survived since 1707.
3. The fact there is no unified demos means what exactly? That the EU Parliament lacks legitimacy? In fact, it is the Council which holds ultimate power within the EU - which is the way member states want it, by the way. The Parliament acts as a scrutinising body. You should think harder about what your more democratic EU would imply in relationship to national sovereignty.
4. Of course different countries have different interests? So what? The EU is a mechanism designed precisely to negotiate those differences across Europe. Talking darkly of German pro-Russianism (which seems to be on the wane along with it’s main standard bearer the SDP) doesn’t mean anything in isolation unless you can prove somehow that our own policy to Russia is somehow weakened. I see absolutely no evidence of that. I’m any case, 90% of non-trade foreign policy falls outside the EU’s remit.
In sum, your points would be more valid if we were on the verge of dissolving the U.K. for absorption into a new national entity: ie the bogeyman of Eurosceptic fantasy.
But having heard about this bogeyman since the Major years, it’s time to accept that it ain’t real.
You are the frog sitting in the pan of water unaware that it is already heading towards boiling point.
Everything that has happened since we joined the EEC has been moving towards the ultimate aim of a single European state. It is written right there in the treaties and has been declared as an explicit aim by successive honest European politicians (unlike the dishonest UK ones) repeatedly over the last 60 years. Just because it takes time and occasionally suffers setbacks does not mean it is not still the ultimate goal. Indeed some on here like William welcome it. Much as I disagree with him on many points he is far more honest than those Europhiles who try to pretend it is not the goal.
The best way for the UK to stop an EU superstate would be to stay in the EU.
It vaguely worked in 2017 as the centre-left rallied to Labour both out of fear of a massacre and revulsion towards the Tories and Brexit. Doesn't usually end well in the long run as people only take so much. It may in the end be Labour's ultimate tragedy of missed opportunity. That there probably is a progressive majority for a transformative left-wing Labour government, but the left have chosen as their standard bearer the one man who makes building that electoral coalition very unlikely.
I'm not so sure. ANY Labour leader gets lynched by the press for things they said and did X years ago, and if all else fails they get done for trivia ("Nobody who eats a bacon roll like that can be PM", "Here's our future potential PM falling over on the beach"). If, say, John McDonnell were leader, you wouldn't be getting the same lynching, but you'd get a different one (IRA, Mao, etc.), including "Labour made a mistake when it dropped Corbyn for him" - the media are always agreeably nostalgic about the past leaders.
"Labour made a mistake when it dropped Corbyn for him"
The best way for the UK to stop an EU superstate would be to stay in the EU.
That ship has sailed. And Leavers think that having a superstate on our doorstep somehow makes us stronger. Look at Canada they cry. Yes, Canada - wonderful country but not necessarily a Jeremy Hunt-like beacon of western values leading other nations.
“I have no idea what the PM’s Brexit plans [ie what she is negotiating with the EU] are.”
Dear f£cking god.
Some useful honesty. This is May's negotiations, May's deal and May's alone.
Unfortunately she forgot she needs to take over 300 MPs with her and can't ratify it on her own.
May got the only Deal on the table from the EU.
It's a conditional probability. She got the only deal on the table from the EU given her idiotic red lines to begin with.
Her red lines e.g. ending free movement were what won Leave the referendum in the first place and got it to 52%
Maybe. But they didn't reflect the views of either a majority of the country or indeed of all leavers. Given the upset now, upsetting the fruitcakes, loons and closet racists was the better bet.
Well deserved, as was Olivia Coleman's Best Actress for Queen Anne in The Favourite.
Oscars next? The Academy does love a dysfunctional Royal.....
A tip for Bohemian Rhapsody? 50/1 yesterday; 9/4 after the Golden Globes.
That surprised a few - hence the 50/1 I suppose.....the HFPA may be more 'liberal' than the Academy.....
Also Ben Wishaw won for 'A Very English Scandal' - though Hugh Grant and the series (despite being very good, deservedly) lost out to American Crime Story & Darren Criss.
Having seen most of the nominated films (and a fair bit of the TV) not much in the Golden Globes to argue about (although I think The Favourite will do better with the BAFTAs). Big loser was A Star is Born, only getting best song.
Richard Madden as next Bond is my tip coming out of them.
It’s a disappointing year film-wise.
Bohemian Rhapsody is disposable candy floss, can’t see how it got Best Film. Best dentures, maybe. The Favourite is probably the most interesting film, Roma the most beautiful. But neither were true standouts for me.
“I have no idea what the PM’s Brexit plans [ie what she is negotiating with the EU] are.”
Dear f£cking god.
Some useful honesty. This is May's negotiations, May's deal and May's alone.
Unfortunately she forgot she needs to take over 300 MPs with her and can't ratify it on her own.
May got the only Deal on the table from the EU.
It's a conditional probability. She got the only deal on the table from the EU given her idiotic red lines to begin with.
Her red lines e.g. ending free movement were what won Leave the referendum in the first place and got it to 52%
Maybe. But they didn't reflect the views of either a majority of the country or indeed of all leavers. Given the upset now, upsetting the fruitcakes, loons and closet racists was the better bet.
Not true, polling is clear most voters want tighter immigration controls, especially on unskilled workers
“I have no idea what the PM’s Brexit plans [ie what she is negotiating with the EU] are.”
Dear f£cking god.
Some useful honesty. This is May's negotiations, May's deal and May's alone.
Unfortunately she forgot she needs to take over 300 MPs with her and can't ratify it on her own.
May got the only Deal on the table from the EU.
It's a conditional probability. She got the only deal on the table from the EU given her idiotic red lines to begin with.
Her red lines e.g. ending free movement were what won Leave the referendum in the first place and got it to 52%
Maybe. But they didn't reflect the views of either a majority of the country or indeed of all leavers. Given the upset now, upsetting the fruitcakes, loons and closet racists was the better bet.
Not true, polling is clear most voters want tighter immigration controls, especially on unskilled workers
So what? Tighter immigration controls is fine. Let's have them. There are plenty of controls EU member states can implement short of leaving the EU. We chose not to do so.
Well deserved, as was Olivia Coleman's Best Actress for Queen Anne in The Favourite.
Oscars next? The Academy does love a dysfunctional Royal.....
Saw the Favourite at the Weekend and it was a bit of a farce but Coleman played the part well.
Madden deserves his award for having the nation gripped last autumn
The Bodyguard has a terrible ending which ruined the entire series
Absolutely. It was like they were writing a longer series and someone cut it short and told them to wrap everything up as quickly as possible at the end.
Labour's poll rating today is 34% ie exactly matching the score Kinnock got in 1992 when, like Corbyn, he also expected to become PM on his second attempt.
In the end voters may just not be willing to hand over the keys of No 10 to Corbyn as they were not to Kinnock and even if Corbyn does become PM it will almost certainly only be due to SNP support and without an overall majority
It isn't actually - because Yougov provide GB figures. In 1992 Labour polled 35.2% in GB under Kinnock.
So Corbyn is now doing even worse than Kinnock did in 1992 then
Depends which poll you pick to believe and which ones you ignore. On a lot of them he is doing better than any Labour leader for decades
Pretty much all of the ones which are above 35.2%, which is most of them.
That's the party not Corbyn.
"So all Corbyn's polling is great, if we ignore the ones about him."
That's the argument is it?
35.2% of the country voted for the Labour party..
Not Kinnock personally.
You seem to be asking for Corbyn's personal poll ratings to be compared to the Labour party previous vote totals?!
When I replied to a poster saying Kinnock got 35.2% in 1992 he is quite clearly on about the Labour party and vote share, not Kinnock's personal ratings. If we are using opinion polls to compare where Labours vote is now to what it was previously we look at the poll ratings for Labours vote, not Corbyn's personal ratings.
Comments
"So all Corbyn's polling is great, if we ignore the ones about him."
That's the argument is it?
https://twitter.com/LiamFox/status/1082147978033483776
Well deserved, as was Olivia Coleman's Best Actress for Queen Anne in The Favourite.
Oscars next? The Academy does love a dysfunctional Royal.....
Also Ben Wishaw won for 'A Very English Scandal' - though Hugh Grant and the series (despite being very good, deservedly) lost out to American Crime Story & Darren Criss.
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/424096-biden-likely-to-make-decision-on-2020-run-within-next-two-weeks-report
It was a smart move by her, and she is reaping a fair amount of positive media coverage. It also takes away oxygen from the rest of the non front runners, as they will be declaring as part of a large pack.
Not many have heard of Martin O’Malley, but he had been campaigning in Iowa for ages already, and has endorsed O’Rourke before he has even declared:
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/01/03/martin-omalley-beto-orourke-endorsement-iowa-caucuses-1080480
Of course within the party the reverse is true - and It's actually been in the Labour leadership's interest to do down the Labour brand beyond Corbynism by rubbishing the party's other traditions as anti-Jez conspiracies or not 'real' Labour. The calculation is that keep control of Labour you get the votes of the brand for your more narrow faction as others have nowhere else to go.
It vaguely worked in 2017 as the centre-left rallied to Labour both out of fear of a massacre and revulsion towards the Tories and Brexit. Doesn't usually end well in the long run as people only take so much. It may in the end be Labour's ultimate tragedy of missed opportunity. That there probably is a progressive majority for a transformative left-wing Labour government, but the left have chosen as their standard bearer the one man who makes building that electoral coalition very unlikely.
The thread was posted on 6th January and meant that System had 6666 posts
And that's without getting onto his campaigning to muzzle and control the press. It's odd how he's gone silent on that recently ...
"Belgium Bans Religious Slaughtering Practices, Drawing Praise and Protest"
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/05/world/europe/belgium-ban-jewish-muslim-animal-slaughter.html
Richard Madden as next Bond is my tip coming out of them.
Thanks to Corporeal for very interesting threads.
There would be a supreme irony if Corbyn and chums managed to force a general election and then in that 2019 GE Theresa May wins an overall majority!
Mr. Cadboll, North Britain's the best half
Truly, it is a clash of titans.
“I have no idea what the PM’s Brexit plans [ie what she is negotiating with the EU] are.”
Dear f£cking god.
Madden deserves his award for having the nation gripped last autumn
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-46777987
Unfortunately she forgot she needs to take over 300 MPs with her and can't ratify it on her own.
According to Rentoul even EUref2 with a Remain option only has 300 MPs, still well short of the 326 needed for a Commons majority. The Deal has 220 MPs and No Deal has the fewest MPs backing it on 119. So Deal and No Deal also lack a majority but combined have more support than EUref2 with a Remain option.
That does leave May with a Deal v No Deal referendum as a last resort if she can get it through and once all other alternatives to No Deal have been voted down
https://mobile.twitter.com/JohnRentoul/status/1081937211740876805
Even at this late stage they cannot agree what that should be. So no guarantee to avoid a no deal can be created.
but I particularly like this viewpoint from a passerby looking at the Journalists.
https://twitter.com/tompeck/status/1082189454566219777
1) Do you actually want No Deal - to which the answer is going to be No from most MPs.
Then vote
2) Vote Aye for May's Deal, vote No for Revoke...
The important thing is to close off 1 avenue ASAP so that only 2 options are left on Parliament's table and they have to decide on (and own) something.
And to be frank - I've got to the point where I don't care what is decided - just decide on and commit to something....
If we accept your assumption, then it is worth noting that the first option is effectively "do you wish to be just outside and dominated by a neighbouring federal superstate", which is a rather different proposition to returning to the days of Britain's former greatness that so many Brexit pensioners appear to want.
Also, it seems Force India will be given the rather dreary name Racing Point.
Rami Malek as Mercury and and Glen Close as the 'wife were brilliant.
Coleman is brilliant in The Favourite (as are Stone and Weisz) and yet the film overall is a bit of a disappointment imho - a grating soundtrack and overly 'arty' camera work.
Looking forward to Stan & Ollie.
LOL
My first blog of 2019 is up. It is a lengthy ramble containing no tips.
http://enormo-haddock.blogspot.com/2019/01/an-early-look-at-how-2019-f1-titles.html
Bohemian Rhapsody is disposable candy floss, can’t see how it got Best Film. Best dentures, maybe. The Favourite is probably the most interesting film, Roma the most beautiful. But neither were true standouts for me.
I am struggling to thInk what I really enjoyed and rates this year in drama.
Not Kinnock personally.
You seem to be asking for Corbyn's personal poll ratings to be compared to the Labour party previous vote totals?!
When I replied to a poster saying Kinnock got 35.2% in 1992 he is quite clearly on about the Labour party and vote share, not Kinnock's personal ratings. If we are using opinion polls to compare where Labours vote is now to what it was previously we look at the poll ratings for Labours vote, not Corbyn's personal ratings.