news & politics:discussion

[Kurosagi]

19 minutes ago, steviewevie said:

Anyone going to this?

 

Sounds a hoot.

If it's like comic con then presumably we can dress up, I might do a thatcher cosplay outfit, the one where she's nicking milk from the school kids. Or perhaps come as Denis and then I can permanently have a large glass of gin and tonic in my hand.

[Guest]

Today Labour are forcing a vote on sewage being dumped in rivers. Let’s see the Tories won’t against this. 

[Guest]

 

[Guest]

I’ve said for ages that the BoE are purposely making people poorer. 

[steviewevie]

10 minutes ago, Ozanne said:

I’ve said for ages that the BoE are purposely making people poorer. 

Companies need to stop taking the piss...greedflation.

[Neil]

12 minutes ago, Ozanne said:

I’ve said for ages that the BoE are purposely making people poorer. 

Inflation has all sorts of Hidden benefits. Reduces the national debt amongst

Other things.

[Neil]

I've got a stinking cold, and will probably have to miss my volunteering at the hospital tomorrow, dammit.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, steviewevie said:

Companies need to stop taking the piss...greedflation.

They do, I read yesterday that we might have to pay increased gas bills to cover extra costs for energy firms.

It doesn’t help that the BoE is purposely making people poorer by putting up interest rates when everything else is going up too. They are making the situation worse. 

[lost]

1 hour ago, Neil said:

Inflation has all sorts of Hidden benefits. Reduces the national debt amongst

Other things.

Freezing all the tax allowances seems to be a biggie whilst inflation is so high. The tax take is soaring. 3.2 million dragged into paying tax and 2.5 million dragged into higher rate tax.

[Neil]

9 minutes ago, lost said:

Freezing all the tax allowances seems to be a biggie whilst inflation is so high. The tax take is soaring. 3.2 million dragged into paying tax and 2.5 million dragged into higher rate tax.

and £13bn more collected in taxes than expected.

[Ryan1984]

Thought the government suing striking NHS workers would be a bigger story than it has been… Doesn’t seem to have cut through.

[steviewevie]

 

[lost]

at least he's honest about his faction being entryists, I think we dodged a bullet in 2019 reading this comment:

Quote

McDonnell, who said in 2006 that his “most significant intellectual” influences were the “fundamental Marxist writers of Marx, Lenin and Trotsky”, has sometimes appeared dismissive of Labour and parliamentary socialism. In 2012, at a left-wing gathering, he remarked: “I’m not in the Labour Party because I’m a believer of the Labour Party as some supreme body or something God-given or anything like that. It’s a tactic. It’s as simple as that. If it’s no longer a useful vehicle, move on.”

 

 

[steviewevie]

what labour is, and what it needs to be (imo), is a broad coalition...and that includes the like of Corbyn, Abbott and McDonnell.

[Kurosagi]

1 hour ago, lost said:

at least he's honest about his faction being entryists, I think we dodged a bullet in 2019 reading this comment:

Quote

McDonnell, who said in 2006 that his “most significant intellectual” influences were the “fundamental Marxist writers of Marx, Lenin and Trotsky”, has sometimes appeared dismissive of Labour and parliamentary socialism. In 2012, at a left-wing gathering, he remarked: “I’m not in the Labour Party because I’m a believer of the Labour Party as some supreme body or something God-given or anything like that. It’s a tactic. It’s as simple as that. If it’s no longer a useful vehicle, move on.”

If we're being 'honest' then it's a flippant quote from over 10 years ago and the very next paragraph in the article shows that despite the purge he's still there and still working to bring the broad church of Labour together:

"But at the close of our conversation, he insisted that Labour and the left need each other. “Although the polls are narrowing, I still think we’ll get a Labour government. But I want a Labour government with a decent majority, enthusiastically supported with a radical programme, because there’s so much that needs to be done. If we continue [to fail] to bring the party together under those broad-church principles, we hamper our ability not just to win elections but to govern effectively.” Once again, John McDonnell is staying and fighting."

I have a lot of time for McDonnell and it's a shame that the flip of the coin in 2015 led to Corbyn being on the leadership ballot. As the article shows [thanks for posting steviewevie, it was an interesting catch-up] he's a much more competent politician than Corbyn because he has the intellect to avoid common media traps (e.g. the question on whether he would support Corbyn as an independent).

I've listened to him talk quite a lot over the years, especially when shadow chancellor, and always felt he did an excellent job of engaging/debating. What he says usually feels natural/authentic and resonates, he's a good communicator, whereas with Corbyn I'd be pulling my hair out when he would huff'n'puff at the media getting irritated and blunder about quoting slogans.

Let's get rid of the monarchy next month and vote in McDonnell as president 🥳

[lost]

10 minutes ago, Kurosagi said:

I have a lot of time for McDonnell and it's a shame that the flip of the coin in 2015 led to Corbyn being on the leadership ballot. As the article shows [thanks for posting steviewevie, it was an interesting catch-up] he's a much more competent politician than Corbyn because he has the intellect to avoid common media traps (e.g. the question on whether he would support Corbyn as an independent).

I've listened to him talk quite a lot over the years, especially when shadow chancellor, and always felt he did an excellent job of engaging/debating. What he says usually feels natural/authentic and resonates, he's a good communicator, whereas with Corbyn I'd be pulling my hair out when he would huff'n'puff at the media getting irritated and blunder about quoting slogans.

Only thing I remember is him pulling out a copy of Mao's little red book and starting to quote passages at George Osborne 😂

[Neil]

1 hour ago, steviewevie said:

what labour is, and what it needs to be (imo), is a broad coalition...and that includes the like of Corbyn, Abbott and McDonnell.

it can only include them if they're inclusive and part of that coalition, rather than working against it.

[Kurosagi]

8 minutes ago, lost said:

Only thing I remember is him pulling out a copy of Mao's little red book and starting to quote passages at George Osborne 😂

Yep, it was a classic and made me laugh. As much as I dislike Osborne, his retort was funny too:

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/video/2015/nov/25/the-chairman-mao-moment-mcdonnell-throws-the-little-red-book-at-osborne-video

[lost]

16 minutes ago, Kurosagi said:

Yep, it was a classic and made me laugh.

Just try viewing these things form the other side. If Nigel Farage described himself as a former fascist who's main influences were Mussolini and Hitler. He was in the EU parliament waving mein kampf about and then making speeches whilst his team were holding up big Swastika's behind him. Would people happily dismiss these things as flippant quotes or jokes?

[Kurosagi]

Personally, I think that's quite a stretch to make a point.

[Neil]

1 minute ago, Kurosagi said:

Personally, I think that's quite a stretch to make a point.

I think that's spot on.

[steviewevie]

23 minutes ago, Neil said:

I think that's spot on.

It really isn't

[steviewevie]

Although it was naughty, and he's been a naughty boy a few times...still like him and agree they should have picked him over Corbyn, better at media, more pragmatic, more intelligent.

[Guest]

 

[Neil]

5 minutes ago, steviewevie said:

Although it was naughty, and he's been a naughty boy a few times...still like him and agree they should have picked him over Corbyn, better at media, more pragmatic, more intelligent.

because of the little red book thing he was more damaged in the public's eye, corbyn had the advantage of  being relatively anominous.