Maltaran Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 Literally, thanks to Lord Sewel Lord Sewel is facing a police inquiry after quitting as House of Lords deputy speaker over a video allegedly showing him taking drugs with prostitutes. Lords Speaker Baroness D'Souza said he had also quit as chairman of the Lords privileges and conduct committee in the wake of the Sun on Sunday's story. The footage showed him snorting powder from a woman's breasts with a £5 note Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polishgenius Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 It's the best story of the year. The man responsible for maintaining standards gets caught snorting coke off a hooker's tits. If the Onion had made it up, you'd have been like 'nah, that's a little too unlikely, even for you lot'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talleyrand Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 Wasn't he the one who wrote a piece a while back about how Lords who don't uphold the standard and get embroiled in scandals should lose their peerage? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PyroclasticFlow Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 "I just want to be led astray" Best. Line. snifff Ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northernmonkey Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 Can't believe he used a £5 note. If you're going to snort coke off a hooker's tits you might as well use a fifty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeanF Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 The Sun has a front page photo of him looking very fetching, wearing a leather jacket and scarlet bra. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mormont Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Can't believe he used a £5 note. If you're going to snort coke off a hooker's tits you might as well use a fifty. Austerity's led to all sorts of cost-cutting measures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polishgenius Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Having been reading around the Corbyn phenomenon in the last couple of days, I just want to say that my favourite people in the world right now are the Blairite MPs who apparently got him onto the ballot by the skin of his teeth in the expectation that the resulting debate would see the left of the party crushed and made to look silly. Bet they're getting a thorough talking to from the leadership and Papa Tony right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJDonegal Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 I think the left of the party would get crushed - if the debate was limited to Labour party members and union affiliates. What's happening is that Corbyn being on the paper has attracted back some of those that abandoned Labour under Blair and since. I can understand why Blairite Labour members might see this as a disaster, but it cuts two ways. They're re-engaging with people they've lost over the last 15-20 years and having to acknowledge that at least some of the policies the left believe in might have merit and/or popular support (as the non-DOM attack did). We all know Corbyn didn't enter to actually win the damn thing. While he rebels regularly, he has never made noise about leaving the Labour party. He gets that they're a broad church and probably even believes that the path to electoral victory lies in a centrist candidate winning out. The only near-legitimate claim Labour have to feel aggrieved is that Conservative and UKIP supporters are on a #ToriesForCorbyn and #KippersForCorbyn campaign, but anyone with half a brain could have told them the voting method they chose would open up that possibility so they only really have themselves to blame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hereward Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 I don't believe this true. Corbyn is a member of the metropolitan middle class left (like Livingstone, Benn). I don't think they lost many of those, much as they would have disliked Blair. The people they have lost most of are the old economically left/socially conservative/patriotic working/lower middle class, what was once known as the Labour right before Blair and Brown redefined it as centrist (Bevin, George Brown, Healey, Callaghan, etc.) Corbyn is most definitely not going to win them back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polishgenius Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Exactly. Corbyn, on his own, might be a bit too lefty for the nation as a whole, though I'm not sure he's quite as radical as his detractors are currently busily making out, but the support shows pretty clearly that there's a desire among quite a few people for the Labour party to reclaim some left-wing ground. I really hope that the party leadership actually listens to that, but from the noises they're making it doesn't seem like they are. It's a bit distressing to see them taking part in character assassinations and essentially emotional blackmail rather than engaging with him on a legitimate level. The fact that he never intended to win will make it really interesting to see how he reacts if he does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Marquis de Leech Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 I think Corbyn's major appeal isn't his actual policies (though they might have a certain novelty value after the past twenty years). I think it's his perceived authenticity. He's the polar opposite of the media-managed Blair era, and as such represents a completely clean break with the New Labour project that goes well beyond Miliband. Whether this translates into getting a certain subsection of voters back, I have no idea. I'd imagine the activist base of the party will be incredibly enthused, together with those lost over the Iraq War. If he wins, we'll have to wait and see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Marquis de Leech Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 It's a bit distressing to see them taking part in character assassinations and essentially emotional blackmail rather than engaging with him on a legitimate level. I think it's backfired in Corbyn's favour. Being attacked by Blair and self-appointed media elites gets his name out there and defines him as the anti-Establishment candidate. It becomes a case of "vote Corbyn, and spite Blair." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polishgenius Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 I don't believe this true. Corbyn is a member of the metropolitan middle class left (like Livingstone, Benn). I don't think they lost many of those, much as they would have disliked Blair. The people they have lost most of are the old economically left/socially conservative/patriotic working/lower middle class, what was once known as the Labour right before Blair and Brown redefined it as centrist (Bevin, George Brown, Healey, Callaghan, etc.) Corbyn is most definitely not going to win them back. I missed this post. No, Corbyn might not win back those voters, but where he appeals is to the younger generation who weren't relevant when Blair took power and who haven't had a genuine left option in their voting lives. I think it's backfired in Corbyn's favour. Being attacked by Blair and self-appointed media elites gets his name out there and defines him as the anti-Establishment candidate. It becomes a case of "vote Corbyn, and spite Blair." Yup. Treating him as a legitimate threat has made him a legitimate threat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mormont Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 It does have to be said that the alternatives to Corbyn are, for various reasons, a pretty uninspiring menu. Liz Kendall is so self-consciously Blairite that it seems her only response to any question is to look for an answer to the right of current policy and then endorse it on general principles, regardless of whether it makes any sense. Andy Burnham is so bland I have to remind myself who he is every time I hear his name, and he doesn't seem to have any sort of coherent idea of what he stands for, let alone what the party should stand for. Yvette Cooper is the best of a bad lot, but unavoidably and inextricably linked to the past. It's a depressing set of choices, and none of them look like the answer to how Labour wins the next General Election. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Thursday Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 One thing I'm wondering - do Labour actually need to pick a leader who is going to be valid candidate in a General Election at the moment? As a result of the Fixed Term Parliament act, there's not going to be another GE for 5 years - plenty of time to install a left-ish leader (a la Corbyn), pull the discussion further in that direction, and then switch to someone more conventionally electable (whatever that actually ends up meaning) nearer the time. ST Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hereward Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 I've noticed something about Burnham when he's interviewed. When he's staking out a position, his inflection is that of someone asking a question and he often backs away from his own position almost immediately when challenged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mormont Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 One thing I'm wondering - do Labour actually need to pick a leader who is going to be valid candidate in a General Election at the moment? As a result of the Fixed Term Parliament act, there's not going to be another GE for 5 years - plenty of time to install a left-ish leader (a la Corbyn), pull the discussion further in that direction, and then switch to someone more conventionally electable (whatever that actually ends up meaning) nearer the time. ST The problem with that is, a party that's changed its leader twice in five years is very easy to paint as indecisive, factionalised and opportunistic, none of which are traits the electorate usually welcomes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeanF Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 One thing I'm wondering - do Labour actually need to pick a leader who is going to be valid candidate in a General Election at the moment? As a result of the Fixed Term Parliament act, there's not going to be another GE for 5 years - plenty of time to install a left-ish leader (a la Corbyn), pull the discussion further in that direction, and then switch to someone more conventionally electable (whatever that actually ends up meaning) nearer the time. ST Barring unexpected events (and they do occur) the answer is Yes. People do tend to form impressions about a leader quite early on, which are hard to alter later. Firing a poor leader (as the Conservatives did with IDS) can head off disaster, but it's not a strategy for winning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeanF Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 I missed this post. No, Corbyn might not win back those voters, but where he appeals is to the younger generation who weren't relevant when Blair took power and who haven't had a genuine left option in their voting lives. Yup. Treating him as a legitimate threat has made him a legitimate threat. I think that Corbyn would be very appealing to left wing voters, but there aren't enough of them to the defeat the Conservatives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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