Apparently it "kicked off" after the game. A video has been posted of people trying to ask the group to see their flag and the cops had to interfere. Whilst I don't think football should mix with politics, it's a bit pathetic going up to a girl and a guy, and in their words "kick off". The same people probably condemned the guy who confronted KM on a train. But again, football and politics shouldn't mix.
No, unfortunately. Think he bottled it judging by Twitter. A shame there was no banner in the 90 minutes as it may have livened things up.
Just wondering what your thoughts are on the Corbyn win, Kish? I can't say I know much about the dude.
Pretty pleased although I generally remain sceptical of anyone named Jeremy. I remain by no means a Labour Party supporter - I believed in Brown but the past 5 years and the most recent Ed manifesto was deplorable. I never registered to vote for Corbyn as I don't want to be associated with the Party as is and am still livid at the election loss. There's a lot of things I disagree with him on - mostly in terms of foreign affairs - but obviously Corbyn is quite representative of me and I do believe that just having him there in the public eye to voice the socialist outlook is a fantastic opportunity to capture floating voters and kill austerity. I have four main concerns though: 1. Dated Policy. Socialism as Corbyn knows it hasn't caught up with decades of Thatcherism and Blairism and it needs to adapt to the issues hat they have introduced. 2. Corbyn's Image. He'll be 70 at the General Election and he's not going to win around voters who base their stance on aesthetics. For example Cameron looks like a leader; if Cameron said what Corbyn says then people are more likely to believe in it sadly. 3. Media. The right wing media delivered a Tory victory in May. They can destroy Corbyn and in doing so destroy Labour entirely. 4. New Labour. If only 30 odd parliamentary MPs support him then he is undermined from the off. I haven't really seen the breakdown of the results today but I assume this concern has been nullified. I would try to insert Cooper and Burnham into the shadow cabinet early on, and perhaps name someone like Alan Johnson as whip. Thanks to the fixed Parliamentary terms nonsense I don't think I will bother with any partisan outlook until 2019 but I'm optimistic that next time around myself - and thousands like me - will finally have someone to vote for who we actually want to vote for (and not just because they're the only alternative...) It's interesting to note the support he's received from London; hopefully Khan can receive a similar backing next year.
Great post, Kish. I can't say I agree with your socialist ideals and Labour leanings, but I appreciate your honest approach.
Kish, Interesting post. As you probably know, I work at Westminster in Jezza's world. Have you seen any of the post election analysis of why Labour lost on 7 May, including an in depth report by Jon Cruddas? Every piece of analysis says the same - that Labour was too left wing according to the Voters, and that Miliband was not seen in the electorates eyes as a credible potential PM. And Labour has just responded to this by electing Corbyn, a man who has never even run a Council let alone a business, and who's principal economic plan is "People's Quantative Easing" ie instructing the B of E to print more money. Labour will struggle to win 150 seats in 2020 with Corbyn in charge. The sensible people of England, by which I mean those who go out to work and pay taxes, won't have him. Corbyn is about to learn the hard way that you can't form a Govt in this country by only appealing to Greenham Common women and welfare claimants.
I don Probably true, but it has bothered me for a while that young people have lost faith in politics and just aren't interested. If you look at the average age of the members of the two main parties you'll see what I mean. And no wonder, with the problems they face with housing and careers, alongside massive debts for a university degree which does nothing more than prove that they're not thick. Corbyn may well have given them false hope, but at least he's demonstrated that he's aware of their very real problems, and I give him credit for that.
I did know that you work in Westminster; that's why I'm always so surprised that you have so much time to post on here That Labour was too left wing according to voters at the last election was a line perpetuated by the press; I don't believe average voters understand left wing politics, they're just informed that it's bad and involves Union power and discontent. At the same time you could argue that the current Government has barely any mandate. There's obviously a long way to go until 2020; 5 years of austerity and pathetic European infighting, for example. Given the past two elections I don't think you can confidently predict anything; the 'sensible people of England' no longer have any partisan thinking which makes them unpredictable - you've also neglected the much more sensible people of Wales and Scotland. Yes there is a relatively Londoncentric vibe to Corbyn; but don't forget that the South East isn't historically a Labour stronghold. There is a mood that politics needs to change and alternatives are needed; the electorate get bored quickly - after a decade of one party they tend to then change to the next possibly for no reason than change itself. Corbyn represents that over the years of Blair and Brown and Cameron; and having him in the public eye with policies that realistically are new to a lot of the electorate coming from a man not really associated with Westminster could, and should, be played as an advantage to the Labour Party. The Scottish Nationalists are a good example; Sturgeon's performance on the TV debates, where she eloquently gave a completely different stance, appealed a lot more widely than anticipated as snap polls showed. UKIP, despite not converting the momentum to seats, still polled 3m votes. As above, old politics is dying. This is a new age of disparate opinions representative of a broken Britain (broken by Thatcherism ). The two party system is dead (as really is FPTP) and I'd be more worried about your own lots future (assume you're a Conservative); at least Labour are shifting with the times and taking a positive pluralist approach to securing power for the better.
Corbyn has a very sinister side. Back in the early 00's by dad suffered two heart attacks and whilst recuperating (he was expected to get back to health, and did), corbyn and several others were trying to force retirement upon him, which was not helping with blood levels and his health in general. Taking yesterday in to consideration, his plans to turn academies back in to states just isn't possible. I'll have a further read of the Sunday papers to see what else was said, but early impressions are its all idealistic, and once the surface is scratched, the Labour Party is going to find themselves in a very difficult position. Watson and Khan are also two clowns. It's very possible that I find myself in a position where I won't vote for the first time. I'll tackle that issue nearer the time, but may well just go for the local elections. Sad.
The Labour Party is taking careful aim at its own feet, and it's got two loaded guns. Being anti-austerity sounds good, but you need a realistic alternative. I'd love to see a more equal society, but you're not going to bring that about by outwitting the clever accountants who enable the big firms not to pay their taxes. Governments have been trying for generations to close tax loopholes in vain. Unfortunately the international financiers have the last word, as the Greek Hero has found out.
I have to admit I've been surprised by his often aggressive tone; seems to contradict with the 'nicest guy in Westminster' description. Watson seems similar in approach too. I tend to agree with your last paragraph Super, but I'm relatively encouraged that at least we'll have a few years where the right kind of rhetoric will be on the agenda. How that will manifest itself we shall have to wait and see!
Hopefully we can all agree that this is funny though: '@corbynjokes: What's red, stuck in the 1980s and doesn't want to be in Europe? Liverpool FC'
Kish- Corbyn is appealing to people - mainly idealistic & naive students, who don't even vote. You are plain wrong to say Labour doesn't need the South of England - Blair swept the board in 1997. Political history demonstrates that England - which contains 86% of the UK electorate after all, has not elected a left wing Govt since 1974 - 41 years and counting. It elects Conservative Governments, with a brief aberration when the arch thespian Blair convinced people he was in fact a Tory like me ("I love the Pound") etc. I was with a few Labour MPs on Friday during the Assisted Dying Bill debate - they were universally, 100% glum about the Party's prospects. Bottom line- folk in England by and large don't give a Four X for this soppy notion of fairness, they just want their country's defence and economy run properly. That rules out Jezza on both counts.
There is not a snowball's chance in hell of Corbyn being elected PM. Whatever you think of his policies, the country will never vote for a divided party, as the Tories found when they were split over Europe. I don't think this is good news for anyone as it means we have a one-party democracy now. As a Labour member of many years I voted for Yvette Cooper as she is a very astute politician, and tough as old boots. But it's Denis Healey all over again.
