if it were simple, Corbyn would never have become leader. you'll say they made a stupid mistake for political reasons - sure, and that stuff happens all time
Replies
They thought there was no support for left wing ideas. They were spectacularly wrong. Starmer has been kicking out left wing Labour MPs and has raised the threshold required for a challenge specifically to stop the left. They will never make that mistake again.
may 22, 2025, 8:33 am • 2 0 • view
so did Blair and Kinnock - specifically to make sure there could never be another Foot or Benn. but fundamentally they're always fighting against the actual political will of the party - and they fuck things up because they're overpromoted idiots
may 22, 2025, 8:38 am • 2 0 • view
I think that's wishful thinking. Blair and Kinnock were infinitely more tolerant of the left than Starmer and the Labour Party will be long dead before people like Wes Street and Hilary Benn forget about Corbyn.
may 22, 2025, 8:41 am • 2 0 • view
Blair was absolutely not more tolerant of the left than Starmer - and those fuckers are still banging on about Foot and Militant. The big difference today from Blair's early days is that Starmer is immediately crashing and burning - so they can't even claim superficial popularity
may 22, 2025, 8:47 am • 0 0 • view
Yes Diane Abbot was never deselected by Blair, Corbyn was never kicked out etc. How many SCG MPs has been expelled, deselected or suspended now? Almost all of them . Labour is over. It has been for five years.
may 22, 2025, 8:50 am • 0 1 • view
but most left MP were deselected as the CLP selections were stitched up. Starmer is literally just copying what Blair and Kinnock did - because he's highly unoriginal, and because it's a lot of the same people doing it anyway, like Mandelson
may 22, 2025, 8:55 am • 0 0 • view
It's over man. Move on.
may 22, 2025, 8:58 am • 0 0 • view
all I'm saying is that this is why the left were massively unprepared for power when the opportunity arose
may 22, 2025, 9:00 am • 0 0 • view
All I'm saying is that opportunity will never arise in the Labour Party again. Stopping it is the whole personality of almost everyone in charge.
may 22, 2025, 9:09 am • 1 0 • view
as was the case when it last arose
may 22, 2025, 10:28 am • 0 0 • view
It's not so much hat he was more tolerant as that the left were much much stronger so he had to make concessions. That's no longer the case. Starmer's cabal control all the key party machinery and can spuriously suspend anyone they think might be a threat (negating candidacy regardless of outcome)
may 22, 2025, 11:18 am • 1 0 • view
not true - the left were pretty solidly pushed out under Kinnock, so Blair had a clear run. So weak were the left by that time that he could even *rename the party*
may 22, 2025, 12:51 pm • 0 0 • view
Still stronger than he left them
may 22, 2025, 12:56 pm • 0 0 • view
by what metric? Number of left MPs in parliament? About equal - maybe a few more now. Starmer has put down a 20% minimum of PLP votes? Well, Blair literally just handed the keys to Brown
may 22, 2025, 1:01 pm • 0 0 • view
Brown had just spent a decade implementing Thatcherite policies Unions and CLPs and maybe HQ.
may 22, 2025, 1:03 pm • 0 0 • view
Bair's HQ was as right as it came, and the position of unions and CLPs was pretty similar to today: pretty ineffective when it came to setting policy or putting forward candidates opposing the Blair's line
may 22, 2025, 1:07 pm • 0 0 • view