 |
 |
******************************
Corbyn and McDonnell’s fundamental problem, as I see it, is that they are neoliberal lite, which means that they are unable to say why they oppose Osborne’s economic policies. It is not sufficient to say that they are “bad”. Everyone knows that. What they don’t know is why they are bad. They don’t know that taxation does not fund government expenditure. They don’t know that the government, being the monopoly issuer of the currency, has no financial constraints on its spending, whatever other constraints they may have, such as human and material resources. Has either Corbyn or McDonnell ever said either of these things? No. Yet, it is the answer to the question, How are you going to pay for it? Notwithstanding the fact that the UK is one of the richest countries in the world.
From: email list for Radical Statistics [mailto:[log in to unmask]
UK] On Behalf Of PILLINGER Rebecca
Sent: Wednesday, June 29, 2016 3:28 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: "Corbynism after Corbyn" : Can JC arise from the dead?
Maybe the Labour Party can’t survive if Corbyn doesn’t stand down. I honestly don’t know.
The thing is, I’m not convinced its chances of survival are actually better if he does. It depends on who would replace him, and with what policies and communication strategies, but if it’s someone along the lines of any of the three who stood against Corbyn in the previous contest, I’m really not convinced that the performance at the next election will be any better than the previous whenever it’s held.
None of them were changing the narrative that held Labour responsible for the global financial crisis, nor did their proposals sound like they would improve people’s lives after the suffering of austerity. And now in addition many Corbynites will feel betrayed by the recent events and by the lack of support for their choice right from the beginning, and while I’d like to hope they’d consider stopping the Tories to be more important than expressing that at the next general election, I’m not convinced that would hold for all of them, and even if they still vote Labour themselves they may be less enthusiastic advocates of the party to those around them. Meanwhile to the general public Labour I would imagine just looks hopelessly unstable to the point that it probably seems foolhardy to put them in charge, and I don’t think getting rid of Corbyn (whether he resigns or fails to be re-elected) is going to change that perception.
So I’m not convinced that ousting Corbyn will save Labour; but I certainly agree that whenever he goes and in whatever manner, it’s important to have someone else ready to take on his mantle. (If that doesn’t happen I’d argue that, even if something called the “Labour Party” continues to have MPs in parliament, the Labour Party won’t have survived in any meaningful sense.) I also think that Corbynites are generally for Corbyn’s policies and/or approach to politics rather than particularly the man himself, so I would expect they would be happy to throw their support behind any successor along the same lines, and Jon Minton’s plan could certainly work. I’m not so sure about McDonnell, who’s rather a controversial figure, though. What about Diane Abbott?
Rebecca
From: email list for Radical Statistics [mailto:[log in to unmask]
UK ] On Behalf Of John Bibby
Sent: 29 June 2016 15:11
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: "Corbynism after Corbyn" : Can JC arise from the dead?
I'm 50% with you - maybe Tom Watson should stand but with a commitment to have Jeremy in his cabinet. That way we can really believe in (and vote for) JC's "life after death". JB
------------------------------
------------------------------ ---------------
- York Left Discussion Forum: inaugural meeting (on Brexit): Wednesday 29th June (7.30 at Shoulder of Mutton, Heworth) - please tell your friends! See www.YLLyork1.eventbrite.co.uk
- York Bus Forum: you can join or donate here. We meet at 6pm on the 2nd Tuesday of every month (West Offices, Station Rise, York YO1 6GA). Support our campaign for NO BUS CUTS !!
On Wed, Jun 29, 2016 at 2:41 PM, John Whittington <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
At 14:22 29/06/2016 +0100, John Bibby wrote:
I hope that Jeremy survives today's onslaught but he will not last forever. The important thing is the ideas, not the person.
The point surely is that, no matter what one thinks of the man, his principles, politics and ideas, the _Labour Party_ is unlikely to survive in any serious fashion unless he voluntarily 'stands down'. If he doesn't, the Leadership election process they have chosen could very well re-elect him, but he could not really form a 'credible' Shadow Cabinet, let alone a real Cabinet should (by any miracle!) the party come into power with him as the leader, and I don't even think he could rely on the support of many of the Labour MPs if he did somehow come to power.
To me, that is simply not a formula for an 'effective opposition', let alone an effective (and credible) government - but that's just "how I see it".
Kind Regards,
John
------------------------------------------------------------ ----
Dr John Whittington, Voice: +44 (0) 1296 730225
Mediscience Services Fax: +44 (0) 1296 738893
Twyford Manor, Twyford, E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Buckingham MK18 4EL, UK
------------------------------------------------------------ ----
******************************
************************ Please note that if you press the 'Reply' button your message will go only to the sender of this message. If you want to reply to the whole list, use your mailer's 'Reply-to-All' button to send your message automatically to [log in to unmask]. Disclaimer: The messages sent to this list are the views of the sender and cannot be assumed to be representative of the range of views held by subscribers to the Radical Statistics Group. To find out more about Radical Statistics and its aims and activities and read current and past issues of our newsletter you are invited to visit our web site www.radstats.org.uk. ****************************** ************************* ******************************
************************ Please note that if you press the 'Reply' button your message will go only to the sender of this message. If you want to reply to the whole list, use your mailer's 'Reply-to-All' button to send your message automatically to [log in to unmask]. Disclaimer: The messages sent to this list are the views of the sender and cannot be assumed to be representative of the range of views held by subscribers to the Radical Statistics Group. To find out more about Radical Statistics and its aims and activities and read current and past issues of our newsletter you are invited to visit our web site www.radstats.org.uk. ****************************** ************************* ************************ Please note that if you press the 'Reply' button your message will go only to the sender of this message. If you want to reply to the whole list, use your mailer's 'Reply-to-All' button to send your message automatically to [log in to unmask]. Disclaimer: The messages sent to this list are the views of the sender and cannot be assumed to be representative of the range of views held by subscribers to the Radical Statistics Group. To find out more about Radical Statistics and its aims and activities and read current and past issues of our newsletter you are invited to visit our web site www.radstats.org.uk. ****************************** *************************