# Blair: Jeremy Corbyn’s politics are fantasy – just like Alice in Wonderland **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [August 30, 2015, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blair-jeremy-corbyn-s-politics-are-fantasy-just-like-alice-in-wonderland/729363 "2015-08-30T02:17:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MrQwertyasd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@MrQwertyasd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrQwertyasd)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2015, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blair-jeremy-corbyn-s-politics-are-fantasy-just-like-alice-in-wonderland/729363/21 "2015-09-02T11:02:43Z")
> [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](#): > > Much of what has been said on _some_ of the privatised industry is true. As it is also true on the public’s desire for renationalisation of some industries. What Corbyn and his supporters are missing however is the public’s usual unwillingness to pay for renationalisation. If a magic wand can be waved renationalisation of the railways would be around 80-90%. However, when it’s pointed out the billions in cost of renationalisation then that support will plummet. Most importantly it will plummet amongst those middle ground voters who Labour desperately need. It’s a point isn’t it ? Cable lost a billion quid on the Royal Mail - buy back would be a loss and the sellers have expensive lawyers. I’d be happy for something draconian like a compulsory purchase. Parliament is, after all, meant to be sovereign. But given the expense of rail, gas etc, it would also save billions. There wasn’t a need for all these middlemen chopping up national networks into fiefdoms, and sticking tolls on everything. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blair-jeremy-corbyn-s-politics-are-fantasy-just-like-alice-in-wonderland/729363/22 "2015-09-03T10:58:31Z")
It’s just such a relief to even be having the conversation. For 20 years the public has been presented with a spectrum of choice that excludes nationalization and in which PPI was mainstream. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blair-jeremy-corbyn-s-politics-are-fantasy-just-like-alice-in-wonderland/729363/23 "2015-09-03T11:40:31Z")
> [@Asympotically\_fat](#): > > Corbyn is a symptom of the dissatisfaction with political elites at the moment and the increase in the gap between the rich and the poor. > > The particular problem in the Labour Party, I would say is twofold: firstly many of their supporters and natural base believe that they’ve moved too far to the right, particularly on economic issues, which have left people believing they no longer serve the needs of their natural constituency and secondly many believe the upper echelons of the party have a self-informed and self-serving agenda. > > The antisemitic and terrorist smears are not a problem for Corbyn as nobody, not even his rivals, actually believes he is remotely antisemitic or supports terrorism. > > Re-nationalization might be seen as problematic is some quarters, but I wouldn’t say it would be terminal to Corbyn’s success. You have to remember that the fruits of privatization have not exactly made it popular in the UK as many of the sectors in the UK that have moved from public to private ownership are among the least competitive and unpopular sectors. A platform of wholesale re-nationalization would probably be a vote loser, but a platform of reform of these sectors with more regulation and limited nationalization could be a vote winner. > > Withdrawing from NATO and abandoning Trident is much more troublesome to Corbyn’s chances though. I couldn’t see him standing on that platform and winning many votes from the middle ground of voters. > > At the moment politicians like Corbyn can only influence the political landscape rather than win general elections. However I do think that if economic/social disparities continue to increase then there will come a point where they become actual contenders. Also to add to that: the other three candidates are empty suits who offer nothing of substance whatsoever. Love them or hate them, Corbyn at least _has_ policies and opinions he’s willing to set out and discuss. Burnham, Cooper and Kendall haven’t gotten past the “Freedom is good, poverty is bad, I like kittens” stage of their respective manifestos. Better for Labour to elect Corbyn and have a massive internal upheaval than to continue in utter pointlessness. ---
**Author:** ![MrQwertyasd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@MrQwertyasd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrQwertyasd)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blair-jeremy-corbyn-s-politics-are-fantasy-just-like-alice-in-wonderland/729363/24 "2015-09-03T13:28:45Z")
Frankie Boyle is the channel for the ghosts that haunt Britain’s shadows. > **[How will Labour top losing the election? By losing its own leadership contest...](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/aug/27/how-will-labour-top-losing-the-election-by-losing-its-own-leadership-contest)** > > Perhaps the whole debacle is a brilliant piece of marketing designed to make whoever takes over seem like a genius ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blair-jeremy-corbyn-s-politics-are-fantasy-just-like-alice-in-wonderland/729363/25 "2015-09-03T15:56:37Z")
> [@MrQwertyasd](#): > > Frankie Boyle is the channel for the ghosts that haunt Britain’s shadows. > > [How will Labour top losing the election? By losing its own leadership contest | Frankie Boyle | The Guardian](http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/aug/27/how-will-labour-top-losing-the-election-by-losing-its-own-leadership-contest) Thanks for putting that up - it’s a proper belly laugh: > [@](#): > > Leaders around the world are nervous about Corbyn winning and becoming PM, as they know every time they visit the UK he’ll present them with another bottle of his homegrown elderflower champagne. I’m enjoying senior Tory peers calling Corbyn a “throwback”. A guy in a horsehair wig wearing a cape, who got a job for life because his great-great-great-grandfather had a knack for picking out the healthiest slaves? We can safely assume that Corbyn is no longer on the establishment’s Christmas card list. But he has been added to their other list, right below the crossed out name of Dr David Kelly. ---
**Author:** ![MrQwertyasd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@MrQwertyasd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrQwertyasd)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2015, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blair-jeremy-corbyn-s-politics-are-fantasy-just-like-alice-in-wonderland/729363/26 "2015-09-06T02:23:02Z")
“The French state-owned power company EDF has revealed that its Hinkley C nuclear power plant planned for Somerset, England, will not be ready in 2023 as planned.” Privatised electricity ? ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2015, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blair-jeremy-corbyn-s-politics-are-fantasy-just-like-alice-in-wonderland/729363/27 "2015-09-07T10:56:52Z")
> [@MrQwertyasd](#): > > “The French state-owned power company EDF has revealed that its Hinkley C nuclear power plant planned for Somerset, England, will not be ready in 2023 as planned.” > > Privatised electricity ? British comedy at its best - state-owned utility gets privatised and ends up owned by the French government. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2015, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blair-jeremy-corbyn-s-politics-are-fantasy-just-like-alice-in-wonderland/729363/28 "2015-09-07T13:21:45Z")
Even the frothing Telegraph hasn’t attacked Corbyn on energy policy. ---
**Author:** ![MrQwertyasd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@MrQwertyasd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrQwertyasd)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blair-jeremy-corbyn-s-politics-are-fantasy-just-like-alice-in-wonderland/729363/29 "2015-09-10T20:10:37Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > British comedy at its best - state-owned utility gets privatised and ends up owned by the French government. Yes, Minister… I think the German state ended up with a big chunk of the Royal Mail too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blair-jeremy-corbyn-s-politics-are-fantasy-just-like-alice-in-wonderland/729363.md?page=1)