# Jeremy Corbyn: Next UK Labour Party Leader? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [August 11, 2015, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeremy-corbyn-next-uk-labour-party-leader/727580 "2015-08-11T18:33:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ryan\_Liam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ryan_liam/32/3965_2.png) [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2015, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeremy-corbyn-next-uk-labour-party-leader/727580/1 "2015-08-11T18:33:55Z")
I am of two minds about this guy, one, he won’t win the election in 2020 because he is too left wing, However, I support him because he is definitely necessary to realign the Labour party with it’s socialist values and will give the party a more resonating message in Scotland and Wales against the nationalists there, who have supplanted some of Labours support. So who knows, we may have a more Social Democratic Labour party in 10 years, as opposed to a Blairite-lite Labour opposition who would still lose in 2020 with no chance of new support in Scotland or Wales. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2015, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeremy-corbyn-next-uk-labour-party-leader/727580/2 "2015-08-12T08:26:36Z")
He would start with a substantial number of the parliamentary party opposed to him as well as the usual reaction from the rightwing tabloids. Anything that can be twisted as “loony left” in policy terms, and anything to make him personally out-of-touch and “weird” (think Michael Foot and the “donkey jacket”) will be. By comparison, the Milibands got off lightly with the banana, bacon sandwich and the second kitchen nonsense. The trick is to come up with a punchily-expressed narrative that can explain how Labour values match up to the concerns and values of as many voters as possible - even while trying to persuade them that it means actually rethinking and even abandoning so many of the attitudes to money, property, community and so on that the Thatcherite revolution seemed to have installed as revealed truth. And to do so in a way the tabloids can’t twist. Just having the right opinions and policy offers isn’t enough. Any fule kno that we need, for example, to sort out council tax, which will mean a lot of people paying more - and you can imagine what the Daily Mail will make of that. ---
**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:** [August 12, 2015, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeremy-corbyn-next-uk-labour-party-leader/727580/3 "2015-08-12T10:51:20Z")
I don’t want a return to “Old Labour” or a heavily socialist party manifesto. I **do** want a Labour party that actually stands for something other than its own interests, which is not what we have now. And I would rather have Corbyn elected and a subsequent turbulent “battle for the soul of the Labour party”, even if it means losing the 2020 election, than having a party with no soul at all and a stream of ineffectual figureheads whose only vision for the party begins and ends with them as Leader, because **that** Labour party isn’t going to win the 2020 election either. At least with Corbyn we have a place to start. With Cooper, Burnham and Kendall we just get Ed Miliband Mk II. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a8b319/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_wuzzy)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2015, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeremy-corbyn-next-uk-labour-party-leader/727580/4 "2015-08-12T19:01:12Z")
Im all but calling it for Corbyn. The numbers of new voters in this leadership election are larger than I had been lead to expect. It’s going to take quite a turnaround to see Corbyn not winning the contest now. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-33892407](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-33892407) ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a8b319/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_wuzzy)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2015, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeremy-corbyn-next-uk-labour-party-leader/727580/5 "2015-08-12T19:22:14Z")
I have just read Tony Blair’s piece in The Guardian. It’s quite a strong intervention from him. Will it be enough to stop Corbyn? Probably not. [http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/aug/12/even-if-hate-me-dont-take-labour-over-cliff-edge-tony-blair](http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/aug/12/even-if-hate-me-dont-take-labour-over-cliff-edge-tony-blair) ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2015, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeremy-corbyn-next-uk-labour-party-leader/727580/6 "2015-08-12T20:18:42Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > I don’t want a return to “Old Labour” or a heavily socialist party manifesto. I **do** want a Labour party that actually stands for something other than its own interests, which is not what we have now. And I would rather have Corbyn elected and a subsequent turbulent “battle for the soul of the Labour party”, even if it means losing the 2020 election, than having a party with no soul at all and a stream of ineffectual figureheads whose only vision for the party begins and ends with them as Leader, because **that** Labour party isn’t going to win the 2020 election either. > > At least with Corbyn we have a place to start. With Cooper, Burnham and Kendall we just get Ed Miliband Mk II. This is basically my POV. I’m not hugely impressed with any of the candidates, but at least with Corbyn I can imagine some discussion and debate both within Labour and without. ---
**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:** [August 13, 2015, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeremy-corbyn-next-uk-labour-party-leader/727580/7 "2015-08-13T08:43:40Z")
> [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](#): > > I have just read Tony Blair’s piece in The Guardian. It’s quite a strong intervention from him. Will it be enough to stop Corbyn? Probably not. How much pull does Blair have within the party membership these days? Amongst Labour voters, of course, he’s seen by many as a warmongering betrayer of all they held dear and as such his opinion will not have much weight. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2015, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeremy-corbyn-next-uk-labour-party-leader/727580/8 "2015-08-13T09:19:23Z")
> [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](#): > > I have just read Tony Blair’s piece in The Guardian. It’s quite a strong intervention from him. Will it be enough to stop Corbyn? Probably not. Probably enough to guarantee it for Corbyn. I don’t think his messianic tendencies allow him to recognise that (to quote Attlee on another wouldbe influencer, from the left in that case) “a period of silence from you would be appreciated”. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a8b319/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_wuzzy)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2015, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeremy-corbyn-next-uk-labour-party-leader/727580/9 "2015-08-13T10:12:16Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > How much pull does Blair have within the party membership these days? Amongst Labour voters, of course, he’s seen by many as a warmongering betrayer of all they held dear and as such his opinion will not have much weight. Very little. I still think Blair’s latest piece is as powerful as he, or any moderate, is likely to make. > [@PatrickLondon](#): > > Probably enough to guarantee it for Corbyn. I don’t think his messianic tendencies allow him to recognise that (to quote Attlee on another wouldbe influencer, from the left in that case) “a period of silence from you would be appreciated”. See my reply above. Most of these interventions by moderates have backfired spectacularly to date. This one probably will be no different, but I still think it’s the most impressive so far. Yvette Cooper is taking the gloves off too this morning in what may be the beginning of a concerted effort against Corbyn. I think the leadership election has just entered a new phase. ---
**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:** [August 13, 2015, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeremy-corbyn-next-uk-labour-party-leader/727580/10 "2015-08-13T10:20:29Z")
> [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](#): > > Yvette Cooper is taking the gloves off too this morning in what may be the beginning of a concerted effort against Corbyn. I think the leadership election has just entered a new phase. The fact that Yvette Cooper is busy trying to tear down Jeremy Corbyn rather than considering why he has attracted such a following and she hasn’t says a lot about the quality of both her understanding of the big picture and her leadership skills. (Ditto the other two, of course.) ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2015, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeremy-corbyn-next-uk-labour-party-leader/727580/11 "2015-08-13T10:26:17Z")
Sad to see that Burnham will not win considering he strikes the right balance between Blairism and far-left silliness, harking back to the great days of Labour under Attlee, Bevan, and Gaitskell. I cannot in good conscience support Corbyn considering his views on foreign policy which I find unrealistic and harmful to both Britain and the world at large including excusing Putin, opposition to the war in Afghanistan, and nuclear disarmament. ---
**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:** [August 13, 2015, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeremy-corbyn-next-uk-labour-party-leader/727580/12 "2015-08-13T11:08:29Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > Sad to see that Burnham will not win considering he strikes the right balance between Blairism and far-left silliness, harking back to the great days of Labour under Attlee, Bevan, and Gaitskell. Really? On what are you basing this? I’ve seen nothing “great” coming from Burnham or his camp at all. Right now he’s just “the guy who lost to Ed (and David) Miliband”. ---
**Author:** ![Ryan\_Liam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ryan_liam/32/3965_2.png) [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2015, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeremy-corbyn-next-uk-labour-party-leader/727580/13 "2015-08-13T16:43:32Z")
Burnham is terrible, he always sounds out of his depth and he talks as if he’s perpetually reading from a script. ---
**Author:** ![Lantern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2015, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeremy-corbyn-next-uk-labour-party-leader/727580/14 "2015-08-13T17:06:03Z")
I have been reading a bit about this over the last couple of days and I have to agree with Blair that Labour will be making a historic blunder if they go with Corbyn. The primary reason that Labour lost elections in the 80’s was that they were perceived to be incompetent on managing the economy. It took a lot of hard work and the Tories’ own blunders before Blair was able to reverse this and win three elections. Now Labour has again lost credibility on the economy and desperately needs to regain it. Corbyn will destroy whatever trust they still possess and set his party up for a historic disaster possibly worse than 1983. And just like then it will take more than one election for Labour to recover. If Corbyn is elected leader we may not see a Labour government before 2030 or even later. ---
**Author:** ![Ryan\_Liam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ryan_liam/32/3965_2.png) [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2015, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeremy-corbyn-next-uk-labour-party-leader/727580/15 "2015-08-13T17:21:15Z")
But what’s the point of voting a party in that mirrors pretty much the people they’re opposing. Labour lost its bearings, and people are tired of a perceived neo-liberal bent within the party. ---
**Author:** ![Lantern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2015, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeremy-corbyn-next-uk-labour-party-leader/727580/16 "2015-08-13T17:35:38Z")
Do you seriously believe that the Labour Party under Blair was the same as the Tories? It’s simply not true. For example Blair massively expanded public spending on the NHS, provided tax credits for poor families, introduced the minimum wage. Do you think a Tory government would have done that? ---
**Author:** ![Ryan\_Liam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ryan_liam/32/3965_2.png) [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2015, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeremy-corbyn-next-uk-labour-party-leader/727580/17 "2015-08-13T17:53:29Z")
> [@Lantern](#): > > Do you seriously believe that the Labour Party under Blair was the same as the Tories? It’s simply not true. For example Blair massively expanded public spending on the NHS, provided tax credits for poor families, introduced the minimum wage. Do you think a Tory government would have done that? That’s not the point, the point is that Labours ideals are being diluted in its quest for power, so much so that people are beginning to associate Labour leaders as basically cut of the same cloth like their Tory counterparts. So, with that example, why would anyone bother voting for people who have cosmetic differences to their counterparts? Should Blair be part of the International jet set (and who is a now a multimillionaire) This is why people say there is a credibility gap within Labour, it’s also why people are flocking to Corbyn. ---
**Author:** ![Sandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/22d042/32.png) [@Sandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sandwich)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2015, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeremy-corbyn-next-uk-labour-party-leader/727580/18 "2015-08-13T17:56:58Z")
> [@Ryan\_Liam](#): > > But what’s the point of voting a party in that mirrors pretty much the people they’re opposing. Labour lost its bearings, and people are tired of a perceived neo-liberal bent within the party. _Some_ people are tired of neo-liberalism. _Others_ welcome the fact that the next prime minister will be our fifth liberal in a row, regardless of whether that’s George Osborne or Liz Kendall. Though strangely, not the members of the Liberal party itself. Nor the members of the Labour party it seems… Sometimes, saying that all politicians are the same is a cause for celebration not despair. ---
**Author:** ![Sandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/22d042/32.png) [@Sandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sandwich)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2015, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeremy-corbyn-next-uk-labour-party-leader/727580/19 "2015-08-13T18:04:40Z")
> [@Lantern](#): > > Do you seriously believe that the Labour Party under Blair was the same as the Tories? It’s simply not true. For example Blair massively expanded public spending on the NHS, provided tax credits for poor families, introduced the minimum wage. Do you think a Tory government would have done that? Given that the current lot are maintaining the same massive spending on the NHS, have greatly reduced the tax take from poor families, and have increased the minimum wage, I’ll go for ‘yes, Cameron is as good as Blair, and both are far better than Corbyn, not that he will ever be prime minister’. ---
**Author:** ![Galanthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Galanthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Galanthus)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2015, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeremy-corbyn-next-uk-labour-party-leader/727580/20 "2015-08-13T18:51:12Z")
I’m voting Corbyn - I don’t believe Labour will win again wearing neo-liberal clothes so I might as well vote where my heart lies. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeremy-corbyn-next-uk-labour-party-leader/727580.md?page=2)