Of all the chutzpah that Labour’s right wing MP’s have brazenly fronted in the corporate media recently – the most laughable is their expertise on ‘electability’.
Every ‘electable’ candidate the right wingers have put forward has been trounced by Jeremy Corbyn – who they insist is unelectable. Look in the dumper for the careers of Yvette Cooper, Liz Kendall, Andy Burnham and Owen Smith.
They were happy enough to support Ed Milliband while he lost them the election and erm Scotland – there were no rebellions against the leadership as Labour romped to defeat against a government offering austerity and jingoism for another five years.
While Owen Smith was unquestionably a hapless candidate ,it would have made no difference who they put forward. The re-heated sound bites and manipulative deceit of the Blairite faction is easy to spot and is unelectable within a country and a Labour movement that wants to return to the centre ground of British politics (yes the centre ground, Corbyn is a moderate democratic socialist whose polices wouldn’t raise an eyebrow but for the rabid caricatures of the tory press)
Lets reflect on just how unelectable the rump of right wing MP’s within Labour now are.
Despite a naked and aggressive attempt to rig the election in Owen Smith’s favour – the Blairite apparatchiks within the Labour Party couldn’t exclude enough people to get him anywhere close to winning. When you can only get 38% of a rigged election it speaks volumes.
Despite a disgraceful campaign of abuse and smears against Corbyn and his supporters in the corporate media, the right wingers in the PLP still can’t front a candidate to defeat one ageing back bencher – think about that for a moment…
Why must the EXPERTS on electability resort to election rigging and colluding with the right wing hate sheets of oligarchs? Surely their dazzling skill and wildly popular policies should make all that unnecessary?
Who do we find offering expert advice on how to get Labour elected to government? Neil Kinnock, David Milliband, Tony Blair, Alistair Campbell… do these people sound like a team for the future to anybody?
Kinnock is the man who lost Labour two elections, David Milliband couldn’t beat his brother in a charisma contest, Tony Blair is a discredited war criminal (as yet un-arrested), Alistair Campbell is Blair’s spin doctor – the man who tried (and failed) to fool us all about the Iraq War. If these people think they know how to get elected then why don’t they stand for election? These failures and crooks of yesteryear are like hapless football managers who switch to being TV pundits after getting sacked.
The coup attempt by Labour’s right wing MP’s against Corbyn has forced the membership to re-elect the same man twice in a year. Since they are so keen on the democratic process and so talented in the art of getting elected, perhaps they should now be gifted the opportunity of proving it?
Surely the Blairite MP’s aren’t just hiding inside a socialist movement as a vehicle to getting elected in safe Labour seats? I mean, as if!
One would hope that those Labour MP’s who continue to reject the democratically expressed wishes of Labour Party members would have the decency to leave the party and form their own – but if they lack even that basic level of integrity…
… then they should face mandatory re-selection before the next general election – these people keep telling us they know all about winning elections, so they have nothing to fear.
Right-wing Labour MP’s weep and wail on a daily basis in the corporate media about the Labour Party but choose to remain within it. If they are so confident in their charisma, cosy relationships with the media and ‘moderate’ policies then why don’t they strike out on their own?
I think the sharp eyed readers of The Haze know perfectly well why people like Chuka Umunna, Rachel Reeves and John Woodcock choose to remain within the Labour movement – its because they know damn well that without the camouflage of a red rosette on election day, the people of Streatham, Leeds West and Barrow wouldn’t elect any of them.
Far from being infiltrated by the left – the Labour Party has been growing in leaps and bounds since people realised that the Blairite era was dying and that the movement was returning to the centre. In order to move forward, the poisonous legacies of Blair must be discarded.
I hope, as Jeremy Corbyn does, that the majority of the members of the Parliamentary Labour Party will now unite behind his leadership and work to defeat the heinous government of Theresa May – but if they won’t, then the membership at grass roots level must be afforded the chance to select candidates for the next general election that will.
I fear that people like Margaret Hodge and Hilary Benn are deluded and bewildered by the changes in British politics and will neither adapt or leave – this being the case then they should be forced to secure the same mandate once, that Corbyn was forced by them, to secure twice.
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I’m glad Corbyn got back in but his speech was far too appeasing for me. Thus, I wrote the following on Facebook (hope it’s clean enough but I do tend to use strong words): 6:45 Well, Comrade Corbyn has won the Leadership of the Labour Party again! He has increased his majority and been seen to have increased the membership of the Labour Party mightily! All these thing have resulted from, what I see as, an unnecessary 2nd election which has diverted resources from the only real battle, at this time, which was, and still is, to stop the Tories in their tracks! So much so, that May is forced to bring forward a General Election for as soon as possible so that we do not have to wait and watch 4 years of continued Tory misrule! Okay, that said, my question is, what to do about those who, took it upon themselves to expose the Labour Party in General and the Leader in particular to a barrage of lies, abuse both in word and deed, ie the misuse of the Party machine to disenfranchise new and old members by suspensions and bans, and in collusion with the Press, television (the BBC in particular) to bring, what can be seen as a massive majority of members, into disrepute? It’s all very well speaking of ‘moving on’ but how does one reconcile holding out the hand of friendship to those who based a challenge to the Leadership on lies, distortions and groundless fears (to my mind employing a strategy and tactics very like those used by far too many of careerist and opportunistic men and women who have, throughout history, put their individual ambitions first rather than the wants and needs of those they should be serving! It’s all very well declaring that ‘we have much more in common than that which divides us.’ For me I have nothing in common with Mr Smith! His arrogance and contempt, for the voters he wooed! The disinformation, lies and appalling attitude he displayed on the hustings. His tendency to change his political stances to, possibly suit his particular audience. His failure to denounce (not distance himself from but denounce) the Labour Senior apparatchiks when they pulled every undemocratic dirty trick to fix the election rather than allowing the system to progress in an openly democratic manner! going into more personal (which I think is political) stuff. I’ve never worked for a Pharmaceutical Company and pushed for the privatisation of the NHS – what’s that all about? Definitely nothing in common there! I could go on and on but I’ll finish by saying this! I’m still angry about the weasel words that you seem to have felt that you must spout and I’m angry about the show of comradeliness showed to Smith by yourself< Fine nod to him and then ignore him! What's all the clasping of hands with him! He is not an honourable opponent! He's scum! And your show of magnanimity on that rostrum was dishonest (that's the first really dishonest thing through out this campaign that you've done, as far as I can see) and there was no need for it! So, yeah, I'll keep voting Labour but where I live I'll still only have the choice of one suited and booted arse who will spout platitudes and evasions (exactly like Smith and his Blairite mates who I have nothing in common with) to be my MP. by the content of most of your acceptance speech I saw no genuine attempts to implement actions which might be harsh but are needed to make real changes in this Country's political system! All I saw was a mealy mouthed attempt at appeasement towards those who, when they deem the time is right and it's likely to be sooner that anyone thinks, will cut the political throat of you and those of your Party supporters and will not blink when they do it! I don't look forward to it and I will continue rto speak out against abject appeasement, even when no one learns or listens1
Let’s never forget it wasn’t just the hate sheets owned by oligarchs that campaigned against Corbyn. Probably the most egregiously biased – and most effective – anti-Corbyn campaign was carried out by the Guardian which is owned by a faceless trust supposedly committed to quality journalism. The Labour Party, now the largest party in Europe, needs to find a way to create a newspaper and associated website that can break the monopoly of right-thinking journalism in this country. It will be difficult but it is worth a try. Excellent work is being done on Facebook and there are websites like this one and many others. But to challenge the big gun ideologues of the press we need something on the same scale. Think Al Jazeera, not the Canary.
I agree 100% John – I push this little handcart called Sodium Haze as much as I can but I have demands of childcare and work to balance.
As for The Guardian, sadly I would now include it as a right wing hate sheet.
Hate to break it to you but The Guardian has not been owned by a trust since 2008. The owners are the deceptively named Scott Trust Ltd whose board members are themselves oligarchs!
Here’s a link to an article from right here at Sodium Haze which explains –
The Guardian has morphed into The Daily Mail (so elect Corbyn and ignore them)
Good article, thanks.
I am at a loss to understand why there hasnt been more mention of the certain fact that the Blairite MP’s were largely elected by voters who voted for them BECAUSE they were members of the Labour party, and for no other reason than that.
Most people vote in a certain way out of experience/habit or familiarity. A lot of people I know would vote Tory even if their MP was an alien from the planet Zorg and had 2 heads(Ideal for a politician.)
Your line about the Blairites hiding within the Socialist movement was spot on. Google tells me that Blair is worth tens of millions….how is that consistent with holding Socialist values?
When he divests himself of his business empire, will he also sell off all of his property and donate that cash to charity too? May I suggest the victims of an illegal war somewhere?
In a two party lock out, the easiest rout to riches and fame for a careerist politician is by pretending to be a friend of the working classes. When someone like Corbyn comes along who actually is it upsets all the cosy arrangements – no wonder they are all hopping mad. Long may they remain so…
Hello,
A very “on the nail” article. Thank you.
Sadly since the result all I’ve seen is RW MP after MP telling us all that JC has to make a gesture. What a sick joke.
It is they who should be making the gesture.
Additionally there is Iain McNicol who thinks he is the “Godfather” of the Labour Party stage managing how the results are presented. Meanwhile his McCarthyist acolytes in the “Compliance Unit” are saying they will not respond within the 40 day statutory period to DPA requestsand apparently looking to continue their purge.
Rumours abound about “Project Anacona” – with leaked emails pointing to Tom Watson. Its purpose is to choke the life out of JC’s leadership. Watson, of course, denies all knowledge.
Meanwhile I’m suspended for something I put on an “unspecified social media page” on “an unspecified date”.
I am considering my position within the Labour Party. I used to be a COO of a small company (£30M turnover) and that was pretty bad but the goings on within the Labour party make those in the “Godfather” (the film) look caring.
Now we have the spectre, possibly, of Bomber Benn and Eagle the Brick returning to the Shad Cab. No, please never, it will play out the same again.
All very upsetting and a threat to democracy or what remains of it.
Pura Vida from Costa Rica.