Deputy leader of the Labour Party Tom Watson has joined the party's dissenters publishing negative opinions in the previously Labour supporting publication the Guardian. It is an open secret that the Guardian is struggling to keep its head above water in these tough news times, with competition from the Internet and social media. Last week it was a previous Labour darling Owen Jones and Tuesday it is Tom Watson; his post is titled "Trotskyists 'twisting arms' of young Labour members to back Corbyn, Watson says." Watson has attracted an angry response on Twitter but also inadvertently become the butt of the joke as #TrotskyiteTwist trends along with Vines of various dancers doing the twist. But there is of course a more menacing side to all of this. Sharing such opinion pieces in widely read and supported publications hammers home a message whether it is true or false. Hard-left “Trotsky entryists” have been “twisting the arms” of young Labour members to shore up Jeremy Corbyn’s control of the party, the deputy leader Tom Watson has said. It is posted as news not an opinion piece.
More mind manipulation with the media the message? On Facebook's Labour Party Forum one of the male admins posted a link to the story with the following: "You're being led by Trots! Or so Tom Watson puts at least part of Corbyn's popularity down to. He also doesn't think you should have such a big say on who is party leader. Given that part of his mandate as Deputy Leader is social media engagement, I think it'd be a great idea to let him know why you did vote/intend to vote for Corbyn here (or why you didn't/intend not to, of course), and what you think of the state of the Labour Party as I know he posts on here occasionally (it goes without saying that normal forum rules apply to any comments; those that don't will be deleted) Sure enough Watson came out of the Facebook woodwork. He posted a link to another of his Guardian pieces saying "I have no doubt that David Robinson will not like the interview that lead to the Guardian headline but for clarity, it may be worth reading it in conjunction with the news report. Best to you all, even the people who don't agree with me." It made not an iota of difference to me. It lacks credibilty like Mr Watson. Links to both reports are posted at the end of this opinion piece. For what it's worth here is my opinion: I noticed Watson looking shame-faced, squirming a bit in his seat in the House of Commons and allowing Angela Eagle to step ino Corbyn's shoes when he was not in the Commons from day one. I often wondered why? To my mind a deputy leader is just that and should deputise when the leader is away. Retired these days I found myself watching PMQs as it happens, live on TV, from the House of Commons. And I often wondered why Watson even turned up? He was more supportive when Eagle stood in for Corbyn but he appeared quite unnecessary the rest of the time. As the fight for the Labour Party continues we supporters and members all virtually 'die' a little. Words said will not be easily forgotten or forgiven. Every ill-worded piece aimed at removing Corbyn may act as reverse psychology. I am not a Trot, I am not a Moron, I am not young, I am not easily led by arm twisters, I am not a Corbynista but I appear to be in each of those categories if you take note of some in the Labour Party. I wonder what I will be when it comes to local and General Elections? https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/a-show-of-no-confidence-in-tom-watson-mp-deputy-leader-labour http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/aug/09/trotskyists-young-labour-members-jeremy-corbyn-tom-watson http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/aug/09/tom-watson-interview-jeremy-corbyn-labour-rifts-hug-shout
5 Comments
Opinion: Monday justice has thrown a spanner in the workings of the Labour Party as 5 party members have won a legal challenge enabling them to vote in the leadership election. That opens the door for many more They had been excluded when Labour's NEC, National Executive Committee, made retrospective changes limiting who could vote in the upcoming election. They were barred as a timeline of January 12, 2016, was set. It almost looked as if Labour had perhaps inadvertently taken money under false pretences. Arguments that becoming a party member is about more than voting and sometimes eligibility to vote is not instant were easily shot down in flames. The Labour Party website made many grandiose promises to those who might decide to sign up and voting was one. What happens next? Surely a new timeline must be set? The financial cost of all this will be devasting and then there is the PR cost. Some Labour MPs have illustrated all that can be and is wrong in British politics by going into overdrive to oust party Leader Jeremy Corbyn. Backbenchers heckled Corbyn in the House of Commons chanting resign and worse; they passed a non-binding vote of no confidence; they began plotting last year ahead of the leadership election; they resigned pinning their resignation letters on Twitter timelines for all the world to see; they showed no compassion or humanity. During all of this they failed to hold the Tories to account. Monday the latest smear tactic from the challengers, camp, Owen Smith, is attacking James Schneider of Momentum for his background and politics. They continue to plummet the depths making themselves and the party unelectable. There will be no easy way back from all of this; a clean break may be the only way forward. Monday thousands will be celebrating as they become eligible to vote but Labour's NEC are already planning an appeal. As BBC News reports "The court's decision could add as many as 126,592 people to the list of those eligible to vote in the contest, an expansion of about a third of the membership." What does the Owen Smith Camp have to fear from that decision? You may well ask. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-37009871 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/labour-leadership-contest-jeremy-corbyn-members-how-to-vote-rules-ruling-verdict-owen-smith-latest-a7178436.html https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jul/20/labour-25-fee-vote-jeremy-corbyn-undemocratic-legal-challenge [There will be an appeal but there is at least one petition - https://www.change.org/p/labour-party-don-t-appeal-the-court-decision - opposing this as members will in effect have to foot-the-bill] While Owen Smith and Tony Blair in the first images opt to share a camera shoot with wealthy Tories Mr Corbyn was caught on camera after getting chatting to a man begging on a train. They discussed homelessness. I wonder what Tony Blair chatted to Margaret Thatcher about?
Opinion: The Internet and social media is great but like everything in this life far from perfect.
The problem is most of us jump on posts assuming they are credible and accurate. Sometimes they are not. Well we all make mistakes. But sometimes the error is malevolent. This week an image of a football supporters rally in Liverpool was posted as an image from the Jeremy Corbyn rally held this week in Liverpool. It was quickly shared and shared again but it was not fit for purpose. Well as we have already said mistakes happen but was it started for all the wrong reasons in this case? Certainly opponents of Mr Corbyn who is on the leadership election campaign trail had a field day with accusations of fake. But Thurday and as the first husting bewteen Corbyn and Smith was hosted a fake You Gov post was doing the rounds. As more people will have seen the fake poll image than the confirmation that it was fake I guess mission accomplished for some. The only camp to win from the fake poll was Owen Smith's. So we will leave you to draw your own conclusions. At least Jeremy Corbyn is real! Op-ed: The United Kingdom Independence Party threw a spanner in the works of British politics attracting voters from the right and the left but surely with BRexit playing out UKIP is finished?
Some in the political class still believe the referendum result can be overturned which could be one reason UKIP still exists or perhaps it will opt for reinvention as another type of political party. UKIP has been a one-trick pony party for years with Nigel Farage MEP as party leader. It has one MP Douglas Carswell who defected from the Tory party. After the 2015 General Election Farage resigned but quickly changed his mind. However following the EU referendum majority vote for the UK to leave the EU he quit again but this time for real. UKIP are now in the throes of a leadership election and it is proving to be far from plain sailing. Wednesday BBC News reports "UKIP leadership hopeful Steven Woolfe has been ruled "ineligible" to stand in the contest to replace Nigel Farage - after he submitted his papers late." Woolfe claims he was 15 minutes late and that was due to technical issues with the website. But why leave it so late? The domino effect quickly kicked in Wednesday and three NEC members quickly quit in protest. "Announcing their resignations, Victoria Ayling, Raymond Finch and Michael McGough said in a joint statement that the party's governing body "is no longer fit for purpose" and called for a vote of no confidence in the NEC." But Woolfe was not the preferred candidate for others for many reasons. He is "northern lad of mixed race" who many in UKIP believe could attract voters in traditional Labour heartlands but never forget that UKIP is intrinsically another right wing political party. It has its roots in Conservative politics. At the last election Farage advised his supporters to vote Tory in constituencies where UKIP could not win. That stance was sold to the electorate on PM Cameron's promise of an EU in / out referendum. But expect the same at the next General Election. UKIP is a Tory Party of a different name and colour, gold and purple rather than Tory blue. As for Mr Woolfe he is a former legal adviser to hedge funds and has advocated scrapping the state pension in favour of a private system where every child gets £2,000 at birth. This week he admitted failing to declare a drink-driving conviction when he stood for a police and crime commissioner post. He claims he "forgot." But that is a beach of electoral law. UKIP hope for proportional representation rather than the UK's current first past the post system. If that was changed going by previous elections they could do very well. But in a post BRexit period can they and will they? http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/staggers/2016/08/who-steven-woolfe-meet-northern-mixed-race-ukip-frontrunner http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/ukip-steven-woolfe-withholding-drink-drive-charge-nigel-farage-a7167001.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-36962266 |
British political scene
The next General Election in the UK may not be scheduled any time soon but the British political landscape is changing. With that in mind this blog will concentrate on the political scene but with a left wing perspective. Opinion pieces and news will bring you the stories that the MSM prefer to ignore. Archives
September 2018
Categories
All
|