An Evening With The 'Unelectable' Jeremy Corbyn

Frontrunner Corbyn?

The past two months have seen the rise and rise of Jeremy Corbyn, to the point where he is likely to become the next Labour leader. Having watched on television and online at the rapid rise of Corbyn and his policies, I was unsure what to make of him especially given the opinions of many Labour big hitters. So it was with interest and curiosity that I spent an evening with Jeremy last night in Newcastle.

A host of left wing political speakers had their five minutes including a speech from the Unison leader who has backed Corbyn wholeheartedly. After much fist pumping, lecturn thumping and being called 'comrades' Jeremy was greeted with rapturous and lengthy applause. What he said was convincing and was clearly well researched and principled, talking about the need for equality, empathy, a levelling of the economic playing field and the values of the NHS.

It is hard to argue with anything that he spoke about and his ideas were clearly honest, full of thought and passion which brings me to why so many Labour veterans are so passionate and vocal about the need to not elect Corbyn as leader. Despite everything that Corbyn said, with which I could not find fault as a leftist myself, the evening left me leaning towards the opposition rather than joining Corbynmania.

Unelectable?

My reason for turning against the tide go back to the reasons for electoral defeat in May this year. I voted Labour and had, still have, much time and support for Ed Miliband so I was as shocked as anyone to see the exit poll and the evening that followed in May. However in reflection Ed, as much as I admire him and his policies, made a couple of crucial mistakes that made it easy for the Conservative party and their attack, which I fear Corbyn plays in to once again.
 
The Tories consistently and regularly labelled Labour as irresponsible, untrustworthy and reckless in charge of the country's economy. No matter the facts (of course Labour were not the cause of the GLOBAL financial crisis) the public bought in to this story and could not trust Labour despite the excellent and prudent manifesto that Ed Miliband put forward, proven by the fact David and George stole a number of policies for the following budget.

The reason I bring these painful memories back up is because I feel Corbyn plays perfectly in to the Conservative stereotyping of a Labour government. Listening to the speakers last night, as admirable and visionary the ideas were, I simply do not think his vision for the country is achievable and crucially affordable. Lynton Crosby and David Cameron can stick to their simple line of attack and say Labour would spend and spend, painting the reckless picture once again. This line of attack has proven to be successful and I fear would reopen the phrase, "cleaning up Labours' mess."

The Centre Ground

Four candidates, one winner....announced in September.

As a leftist myself I would prefer a Labour that positions itself slightly more to the left of the argument and a Labour that actually opposes the Conservative agenda much more to show the public there is a choice and a difference between the parties. However Corbyn would move the party dramatically to the left, leaving room for the Conservatives to control the centre and right of politics. This is something that they are already looking to activate with the talk of one nation Conservatives and the party of the working people.....no matter how ridiculous that sounds.

If Labour is to win in 2020 votes must be gained from UKIP and Greens, it would not be enough for Labour to simply take from the Green party or the much maligned Lib Dems. No matter how much I might agree with what Corbyn says and his beliefs, the fact of the matter is the public are a wide variety of people, beliefs and opinions, taking the party to one side of the argument is unlikely to win enough votes to regain power.

The Way to Win?

I am no electioneer or strategist, as much as I'd like to be, but I believe it does not require a dramatic change for Labour to win in 2020. In England Labour's share of the vote increased and I believe showing a bit more opposition and difference in policy, particularly towards the need for austerity, would win further votes. Showing a willingness to tackle tax avoidance and the massive gap in equality would be another vote winner and show a difference to the Conservatives.

Crucially the next four years should be spent changing public opinion that Labour caused the financial crash, that lie needs to be addressed in a large way and Labour needs to stand up to the Tory fear and lies strategies.

As much as I admire Corbyn for his policies and strongly held beliefs I do not think he is right for the leader of the party because he plays straight in to the Conservative stereotyping and affords them the chance to grasp the centre ground of politics. I believe this is what Blair and co. have been trying to point out albeit in the worst possible, heavy handed way. I would therefore give my backing to Andy Burnham for leader and Tom Watson as deputy.

Whether you agree or disagree with me I would love if you share my blog, post a comment and spark a discussion. At the end of the day many who read this I'm sure want a Labour government and have the party's best interests at heart.

Politics in the Media

Under a week to go until the nation goes to the voting booth. I noted in my previous post what I feel the choice is facing people in this election and this hasn't changed. What has changed and built during the campaign is my disappointment with the media in this country.

Firstly you should understand I was once obsessed with the media, I wanted to work within it and found it a fascinating, powerful and interesting profession. I was taught that the media was the fourth estate, its very purpose was to represent the general public and hold its politicians, businesses and councillors to account. I felt it stood for an important part of a democracy. This has changed with the way the campaign has gone. I don't want to say that it undermines our democracy but we are simply not being given the facts.

Rupert Murdoch is the main antagonist in this story. Owner of almost half of the nations biggest newspapers, it used to be widely accepted that what he reported had a big say in how elections went, this is why we have seen consecutive Conservative and Labour governments pander to his wants. This has changed, or at least partially, given the outcome of the Leveson inquiry and social media. Mr. Murdoch is scared of losing his monopoly.

On the Cusp of Change

Now I say this has changed only partially because there is only one person in this election willing to see this change in the landscape. Ed Miliband is the first leading politician to stand up to this monopoly of the media and has earned so much respect from me for doing so. Ed has committed to fulfilling the Leveson recommendations and has said that plurality of ownership is vital, signalling to Murdoch his newspapers won't all last. Ed clearly also much sense that newspapers are losing their power and public sway to social media, in particular I feel to twitter, which has allowed Ed to have this chance to 'have a go' at Murdoch.

His actions have seen Ed become 'Red Ed' 'inept' 'backstabber' and 'irresponsible' because of this stance. The Tory party, who have courted Rebecca Brookes, Andy Coulson and Rupert himself, have benefitted and remain in the pocket of those rich media 'moguls'. David Cameron has unsurprisingly ignored the Leveson inquiry, employed the convicted phone tapper Andy Coulson and had numerous dinners with Rebecca Brookes, all so that he can remain the slick, well oiled, media luvvy.

The Treatment of Ed

This has consequently led to massively biased and basically falsified reports about policies or polls. It has led to the under-reporting of falsified letters of support from businesses, identity fraud by the Conservative chairman, Labour poll leads and the ridiculing of Labour policies no matter the support in public or in respected circles. It is massively skewing the public view of politics, not giving the public all the facts and I hesitate to say it but letting democracy down.

It is to Ed's credit that he has poll leads, despite fighting against this massive media bias. The debates have been massively successful, allowing the public to see the real person and not the media perception of him. I wonder whether the polls we see, might just be for the first time unreliable, given the importance of social media which might arguably be more representative of the nation that the newspapers. A sorry sentence to say.

The media used to be my dream job but this election has really shown, not just to me I must add, the flaws and disgraces of our media system. Only time will tell if we see real change in this issue and many others by electing a Labour government and a leader who stands up to people rather than uses them for selfish reasons.

To my right is a video from Newsnight when the Daily Mail claimed Ed Miliband's father HATED Britain. No better example of what I am talking about.



P.S. I am a huge fan of George The Poet, he is backing an idea of posting your own 15 second manifesto to show the most important issue or issues affecting you this election. I would love to hear what your views are.

Why I'm Voting Labour

The past five years have been an eventful few years. Politically I believe the last five years can be summed up with two words, competition and fear. I am convinced this is how the Conservative government have ruled and it cuts to heart of their vision for the country. This plays to the main reason I am voting Labour in just over two weeks and it is a stark choice in how the country should be built. Giving those at the bottom of society and working people a foundation, making the country work for them or making money for the top of society which we hope will trickle down to help the rest of us.

Competition

This government has introduced the bedroom tax, top down reorganisation of the NHS, a new curriculum in to schools, extreme cuts to most areas of government and of course a reduced top level of tax. What has all of this done to our country? It has promoted a sense of competition between colleagues, classes and professions. We were told of mythical benefit scroungers across the country while those at the top enjoyed a tax cut. The classes were pitted against each other.

In education a new curriculum was introduced which had a distinct lack of assessment, leaving schools and councils to figure that part out themselves or in essence encouraging competition between schools and councils. There was also a slow introduction of competitive pay for teachers, paying your best teachers more, once again competition was introduced between colleagues for the best pay based on grades and results. Incidentally results that have been basically left for schools to work out for themselves.

Finally we come to the NHS. A top down organisation was introduced which laid the foundations for competition, to allow services to be provided by other (for profit) companies, in the process breaking a promise made in the 2010 election. We already have outside companies running some NHS services and GP practices, competing with each other, competing with our lives in order to make money. Profit before patients.

Fear

As you can see competition has been steadily introduced to every part of life. This in turn brings fear, fear of losing your job through extreme cuts, fear of being paid less due to a bad set of results or fear that your money is being given to the undeserving. Immigration was another chance for the Conservatives and in particular UKIP to use fear to their advantage, I don't think I need to explain how.

We can see the fear tactic in play during the current election campaign. Conservatives praying on fear, claiming the chaos of anyone but them in government, claiming SNP demands could leave England in danger. The fear that a Labour government was responsible for a GLOBAL economic crash, forgetting the influence and irresponsibility of two major global banks. It is important we see through these fear strategies and aren't ruled by the tactics of a Putin-light. The video below illustrates these fear tactics in play..... 

Why Labour?

So this brings me to why I'm voting Labour. Repealing the health and social care act that brought in one element of competition, repealing the bedroom tax which set the course for class struggle and reducing the extreme regime of cuts. I listen to Ed Miliband and believe in the vision he has for the country, that works from the bottom up and reduces the gap from bottom to top, an economy built on growing expendable income of the majority, larger contributions from the elite to help rebuild a proper safety net with the NHS, increased minimum wage and less extreme welfare cuts.

I come back to my initial thought, my vote depends on how I believe this country should be run. We are a democracy that pays taxes to spend on public services and a safety net for the unluckiest of society. Those who earn more, contribute more simply because they can afford it and recognise their responsibility to society. This has not been happening for the past 5 years and it would not happen under a Conservative government, instead of spending on public services money has been cut, instead of the elite giving more they have built a cash reserve and don't intend to lose it.

I'm voting Labour because I believe Ed Miliband can produce this sort of country. A man who has already stood up to Rupert Murdoch, the energy companies and the USA over Syria, can level the playing field. I believe the mansion tax, increase in top rate of tax and bankers levies will produce extra funds better distributed by a Labour government. Call it socialist if you like but this is what I feel this country needs to not only clear the debt but become a fairer, more equal society.

I leave you with an, I believe, quite accurate video of what this government thinks.....