Agenda 2019

  http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/sep/26/jeremy-corbyn-trident-what-it-takes-to-be-pm        I will not be forced out by my own MP's.           The MP's who are considering staging a "revolt" should also consider that Jeremy Corbyn received over 251,000 votes, or 60% of the votes cast by the membership of the party. In addition to this, around 78,000 people have joined the Labour party since 12th September and many of those, I would suggest, joined because of their support for Jeremy Corbyn. Many Constituency Parties (the CLP's) endorsed Corbyn's nomination on the ballot paper, and of the others who chose to endorse another candidate or not to make any endorsement, many have a significant number of members who do support the new leader. The Parliamentary Labour Party (the PLP) MP's would do well to recognise, whether they like it or not, that there is a new way of doing things in the Labour Party an...

  http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2015/09/jeremy-corbyn-interview-leader-strikes-back   Corbyn’s first week as leader was more shambolic than either his supporters or his opponents had anticipated.     No leader has ever won office with a larger mandate       Shambolic? Increase of 58000+ in Labour party membership since the leadership election result was announced, defections to Labour from other parties,wide spread public support for Labour policies on transport, housing, defence spending and other issues (despite what the Independent, Guardian, Sky News and other elements of the media may try to tell you) Conservative government ripped to shreds in the Trade Union Bill debate, (The Parliamentary Labour party may have lost the vote, but there is no shadow of doubt that they won the arguments.), far from being "shambolic" the first 12 days (is that really all it is?) of Jeremy Corbyn leading the Labour Party have been...

  http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/jeremy-corbyn-will-not-spark-defections-from-the-labour-party--just-a-civil-war-10509520.html Jeremy Corbyn will not spark defections from the Labour Party - just a civil war John Rentoul   In his article on Monday 14th September, John Rentoul demonstrated his acute disappointment, pique and frustration that his preference gained little support in the Labour party leadership contest. Today his article, in another thinly veiled criticism of Jeremy Corbyn, argues that the election of Corbyn will not spark defections from the Labour Party, just a civil war. Rentoul goes on to state that “Left-winger's internal opponents do not want to abandon ship for the Lib Dems, but they do want their party back”, conveniently ignoring the simple truism, that in fact the party “belongs” to its members, and not an elitist clique within the Parliamentary Labour Party. Rentoul may well rue the day when Blair was consigned to history...

BBC and Sky become more biased and more scurillous by the minute. Jane Secker Victoria Derbyshire  When I went to bed last night, Sky News, BBC News and doubtless many other stations, were bleating on about the lack of women in Jeremy Corbyn's Shadow cabinet. I got up this morning at my usual early time, and those same channels were still hysterically screaming about the lack of women, but now had been joined by the usual suspects in the press. A few hours ago, it was announced that the Shadow cabinet will have over 50% women members. I have just turned off the television in disgust at the scurillous, biased, distorted and hysterically hpocritical reporting which continues on television. Victoria Derbyshire on BBC News Channel and Jane Secker on Sky (and no doubt others) are now hysterically questioning every guest on the programme and shouting out in mock indignation that there may be over 50% but none of the women have the top jobs! (and even that slur ...

  http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/dont-mistake-the-freshfaced-enthusiasm-that-jeremy-corbyn-has-inspired-for-a-new-politics-10499227.html Don’t mistake the fresh-faced enthusiasm that Jeremy Corbyn has inspired for a 'new politics'   This is not a movement – it is a sense of frustration looking for people to betray it     John Rentoul: a "Labour-leaning journalist" with slavish admiration for Tony Blair       John Rentoul really is a spiteful and vindictive individual, and bad looser which seems to be typical of those sharing his side of the Labour party. Moreover he is wrong. By venting his spleen against Jeremy Corbyn, who after all gained a stunning victory with 59.5% of the votes cast from all sectors of the party in the leadership election, (a figure which Blair came no way near to achieving) Rentoul reveals his acute disappointment, pique and frustration that his preference gained little support. Th...

  http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/sep/11/jeremy-corbyn-aims-to-throw-out-theatrical-abuse-in-parliament  Turned off by a style of politics which seems to rely on the levels of clubhouse theatrical abuse   The first (relatively) sensible and reasoned article that the Guardian has published in many weeks. Apart from a few of the sometimes spiteful, sometimes silly contributions in the "comments" section, which have become the norm recently and is only to be expected from the usual suspects, the Guardian now seems ready to accept that Jeremy Corbyn will be announced in around 4 hours time, (it is now 07:30am) as the new Leader of the Labour party. Politics in this country will never be the same again and the House of Commons will greatly benefit from the change to the traditional way of doing business amid the baying from both sides of the chamber and the "ya boo exchanges" which have become so familiar to those people bothered to w...

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/sep/08/labour-up-to-eight-shadow-cabinet-members-may-refuse-to-serve-with-corbyn   As many as eight members of the shadow cabinet are considering declaring that they cannot serve on  if Jeremy Corbyn is elected as Labour leader.   In this article, (against which incidentally, the Guardian does not provide the reader with a "comments" section in which to reply), the Guardian make great play on a new faction of the Labour party which it calls "refuseniks", echoing the days of Soviet Russia where the label was an " unofficial term for individuals, typically but not exclusively Soviet Jews, who were denied permission to emigrate by the authorities of the former Soviet Union and other countries of the Eastern bloc". The comparison may have some significance for the editorial board of the Guardian, but it certainly escapes me. However the Guardian, who you will recall nailed its colours to t...

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/sep/01/labour-jeremy-corbyn-chuka-umunna We must all work with Jeremy Corbyn, says Chuka Umunna Chuka Umunna: "We must accept the result of our contest when it comes" It is said that "a week is a long time in politics". Chuka Umunna, the Blairite prodigy who could not endure the spotlight on him, his family and his friends,  coming from the press and media during his short period as a prospective   leadership candidate, has however taken some 15 weeks, since May in fact, to reach the view that "We must all work with Jeremy Corbyn", and then going on to say that we must "not make the mistake of giving the impression that electability requires the party to ditch its principles" Now this seems a little different from his position of a few short months ago, but is a welcome departure from the idea that winning elections is the overriding intention,  no matter how many principles or commitments...

http://news.sky.com/story/1543803/blair-corbynmania-is-alice-in-wonderland Corbynmania Is 'Alice in Wonderland' . In a new warning against a Corbyn victory, Tony Blair says supporters of the Labour race frontrunner live in a "parallel reality". Another intervention from Tony Blair Sky News giving wide coverage as they play the “Blair Card” again. This comes as no surprise as Sky News, their faceless editorial staff from “upstairs”, their predominately biased news anchor's and certainly their Paper review's at 10:30pm and again at 11:00pm, every evening, have clearly shown over the past weeks, an almost hysterical anti Jeremy Corbyn slant on every possible occasion. The Blair intervention has been on every news bulletin for at least 10 minutes since th e “story” broke and pushes all other news items onto the back burner. Just why Sky News should give such hard coverage to a story (apart from taking another opportunity to attack Corb...

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/aug/28/ed-miliband-jeremy-corbyn-labour-leadership#comments Ed Miliband not to blame for Jeremy Corbyn's rise, says former aide Tom Baldwin Just when we thought that the Guardian was running out of ideas for trashing Corbyn and those in the party who support him, Rowena Mason, has dragged out Tom Baldwin (Tom who?) to add his “weight” to the "Don't vote for Corbyn" campaign. In another existence, Rowena Mason was probably the other soothsayer sitting on the steps of the senate in ancient Rome repeating the message, "The ides of March are come! All in well in the House of Caesar!” The Guardian has dragged out the thoughts and quotations of Tom Baldwin as if they represent the beam of enlightenment which will finally ensure that their preference in the contest, Yvette Cooper, will be the next leader of the Labour party. However, an examination of what Baldwin is reported as saying reveal contradi...

  http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/aug/27/jeremy-corbyn-labour-membership-policy-leadership Jeremy Corbyn: Labour membership will determine policy, not me    Labour membership will determine policy. Not me. It is the idea that Labour party policy will be made by Labour party members and not the MP's of the Parliamentary Labour party, that is a major feature of why many of the PLP are so opposed to Jeremy Corbyn and the campaign for him to become Labour leader. It is this prospect which unites the PLP with the hysterical crusade in the media and on television, with its smear, distortion and lies in the "anyone but Corbyn" operation which has been raging for weeks. However, the Labour party has historically, held the position that the party manifesto and therefore its policy, would be determined at Annual Conference and where Conference resolutions and decision were passed, those resolutions would be included in the Labour party manife...

  http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/aug/27/how-will-labour-top-losing-the-election-by-losing-its-own-leadership-contest Francis Martin Patrick "Frankie" Boyle is a Scottish comedian and writer, well known for his pessimistic and often controversial sense of humour. The Labour party hireachy, or the establishment, have always been pertrified of it own party membership. That is why, for decades past, the Party conference has been dominated by the Conference Arragements Committee and its numerous sub committee's, the "Resolution Compositing Committee", (to deal with troublesom resolutions usually from Constituency parties) and the Parliamentary Labour Party (or PLP) The Labour Party hireachy in collusion with the PLP, will go to any lengths and use any tactics, in order to prevent the rank and file members having any influence or control of their own party.

  http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/aug/26/labour-leadership-election-party-to-check-voting-history-of-new-supporters Labour leadership election: party to check voting history of new supporters Secret ballot What happens in the voting booth on Polling Day is a secret between the ballot paper and the voters conscience isn't it? How is it that the Labour party can "check voting history of new supporters "? If this headline is true, then the Labour party " secet police" and their methods of obtaing such information should be exposed and investigated and if necessary subjected to prosecution under the "Representation of the People Act" Or is it that this "story" is just another pathetic piece of journalistic nonsense from Rowena Mason and the pro Cooper campaign being waged by the Guardian?

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/aug/26/jeremy-corbyn-backlash-women-only-train-carriages-cooper-kendall   Jeremy Corbyn faces backlash over women-only train carriages idea      Labour leadership rivals Liz Kendall and Yvette Cooper condemn "proposal"     I recall that when going to school and later to work in the "Strand", I travelled on the "Southern Region" trains. The stations, Putney, Clapham Junction, Vauxhall and the others on the railways system, had "Ladies Only" waiting rooms on all of the platforms in addition to "Ladies Only" compartments or carriages on all the trains. The greatest objections, when British Rail decided to remove this "facility" from trains and stations all over the country, came from women and women's organisations. As this suggestion from the Corbyn camp would be introduced after consultation, should the idea of separate travelling arrangements for female pa...

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/aug/25/labour-leadership-andy-burnham-yvette-cooper-liz-kendall-want-extra-voter-checks  The "witch hunt" continues in the Guardian   Rowena Mason, Political correspondent of the Guardian. This morning, I posted a Blog on, "This is the blackest period in the history of media and television "reporting". This afternoon the story appeared in the Guardian to the effect that "Burnham, Cooper and Kendall demand extra checks on voters" Rowena Mason, Political correspondent and her Guardian paymasters are determined to draw out this witch hunt to the very last minute. The michieveous interventions, even after the Stevenage "meeting" with Harriet Harman, seem to indicate that they at least have not given up hope of installing their prefered candidate as leader of the Labour party and will resort to any trick, distortion orsubterfuge to acheive that objective. Certainly, this "repo...

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/labour-leadership-contest-party-now-fears-infiltration-by-bnp-supporters-10470069.html Labour fears leadership contest has been infiltrated by BNP supporters   The hysteria in the media and on television and not least of all in the Independent, in the campaign to "Stop Corbyn", is being whipped up into frenzy and will become even worse (if that is possible) over the course of the remaining days of the leadership election campaign. During my years in politics, I have seen a number of nasty, negative and vicious campaigns waged against one or other of the camps involved, but without doubt the campaign waged against Jeremy Corbyn over the past few weeks, is the most vicious, distorted and spurious I have witnessed. Today's contribution from the Independent alone offers,in addition to this BNP nonsense, the accusation of "deluding youngsters" and "threats to seize assets". A media te...

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/jeremy-corbyn-compares-actions-of-isis-to-us-military-and-says-some-of-what-they-have-done-is-quite-appalling-10464596.html Jeremy Corbyn compares actions of Isis to US military and says 'some of what they have done is quite appalling' Jeremy Corbyn addressing another packed meeting The media, this time the Independent", are really scrapping the barrel as they leap onto the anti Corbyn bandwagon with another distorted smear. What Corbyn actually said was:  "Yes they (ISIS) are brutal, yes some of what they have done is quite appalling. Likewise, what the Americans did in Fallujah and other places is appalling". He is absolutely right,what happened in Fallujah was appalling and ISIS are brutal. Why the media should be so aroused by someone speaking the truth has more to do with their hypocrisy in reporting "news"designed to smear Corbyn (again) than with any sense, however misguide...

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/jeremy-corbyn-joining-a-shrewd-operator-desperate-for-power-as-he-visits-the-north-east-10462907.html Jeremy Corbyn: Joining a shrewd operator desperate for power as he visits the North East Jeremy Corbyn MP For some weeks now, ever since Jeremy Corbyn had his name added to the ballot paper in fact, the media and not least of all the "Independent", has been engaged in a scurrilous campaign of smear, lies and disinformation aimed at discrediting Corbyn and those who support him. In addition, the descriptions used to ridicule the man have ranged from "Loony" or "Crazy" through to "Bonkers" or "Idiotic" and all points in between. Now it seems, that having failed to persuade people that Corbyn is a comic figure who should not be taken seriously, the Independent is resorting to a new tactic in seeking to convince an increasingly ...

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/aug/17/david-miliband-electing-jeremy-corbyn-risks-one-party-tory-state David Miliband: electing Jeremy Corbyn risks creating one-party Tory state   David Miliband Liz Kendall is backed by David Miliband Miliband major endorses Kendal and predicts a dark future of a "one party state" should Jeremy Corbyn become leader of the Labour party. Still smarting from his rejection in the previous Labour leadership election, Miliband major seeks the return of a Labour government under the leadership of Kendal (or even Cooper or Burnham if Kendal fails to win the September vote) to bring about changes in British society. However, the Miliband major, Kendal, Cooper and Burnham view of the Untied Kingdom is rather different from the views of thousands of other people. In the years since Thatcher, how much of the Tory anti Trade Union legislation passed by her government, has the Labour party repealed? H...

  http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/yvette-coopers-campaign-literature-is-starting-to-look-a-bit-desperate-10459983.html Labour leadership race: Why is Yvette Cooper so happy to be David Miliband's second choice? Another "Grandee" discarded by the Labour party and still no doubt smarting from the rejection, crawls out from the woodwork of his little box in the United States to endorse Liz Kendal. Strange how the "old guard" of the Blairite section of the Labour party are sticking together, Straw, Johnson, Campbell, Hunt, Umunna and the rest are hanging on to the hope that, as John McTernan put it, " The Labour party was saved by "the right" and it will be "saved by the right" again". Although in this desperate hope, Miliband major seems to have broken ranks with the others by endorsing Kendal rather than the candidate tipped as being the most able to challenge Jeremy Corbyn and secure...