Who would want the worst political job in the world?

Well, they're queuing up, apparently!  I refer to the vacancy left by the 'execution' of that ineffable idiot, Jeremy Corbyn, hitherto the (alleged) leader of the Labour party.  Why anyone would volunteer to enter that pit of roiling snakes and loonies beats me but - hey! - that's politics for you!  If another mouth-dribbling Leftie wins then he or she can look forward to at least another ten years of electoral contempt and defeat.  If, on the other hand, a soft Leftie wins then they can expect a never ending hail of stones and rocks from the Marxist 'mouth-dribblers' who will shriek "Traitor!" at every opportunity.

Of course, if the 'il-Lib-non-Dems', or what is left of them, had more than three brain cells they would mount an enormous subversion campaign aimed at stripping the Labour party of its semi-sensible adherents and forming a new Left of Centre grouping that would offer intelligent policies aimed at providing what the dreaded 'Peeps' want rather than the sort of material over which your average University student masturbates!

In the meantime, of course, Boris (and Dom) will bumble on and we must all hope that they avoid any major pile-ups because, at present, they are the only government we have!  HOODATHUNKIT?

 

 

 

Comments

[Whitewall]

When Lefties fight each other for power, they often wear knives in their backs as fashion accessories.

[Bob]

Whitewall, this is another rare occasion on which we agree. Lefties naturally tend toward back-stabbing. However, if they all agreed with each other they wouldn't be lefties. They'd be righties.

David, you've been over at Carpenter's too often. The political center is almost never a useful concept. Bill Clinton tried to position the Democrats in the so-called center and began the destruction of the party, along with helping to create the 2007 financial meltdown that further eroded the party's base with an assist from Obama's slightly less toxic "third way" approach. You wouldn't claim that Trump has anything to do with centrism, would you?

Clinton's nearest equivalent over there is Tony Blair, or "Bliar" as he's known to your political left. Despite his success in the short term he discredited centrism in the long run and created the backlash in which Corbyn flourished. Probably, since Corbyn's people are so entrenched at this point, Labour won't be moving toward anything more sensible soon, and it appears Boris is trying to occupy their potential ground before they have a chance. What might break the tie is the way Brexit plays out. Politics everywhere has become way too complicated for the 18th century left-right definitions.

[Whitewall]

Bob,
We should mark this day!

Trump has little to do with "centrism" as such; it is more to do with seeing Normal people being gleefully left behind by an unaccountable governing class. The D party is gone to the left but the R party was flaccid and incapable of fighting. Thus, Trump. He fights close quarters and bare knuckles. After all, he ran against both parties. We didn't hire him to like him or for him to 'get along'. Trump knows it is no longer "left/right but above the line/below the line as well.

[Bob]

We also agree on "above the line/below the line". However, it's hard to make a case that everything is just a matter of politics. Globalism, technology (especially robotics and artificial intelligence), population pressures, the emerging countries (BRIC), and climate change (man made or not) are all big factors. Both left and right parties are struggling to cope with the changes.

[Whyaxye]

I see the leadership contest as splendid comedy theatre. My only regret is that David Lammy has ruled himself out of the running. It would have been a joy to have an Idi Amin lookalike at the cenotaph, or at PMQs.

[Loz]

However, if they all agreed with each other they wouldn't be lefties. They'd be righties.

Errr, helllooo, what about me? I ruck as much with authoritarian righties as I do authoritarian lefties. And I'd struggle to slide a fag paper between my position and a libertarian lefty (such as there are any libertarian lefties in politics today).

Mrs T's back had as much party kitchenware implantation as any lefty's!

The Brexit ruck was as internecine on the right as the left.

And when the Thatcherite wing of the Tories sees the BoJo Cummings "blue socialists" / "Brexity Hezza's" (as BoJo described his very own self!) doing the do, there'll be a scrap of almighty proportions (at least I bloody well hope there will!).

Nolan's chart's four quadrants are as tall as they are broad. Plenty of opportunity for factional blood-letting left, right and centre!

SoD

[Bob]

Whether you are mainly motivated by resenting, following or enforcing authority, you're still confined by authority as motivation.

I didn't mean to suggest Brexit has to do with only the left or right. In fact, my poorly-made point was that it didn't. However, it's likely to be an event that causes a major political re-alignment.

[Bob]

SoD,

In my scheme of things "left" and "right" only make sense in terms of political psychology. If you're interested in how big data, politics, psychology and authority intersect you should read this book:

https://www.amazon.com/Mindf-Cambridge-Analytica-Break-America/dp/B07XLD25B4