Polls closed. I daren't start hoping (as I've said - I can deal with failure, it's hope that hurts), but a friend of mine who was going Corbyn bottled it at the last minute.

 

:D

 

We can but hope!

I also bottled it after flip-flopping more times than Andy Burnhham on the Welfare Bill.

!

Polls closed. I daren't start hoping (as I've said - I can deal with failure, it's hope that hurts), but a friend of mine who was going Corbyn bottled it at the last minute.

 

I just expect the worst at all times, if wrong it's a pleasant surprise.

 

Bottled Corbyn? Sounds like a new fragrance available at all of the usual stores - you can spot it on the shelves leaning heavily towards the left.

I'm surprised Corbyns camp didn't just decide to withdraw in the last few weeks and say 'we made our point'!

I'm surprised Corbyns camp didn't just decide to withdraw in the last few weeks and say 'we made our point'!

 

It's rumoured that they asked him to but he refused as he sensed victory and fancied being leader! :)

In my experience, very few of these people exist. Hardly anyone in the party actually likes the Blair formula with their hearts, there were just pragmatists who were willing to tolerate the Blair formula while it was a) winning elections, and b ) atleast had some sense of rock-solid principles which they would never betray no matter how unpopular they were. Since the Blairites now have lost two general elections in a row, and they now support the kind of austerity that the real Blair never did, that number of pragmatists is obviously smaller than ever.

And there speaks someone who has never had the misfortune of going to a Labour Students conference.

It's rumoured that they asked him to but he refused as he sensed victory and fancied being leader! :)

 

I still think Corbs is only going to be in it for a few years, set Labour back on the right path policy-wise, then stand aside for another lefty (presumably Clive Lewis) before 2020. I think even Jez has the self-awareness to know he won't win an election.

Edited September 11, 20159 yr by Danny

Who's Clive Lewis?

Corbyn has walked it! Almost 60% of the vote in the first round :o

Does anyone know the last time someone became Leader of the Opposition without ever being on the party's frontbench?

And indie band name dropper Tom Watson as deputy. I'm looking forward to seeing what Jeremy Corbyn will do in his 2 years leading the Labour Party.

And indie band name dropper Stella Creasy as deputy. I'm looking forward to seeing what Jeremy Corbyn will do in his 2 years leading the Labour Party.

Oh, if only.

I've had my reservations about him (he dipped to my 2nd-choice in the end) but he's talented at speaking, I'm looking forward to seeing what he'll do, whether that is as far as the next election or whether he gets dropped after a year. Definitely feels like there's a sense of excitement about this result.

I've had my reservations about him (he dipped to my 2nd-choice in the end) but he's talented at speaking, I'm looking forward to seeing what he'll do, whether that is as far as the next election or whether he gets dropped after a year. Definitely feels like there's a sense of excitement about this result.

 

Major sense of excitement if you're a socialist. The only problem is we don't live in the 1980s anymore. And he doesn't have the charisma to win the middle ground um-and-ah voters.

 

Can't argue with someone that wins with 60% of the vote in the first round. The people have spoken, he represents hope so I can see why a lot of people wanted him elected. Good luck to him, he does seem like a good guy with good intentions at heart. But he's about to get absolutely crucified. The far left of the party have finally got what they wanted.

The ideal scenario for the 2020 election - Corbyn vs Rees-Mogg. Probably the only chance Corbyn would have of leading a Labour government.

Are you suggesting that Jack Mogg might struggle to be seen as a man of the people? His butler may have something to say about that.

he's a nice man with nice intentions, straight talking and principled. He'll be eaten alive, or ground down exhausted, or both, long before the general election unless he gets a team around him to do the dirty work while he has afternoon naps a la Reagan.

 

The Labour Party has to make the most of it, stop sulking, start attacking Tories, drop the nuttier proposals (its just ammunition for the right wing millionaire press) and see what happens in the polls. Assuming voting intention polls are reliable....

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/polit...d=facebook-post

 

Senior Labour figures line up to rule out serving on Jeremy Corbyn's front bench:

 

A number of senior Labour figures have reacted to Jeremy Corbyn becoming Labour leader by ruling themselves out of serving on his front bench.

 

Former shadow treasury minister Rachel Reeves, former shadow education secretary Tristram Hunt and former housing minister Emma Reynolds are amongst those to have ruled out taking shadow ministerial posts.

 

Ms Reeves said she would “serve [her constituents in Leeds West, party & new leadership from backbenches” when she returned from maternity leave next year.

 

Mr Hunt said he deserved “respect and support” as the new leader of the party but told the PA news agency:

 

“I will not seek to be part of the front bench … I have substantial political differences with Jeremy.”

 

Former leader Ed Miliband also said in an interview with Sky News that he would support Mr Corbyn but remain a backbencher, where he would campaign on issues including inequality and climate change.

 

Jamie Reed, an MP for Cumbria, said in a letter distributedonline before Mr Corbyn’s victory speech had even concluded, that he would not serve on the front bench.

 

Yvette Cooper said she did not expect to serve on the frontbench under Mr Corbyn's leadership. Liz Kendall has previous said she would not work with Mr Corbyn.

 

Labour MP Wes Streeting defended his colleagues and said their actions were not disloyal.

 

"Before everyone starts having a pop, it's perfectly reasonable for colleagues to serve in shadow team or not. Neither is disloyal folks..." he posted on Twitter.

 

Mr Corbyn was elected as Labour leader to succeed Ed Miliband on a landslide, gaining 59.5 per cent of the vote.

 

The result was compared to 19 per cent for Andy Burnham, 17 per cent for Yvette Cooper and 4.5 per cent for Liz Kendall.

 

Despite only gaining the bare minimum of nominations from MPs to get on the ballot paper, the new leader of the opposition proved very popular with members, registered supporters, and affiliated trade unionists.

 

He now faces the daunting task of leading a party whose establishment was dead-set against his victory and who warned that he could destroy the party.

I'm looking forward to seeing who will populate Corbyn's Cabinet. I imagine he'll fill it with future thinking young whippersnappers like Gerald Kauffman, Dennis Skinner and David Winnick.