If they pick Long-Bailey then just f*** the Labour Party in general. They have no idea what they are doing. I'm sure I'll get called a plonker in here, but there is zero chance Long-Bailey wins an election for Labour, you can quote me in 2024 if you like, as I know I'm right.

 

Just proves to me Momentum and the Unions are more interested in controlling the party rather than winning a power outside of their idealistic fantasy world.

I mean, for me the electability matters less because this is just the leader they have for their time in the wilderness. The scale of the defeat means that the Tories are extremely likely to govern until 2029 (can I write YIKES in size 72 font) and that means a new leader in 2024-25 to launch a credible challenge when I'm in my 30s anyway.

 

They also have time for two leadership elections this cycle if they so wish.

I don't think Long-Bailey would be a good leader for a few reasons, mainly being too closely linked to the Corbyn project, but hey, it's not my party.

 

Although I have been debating whether to join the party in the hope of trying to influence its direction from the inside (and to be able to vote in the upcoming Leadership Contest), although being from Northern Ireland and being me, I doubt I would win as many people over as I would like.

If Angela's not running for leader they can't choose her can they. RLB will run on a sort of joint dream ticket, Sky are saying, with her as leader and Angela as her Deputy. Angela should have insisted it was the other way round. :(

Edited December 17, 20195 yr by Crazy Chris-tmas

I mean, for me the electability matters less because this is just the leader they have for their time in the wilderness. The scale of the defeat means that the Tories are extremely likely to govern until 2029 (can I write YIKES in size 72 font) and that means a new leader in 2024-25 to launch a credible challenge when I'm in my 30s anyway.

 

They also have time for two leadership elections this cycle if they so wish.

I think that's unduly pessimistic. If Labour can win, say, 30 seats from the Tories at the next election with the Lib Dems picking up around another ten, that's the Tory majority gone.

There's no reason why Labour cannot win the next election with an electable leader like Keir, Jess etc.

There's no reason why Labour cannot win the next election with an electable leader like Keir, Jess etc.

 

 

Can't see anyone beating Boris. So after he's no longer PM.

Picking RLB would be an absolute disaster! Such a resounding election defeat should be a kick up the arse, knowing that there's a lot of change that needs to happen. As much as I love the idea of the society Corbyn wanted to build, clearly the public didn't and to try go and for that again is only going to lead to another crushing defeat.

 

The more I think about it, the more I come around to Jess. I think she'll be a strong Leader Of The Opposition, she's not for everyone and she won't be a Labour prime minister, but there's 5 years of the Tories yet for Labour to rebuild themselves and stepping away from Corbyn's side of Labour, I think Jess is the best woman to do that.

I would LOVE to see Jess Phillips v Boris Johnson and PMQs, I think she would do very well.

 

It will be interesting to see what policies all the potential leaders will put forward, as even though this was a heavy defeat Liam, I would say the evidence points to the fact that a lot of the policies on say public ownership of rail and water ARE popular with the public and I for one would be disappointed if they were dropped now. The missed opportunity of the Green New Deal that wasn't explained well at all during the campaign needs to be part of the next leadership programme too IMO.

I would LOVE to see Jess Phillips v Boris Johnson and PMQs, I think she would do very well.

 

It will be interesting to see what policies all the potential leaders will put forward, as even though this was a heavy defeat Liam, I would say the evidence points to the fact that a lot of the policies on say public ownership of rail and water ARE popular with the public and I for one would be disappointed if they were dropped now. The missed opportunity of the Green New Deal that wasn't explained well at all during the campaign needs to be part of the next leadership programme too IMO.

You're right about PMQs but I'm not convinced that makes much difference.

 

If the performance of the leaders at PMQs is considered to be significant, Johnson will be very vulnerable - even if he keeps up his current record and only does about four sessions per year. That still leaves the question of how to beat him. Do you try to expose him at his bullying worst? If so, go for someone like Jess Phillips. Or do you expose his lack of attention to detail? That would favour someone like Keir Starmer, a trained barrister.

Long Bailey looks like Swinson 2.0. Obviously the woman can't help how she looks naturally, but the way she styles herself looks very school prefect imo.

That's true about the policies Doctor Blind, Jess put it best when she said that trust needs to be rebuilt because a lot of the problems are because of the trust in the Labour party that's distengrated more and more, to the point where Boris is somehow seen as a better option. That's why we need a strong leader of the opposition like Jess who will speak up for whatever she believes in and keep fighting, but will resonate with the working class that seem to have abandoned Labour for this election. She would absolutely eviscerate Johnson and that's what needs to be done, it will be hugely satisfying to see and hopefully chip away until people see through the Tories next election (here's hoping).

 

Big worry is that she seems to be getting a lot of flack for being a TERF, but I actually can't find anything on that? :lol: I've also seen racist banded at her because she seems to have clashed with Diane Abbott, but I don't know if that's really just the "woke" Twitter brigade tearing her down because she's more to the centre than they'd like, I've not seen enough of things to judge that. Retract my support if she turns out to be either of those things, but the more I see of her personality, the more I think she's got the right fire about her for a leader of the opposition.

Long Bailey looks like Swinson 2.0. Obviously the woman can't help how she looks naturally, but the way she styles herself looks very school prefect imo.

HAHAHA oh my god that's too accurate.

 

I know it's not Big Brother or who you'd want to go for a pint with, but I get that same "can't put my finger on it" feeling with her as I do with Jo Swinson.

@1207061650450403334

 

Well, he’s definitely going for it then.

Edited December 18, 20195 yr by blacksquare

The problem with Jess Phillips is that she is a hothead. Yes she will give the Tories as good as it gets but she's also a very decisive figure. The Labour Party probably needs a unifying figure right now to firstly bring everyone to sign off the same sheet. I feel she would probably create greater divides in the party rather than unifying it. Saying that she's probably a much better fit than Long-Bailey.

 

For me Starmer is that guy to lead the party at least in the short term. I don't see anything wrong with appointing someone who is the best fit for the role rather than trying to appoint someone purely because Labour needs a female leader.

The allegations of Jess Phillips being a TERF seem to come from this Twitter thread, of her supporting a group called Woman's Place UK who apparently have used transphobic dogwhistles, and Jess not directly answering when being questioned if she thinks trans women are women.

 

https://twitter.com/jessphillips/status/931093574011191296

 

She's also been accused of 'laughing at men's suicide' (which I'm certain is a gross misinterpretation, and she has denied that, I'm sure she's just a very strong feminist but that's being twisted to her being against men, but this idea seems to have been pretty pervasive).

 

I don't think she's necessarily done anything wrong but I'd have a very bad feeling about her being the leader with the amount of shit that's been thrown at her already. Not that any of the other contenders are without their own qualities that the right-wing media is gonna right-wing media about but still.

 

I don't really know anything about RLB so I'll reserve any judgement on her... if she really is Corbyn 2.0 then I guess her being leader would at least give a more decisive answer of whether the public would accept Corbyn's policies if presented by a leader with less baggage? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I'm still praying this doesn't end up being true, it'd be such a MAMMOTH mistake if it is. It should be the other way around!

 

Isn't Long-Bailey essentially Coybyn mk II anyway? (but with the charisma of a wooden spoon)

 

The media are towing that line but truth is we don't know yet.

 

I'd imagine the membership will be happy to vote for her. Jennie said today she supports Starmer because it'd be patronising to have a northern woman because that's what labour believe it needs rather than the right candidate.

 

Surely Starmer is too associated with remain to be leader?

I would hope that by the time of the next election 'leavers vs. remainers' isn't going to be an issue people will care about any more, since we'll be out already. I'm sure there will be at least some presence of a 'rejoin' sentiment though.

Yeh but I've a feeling the trade negotiations could takes years no matter what Johnson said today. And it's an easy attack line for the tories especially for their new found friends in the north.

My preference is that the eventual leader does not have to be the one that represents the Labour party in 2024. If things look really bad for the party in two years, they should be ready to step aside, get a new polling boost and waste two years of Tory attack ads the efforts of the printed press.

 

With that in mind I can see the upsides to RLB. Then, Starmer is looking like a good uniter if he is cautioning about becoming too centrist - he could win the Lib Dems and Tory remainers that Corbyn couldn't with some balanced and sensible economics - if we're still fighting on the leave/remain lines might be an issue up north, but I also expect where the process will be in a few years will have reduced the amount of tie someone feels to their Brexit position.

 

My initial thoughts about Jess Philips have been retracted with all that in mind, the key for now is to get the MSM to stop talking about the Labour party and for it to look like a boring united front in the face of Tory government, though I can't deny I'd enjoy PMQs with her. And I'd be interested from a purely academic standpoint, to see if the right-wing media could twist their pretty horrifically regular transphobia into suddenly being staunchly anti-TERFs because now they're suddenly concerned with that issue.