Concern within the Labour Party that Jeremy Corbyn is doing well

The lords choose themselves where they want to sit. It does not matter which PM made her a Lord.
She chose to be neutral rather than support her party.

Betty Boothroyd obtained a 'life peerage' and elevated to the House of Lords because she retired from the position of Speaker of the House.

Are you saying that because she was not given a place in the Lords by a Labour PM which would mean she would be sitting on the Labour benches she has abandoned Labour?

By not taking taking her seat in the lords on the labour branches but on the cross benches POGS

How did Betty Boothroyd abandon her party?

My money's on Yvette.
(The silent majority vote)
Not that it matters a jot as I am not a member of any political party.

Hadn't thought of that Anya , but thinking of it, they did have plenty of money wrapped up carefully whilst sitting in their boat

The image of the Owl and the (Fat) Pussy Cat in their Pea Green (Rocking) Boat just won't go away now

Good grief, we have Marx now Trotsky . I find Betty a hypocrite for rushing to defend a party she has abandoned POGS , what she chooses to say about Corbyn is up to her but not use defence of the party as a reason

I think all this Corbyn hysteria in the media is caused by fear of the people showing an interest in politics again, too many fat cats fearing their boat will be rocked

Well as posts have been started by others I feel entitled to join in on the matter of Betty Boothroyd.

Betty Boothroyd appears to be the latest to have been removed from a pedestal because she dares to speak against Corbyn. At least she is in good company with the likes of Alan Johnson I suppose. A hell of a lot are going from Saint to Sinner in some peoples eyes.

I like the Guardian article where Betty Boothroyd says:-

" Corbyn's hard-left supporters are deluding a new generation with the same extremist 'clap trap' that gripped the party 30 years ago".

As the Guardian describes her , "Boothroyd, the first female speaker who fought the Trotskyite group Militant in the 1980's" , I think gives the distinct impression she is speaking from experience. Obviously not everybody will agree with her but obviously a lot will agree with her.

Yes Durham Jen my views don't count and no doubt the suggestion from Whitewave to stop listening to tripe is your thought to. Water off a ducks back and to be honest I knew the posts after mine were likely to make such comments , so predictable. The irony of calling me far right is not lost considering as so many in the Labour party agree about Corbyns credentials too .

Actually Eloethan made reference to MacCarthy , I funnily enough see hints of something similar in the way this leadership contest is turning out to be dealt with but from the Labour side itself which is turning in on it's own. I have mentioned before they are fighting like cats in a sack but I don't hold my breath we will not witness something similar when the Conservatives elect a new leader either. Interesting times.

Osborne is not I repeat not employing the austerity tactics to manage the debt but is doing what he is doing to reduce the state.
He is tearing up the cultural consensus of our welfare state.

Totally right whitewave and many people were saying this before the current election for the leadership of the Labour Party. Jeremy has been a focus which is great, but I believe a focus for a lot of people who either didn't vote in the last election or held their noses while they did so.

Crun you seem to have totally forgotten that your ice cream vans would be selling completely different flavours and quality of ice cream and one may even be selling ice cream made from milk from farmers who are paid a proper amount. This may mean that some people will be prepared to walk from one end of the beach to the other to get the ice cream they prefer.

We could add that there should be an ice cream van in the centre of the beach offering a little of what each of the others offer with a smidgeon of something that is especially their own which attracts small numbers from all parts of the beach.

It seems a very strange analogy to me.

Marxism is a word the right like to rake up, they believe labelling someone as a Marxist is condemning them to the pits of hell

Talk of Marxism is utter nonsense and perhaps it is time we ignored such tripe

Great analysis of what constitutes Marxism and how this relates to all the candidates here
www.reddit.com/r/LabourUK/comments/3erji9/is_corbyn_a_marxist/
One of the things I most admire about Corbyn is his continuing belief and work for peace in all areas. Hearing this condemned as "support for Hesbolah" or "admiration for the IRA" really annoys me. The only way to ever achieve peace is to be prepared to talk, to keep lines of communication open and to listen. We should be proud of people like JC who do this instead of abusing them.

People such as Betty Boothroyd, benefitting from the current system with a potential "allowance" of £300 per day just for turning up plus many other "perks", are less likely, I think, to be supportive of a candidate who might challenge such cosy arrangements.

Sitting as an Independent now, I wonder how much BB identifies with the original aims of the Labour Party anyway.

I don't know why we are talking about ice cream vans - choosing a political party is a little more complex than buying an ice cream.

"This explanation does not account for a moving centre though, and a shared consensus."

What exactly do you mean by a moving centre?

If the political appetite of the electorate moves, then there will only be a stable equilibrium if the two parties follow the median. If all the people are in a group at one end of the beach, then both ice cream vans will be near the centre of that group.

I find Betty Boothrhoyd's concerns for her old party hypocritical , if she is so concerned for it why has she chosen the cross benches in the Lords to park her behind

Corbyn is a recipient of the Gandhi International Peace Award for consistent efforts over a thirty year parlimentary career to uphold Gandhi's values of social justice and non violence .

What procedures and processes are you referring to POGS?

Fortunately, POGS, it doesn't matter what you think. You just have one vote in a general election, just like the rest of us.
I think to dismiss anyone who thinks Corbyn is right as a Marxist/Communist shows just how right wing you are.

Interesting to know that we are employing extreme left wingers at the heart of our banking services soon

I think it is time we began to change the focus and perspective. The argument really is that GO is extreme right when looking at other countries in the west and the measures they are employing to manage their economies. Osborne is not I repeat not employing the austerity tactics to manage the debt but is doing what he is doing to reduce the state.
He is tearing up the cultural consensus of our welfare state.

There are apparently 14600 economists employed in the USA.
Going by the fact that the USA is approx 5 times bigger than the UK, that would mean that there are approx 2500 economists currently employed in Britain.

x post!

If those economists [which ones I am not sure, is there a link] are saying that JC's economics are mainstream, then it sounds like those economists are very left wing themselves.

States that are heavily influenced by Socialist/Marxist/Communist principles are invariably characterised solely in terms of being dangerous, undemocratic and authoritarian. Many are, but these elements can be just as prevalent in countries that would be described as having a Capitalist ideology.

There isn't a country in the world that can truly be described as Socialist, and Communism is just state capitalism. Some countries have, though, endeavoured to create a society which could broadly be described as having "socialist" principles - i.e. a more equal distribution of wealth and natural resources and much wider access to good quality health care, education and public services in general. Sweden, for instance, uses the tax system to provide a fairer distribution of resources.

The letter from the 41 economists was headed:

It is the current government’s policy and its objectives that are extreme, not the Labour leadership candidate’s

It includes the words:

" .... it is the current government’s policy and its objectives which are extreme. The attempt to produce a balanced public sector budget primarily through cuts to spending failed in the previous parliament. Increasing child poverty and cutting support for the most vulnerable is unjustifiable. Cutting government investment in the name of prudence is wrong because it prevents growth, innovation and productivity increases, which are all much needed by our economy, and so over time increases the debt due to lower tax receipts.

It ends:

We the undersigned are not all supporters of Jeremy Corbyn. But we hope to clarify just where the “extremism” lies in the current economic debate.

One of the signatories was Danny Blanchflower, a former member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee - which can hardly be described as a hot bed of left wing thinking or a thorn in the side of the establishment.