The Left's way forward

No, what I mean is that her personality was so strong that you either loved her or hated her [and it's ongoing to this day]. Maybe charisma isn't the right word but in this day and age personality sways people when it comes to voting. I have to admit to finding it difficult to dislike Cameron, much as I loathe his policies, and I found it hard to like Ed Milliband, even though I started off supporting him.

Leaving his politics out of it, I dislike Cameron , I like Ken Clarke and think he would have been a good party leader . personality certaintly matters now, I don't like rehearsed charm , I like Prescott, no charm but I see a vulnerability in the man . I agree on Barbara Castle , way ahead of her time,pity

Have always thought that Ken Clarke was in the wrong party. Never understood that. Respected by everyone..not many MP's like that these days. He was at the opening of the new A453 the other day.

Ken Clarke's grandfather was a member of the communist party . He was state school educated - Ken not his Grandfather . Do we truly leave our roots I wonder

Here's an interesting video clip from a programme on LBC showing why Corbyn is in the lead.

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/the-video-which-shows-why-jeremy-corbyn-is-winning-in-the-labour-leadership-race-10409578.html

What has Cameron done, leaving politics out of it, to be disliked, Anniebach? Like Corbyn, he didn't choose where to go to school; he seems to be a good father and husband.

I don't think we can always pinpoint why we either like or dislike certain people; it shouldn't have a bearing on who we vote for but it does. I must say that his attempts at being 'hi, I'm Dave and I'm an ordinary guy just like you' annoy me, but he strikes me as being a decent bloke. And, try as I might I can't dislike Boris either, but that's probably because he's always so funny on HIGNFY. Shallow reasons I know but I have to be honest about them.

What has Cameron done to be disliked?-well he has modelled himself on Tony Blair to start with. He has the same gestures, the same speech patterns, the same smarmy expression. He has made himself into something he isn't so people will vote for him. He is a posh bloke, a one-time member of the Bullingdon Club and this "Call me Dave" act doesn't appeal to me.

So, being ' a posh bloke' is a crime is it?

All leaders/ would be Leaders try and be on of the herd, it's what people do.

one! The iPad strikes again.

Corbyn included?

Not a crime. Just tips the balance when it comes to liking or disliking someone. Out of interest, are there any Labour politicians that you like, purely because you 'like' them?

Leaving politics/ policies out of it, some people are always going to be more charming and likeable than others.
David Cameron is, Tony Blair WAS, Michael Portillo was too, also Nick Clegg .

Yes Tegan, many over the years, Roy Hattersley, Andy Burnham, Harold Wilson( who I met in the 1960's), Barbara Castle John Prescott, and not many people like him but Ken Livingstone, who I also met once when he was chairman of the GLC.

To be fair, often people are more charming when you meet them rather than seeing them on TV , I suspect that is the case with Ed Miliband as well.

I like Angela Eagle! She's a character all right...

No being "posh" isn't a crime and i don't dislike him because he is posh. I dislike him because he pretends to be an ordinary guy, something he definitely isn't.

But again, how can you leave politics out of it, grumppa? What do you know about Cameron on a personal level that allows you to know what kind of person he is, other than what he wants you to see?

I think although I shouldn't really talk for others, but if you look at the cabinet ask yourself what is the % of privately educated folk, and then work out the % of overall privately educated people and then perhaps you may understand why people talk about poshness I think it is shorthand for inequality.

We know that Cameron suffered terribly with the dreadful illness and then death of his little boy. we DON'T know anything at all bad about him on a personal level.I suspect that you can never leave politics out of liking somebody DJen to even ask that question.

As more people go to University here these days, you will see more people who were State educated enter politics. in the past, wealthy well educated people were encouraged to enter politics, it was a way of ' serving', it is only paid a fraction of what they could earn in business, so it has to be either a duty thing or someone who feels( at least when they first enter politics) a burning passion to accomplish good for the nation.
so, if more people who leave University, do a job of some kind for a few years and then stand for an MP, instead of wanting to earn big bucks for a financial corporation, then the better it will be.In order to attract talented people, MP's have to be paid a good salary.

That was my point exactly, durhamjen. It was Anniebach who left politics out when judging Cameron.

It will still always be easier for someone to become a politician if they have a rich family. By the time state school children have been through university, left with huge debts from that, taken on a mortgage/wife/husband/family it will still always be more difficult to embark on what could be a very precarious career move without having a rich family behind them. And I would imagine that having the right connections is still very important.

Very convincing video Durhamjen.