The Left's way forward

That is exactly why MP's of all parties need to be paid well.

Maybe rose but hardly very clever at the moment.

Agreed, a postponement of the pay rise may be a good idea.

Seconded about the convincing video DJen. I have managed to miss all the leadership debates but all the clips I have seen incline me to support Corbyn.

Judged Cameron grumppa? I did not judge him, did not mention his schooling, he is not a person I like , no idea if he is a good / bad husband and father. I liked Tony Benn very much and he was not what could be called - working class, and again I am not bringing politics into it, he was polite , had respect for women . When Jacob Rees-Mogg was on HIGNFY, I recorded it it and watched it countless times, so funny. I don't like Paddy Ashdown, liked Charles Kennedy . Don't care what schooling anyone receives , I dislike people pretending to be what they are not . And I adored Michael Foot but he was a family friend so doesn't realy count in this list . I like Jeremy Corben but have met him several times over the years due to belonging to the same protesting groups and at Michael's home

Well said Anniebach. We seem to like the same politicians. I think it is about being honest and believing what you say. Not saying what you think people want to hear.

Just that trisha, I was always cross when people said Ed Milliband stabbed his brother in the back - no, he did not, they were both labour MP's , one on the right one more to the left , both stood for party leader, David Milliband didn't have a god given right to be leader, he lost and walked away from the party in a sulk , wonder what sort of leader he would have made !

Spot on Anniebach

Just been sent this about Yvette Cooper.

www.politics.co.uk/blogs/2015/07/23/yvette-cooper-s-campaign-is-just-a-string-of-platitudes

Compare that to Corbyn's video.

I just hate snobbery and inverted snobbery.

No place for it, says more about the person saying it than the person being spoken of.

Now hypocrisy is another thing and that does not belong to any one party does it.

They're supposedly handing out 'Vote for Corbyn' flyers in Newcastle today. Never come across that before.

Probably sponsored by the Telegraph!

But you did judge him Anniebach. To like or dislike someone is to judge them, unless the like or dislike is based on something totally irrational, in which case the opinion is valueless.

And to express a dislike for someone, leaving aside their politics, on an avowedly political thread, strikes me as irrational. I have never met Cameron, and I find him as irritating as most politicians occasionally are; but I can't say that I like or dislike him irrespective of his politics. Would you dislike him as much if he was a Socialist?

Or perhaps you have met him......

I dislike him. He shows a complete disregard for the poor in this country, and I doubt that is just to do with his politics.

I dislike him for a number of reasons, one being that I think he has on a few occasions displayed a very sexist attitude. 'Calm down dear'???

Me too. He & George Osborne both seem to lack empathy, or at least any understanding of what it's like to have no support network when things go wrong.

grumppa,we have different views on the meaning of judging. I like Ken Clarke irrespective of his politics so why can I not dislike Cameron irrespective of his politics ? So yes I can like or dislike irrespective of politics
And I would dislike Cameron if he were a socialist or a Lib ,he just isn't a person I feel any warmth towards. No I haven't met him , never attended a Tory party conference and never canvassed for the Tory party , oh and my brother wasn't educated at Eton and I wasn't at Oxford , so no surprise we haven't met is it ?

Proportional representation - give the electorate a greater say in the governance of the country.

Oh grumppa doesn't concern me that you view the fact that I dislike Cameron as valueless because I simply dislike the man regardless of his politics ,

Cameron is a cold fish and shallow . There you are grumppa, a judgement

I think you judge a person or a party by their actions. I see George Osborne's smirking face when he announces measures that will hit the most vulnerable people in our society and damage some of our most treasured and valuable institutions. I watch the braying mob behind him - many of whom have never experienced a day's financial worry in their lives - applauding such measures. It is difficult for me to find anything likeable whatsoever about him or many of his colleagues.

For my part, that distaste extends to the likes of Liz Kendall and Andy Burnham who appear to be unsure as to which party they represent.

The Left do not have the answer.
In 1945 a Labour landslide victory was followed by an austerity worse than the privations suffered during the second world war. Later we had the Unions seeking the new Jerusalem that culminated in the winter of discontent and the loss of our industrial base and the wealth it created. The Miners went on strike because they could not understand they were digging up coal nobody wanted following North Sea Gas, the railways giving up steam locomotion and the wide spread use of oil for energy.
Capitalism my not be perfect, but think hard before you take to the alternative. WE maybe the next Greece, but we will be without the sun.

Capitalism MAY not be perfect ! Depends on one's views on the anthem of the thatcher years - greed is good

No system is perfect.

Oh Jackthelad 60 years of life dismissed in one paragraph. OK let's tackle it point by point. When WW2 ended Britain had the worst level of debt it had ever experienced-simply because it had just paid for a war. There was austerity but it was tempered by socialist policies which ensured that the poorest were supported and everyone was subjected to the same regulations (Hence rationing until 1950s) At the same time the NHS was started, a huge amount of social housing was built and the Welfare State was introduced. Out of these policies came the 60s with social mobility, and increasing affluence. The unions simply wanted the working people to be given a share of the country's wealth they were creating. It takes 2 sides to cause a strike. As for the Miners the coal was wanted (we now import coal) and the reason for the strike was the hidden agenda of the Conservatives about the closure of pits (which they constantly denied).
If the present austerity was being managed as it was in 1945 with everyone being affected I am sure most of us would be content. None of us object to Capitalism, but it must be caring capitalism where the poorest don't suffer the most whilst the richest line their pockets at the general public's expense