Ab - "The country will not vote for a far left government and to gain power Labour needs the vote of the centre ground."
I agree, but there's the dichotomy.
The Conservative party has had to move much more to the centre to get the vote of 'the man in the street.' They've done it successfully, like it or not.
It's not just business men/women and toffs who think Tories can run the country better. The Conservatives had to wise up, support working classes and offer an alternative. Theresa May has pledged her support for working towards a fairer Britain. (Whether she delivers or not is another matter.)
This is where Blairism failed because it was hard to discern where the lines were drawn between the two parties and two sets of MPs.
It's almost as if people have to be dyed-in-the-wool left or right wingers, but I feel we've moved away from that. I don't understand people who say "My Dad was Labour, so I am." Labour of old was a very different party to the one we've seen in recent times. It was much-needed too, because the Conservative party was also very different, and indeed the party the wealthy tended to favour.
I think those distinctions have all but disappeared and Labour can no longer claim to have the monopoly on compassion. You cannot accuse Theresa May of being unfeeling.
Perhaps this is why Corbyn is having such a rough ride.
He does provide an alternative and he is trying to resurrect some forgotten, valuable Socialist ideals. I am sorry, but next to him, Smith doesn't provide an alternative; imo he provides a continuation of a Labour party one could hardly distinguish from a Tory party. He comes across as glib and insincere, and that is a criticism I could never level at Jeremy Corbyn.
I want my politicians to be principled and not of the sound-bite and nothing else variety. I hope May can deliver and is more than a sound-bite, and I hope JC remains the leader of the Labour Party. If it means the party splits and is reformed, and two factions emerge, I still think Corbyn will have the heart of most left wingers in this country.
If you are a moderate ie: centre left, or centre right, of late there really hasn't been much to choose between the sides.Left wingers might say there isn't a human face to the right, but I think that's now a very tired argument.
The NHS (for example) is a vote-winner, both sides know it, and Labour cannot keep claiming the Tories will destroy it. When all is said, our welfare services depend on the economy, so we need a strong one to merely maintain the status quo. Most families want housing, health and education services to thrive, no matter where on the political spectrum they stand. OK, so many have the income not to have to worry about such issues, but hopefully, their tax bills, their input also funds the services the middle and low income, and unemployed people of this country rely on. It's a very fine balance isn't it, and I firmly believe a government, of any persuasion, has a duty to treat ALL people fairly.
Corbyn is standing up for the down-trodden, perhaps more so than any Labour politician in recent memory and I applaud him for that. He reminds us that an opposition government will have different priorities if elected. As onlookers we are observing quite an interesting development in politics, and also a reminder perhaps of how times change, given JC is the socialist many socialists don't seem to want.
My main point (sorry for the waffling) is that a bland left wing, a centre left party, is perhaps as incapable of winning people over as Jeremy Corbyn is for uniting the party.
I do understand those who say JC is from a different time, but he is saying things which give him a huge following because they excite and inspire. I don't think that is a bad thing, but the miner's helmet and pick-axe and country squire riding with the hounds are two extremes that have to be buried given the some of the miners' children now have mortgages and 4x4s and the squire has sold his crumbling country pile and manages without a manservant.
Between the food bank and the four bed detached there is heck of a lot of middle ground. Most of us are slap bang in the middle with leaning to one side or the other and consciences which dictate how we vote.
We are heading towards insipid Labour and touchy-feely Conservatives. I am not sure whether to laugh or cry. Long live the middle ground, eh? This is why I like JC, in theory, if nothing else. (Sorry, probably haven't added anything to the debate.)
