Traingate

What do you mean ^The Guardian were "in on it^"?
To me it reflects worst on JC's "team" who IMHO orchestrated or sanctioned a publicity stunt which seriously backfired. Their judgement has been called into question along with JC's for going along with it.

Something that niggled me gagagran but I am always open to new idiots idioms.
Must look it up, perhaps "jam-packed" sounds too "soft"( connotations of the WI , Jam and Jerusalem etc,) whereas "ram" is strong and virile?

"Ram-packed"? We always call it "jam-packed". Have we been wrong all these years?

I do understand how those on this thread defending Corbyn feel, I remember how betrayed I felt when I realised he was not the honest politician I believed him to be, but I was able to accept and acknowledge this fact .

The Guardian were in on it?

Love it thatbags

More chuckles , not suitable for non-pisstakarians.

Ding dong

Ladies and gentlemen, this is your guard speaking.

The story now arriving on all social media platforms is the first class Virgin Traingate service from Corbyn Stunt Parkway via MSM Conspiracy to Frontpage Central.

We apologise for the popularity of this story, which may cause some discomfort to elderly gentlemen unable to sit in rows of empty seats for long periods.

It is not permitted to cycle, skateboard, rollerblade or pretend not to have a seat anywhere on the Virgin network. 24-hour closed circuit television recording is in operation for the security and safety of the truth.

During this summer period of hot summery weather, always carry a bottle of water which can be used to create beads of sweat for the cameras.

If you are feeling unwell because you cannot sit with your cameraman, spin doctor and social media officer, pull the first emergency cord. If you would like a table, pull the other one.

Please do not leave your party leader unattended. All left-wingers left unattended may be destroyed by the Blairite media forces.

Due to today's political climate, please take extra care. Claims about our floors may be slippery.

Keep all emergency exits free of luggage and ram-packed at all times. All passengers are kindly asked not to take up seats with invisible bags or very small, tiny children, like those from The Borrowers.

Please ensure you have a valid alibi for your entire journey. Other people do travel on the trains, and you will be expected to produce proof of your story, when asked to do so.

Passengers are reminded that smoking is prohibited at all times. This includes smoke from pants that may be on fire.

Stand well back from the edge of an empty seat if you are being filmed for The Guardian.

Mind the gap, between the claim, and the reality. Mind the gap.

This story terminates here.

(from Times Red Box)

The Labour party fought against apartheid, so much so Mandela addressed a Labour Party conference and his first visit to the UK he met his friends the Kinnocks , I don't recall Corbyn involved in that first visit, .

The defence of Corbyn here is enlightening, so aggressive it strengthens the claims that labour MP's were threatened with acts of violence .

The man carried out a PR stunt and it failed , that's it.

Gracesgran, you accept lies, not everyone does ,

He will end up being remembered as someone who heloed break up the Labour Party. Something which he will probably be very proud about.

Actually I am beginning to think like the Sun. As he wont make PM, he is not worth really talking about.

14 I think?

Possibly not possible - Kindled I'm afraid.

This thread is nothing to do with trains; it has become just another anti-Cornyn thread. That's fine, and even possible amusing but half-a-dozen grannies having yet another go at Cornyn (and anyone showing any interest in him) is really not going to change the world is it. I wonder what those who are currently frightened about whether or not they will be able to keep their jobs either because of the cost or unreliability of their commute would think of the comments. No wonder the young think the older generation are selfish.

Trouble is, so many of his silly and naive ideas turn out to be the right stance, anti apartheid, against the Iraq war, anti austerity etc. It's odd that, in hindsight, he's often on the right side of history, not the most profitable for the 1 % and those unaffected by austerity of course.

what's the big issue? People sit on train floors every day. Normal people if using the service reserve their seats at no extra cost as others have said. It wasn't like he had to sit on the roof now was it?

There are ALWAYS reserved seats at the start of journey with no-one in them , so you sit there until it reaches the stop they got on and then you move on.

If this is all we have to worry about today - whether Corbyn got his bum on a seat...well its a slow news day - that's all I can say !

nightowl, our statements agree with each other.

Also, as I said right at the beginning, there was often a shortage of seats on trains on long distance north-south runs when the railways were in public hands, so Corbyn's argument about re-nationalisation is a stunt argument too.

Which, I reiterate, is not to say whether or not I think having nationalised railways is a good idea. At one time did think so on principle, even when I had to stand or sit on the floor for hours (once with two small children; a kind person did give us one seat; I put the kids on it and sat on the floor). Now, I'm not so sure, even though I've had to sit on the floor on privatised train services as well. Seems to me the shortage of seats is a problem that transcends public or private ownership. Something to do with better planning and forecasting, perhaps?

If there's a country where they do get the formula right, we should go and learn from it.

It matters to me how dishonest an MP turns out to be obieone, and I'm sure it matters to most people. I don't know what evidence you have for that statement.

Don't be silly, LSP, Corbyn has had decades to prove himself as a politician with some political nous before most of us had ever heard of him. I'm sure he's a decent man in ordinary life. That isn't the point!

Plus, why shouldn't people object to what they think are his silly and naive political ideas? That's not being personal; it's being political.

And I don't feel sorry for him because I think he's enjoying all the attention.

Virgin trains anecdote: I and three other gransnetters got thrown off a Virgin train in Fife once, coming back from meeting katek in Aberdeen. We were wrongfully (and innocently) using our cheap pre-booked tickets. Tut tut

It doesnt matter to some voters how dishonest an MP turns out to be.

The trouble is we will never know if Corbyn is a twit or not, he will never, ever be given a fair chance. On a plus note, he has single handedly changed the narrative so that people can question the tories idealistic austerity programme, so bloody well done for that.

The trains were crap in the eighties, but privatising them and allowing them to be run for profit was not the answer.

Sometimes people want or need to turn up at the station and buy a ticket on the day of travel. In that case, they can't book a seat. Sometimes, if you book less than a week in advance, no seat reservation is possible. Just saying, but by all means carry on debating the wisdom of booking in advance and wondering why that didn't occur to his team. It's quite amusing to see how many times people can repeat the same argument.

durhamjen 23.43pm
Two wrongs dont make a right! As I keep saying to you.
When you post like that, it means that your posts are saying that they are both wrong!

It doesn't look good either way, does it? Stunt or incompetence - take your pick. And, it wouldn't be a laughing matter if there was even the remotest chance that Corbyn would get to be pm but, there isn't, so it is!