Voting for Jeremy Corbyn - the political equivalent of buying a Harley Davidson

the membership should be rewarded by allowing them to speak at conference, because of the enormous amount of work they have put in during the past couple of years. Democracy is alive and well in the Labour Party.

I'd call it sycophancy, not democracy. It's keeping the fan club on board. Jezza has a fan club, many of whom haven't got a clue about socialism or dare I say it, Communism. Not a clue!

Labour are cultivating the young and idealistic and given the appalling, aggressive stuff I read in Guardian columns, the violent, all ready for a revolution.

We can only sit by and watch. Has the word 'cult' been used?

Momentum are keeping them sweet. They are much needed sycophants who worship at the altar of Jeremy. Wonder if they know he is the puppet-mouthpiece being worked by Marxist and Militant Momentum?

So you don't know what LOCAL party means ? Oh dear you need someone to explain the difference to you.

Just read Ian Durrell piece about May and her term so far as PM

I quote

" May has looked out of her depth since she became prime minister. She has blown her majority, achieved nothing beyond clinging to power, and remains in post only because of a paucity of alternatives in her (seriously) divided party. So a disunited country has a terrifyingly weak leader as it confronts its biggest challenge since the Second World War."

At least having a weak leader and a small majority means that they can't push through too many terrifying reforms (even though they already have). Downside is a weak party, like a wounded animal is a dangerous one. I still can't believe that all this has been brought about by UKIP and Farage.

Day 6 Perhaps you could try putting together a
coherent argument instead of flinging around accusations of communism and cultism, and calling people sycophants. As usual, what counts as debate for some is merely insults, sneers and insinuations but nothing of any substance.

I suppose it is difficult to defend the pitiful performance of May and the Conservative Party - much easier to mount an attack on the left so as to distract from the mess we are in at the moment.

tegan I'm sure you are right -UKIP and another weak leader called Cameron who was frightened to confront UKIP.

Yes. I don't know how he can live with himself.

Oh he will survive. They are brought up to have such a huge overweening sense of self, the ability to understand ones weaknesses simply isn't there.

Annoyingly, I won't be able to watch most of the Labour Party Conference as I have an anti brexit friend coming to stay who is a staunch Conservative, and I've lost too many friends over brexit as it is (plus the fact that brexit seems to override everything else when it cones to political beliefs at the moment (hence my unease with Labour)). By the way, does anyone else's iPad change brexit to 'breast'; thus far I've managed to notice it before I post but it's going to catch me out one day!

It's interesting to see how many posts here view people as 'if you're not Labour, you must be Tory'.
Intelligence Squared hosted an interesting debate recently highlighting how many people feel politically homeless. They always start with a 'vote' - around 75% of the audience felt that way. It's not scientific, but it does illustrate that the old political tribes are not relevant to a growing number of people.
The podcast and video don't seem to be up yet, but it's well worth a listen if you get the opportunity. David Goodhart made some excellent observations.
www.intelligencesquared.com/events/the-great-realignment/

Of course many posts on here believe that if you are left of centre you are a communist and eat babies

Does the fact that I am vegan mean I can't be communist, maryeliza?

??

Sorry dj claiming to be vegan will not get you out of this. You are hard left and therefore a fully paid up member of the communist/trotskyist/marxist/momentum conspiracy clique that exists on GN, at least in the imagination of some posters. I do wonder though if we are hard left what are the members of the Revolutionary Communist Party I met the other week?
I'd also like a word for the people who are so much to the right, like JRM. Rigid right perhaps.

Oh dear, I was hoping....

Anyway, before the Magic Roundabout speech was going on, this happened.

inews.co.uk/essentials/news/world/50-countries-just-banned-nuclear-weapons/

Much more important. Well done, Ireland, and the other 49 countries.

Can a communist be a member of CND, Hope not Hate, etc., etc?

An old article.prior to the Labour Party leadership election, but it outlines why Anniebach and other Labour party stalwarts despair. Later in the article it states that 'many local parties were ripe for takeover.' It happened.

" The battle for Labour: MPs must surrender to Corbyn or leave

Labour party representatives have been accusing the hard left of “entryism” in the run up to the leadership election next month.

The party’s deputy leader, Tom Watson says he has evidence that members of the Socialist Party and the Alliance for Workers’ Liberty are signing up as Labour members. Watson claims that these groups – previously known as Militant and Socialist Organiser – are using the methods used by Militant in the 1980s to take control of local constituency Labour parties (CLPs).

Militant’s tactics were to take over moribund constituency parties by the simple expedient of joining the party, getting themselves elected to local committees and then boring and antagonising more moderate members into resigning. This so-called “entryism” was how local parties fell under Militant control."

and

"Moderate MPs complaining about hard-left entryism should also recognise that many local parties were ripe for “take over”. A large number were small (in 2012, the last year for which we have data, more than one-third had less than 200 members, only 9% had over 500) and engagement with party democracy was generally low. Moderates in the party had themselves to blame for that state of affairs."

I think it's interesting that many quickly forget the chaos and disarray of the Labour Party, (well after the leadership crisis) less than a year ago.

Theresa May's disastrous call for an election earlier this year (which the Conservatives still won) allowed Corbyn and his supporters to claim a 'victory' and all of a sudden Corbyn was the man - even though his leadership divided the Labour Party. Theresa May unwittingly poured oil on Labour's troubled waters.

Now we are supposed to believe that the party is united and all the rifts have healed?

Very few MPs would stand by Corbyn a year ago. Many distanced themselves, quite vocally and the call for a new leader made news headlines night after night, month after month. Those rifts remain, in Westminster and at grassroots level.

I spoke to a young anti brexit Conservative voter this morning, who told me how impressed he was by Corbyn. This is along with my son taking an interest in politics for the first time in his life for the same reason. So, even though Labour are now having to win my vote rather than getting it automatically, it is reassuring.

All very true Day6 which is fine for those who agree with Momentum and Militant as it used to be called, but for the many who don't agree or like it, and hate the bullying tactics used to try and oust any moderate people, it is completely off putting, and is a vote loser.

I wonder if that 'young Conservative voter' realised that Corbyn is just as dedicated to leaving the EU as May, in fact maybe even more so!

Yes; we did discuss that also. He also agreed with me that, if I put my bollox to brexit sticker on my car I was in danger of having my car kicked in by a brexit supporter. I've never before, in this country, been afraid to be open about a political belief, which saddens me greatly. However, for some reason I'm not a feared of left wing anti brexiteers, only right wing ones.

I am as critical of the Labour Party these days as I am of the Conservatives. The only difference being that I still believe the former have my best interests at heart and not just the interests of the rich who will welcome us not having to implement EU tax evasion rules in 2019.

A vote loser, eh?
Strange how we don't notice votes being lost, but the reverse.
Even Annie says she would still vote Labour as she is voting for the party not the person.

Very strange Tegan, I find the most vociferous anti-
Brexiteers are the left wing ones - they are very scary!

No, I said I would vote for Welsh Labour