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Corbyn and the centre ground

(99 Posts)
Anniebach Fri 29-Sep-17 19:31:07

Corbyn has claimed his party now occupies the centre ground .

A YouGove poll -

5% see the party as centre

63% see the party as left wing

8% see the party as very left wing

GracesGranMK2 Sun 01-Oct-17 23:17:24

Well, you may not be able to call the Palace of Westminster council owned but it is state owned. A nice modern building somewhere close to the centre of the UK (York?) might stop some of them thinking they are robber Barons.

durhamjen Sun 01-Oct-17 22:44:36

That's just like they used to do with council housing, GracesGran; move them out while it's being renovated and then ask them if they want to move back.

In fact that's Corbyn's idea for regeneration. Shame the Tories put a stop to it when they came in in 2010.

GracesGranMK2 Sun 01-Oct-17 20:56:19

If you can manage to Primrose, you might find Ruth Davidson's speech to conference today interesting. She said More union spread evenly and not just in London ... our union continues to be far too London centric ... she then went on to describe how other countries don't just concentrate everything on their capital city and said: we're the odd one out. In fact, amongst other major capitals only Moscow accounts for a greater share of national product than London and this imbalance is getting crazy.

She then continued by referring to the imbalance in property values and the number of civil servants. She said it was time to give Britain a shake and spread 'more of our union' outside our capital. She talked about moving more of our infrastructure, people and the administration out of the capital and into the nation.

Particularly interesting was her description of how the capitals of the USA and Germany do not dominate their countries to the detriment of other parts.

I think you would find it interesting if you can pick up the whole speech. To me they have a real opportunity to move Parliament out while the work is done. They can decide later whether to move back or not but by moving to another city - reasonable in the centre of the UK - they would automatically redistribute some of the wealth that is centralised in London.

durhamjen Sun 01-Oct-17 20:08:57

kittysjones.wordpress.com/2017/10/01/jeremy-corbyns-greatest-success-is-the-discrediting-of-neoliberalism/

Morgana Sun 01-Oct-17 19:42:18

Most interesting discussion this. I would just like to add that when the Labour manifesto was (supposedly) leaked before the General Election, I was horrified - fearing that it was too left wing. However, my son who shares many of my political views, was very excited by many of its features. To me, this shows that these policies are very attractive to the younger voters. If you put aside for a moment, arguments about what is Left and what is Right, then these policies are just fairer for the majority of the population.

gillybob Sun 01-Oct-17 17:25:27

Had a coffee out with my DD this afternoon, my DD is allergic to cows milk so ordered her drink (as usual) with soya milk..... we take a window seat and after a couple of minutes the barista shouts "Jeremy Corbyn... latte for K"

He seemed very pleased with the "joke" he had cracked and fell about laughing.. we were left feeling very confused

durhamjen Sun 01-Oct-17 17:05:32

www.pcs.org.uk/campaigns/stop-dwp-office-closures

durhamjen Sun 01-Oct-17 17:03:15

www.bbc.com/news/business-34800243

durhamjen Sun 01-Oct-17 17:01:02

www.pcs.org.uk/campaigns/pcs-cuts-map-shows-impact-of-office-closures

lemongrove Sun 01-Oct-17 16:08:40

Quite a few cities in the North are doing well, Newcastle, Leeds and Manchester to name three, and lately, the BBC relocating to Salford has given the area more jobs and a sense if importance.
There are still those like Rotheram and Blackburn that are going downhill, so not attracting any business to those areas sadly.

lemongrove Sun 01-Oct-17 16:03:31

Darnsarf ?yes, it gave me a giggle too!

Primrose65 Sun 01-Oct-17 14:16:35

Which departments Jen? I'm only aware of movements out of London.
Are you proposing startups GG, moving existing business or both?

GracesGranMK2 Sun 01-Oct-17 13:34:09

Very interesting Jen.

“It is hoped that thoseconsequences are unintended and that an adjustment can be made to the methodology following this consultation.

Of course it's unintendedhmm

durhamjen Sun 01-Oct-17 12:56:39

Unfortunately one of the things this government has done is close down whole departments and move them to the south.

Which has led to this;

www.24housing.co.uk/news/analysis-exposes-reduced-housing-need-figures-in-the-north/

GracesGranMK2 Sun 01-Oct-17 12:30:15

Not government departments necessarily, more a case of bringing new to the area industry, including the light industry and technology. We need to set up the sort of hubs that are symbiotic and encourage more business to follow. We have it in some areas of the North but in some they have never recovered from Thatcher. There is housing and room for housing in these areas without overwhelming them and it could take pressure off London and the south-east.

maryeliza54 Sun 01-Oct-17 12:17:45

Do you mean for example government departments relocating? Yes they should

durhamjen Sun 01-Oct-17 11:59:00

When you say moving jobs, I assume you mean moving area?

durhamjen Sun 01-Oct-17 11:57:54

beastrabban.wordpress.com/2017/09/30/the-rise-of-fascism-and-the-failure-of-neoliberal-capitalism/

GracesGranMK2 Sun 01-Oct-17 11:53:13

I was trying to find a link to a fairly basic piece on the crisis of the legitimacy of capitalism for someone who is interested - but not that interested to plough though the amount and detail we do - and it is obvious that this has been building in world for decades. If anyone has a good link I would be interested and can then pass it on.

On housing I do want to hear someone talk about moving jobs as opposed to just building houses.

durhamjen Sun 01-Oct-17 11:34:00

She did promise us one on Andrew Marr, didn't she whitewave?
Well, not exactly promise, but as good as.

whitewave Sun 01-Oct-17 11:10:57

Corbyn has moved the centre ground sufficiently for the Tories to move on housing and young vote.

whitewave Sun 01-Oct-17 11:08:52

Interesting about the average age of Tory voters. True of Brexit as well, which by now must mean the majority for Brexit has died out.

Time for another vote

Darnsarf Sun 01-Oct-17 11:00:25

lemongrove never does Maizie. She finds it much easier to pick on a phrase and worry it like a dog with a bone

Oh the delicious irony of this! Makes the few dips into these threads worth it just for the laughs. More please! gringrin

GracesGranMK2 Sun 01-Oct-17 10:54:51

No it shouldn't - I need to stop being deflected by people who think being just a nasty person is clever.

GracesGranMK2 Sun 01-Oct-17 10:53:42

That should have been soft left of course.