Psychoactive Substances: Rolling UK Politics in The Neo-Con Era

(xxp) Keir Hardie is an inspirational figure for Chuka Umuna? Aye, right.

It's pretty obvious by this point that Chuka is basically a moron who fancies himself as an arch-Machiavel.

A lot of usually jaunty Twitter Marxists getting angry about how everyone is focusing on this and not any of the issues of substance, which is true, but if you're a sr Labour member maybe think about that before you indulge in the sort of deliberately scene-stealing nobbish debating society Punch-and-Judy performance that Corbyn's front bench is supposed to be against.

Absolutely. If John McDonnell had concentrated on the substance, so would everyone else.

Tom Watson didn't look too amused either. Maybe the tax-credit u-turn took wrong footed him and it was his plan b?

There seem to be loads of rubbish popping up on the newsfeeds predictably quoting Mao's death tolls/ruinous policies.

Good job the Communist Party is not in charge of China anymore then.

No one in the media is going to give them a fair hearing anyway, and fuck the gamification of politics, but "hey, we've got nothing to lose so might as well take a shit on the table to stir things up" isn't a particularly sustainable way to win an argument either.

Much as I hate shouting "u-turn!" when said u-turn is patently the correct course of action, the tax credit change was a genuine victory for Corbyn and they should have just said so, again and again and again.

(Even if everyone else is claiming credit for it as well)

The Guardian was giving it a big-up to Frank Field for the u-turn on tax credits. But yes its actually the energies marshalled by Corbyn and front-bench that have had a big role to play.

Also the backtrack on police cuts - while that was more due to the Paris attacks - could also have been seen as credit for Labour.

Maybe the tax-credit u-turn took wrong footed him and it was his plan b?

It was very easy to portray this as a victory for the Labour front-bench (one of a few but this is from the Budget side of things) and where they are strongest: domestic issues and dealing with questions around austerity.

Once the noise dies down I like to think McDonnell will learn from the experience and have better responses to come, even though the autumn statement is such a shambles of an occasion (austerity goes on boo-fucking-hoo isn't Osborne such a genius to do a bit less of it) I am not too bothered either way.

I doubt most people will be crediting Tories, or, chortle, the Lib Dems for getting Osborne to u-turn. There will be plenty of time to blow this particular trumpet in the future.

The u-turn won't make any difference to those who have been moved onto Universal Credit and have already taken the cut. I don't know the numbers but there will be lot of people who won't getting any good news today.

Predictably Johnathon Jones is doing another of his shite Communionism wikis.

Jonathon Jones even

christ. tory press release on why mao is bad.

https://twitter.com/GerryHassan/status/669578525083607040

https://twitter.com/Birdyword/status/669510776902787072

Crocodile tears:

https://twitter.com/DPJHodges/status/669538952731164673

i literally can't think of anything more heartbreaking for the Labour party than a Labour shadow chancellor ironically quoting leftist rhetoric

McDonnell is a disaster.

I thought it was a bit of a misjudgement maybe, he didn't literally take a shit or it isn't like he pulled out Mein Kampf. My main criticism is he still could have addressed cuts in social care, "hidden cuts" that are integrated into Universal Credit, he could have made things more uncomfortable for Osbourne without reneging on his promise not to make political capital on a u-turn.

just a bizarre stunt. would be charitable to call it poorly conceived and executed. the extremely minimal chance that a left-wing labour party could compete electorally with the tories in england has p much already been utterly squandered. corbyn's people are incompetent, the blairite internal opposition truculent, and britain is teetering over the precipice of a period of indefinite tory rule.

not sure why i didn't realize that weird internal rhyme was going on in the last sentence

I wouldn't say we are "teetering over the precipice of a period of indefinite tory rule" - and whatever everyone is saying about how the cuts have been softened, it was the vote from the Lord's that rollled that back. A lot of that is due to Corbyn and Mcdonnell being there.

The polls (even the 'adjusted ones') haven't moved from the election. This is minor stuff. There are a lot more shocks to come to this country so no need to jump the gun on anything.

Tory rule since 1979 feels fairly indefinite already tbh

and yeah this kind of goof is irrelevant to the electorate

In any kind of autumn statement can anyone remember anything Ed Balls said about it? No small detail super-response would have killed off the chancellor, a mere few months into a new parliament.

Corbyn's guys are incompetent
the Blairite basterds truculent
and Britain is teetering
over the brink of in-
definite Tory government

Sorry, English is my second language.

ha!

orson_welles_applause.gif

In my entirely scientific survey of one working class Labour voter (my workmate, Tracey) McDonnell's Mao stunt met with no little approval,

Tracey (holding copy of Metro and pointing at picture of John McDonnell): "Here, I like this geezer, he's a character, chucked a book at him, ditn't he?"
Me (thinks): "Hmmm, I must share this observation with my fellow ILXors at the first opportunity."

Comments after Chinese news outlet posted an article about it.

1,200 people liked the post, some because they are enthusiastic about the ideology of Mao, and others because they found it amusing.
One wrote: “Uh-oh! Mao’s leftwing ideologies are rising up again!”
Another said: “The ‘five mao’s’ will never understand foreigners' humour."
And still another: “But Mao did not appear to learn from those who really understood economics.”

I meant to say Chinese news outlet Sina, posting this on a tablet with fat fingers.

Another said: “The ‘five mao’s’ will never understand foreigners' humour."

five guys named mao?

:)

The Tories have taken so many leaves out of Communism's book - denouncing intellectuals, work groups, five-year plans, you get the idea - not to mention a very unpopular decision to sell infrastructure to China, McDonnell missed about 342424 effective book-throwing punch-lines including the phrase 'five-year plan' (the one fact low-attention voters know about Communist governments). Then John McDonnell wouldn't have spent half of yesterday having to explain that he was joking.

including the phrase 'five-year plan' (the one fact low-attention voters know about Communist governments).

Really?

Well, if not the one thing, certainly a widely-known concept that would be a better basis for LRB-throwing japes in Parliament.

After watching the footage I'd rather McDonnell hadn't done it but I really loved Tom Watson's face the most. Then the commentariat come in with a 'he has to look credible' and you are more than glad he's done it and you wouldn't change a thing about it.

It is probably the only thing people will remember, especially if all of Gideon's plans tank.

In terms of the actual substantive issue, it might prove to have been useful to have put down a memorable marker on labour's attitude to the flogging off of infrastructure to the PRC.

Altho lol substantive issues, obviously

The Shadow Cabinet met straight after the Statement finished.

Jeremy Corbyn was late in and said the meeting would have to last no more than 45 minutes. Shadow Education Secretary Lucy Powell said that it should be as long as it needed to be.

Amongst those who spoke in favour of military action were Vernon Coaker, Tom Watson (who emphasised his vote against Libyan military action), Hilary Benn, Michael Dugher, Angela Eagle and Lucy Powell.

Lucy Powell was also briefly involved in a rebuke to Diane Abbott who she told off for being offensive.

Diane Abbott was one of the small number of Shadow ministers who spoke in agreement with Jeremy Corbyn (the others were Jon Trickett and the Chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party John Cryer). John McDonnell didn’t speak.

http://blogs.channel4.com/gary-gibbon-on-politics/syria-70000-45-minutes/31952

LOL'd at Jer's "45 minutes" hopefully intentional zinga

uok Lucy Powell?

Is it too cynical to think that, for the Parliamentary Labour Party, this isn't about bombing Syria but removing Corbyn?

If PLP oust Corbyn over a war none of the membership wants, then Labour will *definitely* be unelectable for the foreseeable. And nobody will be allowed to blame it on poor old JC.

He might resign.

Is it too cynical to think that, for the Parliamentary Labour Party, this isn't about bombing Syria but removing Corbyn?

― Caput Johannis in Disco (Tom D.), Thursday, 26 November 2015 Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Not at all cynical. That at least a few from the PLP are voting with the Tories to nail Corbyn is a real, real low.

That letter he issued after the meeting is great - not 'tactically' but its all v Brian Clough @ Leeds Utd right now I think. Unlike Clough I would like to think Corbyn will stick it out. The members - as the poll published earlier this week showed - are v happy with him.

Don't resign Jez, time for a purge.

'37 style please.

Just been reading this ok-ish book about team-Stalin. He had an enviable team of acolytes assisting him to total power, but only one stone arse.

Yeah I saw your post about it on ILB.

I doubt the Labour rebellion will be big enough to be material. There are better hills to die on than a clusterfuck war where half your allies hate each other, and with a psychopathic dictator, no clear plan for what to do when you've finished bombing, and the near certainty of violent retaliation.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3336942/Chairman-Corbyn-s-Maoist-Britain-Clarkson-education-camp-giant-posters-people-s-hero-Diane-Abbott-compulsory-ping-pong-historian-s-brilliantly-witty-chilling-vision-future.html

So began the first of the purges. Live on national television, well-known writers and thinkers — Melvyn Bragg, Germaine Greer, Mary Beard, David Starkey — were rounded up by Red Guards and driven deep into the countryside, where they were presented with hoes and brusquely instructed to begin tilling the land.

Isn't this a good thing?

"Brilliantly witty".