How will you vote in the Labour Leadership election?

Starmer actually did put out a tweet backing the UCU strike so I think he is playing this well.

I saw some of the younger members I follow utterly losing their shit with RLB and going 'I'm leaving Labour blah blah'. Put it down as Sunday night blues however RLB hasn't played this well. It's a weird question but you say no every single time. You differentiate yourself like that.

pic.twitter.com/Vs3yzH0R2I

— Nihilists for Labour (@Nihilists4Lab) February 24, 2020

that's my kind of content

It's a stupid question, as was the one about whether they'd consider themselves 'zionists' - and Starmer has handled both better than either of the others. It seems pretty obvious that RLB's honest answers to both questions would be 'no' and she feels like she's forced into giving these fairly absurd answers to placate the press. It's understandable, to some extent, but she's not good at it and it doesn't bode well for the future.

I think questions about RLB's leadership qualities will prove academic anyway, but she has seemed very unfocused at times. I don't even know why I'm still paying the direct debit when really in my heart of hearts I know the job is fucked and the reasoning I had for joining the party is gone, the cunts will be running the show again soon enough and I won't be troubling a polling station possibly again in my lifetime. Especially going the way cycles of power in the Labour party seem to go, the right could be in charge again for much longer than Corbynism lasted. But in some ways that might be liberating tbh.

None of the frontrunners in this are as good as Corbyn, and Corbyn is highly contentious in approach ffs. Looking forward to performing the ceremonial membership cancellation though.

Corbyn was massively underrated by people right across the spectrum. These useless fuckers are minnows in his shadow, and none of them could be an improvement.

It feels more like a funeral than leadership election tbh

RLB has shown inexperience and it might be the wrong time for her however I like some of the new intake. Still a lot for the left to do around council selection and organising around issues in our communities. Building things from below is still the lonely, arduous task and that remains the case whether RLB wins or loses.

For undecideds, people who don’t have a vote, or just passers by like silby.

Even if she loses RLB can have a second bite at it in the future. I think she'd do better with more experience under her belt and some time working as part of a different group.

The Labour right are already quietly gunning for Starmer. Andrew Rawnsley's column was heavily damning in its faint praise and he's usually a reliable barometer of what they want journalists to think.

I give KS 2 years before being challenged*, but RLB shouldn't and won't be the challenger

*unless he massively outperforms all of our expectations, but our expectations exist for many good reasons

Changing leader again before the next GE is just pure idiocy

Depends how unpopular the leader is and what the challengers are like. The Tories probably benefited from binning IDS and replacing him even with Michael Howard.

There doesn't appear to be a surefire winner even among the likely challengers to Starmer so they'll probably end up sticking with him unless something really bad happens.

Also depends on the level of pure idiocy in the Parliamentary party obviously.

The winner of this contest will not be challenged.

yeah, because starmer will win.

(rlb would be challenged)

RLB would bring open selection, which is a gun to every potential coup plotter's head, and she strikes as far more ruthless than Corbyn.

At this stage I'm fairly convinced that open selection will just lead to most CLPs reselecting the incumbent and even if they do there's no guarantee it'll favour the left candidates. The wider appetite for it appears fairly limited.

CLPs don't seem quite as left as a lot of people here think/hope they are.

absolutely. My centrist da fits right in at his.

if there was open selection more ppl would be inclined to join, there are quite a few CLPs where the incumbent wouldn't win and lots more where a contest would be a good thing. long term it would lead to more local candidates

I think Starmer will prove to be a real *enigma*. Soon people will start noticing he is soft as shit against pressure from the right of the party and constantly capitulates to them in milliseconds. But then proves to be quite a stubborn tough-minded bullshitting lawyer cunt against pressure from the left of the party. It will become almost like "we could do with some principled Corbyn type figure here, because this phoney doing a soft-left routine is killing us!"

quote me on this in a year I know I'm right.

how did it come from Corbyn to a fucking worthless cockroach melt in a suit with Luke fucking Akehurst whispering sweet nothings in his ears. I'm sorry but I'm still in angry and grieving stage.

This is a serious concern. Everyone around Starmer must be searched for hair removal creams immediately, they could be embittered Stalinists in disguise. https://t.co/QFn2Zx53OU

— Simon Hedges (@Orwell_Fan) February 24, 2020

CLPs don't seem quite as left as a lot of people here think/hope they are.

― Load up your rubber wallets (Tom D.), Monday, 24 February 2020 bookmarkflaglink

absolutely. My centrist da fits right in at his.

― frederik b. godt (jim in vancouver), Monday, 24 February 2020 bookmarkflaglink

Lol I know CLPs are full of mummy and daddy. That's why Starmer is winning. Unity is pure family talk.

At this stage I'm fairly convinced that open selection will just lead to most CLPs reselecting the incumbent and even if they do there's no guarantee it'll favour the left candidates. The wider appetite for it appears fairly limited.

― Matt DC, Monday, 24 February 2020 bookmarkflaglink

Open selection would return the sitting MP in 95% of cases. But what I am saying is that should RLB win MPs going for the shenanigans we saw during Corbyn's time would often not go down well at CLP level, and we have seen a lot of tension at some CLPs.

Has anyone got their ballot yet?

I was wondering about that. not me, ftr.

not yet, but .. lol.. just found out all my Labour emails have been going into junk for months. I got an e-mail yesterday entitled "Your Ballot" which actually wasn't my ballot, but told me to chill and there is plenty of time ..to melt!

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ERnRMoeWoAc3TX3?format=jpg&name=large

Ian "gets it" apparently, what a load of fucking ringing endorsements - the kind guaranteed to consign you to the ash heap of labour Party history!

horny blair: "ian murray can get it"

I have voted.

Horny Dunty: “Tony Blair can get it”

xp ffs and I’m not going to bother coming home if you voted Burgon

Guess we’re divorced now

Yep.

Horny Dunty famously said every PM needs a Willie!

fwiw my ballot ended up as:

1. RLB
2. Starmer

Only as insurance against the nightmare scenario of RLB being knocked out in the first round and Nandy getting in on second prefs.

Deputy was:

1. Burgon
2. Butler
3. Khan
4. Rayner

Nothing much to pick between 3. and 4. other than my inherent bias towards ppl called Khan.

If Starmer get's in on second prefs I'm blaming it all on you!

The only way that happens is if RLB gets booted in the first round, so fingers crossed it doesn’t come to that.

I'm putting a write in nom for Nandy's dad as my second pref

a lot of my depression is based on the melty uselessness of the CLP's and that jan 18th YouGov poll on the members. I keep hoping I'm going to be pleasantly surprised in april, but it's a forlorn hope - this is going to be a fucking Starmer cakewalk and I knows it.

EXCLUSIVE: Deputy leadership hopeful Richard Burgon wants to set up a 'Tony Benn University of Political Education' as he says Labour has "failed miserably in relation to political education in the last few years" – and much more in our new interview: https://t.co/zlHOu4tDY0

— LabourList (@LabourList) February 25, 2020

lol what a fucking awful idea!

Guess we’re divorced now

Don't worry no-one will blame you, we all know where the blame lies.

And how will you be voting?

I'm politically homeless.

We found the Nandy/Murray, lads

think Tom might be politically lost and should try a course at the Tony Benn University of Political Re-education, Hero of Socialist Labour medal holder, honorary professor Chris Williamson will put him on the correct path!

I asked Lisa Nandy if it was ethical that her campaign has allegedly received funding from corporate types in energy and private water companies tonight at #GuardianLive - she said she didn’t know if it had or not https://t.co/bYzl2AqyQh

— Beth Redmond (@redbethmond) February 25, 2020

there is a lot of talk that Stalemer has spent an unprecedented million on his campaign without any transparency of whose pocket he's in. Most of that spend could be accounted for with that mailshot with grotesque face image and hd pimple that went straight into the recycle bin.