'Dead' Cert for Leader
I've read a lot of article about the Labour party leader ship contest recently, but my favourite by a mile is this one from Private Eye, the UK's best and only fortnightly satirical magazine.
One of the good things about what used to be referred to as the 'labour movement' is that it has a collective memory, a collective history, which people can call upon when necessary.
And the fact is that people like Jeremy Corbyn has been around the Labour party, local councils and the trade unions for many years; one of their number (Diane Abbot) stood in the 2010 leadership contest and won only 7% or so of the vote.
In 2015 Jeremy Corbyn has tapped into the anti-politics mood and become Labour's new 'Messiah' although time will tell if he's rumbled as just another very naughty boy.
My money's on the 'naughty boy outcome' because in terms of his domestic political outlook Jeremy is really in favour of a larger version of Labour-run North Lanarkshire Council governing the country.
"God above!" - is how most people would respond to that prospect especially anyone with experience of the Council and its scandalous behaviour over equal pay.
On the international front Jeremy's political outlook is essentially anti-American which is why he speaks warmly of Russia and urges the west not to be too harsh on President Putin for annexing part of Ukraine which is, or at least was, a sovereign independent country.
So Private Eye nails it for me although the fun will only really start if and when Corbyn does manage to win the Labour crown.
LABOUR LEADERSHIP
CONTROVERSIAL FRONT-RUNNER EMERGES
by our Political Staff
Michael Whitehair
The Labour Party is on the brink of selecting a left-wing firebrand who has the support of the unions and is determined to take the party away from the safe middle ground of politics and into the radical extremes.
Whilst supporters of Andy Burnham and Liz Kendall look on with dismay, there is no doubt that the late Michael Foot looks set to become the next leader of the Labour Party.
"The fact that Michael foot has been dead for years," said one enthusiastic supporter, "would not deter us from making him our next leader. I think his donkey jacket and walking stick could be the trade marks of a new modern Britain and that Michael will lead us into a bright new past."
He continues, "Michael is the man to take Britain into the 1970s. And one thing is for sure, the voters won't say 'he's too left-wing for us'. Let's keep the Tories out for a decade."
A spokesman for the trade union UNIGHTMARE said, "People didn't vote for Ed Miliband because they thought he was too right-wing and anti-union. The late Michale Foot ticks all the right boxes, including the one he's buried in. He is the one to pull off a 2020 election defeat, as he is the ultimate symbol of the current Labour party being dead."
Jeremy Corbyn is 66.
So Private Eye nails it for me although the fun will only really start if and when Corbyn does manage to win the Labour crown.
LABOUR LEADERSHIP
CONTROVERSIAL FRONT-RUNNER EMERGES
by our Political Staff
Michael Whitehair
The Labour Party is on the brink of selecting a left-wing firebrand who has the support of the unions and is determined to take the party away from the safe middle ground of politics and into the radical extremes.
Whilst supporters of Andy Burnham and Liz Kendall look on with dismay, there is no doubt that the late Michael Foot looks set to become the next leader of the Labour Party.
"The fact that Michael foot has been dead for years," said one enthusiastic supporter, "would not deter us from making him our next leader. I think his donkey jacket and walking stick could be the trade marks of a new modern Britain and that Michael will lead us into a bright new past."
He continues, "Michael is the man to take Britain into the 1970s. And one thing is for sure, the voters won't say 'he's too left-wing for us'. Let's keep the Tories out for a decade."
A spokesman for the trade union UNIGHTMARE said, "People didn't vote for Ed Miliband because they thought he was too right-wing and anti-union. The late Michale Foot ticks all the right boxes, including the one he's buried in. He is the one to pull off a 2020 election defeat, as he is the ultimate symbol of the current Labour party being dead."
Jeremy Corbyn is 66.
