Project Dull and Boring
The Labour MP Stephen Kinnock makes a fair point in relation to his leader rather uninspiring message on Europe which can be ridiculed, quite fairly I would say, as:
'The EU is terrible, but provides the UK with a bulwark against nasty Conservative policies'.
Now that's hardly a message of hope, more like Project Dull and Boring as I said on the blog site recently.
Read Stephen Kinnock's full comments on the Politics Home blog site.
https://www.politicshome.com/news/uk/news/74095/jeremy-corbyn-must-not-discourage-people-voting-remain-warns-labour-mp?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign
Jeremy Corbyn 'must not discourage people from voting Remain', warns Labour MP
By John Ashmore
Jeremy Corbyn risks discouraging people from voting to stay in Europe if he focuses too much on the shortcomings of the EU, Labour MP Stephen Kinnock has warned.
Caption: Jeremy Corbyn has been urged to do more to help the Remain cause.
Credit: PA
Speaking to The House magazine, the Aberavon MP said he welcomed Mr Corbyn’s “overdue” speech on the referendum last week, but said he remained “very concerned” that Labour voters were not getting the right message.
At his speech last week Mr Corbyn made clear he supported remaining in the bloc, but also pointed out what he sees as the “shortcomings” of the EU’s institutions.
“It's right that Jeremy focuses on the need to change the EU, but I think he also needs to focus on what a post-Brexit UK would look like”, Mr Kinnock said
“There's an implied criticism of the EU and that's of course right, we want to reform the EU. But we also must ensure that we're not so critical of the current situation that it discourages people from voting to remain.
Dull and Boring (01/03/16)
Dan Hodges had an amusing piece in The Telegraph the other day in which he took a stick to the Labour leadership over its 'pitch' to voters on the importance of staying in the European Union (EU).
Here's an extract from the article which paraphrases the views of Jeremy Corbyn, a long-time eurosceptic who voted 'No' in the 1975 referendum on EU membership:
"Grudgingly he outlined his party’s position.
"David Cameron had blown it. The European Union was failing to stop the erosion of jobs in vital sectors like the steel industry. It was enforcing the privatisation of crucial public services. It was failing to end austerity. It lacked democratic accountability. It wasn’t doing enough to protect workers rights. And that was why Jeremy Corbyn would be urging the British people to vote to stay in."
Now that reminds me of one of my favourite Woody Allen jokes from the movie 'Annie Hall' in which two elderly ladies are complaining bitterly about the quality of the food in a fancy restaurant, at the end of which one says to the other:
"Yeah, I know; and such small portions."
So much for an inspiring Labour campaign and a positive case for Europe.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/Jeremy_Corbyn/12169049/Jeremy-Corbyn-is-completely-irrelevant-to-the-EU-referendum-and-still-he-screws-it-up.html
Jeremy Corbyn is completely irrelevant to the EU referendum – and still he screws it up
Somehow the Labour party has contrived to use even an issue on which Tories are split as an engine for its own destruction
By Dan Hodges - The Telegraph
Blink and you’d have missed it. In fact, even if like me you’d spent Saturday starring doggedly at the rolling new channels, you would probably have missed it as well: Labour’s response to David Cameron’s referendum deal.
You may remember the Labour Party. It used to govern the country. Back when winning votes and seats and general elections was still relatively fashionable on the Left. Obviously, fashion has moved on. But Labour’s still hanging around, affecting to be the Official Opposition and Britain’s government in waiting.
So in principle, what Labour says on this once-in-a-generation stuff still has relevance. Which is why I raised an eyebrow when Jeremy Corbyn eventually appeared on my screen. He had that look he always has when he’s forced to speak to journalists about issues of national importance – the look of a man who’s just been ordered by his wife to put down the crossword and put the bins out. Grudgingly he outlined his party’s position.
By Dan Hodges - The Telegraph
Blink and you’d have missed it. In fact, even if like me you’d spent Saturday starring doggedly at the rolling new channels, you would probably have missed it as well: Labour’s response to David Cameron’s referendum deal.
You may remember the Labour Party. It used to govern the country. Back when winning votes and seats and general elections was still relatively fashionable on the Left. Obviously, fashion has moved on. But Labour’s still hanging around, affecting to be the Official Opposition and Britain’s government in waiting.
So in principle, what Labour says on this once-in-a-generation stuff still has relevance. Which is why I raised an eyebrow when Jeremy Corbyn eventually appeared on my screen. He had that look he always has when he’s forced to speak to journalists about issues of national importance – the look of a man who’s just been ordered by his wife to put down the crossword and put the bins out. Grudgingly he outlined his party’s position.
