The Corbyn Effect
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PoliticsStatsUK @PolitiStatsUK posted the some interesting figures on the state of the main UK parties in 2018.
Apparently, there have been 33 council by-elections in 2018 and here are the results reported by PoliticsStats:
CON: 18 (-1) - 39.7% LAB: 7 (-1) - 30.9% LDM: 5 (+4) - 16.8%
Yet another example of the effect Jeremy Corbyn is having on Labour's standing with the voters.
Corbyn's Labour (14/02/18)
Labour's Jeremy Corbyn has managed to slip into third place behind Theresa May and the 'Don't Knows' over the question:
"Which of the following do you think would make the best Prime Minister?"
Now that is funny.
Corbyn's Labour (12/02/18)
Despite facing the weakest Conservative leader and least impressive Prime Minister in years, Jeremy Corbyn has still managed to fall behind the Tories in the latest YouGov opinion poll.
The Corbyn Effect (21/01/18)
Lord Ashcroft is very fond of polls and his latest one on 'Who would make the best Prime Minister?' makes grim reading for Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party.
Despite being up against the weakest Tory Prime Minister in many a year, Jeremy is in third place behind Theresa May and the Don't Knows.
Unrepresentative Representatives (23/01/18)
Jeremy Corbyn allies have been celebrating their tightening hold on the Labour Party after the Momentum group swept the board in recent elections to Labour's national executive committee.
Now what puzzles me is that the Labour leader is completely out of step with Labour Party members, the vast majority of whom (87%) support staying in the EU Single Market and having a second referendum (78%) on the final terms of Brexit.
So while the Corbynistas celebrate their victory, arguably, the real significance is that the Labour leadership is becoming an elite group with very scant regard for the views of the wider party membership.
Which sounds about right if you ask me, because the key people around Jeremy Corbyn believe in what's known as 'vanguardism', a political term which justifies small and highly organised groups winning control of institutions, even though their political aims and objectives are not widely shared.
In days gone by, the concept of 'vanguardism' focused mainly on the trade unions because the small turnout in most union elections (local and national) meant that very small groups of politically motivated activists could punch well about their weight.
Labour has been here before, of course, with the fierce battle fought by Neil Kinnock against Militant in the 1980s, but it has returned with a vengeance under Jeremy Corbyn.
The Sunday Times had an interesting article the other day on Momentum flexing its muscles against a 'hit list' of Labour MPs and in the London Borough of Haringey - which you can read via the link below.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/jeremy-corbyn-allies-plot-to-oust-50-labour-mps-87bkrv7l7
Jeremy Corbyn allies plot to oust 50 Labour MPs
Secret hitlist of moderates for deselection
By Caroline Wheeler and Andrew Gilligan - The Sunday Times
Chris Leslie, left, and Hilary Benn are believed to top the list
Up to 50 Labour MPs are on a deselection hitlist drawn up by left-wing supporters of Jeremy Corbyn, it has been claimed.
Moderate Labour MPs have been warned that Corbyn’s allies want centrist candidates replaced with more left-leaning ones.
A Labour Party whip has been privately telling moderate MPs not to rock the boat or they could face deselection, amid fears that up to 50 will be targeted if rule changes are pushed through this autumn.
Chris Leslie, the former shadow chancellor, and Hilary Benn, the former shadow foreign secretary, are believed to top the list. Angela Eagle, who challenged Corbyn for the leadership in 2016, and her sister Maria Eagle, the former shadow culture secretary, are also thought to be vulnerable.
“Allies of Corbyn have admitted they have a list of MPs they want to get rid of,” said a source.
Momentum members have sought to make it harder for MPs to be confirmed as candidates for the next general election.
An MP now needs to win only a simple majority of nominations from local party branches, affiliated trade unions and socialist societies in a “trigger ballot” to confirm them as the candidate. But Momentum is expected to campaign to raise the threshold to two-thirds.
The Sunday Times can reveal that head teachers’ salaries may be cut by up to two-fifths in a war on “fat cat” pay when Momentum takes over its first council in May’s local elections. The policy is being considered for the Labour manifesto in the north London borough of Haringey.
Momentum is almost certain to control the council, which is safely Labour, from May after 17 sitting Labour councillors were replaced with pro-Momentum candidates in a series of purges and resignations. About 21 sitting councillors already support the group.
The manifesto is not yet finalised but if the pay cut becomes part of it, at least 270 staff will be worse off, including dozens of heads and senior teachers.
@cazjwheeler
Up to 50 Labour MPs are on a deselection hitlist drawn up by left-wing supporters of Jeremy Corbyn, it has been claimed.
Moderate Labour MPs have been warned that Corbyn’s allies want centrist candidates replaced with more left-leaning ones.
A Labour Party whip has been privately telling moderate MPs not to rock the boat or they could face deselection, amid fears that up to 50 will be targeted if rule changes are pushed through this autumn.
Chris Leslie, the former shadow chancellor, and Hilary Benn, the former shadow foreign secretary, are believed to top the list. Angela Eagle, who challenged Corbyn for the leadership in 2016, and her sister Maria Eagle, the former shadow culture secretary, are also thought to be vulnerable.
“Allies of Corbyn have admitted they have a list of MPs they want to get rid of,” said a source.
Momentum members have sought to make it harder for MPs to be confirmed as candidates for the next general election.
An MP now needs to win only a simple majority of nominations from local party branches, affiliated trade unions and socialist societies in a “trigger ballot” to confirm them as the candidate. But Momentum is expected to campaign to raise the threshold to two-thirds.
The Sunday Times can reveal that head teachers’ salaries may be cut by up to two-fifths in a war on “fat cat” pay when Momentum takes over its first council in May’s local elections. The policy is being considered for the Labour manifesto in the north London borough of Haringey.
Momentum is almost certain to control the council, which is safely Labour, from May after 17 sitting Labour councillors were replaced with pro-Momentum candidates in a series of purges and resignations. About 21 sitting councillors already support the group.
The manifesto is not yet finalised but if the pay cut becomes part of it, at least 270 staff will be worse off, including dozens of heads and senior teachers.
@cazjwheeler
