Labour Leadership Race 2020

Joe_ Public

Professor Moriarty wrote: »

It's from the Lyndon Johnson play book. He told his campaign manager to tell people that his opponent was having illicit sex. The campaign manager told Johnson it wasn't true. To which Johnson replied: "Of course not, but let's hear the bastard deny it."

Good comparison. If Mason is auditioning for the role of Starmers campaign manager, a capable foe for the evil genius cummings, then he might be on the right path. But if he values his reputation and integrity as a political commentator and historian, I'd advise him to have another think.

Rjd2

Mason is dismal, a Pseudo-intellectual idiot probably going through a mid life crisis.

He may have been interesting a few years ago but last few years utterly unbearable. I think he has probably pissed of the Corbynites recently thus trying to jump on the Keir bandwagon, but I doubt someone like Keir would want somebody as useless as him behind the scenes.

Shame he is pops up in the new statesman so much.:(

O'Neill

Rjd2 wrote: »

Mason is dismal, a Pseudo-intellectual idiot probably going through a mid life crisis.

He may have been interesting a few years ago but last few years utterly unbearable. I think he has probably pissed of the Corbynites recently thus trying to jump on the Keir bandwagon, but I doubt someone like Keir would want somebody as useless as him behind the scenes.

Shame he is pops up in the new statesman so much.:(

I always thought Mason was a Corbynite no?

Joe_ Public

O'Neill wrote: »

I always thought Mason was a Corbynite no?

While he did back corbyn for leader and was generally supportive i dont think you could ever describe him as a "corbynite." Wherever he is, he's definitely not on left of party. Hard to precisely pin down Starmer too so can see why they might be well matched.

Rjd2

Anyhow its early days,,,but this should be Keir v RLB.

Thornberry running is a waste of time for everyone mainly herself, I don't like Lewis on everything, but he was a much more interesting candidate than Emily.

Jess Philips brutally exposed as what she is, a media creation that tries too hard and is nowhere near as complex and interesting as she believes nor what her media enablers may portray. She is the UK version of Mayor Pete, a lot of media hype but nothing there whatsoever.

I also wish she would stop with the "how many kids does Boris have” line, its crass but is her personified. Boris has plenty to criticise so why she keeps going to this line of attack is beyond me. It’s Trumpian.

Nandy is running a nice if doomed campaign. She does try too hard to appeal to leavers though and I don't think there is a base to propel her to success.

RLB is drab, they should have gone with Raynor, and however her closeness to Jez means she will be tough to beat no matter her limitations.

Keir looks the stand out choice, but has he been loyal enough to Jez to beat RBL who his disciples will flock behind?

Joe_ Public

Watched the hustings yesterday and only really stand out performer was Thornberry which did surprise me a bit. Does seem to be between Starmer and RLB but still long way to go so you can never tell what road bumps they may encounter before they get there.

Starmer doing ok in polls but i still wonder how well his tripwire dance between left and right - he even managed to praise both Blair and Corbyn in the same sentence - will go down with the membership.

Nandy has a lot of good qualities and is maybe one for the future. Phillips is fine as far as she goes but doesnt strike me as leadership material. And whether RLB is a wise choice in terms of building an electable party or not, i find the whole "continuity candidate" thing very tiresome and lazy. She's clearly her own woman, and a capable enough one from what i can see, but will the media/establishment ever give her a fair run? Probably not has to be the answer.

liamtech

Jess Philips on Sky News this morning, saying effectively that Labour has a problem with sexism if they do not elect a Female leader.

Totally ridiculous, IMHO. Starmer may be the only male candidate, but for me, he is the only credible candidate for PM in this race.

Joe_ Public

Thought that was a decent interview from Phillips this morning. She also said "i think it's a very very difficult argument to say you should stand back if you're the best person for the job", but as ever, nuances often lose out with these things.

One issue i have is her criticising corbyn for not listening to her and other mps when it was effectively many of those mps who helped set the tone by seeking to undermine the leadership almost before it was settled in place. Criticism should be a two way process there afaic.

Dyr

I'd say Boris is praying Jess Phillips gets the nod, she'd be the perfect foil for him. Shrieking outrage about his every utterance while he just shrugs and grins

Will keep Labour in opposition forever.

quokula

Philips and Johnson are cut from the same cloth, both happy to stab their colleagues in the back, to lower the tone and dumb down debate, and generally do whatever they can to further themselves at the expense of everyone else.

She just cynically uses emotive language to try and trigger progressive voters, where Boris does the same thing for the reactionary right. I don’t think voters to the left of centre have proven themselves to be quite so gullible, which is one of the reasons why there’s no way the labour membership would back her.