I've discussed Britain a lot recently and if there is one thing that is clear to me it's that it sucks to be on the Left in Britain these days.
http://lastmenandovermen.blogspot.com/2015/08/trump-really-could-win-in-britain.html
http://lastmenandovermen.blogspot.com/2015/07/should-left-abandon-eu.html
http://lastmenandovermen.blogspot.com/2015/07/the-failure-of-european-left-to-oppose.html
Things are so bad that the Left in Britain still clings to the fantasy that the EU can save Britain. If it were up to them maybe they would still even now join the euro. They probably think this somehow would slow 'the onslaught of Neoliberalism.'
Meanwhile, the Left in the countries on the euro have it even worse than the British Left.
Comparatively, it's a lot better being on the Left in America these days. At least we have some real progress to hang our hats on and the future looks bright.
As for Labour, it's just a disaster. It's true, the last election was not a vote for the Tories and it really was a vote against the Coalition as the Lib Dems got routed. So it can be read as a vote against austerity. However, what is very worrisome for Labour is that the anti-austerity, anti-Lib Dem vote all went to SNP.
While the Conservatives spend the whole day inveighing the horrifying spectre of SNP, it's Labour who are SNP''s real victims. If the Scotts do end up leaving Britain, this is a tragedy for Labour-the Conservatives win the next 20 years. It would also be pretty bad for the country itself as Great Britain would become Not So Great Britain.
Even if they don't leave though, Labour will just continue to watch their voters siphoned off by SNP. They're damned if the Scotts leave and damned if they don't.
Against this backdrop people are wondering how Jeremy Corbyn is doing so well.
http://mainlymacro.blogspot.com/2015/07/corbyns-popularity-and-relativistic.html4
Right now, the Labour party is in the middle of an existential crisis. Some say Labour lost because of Blairism and the rest say it lost because it left behind Blairism.
The success of Corbyn shows that at the minimum there is still a hunger for something other than being a slightly more moderate version of the Tories. Some are panicking at this spectre.
"The Labour party should “end the madness” of a growing surge in support for Jeremy Corbyn and elect Yvette Cooper on the grounds that she has “the intellect, the experience and the inner steel” to succeed as leader, Alan Johnson has said.
"Amid growing nerves among senior party figures that Corbyn is building up an apparently unstoppable momentum, Johnson described the veteran leftwinger as “cheerfully disloyal” and praised Cooper as the unity candidate."
"Writing for the Guardian, the former home secretary says: “In my view only Yvette Cooper can unite the party to win again. Those members who can’t give her their first preference should give her their second. After over a century of male leaders we have an election where the most qualified candidate to lead our party back to government happens to be a woman. Let’s end the madness and elect her.”
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/aug/04/labour-must-end-the-madness-over-jeremy-corbyn-says-alan-johnson
Interesting. I support Hillary Clinton but while you can argue that Yvette Cooper is her British counterpart, down to the same gender, I don't blame the Brits for going for Corbyn. The Democrats are just in a much stronger position than Labour is.
While Johnson may think that the answer is to move to the Right, you can argue that Labour has lost it's most loyal voters-the Scots-by giving in to the Right.
Meanwhile Tony Yates is not pleased about the very idea of Corbyn's 'People's QE.'.
https://longandvariable.wordpress.com/2015/08/03/would-not-print-money-for-a-corbyn-cabinet/
P.S. Demographics also favor the Dems while they hurt Labour. Two left leaning parties going in the opposite direction.
UPDATE: Krugman gives a good name for the reaction to Corbyn: The Cringe Caucus.
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/08/04/corbyn-and-the-cringe-caucus/?module=BlogPost-Title&version=Blog%20Main&contentCollection=Opinion&action=Click&pgtype=Blogs®ion=Body
http://lastmenandovermen.blogspot.com/2015/08/trump-really-could-win-in-britain.html
http://lastmenandovermen.blogspot.com/2015/07/should-left-abandon-eu.html
http://lastmenandovermen.blogspot.com/2015/07/the-failure-of-european-left-to-oppose.html
Things are so bad that the Left in Britain still clings to the fantasy that the EU can save Britain. If it were up to them maybe they would still even now join the euro. They probably think this somehow would slow 'the onslaught of Neoliberalism.'
Meanwhile, the Left in the countries on the euro have it even worse than the British Left.
Comparatively, it's a lot better being on the Left in America these days. At least we have some real progress to hang our hats on and the future looks bright.
As for Labour, it's just a disaster. It's true, the last election was not a vote for the Tories and it really was a vote against the Coalition as the Lib Dems got routed. So it can be read as a vote against austerity. However, what is very worrisome for Labour is that the anti-austerity, anti-Lib Dem vote all went to SNP.
While the Conservatives spend the whole day inveighing the horrifying spectre of SNP, it's Labour who are SNP''s real victims. If the Scotts do end up leaving Britain, this is a tragedy for Labour-the Conservatives win the next 20 years. It would also be pretty bad for the country itself as Great Britain would become Not So Great Britain.
Even if they don't leave though, Labour will just continue to watch their voters siphoned off by SNP. They're damned if the Scotts leave and damned if they don't.
Against this backdrop people are wondering how Jeremy Corbyn is doing so well.
http://mainlymacro.blogspot.com/2015/07/corbyns-popularity-and-relativistic.html4
Right now, the Labour party is in the middle of an existential crisis. Some say Labour lost because of Blairism and the rest say it lost because it left behind Blairism.
The success of Corbyn shows that at the minimum there is still a hunger for something other than being a slightly more moderate version of the Tories. Some are panicking at this spectre.
"The Labour party should “end the madness” of a growing surge in support for Jeremy Corbyn and elect Yvette Cooper on the grounds that she has “the intellect, the experience and the inner steel” to succeed as leader, Alan Johnson has said.
"Amid growing nerves among senior party figures that Corbyn is building up an apparently unstoppable momentum, Johnson described the veteran leftwinger as “cheerfully disloyal” and praised Cooper as the unity candidate."
"Writing for the Guardian, the former home secretary says: “In my view only Yvette Cooper can unite the party to win again. Those members who can’t give her their first preference should give her their second. After over a century of male leaders we have an election where the most qualified candidate to lead our party back to government happens to be a woman. Let’s end the madness and elect her.”
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/aug/04/labour-must-end-the-madness-over-jeremy-corbyn-says-alan-johnson
Interesting. I support Hillary Clinton but while you can argue that Yvette Cooper is her British counterpart, down to the same gender, I don't blame the Brits for going for Corbyn. The Democrats are just in a much stronger position than Labour is.
While Johnson may think that the answer is to move to the Right, you can argue that Labour has lost it's most loyal voters-the Scots-by giving in to the Right.
Meanwhile Tony Yates is not pleased about the very idea of Corbyn's 'People's QE.'.
https://longandvariable.wordpress.com/2015/08/03/would-not-print-money-for-a-corbyn-cabinet/
P.S. Demographics also favor the Dems while they hurt Labour. Two left leaning parties going in the opposite direction.
UPDATE: Krugman gives a good name for the reaction to Corbyn: The Cringe Caucus.
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/08/04/corbyn-and-the-cringe-caucus/?module=BlogPost-Title&version=Blog%20Main&contentCollection=Opinion&action=Click&pgtype=Blogs®ion=Body
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