General Election 2019

Hardly left at all. Like the 4 day week?

If Labour weren't such fucking idiots they could have hung their policies on things that would have spoken to a broader swathe of the electorate. For example:

Labour said - Labour will end the failed free-market experiment in higher education, abolish tuition fees and bring back maintenance grants.

Labour could have said: Labour will reduce tuition fees over the course of the parliament and cap the number of foreign students any university can accept to x%. Funding will be provided to students as loans at an interest rate of x%. Students loans will be forgiven after x years in a move to end the financial bondage for students that do not join the labour market e.g. women who become mothers.

There was just too little pragmatism.

You’d certainly have lower revenue forecasts and lower spending - there’s still daylight between the manifestos.

After the 1st 4 years run on entering the EEA with freedom of movement (with emergency immigration caps).

Well yes. Thats only a brexit position part of it. Labour couldn't win with a) corbyn, b) too big a manifesto and c) the brexit position.
Just saying that chasing leave wasn't the way to go. Johnson already had that sewn up with the slogan and his deal. There is still a majority (just) of remain in the country. Running a remain campaign with a manifesto (and leader) that didn't scare off tory remainers, brought in lib dems might have been less disastrous. Once in power there are 5 years to introduce other policies. Popular policies in opposition won't butter the parsnips.

Which policies?

Re’ Mason? I think he’s got some great ideas. But his radical spending plans involving the Bank of England quantities easing for social programs etc ... that’s obviously scary to most ppl.

All the recriminations and demands that all traces of Corbynism be ousted from as far as possible are to be expected, but they neglect the fact that Miliband was a disaster too.

And was destroyed in the press for being too far left (even a Marxist) amongst other things.

All backed up by an isolationist immigration policy.

Isn’t it the same policy currently applied to those coming from outside the EU?

He led. Every single decision about how/what/when things got done as well as all the policies are ultimately his responsibility. He and his team failed, which I think it the point of the article. He is not the only one at fault but he bears full responsibility.

That’s a fair view. I would say he was not a natural leader and suffered extraordinary circumstances.

If people don't think the right wing press (though I've just learned that the Conservatives are not, in fact, a right wing party so maybe we need another description) can affect a mass of people's opinion of a leader, imagine if Corbyn had been sacked for lying from previous jobs, was on tape arranging the assault of a journalist, had wasted millions on a bridge when mayor of London, was a known adulterer and would not even say how many children he had. Then imagine he's been visiting a young woman for 'technology help' at her flat and her company had then got to go to business conferences at his prompting. What if he had refused to be interviewed by Andrew Neil. What if his former cabinet colleagues were telling people not to vote for him. The Sun, the Mail, the Express, the Telegraph and Times would have let it all go, surely.
Let's not even think about what they would have done with Farage had he been a leftie.

But media bias isn't going to go away. So you can point you it as a reason for losing, but if you want to win you have to find a way to minimise it.

It's in the water is wet category - whilst the press is either in-hoc too, or owned by, billionaires then any left-leaning candidate will be under attack from the majority of said press.

The Tories exist to represent the interests of capital, for e.g. the billionaires who own the press, so they have a systemic advantage.

The Milibands were claimed to be anti semetic.

What ever the truth was, the campaign against corbyn was beyond the usual labour assault by the sun et all. Even accusations made against his wife.

So making it worse for EU immigrants rather than make it as easy for non EU immigrants is the way to go?

@Dammit Let’s face it 2017 #binthesun

^ probably our tactical high water mark.

This is good

https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/comment/election-dissection/

Yeah, but Boris eh? He's a bit of a lad. Good old BoJo.

How about the BBC showing a different laying of the wreath at the cenotaph.

I would say he was not a natural leader and suffered extraordinary circumstances.

I would say he was ill prepared for the reality of leadership, which was exacerbated by the circumstances. Cometh the hour, he was not the right man.

It’s not what I wanted but I accepted that leaving the EU and losing freedom of movement as political reality with the announcement of the referendum result.

I can’t really think why there should be favoured nations when it comes to immigration. So sadly I think my answer is ‘yes’. Obviously everything should be done to allow those currently living and working abroad to continue.

All I can say as proof that the sun control politics, look at liverpool. Now they hate the sun.

Boris is?

On a tangential topic, anyone notice how a Jewish social democrat in the States is being accused of antisemitism?

Different arena, same game.

People keep trying to argue for single issue post rationalisations. Please stop.

https://www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2019/december/labour-s-defeat?fbclid=IwAR3rUaCI-lXhi-IthUXEf4C93g5yXGOpX6-S4fOC0ntw5CttDBrlhOHUUA8

There wasn’t an obvious way for Labour to have won this election. The usual bromides will be offered up: it was Corbyn, no, it was Brexit, no, it was the manifesto, no, it was the press, no, it was credibility. All of them are in various ways true, but in all ways only partial: attitudes to Corbyn have hardened considerably since 2017; Brexit blew open a long persistent crack in Labour’s voter base; the press is execrable and even harder to deal with in the digital era.

I didn't rate Corbyn repeating the "legal immigration lowers wages" after it was proven false.

There's a serious lack of enforcement on exploitative companies, one in Northern Ireland was fined many times. The fines are too low and people are brought in my gangs.

It is hard to tackle for the police and local politicians prefer to moan about flegs and many locals don't understand or care those people aren't in a position to fight back.

Striking isn't an option if you get beaten up. I stopped buying food from that company.

Ah, thank you for this. You’ve reminded me to resubscribe to LRB.