Is Corbyn a far left politician?

[Quik]

No he isn't, they think he's far left. There's a difference.

 

Anna the difference is perception. He clearly is far left, he has been all his career. The only way you would not see him as far left is if you are looking at him from further far left than he is, in which case he's a moderate liberal by standards of the extremer hard left. Which some people here clearly are.

[Anna B]

Anna the difference is perception. He clearly is far left, he has been all his career. The only way you would not see him as far left is if you are looking at him from further far left than he is, in which case he's a moderate liberal by standards of the extremer hard left. Which some people here clearly are.

 

I agree it's all about perception. I gather most of yours come from the media, which as I've said is hugely biased and determined to label him a Marxist.

 

I am not far left, not even a Labour voter. The only way you would see me / Corbyn as far left, is if you're so used to regarding 'New Labour' as a left wing party, rather than the 'Tory Lite' that it was.

 

How long had people been saying there was no difference between them?

[I1L2T3]

Anna the difference is perception. He clearly is far left, he has been all his career. The only way you would not see him as far left is if you are looking at him from further far left than he is, in which case he's a moderate liberal by standards of the extremer hard left. Which some people here clearly are.

 

I think there's a serious confusion here between what it means to be far left and to be on the far left of the Labour party. I would agree that Corbyn is the latter, probably, but he certainly isn't far left politically. There are other very small and inconsequential parties for people that way inclined.

[Eric Arthur]

I agree it's all about perception. I gather most of yours come from the media, which as I've said is hugely biased and determined to label him a Marxist.

 

I am not far left, not even a Labour voter. The only way you would see me / Corbyn as far left, is if you're so used to regarding 'New Labour' as a left wing party, rather than the 'Tory Lite' that it was.

 

How long had people been saying there was no difference between them?

 

Out of interest, since almost everyone else considers Corbyn to be far left, what would he have to do or say for you to think so too?

[foxy lady]

I agree it's all about perception. I gather most of yours come from the media

 

Just as a matter of interest where do you get your perception from?

 

---------- Post added 11-01-2016 at 09:05 ----------

 

No he isn't, they think he's far left. There's a difference.

 

So everyone else is wrong and you are the only person who knows the facts. How many times did you vote in the poll and how many times do you intend to vote in the election?

 

---------- Post added 11-01-2016 at 09:08 ----------

 

We've moved a long way from the original question - Is Corbyn a far left politician?

 

OK. Lets get back on track.

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/corbyns-reshuffle-shambles-have-made-divisions-in-labour-even-worse-a6804991.html

 

Corbyn's reshuffle shambles have made the divisions in Labour even worse

The legacy is a party left demoralised and directionless, offering little challenge to a Conservative government with a slim majority that seeks to reclaim the centre ground.

 

Such is the fallout from the most inept reshuffle in recent memory. Jeremy Corbyn strengthened his hold on the party by ensuring a Trident critic took the defence post, but underlined his reputation for incompetence after three days of meetings led to minimal other changes. Shadow Foreign Secretary Hilary Benn clung to his post, despite backing bombing in Syria. Meanwhile, the pettiness of sackings on spurious grounds, and the subsequent walkouts by three junior ministers, may prove damaging in the long term.

 

For as the smoke clears in the parallel universe of current Labour politics, there are three splits worth examining in the party. The first is the one that has dislocated the movement for two decades: the often-vicious and highly-personalised feuding between Blairites and Brownites. Thanks to the incompetence of Mr Corbyn and his allies, the historic wounds dating back to that infamous dinner at Granita appear to have been healed. First by the crude sackings, then by taunts from shadow Chancellor John McDonnell that those resigning in protest were from a “narrow, right-wing clique”.

 

The purge included figures from both factions: Pat McFadden, a former adviser to Tony Blair, and Michael Dugher, who performed a similar role for arch-rival Gordon Brown. Both were shadow ministers and both were sacked for supposed disloyalty, leading to unified outrage from the two camps coming together under the banner of “moderates”. Damian McBride, Mr Brown’s pugnacious former spin doctor, concluded: “Blairites, Brownites and neutrals within the parliamentary Labour party are fully as one.”

 

Yet this only highlights the second schism: the great divide between MPs and the 370,000-strong army of activists in constituencies, many attracted to the cause by Mr Corbyn and chanting the mantra of new politics. Some are hard-left extremists; many others young idealists focused on single issues such as the environment, human rights and the anti-war movement. This gap is widening as older members leave in dismay. And it looks insoluble until MPs stop insulting activists and find ways to harness the new infusion of energy – or the activists oust the current crop of MPs.

 

The legacy is a party left demoralised and directionless, offering little challenge to a Conservative government with a slim majority that seeks to reclaim the centre ground. Mr Corbyn increasingly appears like the gormless gardener who ended up by a fluke as presidential adviser in the satire Being There, making vacuous statements that some interpret as wisdom. Even shadow Cabinet colleagues are mystified by his strategy.

 

.....blah blah blah.....

 

This split is perhaps the most poisonous, since it risks dividing Labour at Westminster and destroying chances of solving its existential crisis. The moderates look weak, weary and stale. The public sees the bumbling Diane Abbott touring TV studios as the face of New Old Labour while behind the scenes unelectable militants attempt to impose their will. It is fascinating to observe this extraordinary political experiment played out in public. But the Labour party is trapped in a shambolic farce while fighting for both its soul and its survival.

Edited January 11, 2016 by foxy lady

[unbeliever]

I think there's a serious confusion here between what it means to be far left and to be on the far left of the Labour party. I would agree that Corbyn is the latter, probably, but he certainly isn't far left politically. There are other very small and inconsequential parties for people that way inclined.

 

Which is why I keep banging on about how the terms left and right are all but useless.

[esme]

Mod Note

 

I realise that this is a poll, however there is a topic "Is Corbyn a far left politician?".

 

So if you wish to discuss some other topic then start a thread to discuss it.

[foxy lady]

It's a poll thread, I'm only interested in the votes, once people have voted they can discuss whatever they want as far as I'm concerned

 

Of course he's a far left politician. The only folk who have claimed he isn't are the ones as far left as he is. To them he seems middle of the road.

[unbeliever]

Of course he's a far left politician. The only folk who have claimed he isn't are the ones as far left as he is. To them he seems middle of the road.

 

That does seem to be the way of things.

 

At least 2 posters have attempted to change the frame of reference.

Common sense demands that his ideas be compared with those of other contemporary UK politicians or those of the electorate.

But apparently if you change the reference to the whole of Europe, or to the 1960s, then he not longer appears far left.

 

I suggest that we randomly compare him with the early '80s US, in which case he's an absolute raving communist lunatic.

[foxy lady]

That does seem to be the way of things.

 

At least 2 posters have attempted to change the frame of reference.

Common sense demands that his ideas be compared with those of other contemporary UK politicians or those of the electorate.

But apparently if you change the reference to the whole of Europe, or to the 1960s, then he not longer appears far left.

 

I suggest that we randomly compare him with the early '80s US, in which case he's an absolute raving communist lunatic.

 

I see another one of the shadow cabinet has resigned. 4 in a week. They must think there is something rotten about his politics. The de-selecters are going to be working overtime and a very different Labour Party will be fighting the next election, if it still exists.