How many parliamentary seats will Labour hold on 9th June?

[andyofborg]

I really wish the SNP and LDs merged or at least collaborated. Their policies seem very much in line and if they did there is a good chance of that party/collaboration being the opposition and I'd love that outcome!

 

there does seem to be one policy area where they disagree quite profoundly though, which would make merger tricky

[Jacktari]

The problem I was trying to highlight was the sheer logistics of trying to repair the damage done in the 80's and thereafter.

Those pits have been backfilled, concreted over and industrial parks built on them.

The pits themselves, and the men who worked in them evolved over centuries to become what they were, miners were indeed a breed apart from the rest of the working class.

Apart from this, deep mine working is not really a pleasant task, and without the close knit fraternity that existed in the old pits, I cannot see many people wanting to do that work.

As has been said, it would require a complete rethink on how to go about the task.

[sgtkate]

there does seem to be one policy area where they disagree quite profoundly though, which would make merger tricky

 

There is that

[L00b]

it's my question though and if you want some opportunistic flip-flopping then how about Mrs May's flip-flopping on the election issue.

Oh don't get me wrong andy: the opportunistically-propelled wind turbine that is Theresa May can hold more than a candle to Corbyn on just as many fronts.

I think everyone accepts that Labour and the other opposition parties will struggle to form the next government, however that doesn't mean they should give up.

 

Labour, and all the other opposition parties, should not be campaigning on the prime ministership question but on the question "do you trust the conservatives to govern in the interests of all or just the rich few?". The answer to that question should be informing a voters decision.

I agree that there shouldn't be any call or need to give up indeed, and my earlier post was, if anything, a plea for Corbyn to stop haemorrhaging political capital through trying to be everything to everyone, and start gaining some instead, by planting a few important political stakes in the ground and sticking to them loud and clear.

 

You'd think that that alone, in the face of May's equally-constant and continuing flip-flopping, should start to improve his ratings.

 

But the fact of the matter is that he's done nothing but play the Tories' game ever since he got to the head of Labour, and still he does now that a GE campaign is underway. So, you know, ...

 

There's always Farron. Here's to hoping him, the SNP and Corbyn's eventual replacement manage to form an effective "opposition of national unity" post-GE.

 

IMHO none of them will manage to dent the apparent degree of popular confidence in Theresa May within the next 6 to 7 weeks, unless they start using similarly-simplistic messages to the "£350m per week"...but this time grounded in fact of course (such as e.g. the Tories' record on national debt and cuts since July last year, as well as the Tories' policy declarations about funding and immigration since then).

Edited April 24, 2017 by L00b

[tinfoilhat]

unless they start using similarly-simplistic messages to the "£350m per week"...but this time grounded in fact of course ......

 

LOLOLOLOLOLOL

 

Facts......

[biotechpete]

Well no, there's the Lib Dems for example who manage to walk the line between the 2...I say line, it's more like a canyon now.

 

I really wish the SNP and LDs merged or at least collaborated. Their policies seem very much in line and if they did there is a good chance of that party/collaboration being the opposition and I'd love that outcome!

 

As you can see I've defected from Labour to LDs. I still really do love Corbyn's policies in the main, but I just can no longer support him. I a bit sad, but then pleased that I have alternatives to vote for. Imagine if you live in the US and dislike both Democrats and Republicans, there is literally no one else with a chance and that's a shame.

 

 

IMHO, more people would vote Lib Dem if they thought they could win. It's a problem for all the smaller parties to be fair.

 

I see Corbyn is out today saying that only Labour or the Conservatives can form a government, as if they have a God given right to opposition, no matter how far from the centre they run.

 

---------- Post added 24-04-2017 at 18:50 ----------

 

Oh don't get me wrong andy: the opportunistically-propelled wind turbine that is Theresa May can hold more than a candle to Corbyn on just as many fronts.

I agree that there shouldn't be any call or need to give up indeed, and my earlier post was, if anything, a plea for Corbyn to stop haemorrhaging political capital through trying to be everything to everyone, and start gaining some instead, by planting a few important political stakes in the ground and sticking to them loud and clear.

 

You'd think that that alone, in the face of May's equally-constant and continuing flip-flopping, should start to improve his ratings.

 

But the fact of the matter is that he's done nothing but play the Tories' game ever since he got to the head of Labour, and still he does now that a GE campaign is underway. So, you know, ...

 

There's always Farron. Here's to hoping him, the SNP and Corbyn's eventual replacement manage to form an effective "opposition of national unity" post-GE.

 

IMHO none of them will manage to dent the apparent degree of popular confidence in Theresa May within the next 6 to 7 weeks, unless they start using similarly-simplistic messages to the "£350m per week"...but this time grounded in fact of course (such as e.g. the Tories' record on national debt and cuts since July last year, as well as the Tories' policy declarations about funding and immigration since then).

 

One of the things that slightly puzzles me is I think Scottish independence would be a red line for the lib dems, but I suppose if we stay in the EU, the SNP may back down on another referendum.

[apelike]

My two penny's worth on the coal mine issue.

 

It would cost a fortune to try and reopen mines and new ones will need to be commissioned. You will not find many people willing to work in those conditions unless paid well which would also make the coal very expensive to mine.

 

The post 104 by Jacktari sums it up well and I cannot see why Corbyn even mentions it.

[blake]

I cannot see why Corbyn even mentions it.

 

I can. It's because Jeremy Corbyn is a blithering idiot.

[Berberis]

The problem I was trying to highlight was the sheer logistics of trying to repair the damage done in the 80's and thereafter.

Those pits have been backfilled, concreted over and industrial parks built on them.

The pits themselves, and the men who worked in them evolved over centuries to become what they were, miners were indeed a breed apart from the rest of the working class.

Apart from this, deep mine working is not really a pleasant task, and without the close knit fraternity that existed in the old pits, I cannot see many people wanting to do that work.

As has been said, it would require a complete rethink on how to go about the task.

 

Like most other undesirable jobs in the country, we would eventually have to import labour to do it, which will result in the same people calling for the mines to be re-opened, claiming johnny foreigner is taking all their jobs

[truman]

My two penny's worth on the coal mine issue.

 

It would cost a fortune to try and reopen mines and new ones will need to be commissioned. You will not find many people willing to work in those conditions unless paid well which would also make the coal very expensive to mine.

 

The post 104 by Jacktari sums it up well and I cannot see why Corbyn even mentions it.

 

As the move away from fossil power seems to be gathering pace where would you sell the coal?