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Saturday 12 September 2015

Jez We Can - Whining Starts

The Labour Party has elected its new leader and deputy leader. That is the easy part. That Jeremy Corbyn won the leadership vote in a landslide is, for many who would rather he had not run at all, more of a problem - well, for them, at least. What the critics will not let drop is that they are not only unhappy, but also that they are not going to stop moaning, which will make for some even more boring punditry than usual.
Why there should be such complaint is strange, when the result is perused: even without those registered supporters that the Tories, and even their most ardent press supporter the Telegraph, were keen to exploit, Corbyn would have won a majority on the first ballot. Hie eventual vote share, at 59.5%, was emphatic, as was the loss of Blairite favourite Liz Kendall, who, had this been a General Election, would have lost her deposit.
This cut no ice with the whingers, and nobody whinges louder about Labour than the Telegraph’s not at all celebrated blues artiste Whinging Dan Hodges, who in July memorably said “People need to get a grip. Jeremy Corbyn is not going to be elected Labour leader”. Now, all was changed: “How are serious people in Labour possibly meant to unite behind this”. And without the question mark. Again.
Then it was on to the moaning: “Abba tribute band. The leader of the opposition just said that”. Had Yvette Cooper, his preferred candidate, have made that quip, it would have been OK, of course. How about a total non sequitur to round off? “Labour hasn't elected the new Karl Marx. They've elected the Left's Sarah Palin. The man can't even string a coherent sentence together”. He’s more coherent than you, matey.
Elsewhere, the Blairites were bereft, typified by Philip Collins, who has taken the Murdoch shilling to join the increasingly downmarket and partisan Times: “The terrible demise of a once mediocre party”. Good that he’s prepared to own up to mediocrity there. But, as the man said, there was more: “That was a stunningly bad speech. Something I do know a little about. Khan was poor, Watson was worse and Corbyn was terrible”. Whatever.
Any more Blairite carping? John Rentoul is your man: “If 250,000 people have voted for Corbyn, that is ½% of the UK adult population”. Or, put another way, almost twice as many people that voted for Young Dave as Tory leader in 2005. Try again. “Painful to see sensible MPs pretending to be pleased about enthusiasm of new mems & supporters. They are enthusiastically wrong”. Democracy - dontcha hate it?!?!?
But at least, in a reassuringly upmarket corner of Manhattan, there was some forthright stupidity to lighten the mood, as (thankfully) former Tory MP Louise Mensch warbled “All decent Labour Party members who liked Tony Blair's centrism - @David_Cameron is much closer to you”. Nothing like being wrong, and consistent with it. And she wasn’t finished: “welcome … from @Conservatives - we are centrists”. Centrists. And Barking.

Someone just won a landslide victory. That’s democracy, people - get over it.

7 comments:

Arnold said...

Why is the Right Wing press taking this line unless they think he might win the 2020 election?

Paul said...

Of course, Louise, because Blair's centralism invented Sure Start centres and Cameron's closed them.

SteveB said...

"David Cameron is much closer to you" - I know Mensch is a bit remote these days but has anyone told her Cameron has already said he's going? Try the phrase "Theresa May is much closer to you" with a straight face....

Unknown said...

Dan Hodges? Nope. You'll have to remind me who he used to be.

Anonymous said...

Just wait until you see rabid foam flying from the mouths of Murdoch's boot boys, Dacre's lickspittles, all broadcast news, the Daily Telegraph, the Daily Express, the Spectator, and all the other far right bullshitters and liars. Then add in The Friends from Vauxhall Cross (cf Peter Wright) and the Boys from Langley (cf Fox News). Then watch for the first New Labour far right rats to slide off into their natural slime.

To which the good and sufficient answer is: Stuff 'em.

Where New Labour is concerned, it's noticeable that the same political traitors who subverted everything the Labour Party stands for now can't stand for a democratic vote that booted them into the far right gutter they came from.

I hope Corbyn takes them on full in the face. Watch them squeal like stuck pigs when they get democracy's answer. You've heard nothing yet.

Jonathan said...

The Tories aren't whinging their rubbing their hands with glee as Labour have handed them the next election on a silver platter

Ceebs said...

There's nothing like those who campaigned on being the only future for the party, suddenly finding out they are the past.