British Politics Thread

Why not? If some cougars wanting to get in his pants help him get Labour elected, he should be thrilled.

Please: his doing the coy, embarrassed thing won't stop 'em. Quite the reverse, actually. Cougars are like most cats: if the fluffy thing tries to run and hide, it makes the game better.

I still am having trouble squaring the round hole of his foreign policy, I love the man domestically so much but his stance on abroad...

Northern Ireland going to the Republic, Hamas as "friends" (people we need to talk to and negotiate with yes, "friends" though...?), negotiation with Argentina on the Falklands, nuclear disarmament, drawing down our armed forces, no more intervention even though half the messes our there only because we pulled out before getting the job done, possibly leaving the EU!

It's maddening.... Can't I just vote for him to become Shadow Chancellor? Please?

edited 28th Jul '15 2:49:49 PM by Silasw

Yeah, no. Screw him.

Northern Ireland would tank our economy.

Argentina would be surrendering to a corrupt military junta and, as bizarre as it is that I'm saying it, a betrayal of those who fought and died for the right of the Falkland Islanders to self-determination. Not to mention, the islanders themselves.

In a way, Corbyn is a stereotypical left wing prat who causes Don't Shoot the Message reaction in those of us who are more pragmatic.

Thing is he's only that on abroad, domestically I've yet to have a problem with him. Renationalise the railways, post office and the energy, scrap tuition fees, end austerity, break the narrative of "Labour spent to much", be there for the British people not the big banks, a real living wage, a cabinet with equal men and women in it.

I just, I want Jeremy Corbyn to run the country, but not be allowed to ever leave or negotiation with anyone outside the country.

Fortunately foreign policy tends to run under its own inertia. And honestly the Argentina thing needs settled. Split the area's petrol rights down the middle and let the islanders continue to live as they have chosen.

It was settled, the islanders voted 99.8% to stay a UK overseas territory. Why should they have to give up their petrol just because Argentina claims their land?

Mostly because the Argentinians want it. They have to know that they'll never get the islands, but a token gesture would be enough to put the issue to bed, especially because how much money is any of that oil going to be worth anyway?

I don't see why the people of the Falklands should give in to bullying, plus I don't buy that a token gesture would shut up the Argentinian government, they've put the islands on their money and broken the "no politics" rule on international sport, a little bit of oil money isn't going to make this go away, a war didn't make it go away.

They see it as colonial land-theft, though. Yeah, part of it is saltiness at getting their asses kicked, but British highhandedness in the matter creates a bad scene.

The long and short of it is that sometimes the baby needs to get their bottle, even if said bottle is far short of what they claim they want.

Even if said bottle belongs to someone else who the baby barely sees as human? You give the give Argentinean government an inch and they will go for the full mile. If only because admitting the islands aren't theirs eliminates their primary distraction for all their domestic issues.

That would be more likely to prevent them from negotiating in good faith, yeah. Odd that the current Peronists and the old Process use that same excuse.

But even if they had a more reserved government, i don't think they would give up their claims without some acknowledgment from London.

I just don't see why the British government should be giving away the stuff of the Falklands Islands, if the Argantine government wants it that bad it can negotiate with the people of the Falklands.

Well, it's quite likely that if Argentina ever gets the Falklands, they will evict the entire current population and replace them with their own.

And by the by, looking back at the 1984 Labour Manifesto, I might surmise that Corbyn might also want Britain to withdraw from NATO and disband the House of Lords without replacement.

Which, IIRC, they keep refusing to?

edited 29th Jul '15 3:34:21 AM by Bisected8

Let's not assume he's after everything on the suicide note without evidence. I've deliberately only listed the positions that are actually his.

Correct.

edited 29th Jul '15 3:34:59 AM by Silasw

While Corbyn is sympathetic to Palestine, the thing about him calling Hamas and Hezbollah 'friends' was taken grotesquely out of context. He was at a negotiation, and 'friend' is standard diplomatic language for another group or country's representative. It's kind of like how everyone in the House of Commons has to call Iain Duncan Smith 'the honourable member'.

Ahh okay, that's much more reasonable. Honestly though that was always the least of my worries, I'm sure plenty of people would call the Israeli government "friend" after all.

People tend to assume my problem with his foreign policy is his stance on Israel, his wider "roll back the map" rhetoric does worry me in that case but in general I actually like his stance.

Reading on some of the shady ways people got promoted to nobility, i can see the resentment for the House of Lords on principle. In practice it's quite harmless, it seems.

"Cash for peerages" was a thing after all.

Saw Jeremy Corbyn speak in Luton last night. I like him. Earnest, idealistic and unwilling to hurl abuse at anyone - quite a refreshing combination, I think.

I'm both amused and a little saddened by the right wing media calling him a radical leftist. Has right-centrist politics really infected discourse to the extent that a moderate social democrat gets described as a hardcore radical Marxist? He's no more radical than Clement Attlee, as far as I can tell.

Wait, is this really a bad idea? Surely it's be our gain and the Republic's loss

Definitely not dealbreakers as far as I'm concerned. Anyway, he's called for us to remain in the EU and reform it, which I agree that it desperately needs. I must admit that the whole Greek fiasco has shaken my faith in the European project as a whole.

edited 29th Jul '15 10:49:43 AM by pagad

It's a bad idea because it ignores the right to self determination of the people who live in NI.

And the EU thing I'd be okay with if it wasn't for the fact that he refuses to rule out campaign for the "exit" side in the EU referendum.

Frankie Boyle gets very entertainingly angry about Labour.