h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Some may have noticed the UK Labour party are having a leadership election. There are 4 candidates: three of whom it seems will adopt any policy that will win them votes and one who espouses policies that some argue will cost Labour votes. Jeremy Corbyn is the surprise leader in the election and he is advocating left wing policies such as re-opening the coal pits and nationalising utilities.

Is what he is offering realistic in the 21st century? Do you agree or disagree with the man?

I guess it depends what you mean by "realistic". Corbyn will face a quite a number of challenges if he's elected leader - not least having to form a shadow cabinet, managing the parliamentary party, and putting together new policies which are going to require a great deal of compromise.

Then there's the unrelenting media hostility, which has already started. Miliband got absolutely monstered by the press for proposing a really quite moderate programme. I guess the question is whether or not he can cut through that and connect with people. At the moment it seems the more Labour party grandees speak out against him, the more popular he gets.

And I don't think these "old left throwback" criticisms are going to have as much traction because only older people will have any experience of it... to have voted for Kinnock in 1992 (hardly a hard left figure), you needed to have been born in 1974 and so be around 40 today. To have voted in the 1979 election, you'd need to be born latest 1961 and now be around 55. A lot of people won't remember, won't regard it as recent history and therefore not relevant.

His supporters have argued that the issue is less appealing to the kinds of people who've voted both Labour and Tory in the past, but appealing to the much greater number who don't usually vote at all. And perhaps counter-intuitively, I think he might succeed at winning Labour votes back from UKIP.

What's clear is that something needs to change. "Austerity" isn't working. We can't continue with the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer, with rising inequality (especially between generations), with the cost of housing. I don't think that the answer is necessarily a "back to the old left", but I don't think that's what Corbyn is proposing, and I think any final programme under his leadership will be more nuanced.

It may do some good any opposition that is different will be better than choosing between 2 shades of grey.
A firmer hand will do good in the long run, and in politics the more you ask for the more you get, so yes ask for the mountain he will get nowhere if he is timid.
The UK needs a saake up and nationalisation worked better than the privatised "we are in it for the money charge what we like alternative".

Shareholders don't care about the customers and many of the once nationalised industries are so large now public ownership would be better for the customer and national interest.

Labour have a reputation problem at least Harold Wilson did not shirk the hard decisions we the people were not badly off then,if you ask around they were good days by comparison.

Better than the weak willed administration now no backbone, yes go for it he will be worth voting for and he might succeed if the Whitehall top dogs don't succeed and crush him

What has been disturbing me about the campaign is that the three on the right of the party are talking about compromise, how the left of the party have to work with them to get into power. It just seems to me that their main objective is getting into power and their policies are so bland and non-traditional-labour ideas I really wonder why they don't just push off and form a new party (well, I do of course, but I still wish they would)

They want the left to compromise, but don't seem prepared to compromise with the left. All that "I won't serve on a Corbyn shadow cabinet" just shows me that they think he's toxic (too left to win) and any connection with him will hurt them in the future.

And yet, if one of them wins, they are going to have to throw a scrap or two to the left of the party, or they won't have their support, or have the votes of the more left-wing of the electorate (who in that scenario, I hope, will vote green instead). So the left must compromise but the Blue Labour/Red Tory faction will do and say anything to get into power.

I know who I prefer. And that will be the candidate who provides a robust opposition, not weakly agreeing with some truly spiteful policies coming out of the government.

Labour have been split for many decades between those who see it as a party and those who see it as a movement. The last leader from the left was Foot in 1980 - and he was somewhat of a compromise candidate between Healey and Benn (who didn't stand in the end). That caused the party to split, of course, if you can count the Gang of Four who formed the SDP as a split. I don't know if that could happen today - where are the Jenkinses, Owens and Williamses in today's Labour party?

Is Corbyn's rise to prominence linked to the rise of the likes of Syriza in Greece? Do some people believe he can make anti-austerity work here where it has failed so spectacularly elsewhere?

His prominence is linked to suffering.

Who suffer anti-austerity? the same kind of people, wether they are in UK, Portugal, Spain or Greece.

People are fed up, everywhere.

"Do some people believe he can make anti-austerity work here where it has failed so spectacularly elsewhere?"

Can you tell which anti-austerity measures have failed and where?

I can tell you a few that are working in Spain. Podemos and groups of citizens have won the elections in many councils along Spain.

There´s a financial war against the the souther countries in particular and against the ordinary citizens, in general no matter the country they live in.
In Europe that war is lead by the German govt. its allies are the BCE, the IMF and the ECommission. Spanish and other conservative govt. have supported the German one because they fear the rise of Podemos and similar grassroots movements.

I wish media was free to inform about what´s really going on in Greece. The money goes to pay German and French banks , not to help the people. There are plenty of ruthless examples to explain the humilliation and looting of Greece.

This is the III World War, but instead of weapons, financial terrorism is used instead.

There is time for the UK to sort itself out however there must be many changes starting with a block on refugee immigrants and active repatriation

Before active repatriation let make sure their country is worthy to live in.
It would help telling to the European Comission, Goldman Sachs, IMF, World Bank,diverse corporations ( agriculture, mining,weapons...), etc. , to stop messing and looting there.

I think that tax fraud is the problem number one in UK, as in everywhere else.

What people who don't vote say again and again is, there's no point, they are all the same.

And I think one reason the press, the government, and possibly even members of the Labour party are *so* rattled by Corbyn is because he is *not* the same, and they know that he could, possibly, pull in those who are currently non-voters.

And that is, under the UK's current electoral system (thanks for nothing, Nick), the only way to shift the centre-right out of power. Labour are not going to win votes from the Conservatives' core supporters - the sooner they realise this the better - and the last election result in Scotland shows that the centre isn't always the best place to be.

Mol

I think that tax fraud is the problem number one in UK, as in everywhere else.

Careful the rules may change
Should anyone you give over £500 to must provide a receipt with their name address and verified HMRC tax number. Or the tax is down to the buyer.

Which you send to the HMRC that will stamp it out.