Party conference season

DonDaddyD

So Ed has seen the battlefield and taken the high ground. One Nation Labour. A little like "We're all in this together" but less patronising. Impressive too, he dealt with many surface issues that stopped would be voters engaging with him I.e:
Old Labour/New Labour and his awkward geekiness, this was an Ed I could kick it with.

David Miliband has gone awfully queit too, to Ed's benefit as he'd be Prime minister now. Next for Ed is some squeezed 50 and forgotten middle (what do these soundbites mean) engagement to really drum home that he is the champion of the disenfranchised of this society - which seemingly is everyone. Actually, who is benefitting from this Government? Next conference we need policies.

What may have been a masterstroke was allowing Boris to win the London Mayor elections. Ken was never going to win, and had Boris lost to someone new, he'd have set his eyes on Government and used his celebrity to make things difficult for all but mostly Ed. Keeping him busy as Mayor, means he has to stay mostly impartial.

Clegg is simply too toxic to even talk about. He has somehow managed to be the most effective Politician in Government (he has over 50% of his manifesto passed through or at least been considered in Parliament). While at the same time destroyed socialist representation at the Government level.

Cameron next.

Thoughts?

rick_chasey

Since when did Clegg have anything to do with socialism?

cjcp

He wasn't at all impressive at all.

peat

To be honest, i don't get why the conference's are such big news. 'Ed Milliband delivers a spellbinding speech to cheers and applause' - Well, yes, of course he would. Talk about preaching to the converted.

It's not taken me long, but i am completely disillusioned by politics. It doesn't matter what colour tie they are wearing, they are all self-serving egomaniacs, eating from the same trough. They are not there to help us, they are there to help themselves.

Can someone tell why i should actually bother going to the polling station next time around?

EKE_38BPM

Peat wrote:

It doesn't matter what colour tie they are wearing, they are all self-serving egomaniacs, eating from the same trough. They are not there to help us, they are there to help themselves.

This. So very much this.

When I think of One Nation, I think of this.

SimonAH

These are not party conferences, they are pep rallies.

Go Us!! RahRah! We are the best!!

That Milly gained headlines with the 'one nation' claptrap merely demonstrates the current news desert. I mean, sure it's a rallying cry, but it means absolutely nothing. And the forgotten 50%? Give me a break.

greg66_tri_v2.0

DonDaddyD wrote:

this was an Ed I could kick

Thoughts?

I think I cannot possibly put it any better than that.

And I feel more of the same towards the other Ed.

phy2sll2

Thought it was quite funny how he was cut off on Breakfast this morning.

DonDaddyD

Rick Chasey wrote:

Since when did Clegg have anything to do with socialism?

IMO advocats for proper socialism (not the working mans Labour version) in this Country tended to flock to the Lib Dems.

greg66_tri_v2.0

Rick Chasey wrote:

Since when did Clegg have anything to do with socialism?

I think he'd like to be seen as a fair socialist.

He wants to tax. And spend. But in a fair way.

notsoblue

DonDaddyD wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

Since when did Clegg have anything to do with socialism?

IMO advocats for proper socialism (not the working mans Labour version) in this Country tended to flock to the Lib Dems.

Ok, I'll bite. Whats "proper" socialism, and how does that differ from "working man's Labour" socialism.

Koncordski

Oh for the love of god it's a party conference. He's only talking to people that have already put all their money on his horse. I take a fairly keen interest in politics so i watched it, i can guarantee that most people that labour will need to come back to them won't have watched it.

He's not saying anything new (One nation, oh that's original, see Disraeli, Hague et al) and he's not speaking for everyone. His 'one nation' apparently excludes anyone that had the benefit of a nice education or has made any money for themselves, cheap class warfare is back. Ed is preaching the politics of jealousy and division whilst trying to tell us to pull together.

More than anything he's showing breathtaking arrogance and treating people like me with contempt. He seems to think that the current state of the country's coffers is nothing to do with him or indeed his chancellor in waiting. How about some recognition, how about an apology, how about accepting the fact that spending your arse off at the crest off a boom leaves nothing for the bust? Oh that's right, gordon brown eliminated boom and bust, that's why we can fritter away all this money, the bad times will never come back. And they think they deserve to waltz back in and start spending again? :evil:

And that bit about how he went to a comprehensive school (the inference that cameron etc. are uncaring posh boys) and therefore understands real working class people is just bullsh1t. He's only ever worked in politics (brief stint in radio on a politics show aside) and he got his foot in the door because his family knew an MP. He went to Oxford, he's the same guy as cameron and osbourne, he just doesn't have the balls to admit it and prefers to paint himself has some hero for the oppressed masses.

For the record, i don't like his faux concern for ordinary man and i don't like his hatred of other peoples success. :roll:

TheStone

All politicians are full of rubbish.

They try and pretend there's fundamental differences between the parties, but there isn't. They're all the same except for some minor debating points and their sound bites.

Conservatives pretending to make cuts to appease their followers. Labour pretending to be appalled by the Conservative's pretend cuts to appease their followers.

It's time we all grew up and ignored this nonsense.

il_principe

Balls is still shadow chancellor, ergo Labour are not to be trusted.

Also WTF was with the 'oak tree' comment? Suddenly if you can trace your family back 2/3 generations and find that they are British, then you deserve contempt? Pathetic. Sorry Ed, but we can't all be the children/grandchildren of political refugees. Pathetic & divisive.

bigmat

I thought he did quite well. I didn't pay too much attention to the substance (was there any?!) but the delivery was impressive. Over an hour without notes is no mean feat. He came across as down to earth, humorous, generally a likeable fairly ordinary bloke (in my opinion). All he really needs to do to get home against the incumbent "shower" is appear electable to the floating voters. Yesterday was a good day for him on that front.

peat

BigMat wrote:

Over an hour without notes is no mean feat.

While i appreciate that it is quite achievement to do it, what does it prove???

All it proves to me is that he (and DC) has the ability to rehearse & spew out an hour's worth of BS without looking at notes. So, in effect, an actor.

Some people are obviously easily pleased.

cyclingprop

I just don't trust people with blocked noses.

TheStone

BigMat wrote:

All he really needs to do to get home against the incumbent "shower" is appear electable to the floating voters.

I don't see a difference. They're all from chosen backgrounds (whether they went to Eton or not). They all ripped off the tax payer with house flipping and inheritance tax dodging.

They're all incompetent.

bigmat

TheStone wrote:

BigMat wrote:

All he really needs to do to get home against the incumbent "shower" is appear electable to the floating voters.

I don't see a difference. They're all from chosen backgrounds (whether they went to Eton or not). They all ripped off the tax payer with house flipping and inheritance tax dodging.

They're all incompetent.

I agree to an extent, but looking at it objectively, I thought he did quite well.

velohutts

Didn't watch it all but have yet to see anything he/they are actually going to do as opposed to are considering/will debate/improve things with/realign.............................it would be nice to hear one of the politicians give a speech where I actually believe something they say.
It doesn't involve lot's of "It's not our fault, they did it,we're picking up the pieces" or generally trying to strip the country of it's morale by kicking those they can with almost impunity and making lot's of noise about things but not doing alot about it - Benefits will be cut we will save lot's of money ??? or cut public sector and the military ?

roger_merriman

very little time for party politics, so i've not watched them.

I see very little reason to watch the same old stuff with a new lick of paint.

if they start talking about idea then I listen

jedster

great piece in The Times today by Danny Finkelstein. It's behind the subscription firewall but in essence:

Politicians keep giving speeches about how they are going to change the world if they get elected (e.g., forge "one nation", create a "new economy".
In practice all they can really do is tweak a few things
As a result electors get fed up with huge promises and modest outcomes and dont trust them
Answer is to scale down promises to realistic levels

notsoblue

jedster wrote:

great piece in The Times today by Danny Finkelstein. It's behind the subscription firewall but in essence:

Politicians keep giving speeches about how they are going to change the world if they get elected (e.g., forge "one nation", create a "new economy".
In practice all they can really do is tweak a few things
As a result electors get fed up with huge promises and modest outcomes and dont trust them
Answer is to scale down promises to realistic levels

Voter disenchantment really does play into their hands though. If the only people they have to keep happy are specific special interest groups it makes things much easier...

rick_chasey

Greg66 wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

Since when did Clegg have anything to do with socialism?

I think he'd like to be seen as a fair socialist.

He wants to tax. And spend. But in a fair way.

No.

They're not social democrats.

They're Liberal democrats.

Clue's in the name. :roll:

rick_chasey

TheStone wrote:

All politicians are full of rubbish.

They try and pretend there's fundamental differences between the parties, but there isn't. They're all the same except for some minor debating points and their sound bites.

Conservatives pretending to make cuts to appease their followers. Labour pretending to be appalled by the Conservative's pretend cuts to appease their followers.

It's time we all grew up and ignored this nonsense.

Time to support an electoral system that actaully considers the votes of across the nation rather than a handfull of swing votes, as well as a much more diverse party spectrum then.