The Labour Party

[Workingman]

So, the opinion of an FT journaist settles it.

Yet the State ownership of some things is popular on the street, and unilateral disarmament and quitting NATO wouldn't get past his Labour MPs, even with SNP support.

Like him or not he is bringing things to the table, as Farage has also done, that the elite do not want the public to have a say on.

[Suff]

Well if he's going to do it, I'd love to see him do it soon. Because the last time they were that totally insane we had 19 years without them......

I'd like that....

[Workingman]

He cannot do anything until he is elected, and the media and old Labour has-beens and present nonentities are doing their damnedest to stop him.

Not that they are having much luck.

[Suff]

Not that they are having much luck.

[Workingman]

You have to laugh.

BBC Newsnight just showed two focus groups of six former Labour voters, and guess what, they put JC last and Mrs Balls first - as was intended.

Is there nothing that the media will not do, especially the BBC, to try to rig this election?

Let those who are eligible to vote, vote, then live with it.

[Suff]

Let those who are eligible to vote, vote, then live with it.

Yes but the Labour party were a bit daft in the way they made it easy for people to become eligible. I could do it and the only reason I won't is because, personally, I won't stoop to that level. Even if I do find it amusing that others do and might condone, or more likely enjoy, their actions.

The press? Well they're being the press aren't they. Labour made themselves a lamppost and the press are cocking their leg at it....

After all, if Labour have no clue how to handle the press, do I really want them in government?

[cromwell]

You have to laugh.

BBC Newsnight just showed two focus groups of six former Labour voters, and guess what, they put JC last and Mrs Balls first - as was intended.

Is there nothing that the media will not do, especially the BBC, to try to rig this election?

Let those who are eligible to vote, vote, then live with it.

Exactly! Talk about desperate pro-Cooper propaganda.

Corbyn is getting popular because he actually engages people in the political process. Just about every other politician in every other party doesn't. In fact I'd go so far as to say that politicians don't actually want the public to be much interested in politics. Just turn up every few years and vote, and then go away again, seems to be their attitude.

In the last 20 years we seem to have developed a professional political class; a managerial type of politics. Well, a manager is someone who tells others what to do. He or she isn't a representative, which is what our MP's are supposed to be.

Corbyn is anathema to these people. He actually answers questions and considers things; he doesn't just trot out a soundbite or go along with the political consensus view.

Buying a rail ticket or deciding which gas tariff to be on is like being the victim of the three card trick these days.

Which sort of ticket to Leeds did you want sir? What tariff is the best for you sir? Which hand have I got the penny in? Which shell is the pea under?

It's been deliberately designed like that so these companies can behave like spivs and get away with it!

So if Corbyn talks of re-nationalising gas and electric and the railways, a lot of people are going to go "Damn right, I like that idea!".

Mainstream politicians will talk of "the best value for consumers", "watchdogs with teeth" and the "benefits of competition". This is all crap and everybody knows it.

But the mainstream realise that all our gas and electric companies are owned by the French and the Germans - they really don't want that stone turning over!

[Suff]

Actually I'd guess the mainstream don't know that all our gas and electric companies are owned by French or German companies and I'd also guess that they have virtually no clue that it is the government owned portion of those companies which is providing the bulwark for them to buy up every other utility in the EU.

In short the French and German utilities are, for the largest single shareholder, nationalised already.

So our utilities are already Nationalised. By France and Germany.

Now I want to hear THAT debate loud and clear. Otherwise Corbyn is just doing what the others are doing. Lying by omission when he makes his "brave and direct answers".

Wonder why I don't like him? He's playing on people fears and "little Britain ness" whilst only giving them a small portion of the truth.

Everyone, who even bothers to know who the Utilities are owned by, thinks that Corbyn would be in a fight with France and Germany over stealing their private companies assets. In fact, he would be in a direct fight for stealing their "Governments" assets. His actions would have a direct impact on Government revenues.

Let's have that debate and stop having left wing "lie bites".

He is no better than the others and, to me, significantly worse....

[TheOstrich]

So if Corbyn talks of re-nationalising gas and electric and the railways, a lot of people are going to go "Damn right, I like that idea!".

Well absolutely, in fact, these are a number of Corbyn's policies that I find myself nodding to, and I think the key driver is that they are "anti-establishment". There's a lot of anti-establishment sentiment out there.

Suff is right to point out that if we renationalise DB, RWE and the other Government-led EU utilities, we will be in a direct confrontation with France and Germany. But my gut feeling is that British companies have been prevented from taking large stakes in EU infrastructure - Germany in particular has been very loathe to privatise their rail network, despite EU promoting competition - correct, Suff?

I for one have no problem with giving France and / or Germany a bloody nose over re-nationalisation of utilities in this country. A Corbyn-led Labour with those policies is more likely to attract my vote than a Blairite-lite Labour. In the sense that a 10% chance is greater than no chance at all, of course .....

[Workingman]

Corbyn is getting popular because he actually engages people in the political process. Just about every other politician in every other party doesn't. In fact I'd go so far as to say that politicians don't actually want the public to be much interested in politics. Just turn up every few years and vote, and then go away again, seems to be their attitude.

Someone else gets it.

I have never voted Labour, and never will, but Corbyn does engage, does give straight answers, even if they are not what we want to hear.

War Criminal, Blair, is now talking of 'Alice in Wonderland' policies and the unhelpful criticism of Corbyn by Brown and Kinnock. The man is so delusional that he does not realise the people will do exactly the opposite of what he tells them.

In criticising Corbyn he has probably become his best asset.

BTW only EDF is government owned, the rest, E.on, npower and Scottish Power, are subsidiaries for the purposes of taxation, regulation, and liability, of private German and Spanish companies. British Gas and SSE are UK owned.

Ossie, you are dead right about the anti-establishment feeling and Corbyn is tapping into that very effectively. That is probably why every attempt is being made to halt his rise.... Those attempts are failing miserably.