Corbyn's letter.

[Suff]

So, the non-story is over.

Not quite.

That does not read like playing a blinder. That reads like bullying, threatening and losing even after all those tactics have been employed. In fact the free vote was a desperate action to try and make a no vote party policy. Quashed by the cabinet in no uncertain terms.

Corbyn is running with his tail between his legs. His revenge will be slow and calculated. Now we know what his agenda is. Fortunately for most of the Labour MP's he was not given time to complete his schemes before he was forced into conflict with his MP's.

The cabinet and the back benchers may have won this battle. The cost will be the war. That war may be won by Corbyn, but the Labour party which emerges from it will be a pale shadow of the party Corbyn inherited and that was already a sick and unhealthy child to begin with.

Nothing in this makes me happy although, in the short term, it does achieve my wishes. I'm worried about the long term.

[Workingman]

The Guardian would say all that, wouldn't it?

The last three paragraphs are interesting in that they outline what a an opposition should be doing. Before any vote is taken those questions do need answering. The answers could change the minds of MPs from all parties and in both camps.

Not a bad outcome IMHO.

[Suff]

Not a bad outcome IMHO.

Borne out of a battle of wills between a rampant communist and a slightly right of centre cabinet, it is not a bad outcome.

I'm just concerned about the long term outcome. As I'm sure the cabinet are.

[TheOstrich]

The "free vote" means very little because the Blairite MPs are totally between a rock and a hard place - either toe the "party line" or face increasing problems in their constituencies from Momentum .... not just on Syria but also on every other left-wing agenda that the Corbynistas want to promote.

[Workingman]

What 'momentum'?

If the pre-election Oldham polls are anything to go by then following Corbyn is likely to be costly.

Staying true to Labour principles, but being cool to Corbyn is most likely the best formula.

To me Labour is now a centrist party with a left-wing leader. Unfortunately there is no stand-out centrist leader. Mary Creagh was my original choice, but she was not backed by MPs. If I was a Labour supporter I would be extremely worried about the lack of a suitable alternative leader. I certainly would not want a 'personality' just because that is what s/he is.

[Suff]

What 'momentum'?

Momentum

To me Labour is now a centrist party with a left-wing leader. Unfortunately there is no stand-out centrist leader. Mary Creagh was my original choice, but she was not backed by MPs. If I was a Labour supporter I would be extremely worried about the lack of a suitable alternative leader. I certainly would not want a 'personality' just because that is what s/he is.

Indeed. But, apparently, the 20% Asian vote is enough to swing the seat. It's just a case of how much of the 14,000 odd majority they will lose. Although UKIP is now only 7 points behind and Farage is trying to convince the Tories to back him as the only viable candidate to give Labour a real denting.

However that having been said, the Labour candidate is not Corbyn aligned, is a very popular local councillor and carries a personal draw for the vote. Whatever else it will be a close run thing and Corbyn can't benefit from it.

Personally I'm not in favour of a hard left Labour opposition. The UK is far to the right of most of the EU in attitudes just to the workplace and hard left only plays well with a subset of the population. That leaves a vacuum which will be filled by the Tories and they have proved themselves as unstable in a high majority situation as Labour was.

I shall be up early on Friday morning to look at the results. I won’t sit up long.

[Suff]

If we don't do something soon everyone will have got there before us...

[Workingman]

The momentum I was talking about was the one that started in the last years of Blair, gained pace under Brown, accelerated under Miliband and continues on the same course under Corbyn. The general electorate have lost patience with Labour. Some half-assed group of activists promoting Corbynolitics is neither here nor there.

Oldham will be close, but not because of Corbyn, though he will be part of the result. It would be close no matter who won the leadership vote - Burnham, Cooper or Kendall. The problem is the Labour brand. Nobody has faith that it has a set of core values they can follow any more. It looks like a set of splinter groups each with their own agenda, and it will take a strong leader to sort that out. Can anybody out there see one in the current Labour ranks?

The German thing is interesting. It is quite a force, but it is not clear where the troops will be located. It is said the troops will not engage in combat but will give aerial reconnaissance and support. The Tornado force will provide useful hi-res day/night surveillance. The frigate is a bit of mystery. It will be there to help protect the French carrier group, but from what?

Anyway, a long march starts with small steps.

[Suff]

Some half-assed group of activists promoting Corbynolitics is neither here nor there.

Dangerous supposition. They are a hardcore group of party members who's ethos is radically different from the voters and the mainstream of the party. However, they are being urged to "take over" the party mechanisms for selection of candidates. Yes the whole parachute thing needs to be addressed, in more than just Labour, but not with hardline communists taking over from small groups within.

Remember the strike ballots in remote locations that only the "union faithful" really wanted to go to? Impacted millions but was controlled by hundreds. This is another manifestation of the same thing... It took laws to control the actual % of voters balloted in order to make strike action both fair and representative. Would we really want a Labour party going down the same road?

No I can't think of a Labour leader in the offing who would hold my respect. But then I respect so few who have the same views as me that respecting someone who's views I can't stand is a much longer reach.

[Suff]

So at least 60 labour voted to strike in defiance of Corbyn.

Now we can move on to something else.