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Thread: What is the point of Labour anymore?

  1. #21

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    Heard on a phone-in quiz on the radio recently:

    Question: who is the leader of the Scottish Labour Party?

    Answer: pass.

    The caller had no idea.

  2. #22

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    The most recent opinion poll I saw on Scottish voting intentions in the general election put Labour on 12%, which would be its lowest share of the vote for more than 100 years.

    Richard the unknown is doing a grand job.

  3. #23

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    Current polls predict Labour will win exactly one seat in the forthcoming general election. A great victory for Richard WhoHe.

  4. #24
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    Interesting that in latest Panelbase / Sunday Times poll, that for Scotland, the polls are pretty close on 10, 20 30 and 40 % for the Lib Dems, Labour, Conservatives and SNP respectively. Makes it easy for the mental arithmetic to answer the random questions "What support is there for the Brexit leaning parties, the remain leaning parties, unionists, seperatists, etc"

  5. #25

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    That’s quite a change from the analysis I would have quoted if I could remember where I read it!

  6. #26

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    I’m catching up with the analysis of polls. The main change from a week or so ago seems to be a Tory recovery in the polls. They were predicted to win at most a handful of seats at that time. Now the prediction is that they will lose only one; namely Stirling. Both analyses predict meltdown for Labour, with Ian Murray in Edinburgh South as the sole Labour MP IN Scotland, just as in the 2015-17 parliament.

  7. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by Shabbychic View Post
    Anybody have any idea what is really going on in the modern Labour Party?
    Anti semetism?

  8. #28
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    Quote Originally Posted by orkneycadian View Post
    Anti semetism?

    I'm far from being a Labour supporter these days, but all this Antisemitism nonsense is just a dirty smear campaign championed by the Tories........who have a great reputation for racism themselves, and always have had.

    This election is turning into a really nasty business from all angles this time, one of the worst I've ever seen.

  9. #29
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    I don't think Laura Keunssberg of the BBC is overly renowned for being a Conservative "smear campaigner";

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2019-50567564

    In fact, the BBC are more renowned for being Left supporting.

  10. #30
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    Quote Originally Posted by orkneycadian View Post
    I don't think Laura Keunssberg of the BBC is overly renowned for being a Conservative "smear campaigner";

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2019-50567564

    In fact, the BBC are more renowned for being Left supporting.

    It's amazing how we can see things so differently.


    I have always viewed Laura Kuenssberg as heavily leaning towards the Tories, and quite friendly with Boris. He even went as far as to quote the "die in a ditch" statement she made in recent times. That article link of hers, is not quite how I saw the interview, and I'm no Corbyn fan. (I sincerely hope he gets in, in England though.)


    As for the BBC, once again in my view, they are very right wing nowadays, and BBC news very often seems to be a Party Political broadcast for the Right. Many of the top team at BBC are Tories, and then there are the BBC staff who leave to work for the Tory Party. I'm afraid Aunntie Beeb just ain't what it used to be. Every time, which is not often may I add, that I watch BBC news, I always think to myself "I wonder what the truth really is?"


    Have you watched Question Time over the past couple of years? The amount of times Nigel Farage has been on, for example, is way over the top, especially considering his Party's standing in Westminster. Then there are the regular audience "plants", especially in Scottish editions, but now being seen more and more often in England too. They are always from the Right.


    Then there is the cutting of the laughter at Boris the other night at the leaders debate, and the changing footage of Boris laying the Remembrance wreath. I could go on....


    But really, my statement about Antisemitism smears goes way beyond the BBC. The right wing media in this country is getting beyond a joke and most of the smearing comes from there. They want Brexit, and their backers and chiefs want Brexit, and they will do anything to make sure it happens.

  11. #31
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    Shabbychic, you don't sound like a person who watched Andrew Neil comprehensively gut Jeremy Corbyn in his interview last evening, on the subject of anti-Semitism in the Labour Party - and that's both the Parliamentary party and the organisation. All socialist administrations need a scapegoat to distract the hoi polloi's gaze from their governmental failings and the Jews are usually convenient. Look also at the people Corbyn associates with.

    And please don't start about right-wing BBC bias. It'd be a first, were it to happen.


  12. #32
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    Quote Originally Posted by j4bberw0ck View Post
    Shabbychic, you don't sound like a person who watched Andrew Neil comprehensively gut Jeremy Corbyn in his interview last evening, on the subject of anti-Semitism in the Labour Party - and that's both the Parliamentary party and the organisation. All socialist administrations need a scapegoat to distract the hoi polloi's gaze from their governmental failings and the Jews are usually convenient. Look also at the people Corbyn associates with.

    And please don't start about right-wing BBC bias. It'd be a first, were it to happen.
    Actually I did watch it comprehensively, and obviously saw it differently from you. If you call shouting over someone constantly because he wants his point to be the only point, as Andrew Neil is famous for, as a gutting, then that's your prerogative. I call it bullying. What was he to apologise for anyway? He has apologised and sorted things out in the past apparently. To do so again on Neil's command is not what an interview should be about. I didn't watch the interview to see that, but to hear what his plans were if in government, especially regarding us. (he changes that about quite a bit, as he does with a lot of things.)

    As for the Antisemitism in the Labour Party, I have no intentions of arguing their corner. What I will say is, much of it is regarding the present government policies in Israel, and how they deal with Palestine and other issues, which is not quite the same as hating Jews. Antisemitism is used far too loosely these days.

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    I'm sorry you don't see the BBC the way I do, but that's up to you.

  13. #33

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    In some respects there is a big difference between the BBC in London and BBC Scotland. The connections between the Labour party and BBC Scotland are far too numerous and too close for any of their output to be considered balanced and impartial. Consider the following:-

    1. During Indyref 1 the Head of BBC Scotland News and Current Affairs was John Boothman long term partner of Susan Deacon, Labour MSP (at the time).
    2. Also in 2014 BBC Scotland decided to give Kezia Dugdale, (Labour MSP at the time) her own politics-based radio 'phone-in show. The idea was dropped when, after some test shows (not broadcast), it was realised that her talents were not ideally suited to the format, i.e. she was hopeless at it.
    3. The BBC appoint Sarah Smith, daughter of former Labour Party leader, John Smith as their Scotland Editor.
    4. Catriona Renton, BBC Scotland News Reporter is a former Labour Party Councillor.
    5. Kirsty Wark has, twice holidayed with Jack McConnell, former Labour Party First Minister, at her holiday home in Majorca.
    6. Then there was the Christmas List. The Labour Party provided the BBC with a set of SNP-bad stories to cover the politically quiet period over the festive season. BBC Scotland dutifully ran these as though they were news stories and not party political press releases. News of this leaked and it became embarrassing for the BBC as it was possible to predict their "exclusives" before they were broadcast.

    Now, each one of these, taken on their own means nothing. Add them together and a rather worrying pattern emerges.

  14. #34
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    Quote Originally Posted by Shabbychic View Post
    I have always viewed Laura Kuenssberg as heavily leaning towards the Tories, and quite friendly with Boris.

  15. #35
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    Quote Originally Posted by Shabbychic View Post
    I'm far from being a Labour supporter these days, but all this Antisemitism nonsense is just a dirty smear campaign championed by the Tories........who have a great reputation for racism themselves, and always have had.
    Conservative smear campaign?;

    Uh-huh;

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2019-50585278

  16. #36
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    So, 0.16% of standing Labour candidates have had their parties support removed due to allegations of anti semetism.

    Absolutely shocking.

    But, what's that I hear you say?

    1.7% of standing SNP candidates have had their parties support removed due to allegations of anti semetism?

    Surely not?

    That means that the rate of SNP candidates accused of anti semetism is nearly 11 times higher than the allegedly anti Semitic Labour party!

    Wow.

  17. #37
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    Yes, there are Anti-Semitic members of the Labour Party, it is a natural home for them due to the support there is in the Labour Party for the Palestinians treatment by the state of Israel (an issue important to them)...

    This does not make the Party itself Anti-Semitic.

    Just like Islamaphobic people are more likely to be drawn towards the Tory Party but that does not make them an Islamaphobic party.

    Yes, both sides could probably do more to root out the more extremist elements of their party, but like I said, this does not make them Anti-Semitic or Islamaphobic.

    If you want me to be convinced that Labour is an Anti-Semitic Party then can you please point out to me an actual policy proposal that is Anti-Semitic?
    “We're trapped in the belly of this horrible machine....
    And the machine is bleeding to death."


  18. #38
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    Quote Originally Posted by Alrock View Post
    Yes, there are Anti-Semitic members of the Labour Party, it is a natural home for them due to the support there is in the Labour Party for the Palestinians treatment by the state of Israel (an issue important to them)...

    This does not make the Party itself Anti-Semitic.
    I think the Labour party can now rest easy, given that the proportion of SNP election candidates who have had their parties support withdrawn due to allegations of anti Semitism is nearly 11 times higher.

    Labour would need to withdraw support from another 10 election candidates to match the SNP. Not impossible, but rather unlikely.

  19. #39
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    Quote Originally Posted by orkneycadian View Post
    I think the Labour party can now rest easy, given that the proportion of SNP election candidates who have had their parties support withdrawn due to allegations of anti Semitism is nearly 11 times higher.

    Labour would need to withdraw support from another 10 election candidates to match the SNP. Not impossible, but rather unlikely.

    That's a really a sad figure. Didn't know that. Could you name all these SNP candidates who have had support withdrawn from the Party, due to allegations of Antisemitism? I'm really interested.

  20. #40

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    Quote Originally Posted by Shabbychic View Post
    That's a really a sad figure. Didn't know that. Could you name all these SNP candidates who have had support withdrawn from the Party, due to allegations of Antisemitism? I'm really interested.
    I'm fairly sure we will never be given a list of names. The intention behind the post was to deceive readers by presenting percentage values whilst ignoring absolute values.

    There are 59 Scottish constituencies. If we do the calculations based on that then we discover that 1/59x100 = 1.69%, i.e 1 SNP candidate has had party support removed. In this example the percentage is 1.69 (or 1.7 if rounded up) and the absolute value is 1.

    There are 650 UK contituencies. Doing a similar calculation shows 1/650x100 = 0.15, i.e 1 Labour Party candidate has had support withdrawn.

    So, in absolute terms there is no difference between Labour and the SNP. Both have removed 1 candidate each.

    So we have not been lied to in the strictest definition of the word but there has been a quite willful attempt to deceive and smear. This is all the more surprising when one considers how many Scottish Tories have had support removed for making islamophobic comments. It currently numbers 2 (in absolute terms).

    I'm sure an explanation for this deception will be offered shortly.
    Last edited by Corky Smeek; 29-Nov-19 at 12:09. Reason: spelling mistake

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