Mrs May calls snap General Election

So it's all going well then. Get rid of The Moderates and lose really big time.

Exactly, Sabot. Worth remembering that Jezza and co expected hundreds of thousands of people at their demo on Saturday; they got about 10,000.

Corbyn's shadow cabinet reshuffle merely marks the beginning of rebuilding the Labour Party.

Not so long ago, Jeremy Corbyn had to approach inexperienced and obscure Labour backbenchers to join his shadow Cabinet because so many of the seasoned hands refused to serve under him, or rebelled so violently that he had no choice but to fire them.

The new girls and boys in the shadow Cabinet were mostly not even household names in their own kitchens, but that seems to have mattered little in the general election. Some, such as Angela Rayner and Jonathan Ashworth, did better than their older colleagues on either wing of the party. If Labour can put on 10 percentage points with one bunch of unknowns, then there is no necessary reason why the party cannot do so again.

The uncomfortable truth for vain politicians is that the public cares little about who occupies junior front bench jobs, either in the shadow administration or the real one. There’s no doubt that Labour was missing the heft and appeal of the likes of Hilary Benn and Yvette Cooper during the election campaign, but so poor was the Tory alternative, and with so few personalities beyond Theresa May and Boris Johnson being paraded, that their absence hardly seemed to matter. Indeed they might well have made their differences with the leader all too clear, with the usual headlines about “damaging splits” following. Despite its run of unexpected success, Labour is not a united party.

It may take some time for the gossip mill and the ever-inquisitive parliamentary press corps to discover why relatively few of Mr Corbyn’s vast stock of parliamentary enemies made the cut to his new look shadow Cabinet. The list of those who might have expected to return was substantial – Angela Eagle, Liz Kendall, Caroline Flint, Dan Jarvis, Yvette Cooper – though some voted the other day with that clever troublemaker Chuka Umunna, whose anti-Brexit amendment to the Queen’s Speech was resented by the official Labour leadership.
More at link.
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/corbyn-apos-shadow-cabinet-reshuffle-165047456.html
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Jeremy Corbyn brings critics in from cold with 20 new appointments to Labour shadow front bench.

Jeremy Corbyn has made a raft of appointments to Labour's front bench as he seeks to unite the party after cementing his position as leader.

The Labour leader has given jobs to 20 MPs, including a number that have been openly critical of his leadership.

Among those to be brought back into the fold are former Shadow Young People Secretary Gloria de Piero, who was the second MP to resign from the Shadow Cabinet last June citing concerns about Mr Corbyn's leadership.

​Roberta Blackman-Woods, the former housing minister, has been given a job in the International Development team. Resigning as a minister last year, Ms Blackman-Woods told Mr Corbyn: "I no longer have confidence in you as a leader who can display the attributes listed above and enable us to win a general election.” More at link.
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/jeremy-corbyn-brings-critics-cold-131100337.html

This one's a gem, LL:

http://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/824143/Labour-Shadow-Cabinet-full-list-MPs-Jeremy-Corbyn-frontbench-appointments

Education:

Tracy Brabin - MP for Batley and Spen - shadow minister for early years

Who is she, you may well ask. She must be a woman of accomplishment and learning to take on such an important job...

And you'd be wrong. She used to be in Coronation Street; Labour gifted her Jo Cox's old seat. She can now be seen on daytime telly flogging funeral insurance to pensioners:



https://youtu.be/XIcC0l2hjms

Corbyn is holding on tightly to his old popsy Diane: Quentin Letts on Labour's day at Home Office Questions.

Party leaders seldom attend departmental questions but Jeremy Corbyn was at Home Office Questions yesterday.

He was there, it seemed, to prop up Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott. In the metaphorical sense.

Mr Corbyn stayed for half an hour, sitting beside his sometime popsy. You will recall that Miss Abbott had a difficult general election campaign, eventually having to be rested after one inept TV interview too many. She announced she was ill.

Plenty of Labour people take a dim view of Miss Abbott, saying she is useless at her frontbench brief. Indeed she is.

But Mr Corbyn, not a man for raw meritocracy, seems determined to cleave to the woman who once phut-phutted around East Germany with him on the back of his motorbike. She held tight to him back then and he intends to hold tight to her now.

It’s all most touching and would have been enough to bring on a background rendition of Two Little Boys had Rolf Harris, singer of that song, not been banged up for indecent assault. Will Two Little Boys ever be heard again?

Questions began just after lunch, a dangerous time for some. Mr Corbyn has become a little cocky since he survived the election and decided he would partake of some light heckling.

When Home Secretary Amber Rudd opened the session by welcoming the new shadow ministers to their bench opposite, Mr Corbyn shouted ‘they’ll be ministers soon’.

This caused a certain indignation among Tory MPs, who remarked that Miss Rudd was merely trying to be friendly and that she could have done without ya-booery from the man who would be our PM.

One MP on the Government side remarked that the Labour shadow ministers ‘would have their own shadows’ – such being the state of disgruntlement among Labour MPs.

I find that hard to believe. Elfin Yvette Cooper would never plot against Jeremy. Would she?

Miss Abbott took a while to nose out of Brest Harbour. Eventually, soon after 3pm, she approached the despatch box.

It is only one step.

She had chosen safe waters: the discussion at that point was about the Grenfell Tower fire and there was no chance of a Tory saying anything unkind to Miss Abbott, for fear of sounding insensitive.

Miss Abbott said she wanted an ‘immigration amnesty’ for Grenfell survivors. Having spoken her piece – in a somewhat quavery manner – she resumed her seat. Mr Corbyn left the Chamber a short while later.

Only time will tell if the good ship Abbott is truly relaunched or whether it sinks into the drink like that poor vintage yacht in the weekend papers.

Home Office Questions was otherwise notable for the number of Labour MPs who demanded more public spending.

Shadow minister Louise Haigh said morale among special constables had been hit by pay concerns and some were ‘struggling to put food on the table’.  More at link.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4663030/QUENTIN-LETTS-Corbyn-holding-old-popsy-Diane.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490

But Mr Corbyn, not a man for raw meritocracy, seems determined to cleave to the woman who once phut-phutted around East Germany with him on the back of his motorbike. She held tight to him back then and he intends to hold tight to her now.

Labour MP is threatened with deselection by hard-left activists unless she APOLOGISES for criticising Corbyn - as a Tory urges him to step in and stop abuse after her office is vandalised.

A Labour MP has been threatened with deselection by hard-left activists unless she apologises for criticising Jeremy Corbyn.

Liverpool Wavertree MP Luciana Berger was one of the shadow ministers who quit her frontbench position last year in protest at the Labour leader.

But she has been ordered to 'to get on board quite quickly now' after a group of Corbynistas staged a takeover of her branch.

It comes amid fears that the hard-left will seize upon Mr Corbyn's new-found strength over the party to purge moderate MPs and install their allies.

Another Momentum group in South Tyneside has posted a list of over 50 Labour MPs who it wants to see out of the party - including Chuka Umunna, Margaret Hodge and Ms Berger.

Meanwhile, Tory MP Sarah Wollaston has demanded the Labour leader do more to tackle the rising tide of abuse after her offices were vandalised by a masked man during the election campaign. More at link.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4670494/Luciana-Berger-threatened-deselection-hard-left.html

And this will help Corbyn how? Does he think that if he deselects all of the moderates then more people will vote for him? This thinking is at best arse about face.

It's a power grab, Sabot - if Corbyn ever got elected, it would, IMO, end with the military intervening to stop him turning the UK into Venezuela.

Meanwhile...

http://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/825052/jeremy-corbyn-labour-party-john-mcdonnell-staff-son-seb-corbyn



In a brazen display of jobs for the boys, Seb Corbyn was given the plum role of chief of staff to Mr McDonnell where he is thought to earn up to £48,000 a year, paid for from the public purse.

Seb, a graduate of politics, political economy and international studies at ultra-elite Cambridge University, initially worked for his dad during Corbyn senior's leadership campaign in September 2015.

In February 2016, Seb was described as a “dedicated revolutionary” with one friend saying “Seb is very much his father’s son.”

Seven months later the New Statesmen branded Seb a “bag-carrier and all-purpose aide” for the leadership election.

Labour insiders said at the time Mr McDonnell, who is one of Jeremy Corbyn’s closest political allies, was keen for Seb to take a role in his back office because of the “name recognition thing”. ....etc.

Nepotism, anyone?



His son looks like a real nasty piece of work.

Thank God I left when I did. I didn't at the time imagine that it could get any worse. But it did.

Trouble is, people who weren't around in the 70s don't remember just how vicious - and incompetent - the hard Left is, Sabot.

They don't even grasp that for all his decades in Parliament, Corbyn has acheived nothing but a fat bank balance.

bb1 wrote:Trouble is, people who weren't around in the 70s don't remember just how vicious - and incompetent - the hard Left is, Sabot.

They don't even grasp that for all his decades in Parliament, Corbyn has acheived nothing but a fat bank balance.

How did he get elected as Leader of The Labour Party? My memory is failing me on this at the moment. I remember one Milliband stabbing the other Milliband in the back, and then the winning Milliband making a right cock up, which everyone knew he would. And then the next thing you know, someone I had never even heard of is in, despite there being a couple of quite good labour Politicians who could have done a very much better job of it.

What happened? It simply doesn't make sense.

Oh yes, I remember the 70s when The Unions ruled, okay, but I wasn't half as politically aware in those days as I am now. And of course one does become a bit emotionally removed from it all on this side of The Channel.

I spent 25 years falling about laughing. Sadly, for Britain, it isn't very funny anymore.

Once upon a time when Harold Wilson was first Prime Minister, his female side kick, Marcia someone or other, set up a competition for her best supposed Diary Entries, after she wrote her book.

I replied with, "We've done it. Harold is now In Power. I now just have to teach him something about Economics."

I didn't win, but I did receive a Signed, Complementary Copy of her book for the comment that made her laugh the most. I still have it today, although I never actually read it.

Oh, Britain will do what it always does, Sabot, muddle through and survive. Though it might be an idea to build a very high wall around London, as that seems to be where the crazy is coming from.

How did Corbyn get elected? Easy. At the time of the last leadership election, Labour let people join for £3 to make it meaningful, or some such rubbish.

So, loads of Tories and UKIP-ers joined and voted for Corbyn as a joke, as they figured he was unelectable. Unfortunately, they didn't foresee Mrs May making such a complete hash of the election campaign, or that the hard Left were also joining and voting for Steptoe.

But remember, he still lost by nearly 60 seats.....

Marcia Williams! Now there's a name from the past....

Ah, yes, I had forgotten about Join The Labour Party for Three Quid. And as it happens, Corbyn does remain Unelectable.

Jeremy Corbyn urges Theresa May: Give us early election.

Jeremy Corbyn has said Theresa May's call for rival parties to contribute their policy ideas showed the government "has run out of steam".

He said he was happy to give the PM a copy of his party's manifesto, adding, "or better still an early election so the people of this country can decide".

Mrs May will use a speech on Tuesday to call on parties to "contribute and not just criticise".

She says there are a range of issues on which MPs from different parties agree.

First Secretary of State Damian Green described the post-election change in Mrs May's style of government as a "grown-up way of doing politics".

But Mr Corbyn used the PM's Commons statement on the weekend G20 summit in Hamburg to claim it showed "weakness from this government".

"The government is apparently asking other parties for their policy ideas," he said.

Turning to the prime minister, he said: "If you would like it, I'm very happy to furnish you with a copy of our manifesto or better still, an early election so the people in this county can decide.

"Let's face it, the government has run out of steam at a pivotal time in our county and the world around uncertainty over Brexit, conflict in the Gulf states, nuclear sabre-rattling in North Korea, refugees continuing to flee war and destruction, ongoing pandemics, cross-border terrorism, poverty and inequality and the impact of climate change are the core global challenges of our time.

"Just when we need strong government, we have weakness from this government."

He said he was happy to give the PM a copy of his party's manifesto, adding, "or better still an early election so the people of this country can decide".

They did decide, Steptoe - you lost.

Tory MP Anne Marie Morris Suspended After Saying Brexit No Deal Is A ‘N***** In A Woodpile’.

Theresa May said the remarks are “completely unacceptable”.

A Tory MP who used a racist term has had the whip withdrawn by party chiefs, HuffPost UK has learned.

Anne Marie Morris was recorded by HuffPost UK using the offensive phrase “n***** in the woodpile” during a meeting of eurosceptics in central London at Monday lunchtime.

Within hours of HuffPost UK publishing the recording, the Prime Minister was being grilled on Morris’s comments in Parliament, but only commented that people should use “appropriate language at all times”.

At just minutes before 6pm on Monday evening, a source to HuffPost UK confirmed the whip has been withdrawn from Morris - meaning she is no longer a Conservative MP. More at link.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/anne-marie-morris-racist_uk_5963b0cae4b03f144e2c7c78

Ouch! An extremely bad choice of words, but I don't think she actually used it in a racist manner? It's the sort of ancient phrase Bennett would use, forgetting that you just can't say things like that nowadays.

Much grovelling by Ms Morris is called for, I feel.

I remember when we were kids my dad told us not to use it in the original form but substitute a polecat or some other animal. LL

Exactly, LL - and a polecat actually makes more sense.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/15405666.Salmond_and_Ahmed_Sheikh_under_fire_for_taking_MPs__39__trip_after_losing_seats/

ALEX Salmond and a close political ally have been criticised for going on a taxpayer-funded foreign trip for MPs after losing their Westminster seats.

The former first minister and Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh both attended the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly in Strasbourg in late June, it has emerged.

The total cost of their flights, subsistence and accommodation is expected to be around £2500, based on previous trips, and will be paid for by the House of Commons.

The SNP said their attendance was “standard practice” and hinted they might attend again.

The Assembly, a talking shop which describes itself as “the democratic conscience of greater Europe”, brings together 324 parliamentarians from 47 states four times a year.

Mr Salmond and Ms Ahmed-Sheikh were appointed as the SNP members of the Westminster delegation, a mix of around 18 MPs and Lords, in late 2015.

The Assembly’s summer plenary this year ran from June 26 to 30, and despite losing their seats on June 8, Mr Salmond and Ms Ahmed-Sheikh both attended.

Official records show Ms Ahmed-Sheikh signed in for two 3pm debates on June 26 and June 27, and Mr Salmond signed in just for the 3pm debate on June 27.

However there is no record of them speaking or voting at all during the five-day session.

Mr Salmond, 62, and Ms Ahmed-Sheikh, 46, both lost their seats to Tories at the election.

Those two are utterly shameless.