Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #LabourLeadership
Most recents (19)
Don’t mourn, organise. theclarionmag.org/2020/04/02/und… #labourleadership
The left needs a bit of humility and introspection about this. The left has had the leadership of the party for four and half years, and oversaw an unprecedented surge in membership. Whatever’s been built out of that wasn’t sufficient to convince enough party members...
...including, presumably, a good chunk who joined/rejoined as part of the “Corbyn surge”, not to vote for a leadership representing a sharp turn back to the centre. That is not the result of RLB having run a poor campaign. RLB’s poor campaign was itself a symptom, not the cause.
I don’t have a vote in the #LabourLeadership election (see: workersliberty.org/story/2017-07-…), so I’m gonna tweet about a leadership election (of a sort) that I am voting in instead...
As a US citizen, I’m getting ready to cast my vote in the Democratic global primary. Only one choice: @BernieSanders. @Bernie2020UK 
On the most basic level, policies Sanders is promoting, on issues like healthcare, wages, and education, would represent an enormous leap forward in terms of material standards of living for working-class people in America, and a huge blow to the far-right bigotry of Trumpism.
I’m such a pluralist...
Ah well, still voting Keir Starmer to keep Labour on a radical trajectory, build a more tolerant, open party and to not triangulate in a debilitating fog of confusion over the need for a close relationship with the EU (incl FoM). #LabourLeadership
Ah well, still voting Keir Starmer to keep Labour on a radical trajectory, build a more tolerant, open party and to not triangulate in a debilitating fog of confusion over the need for a close relationship with the EU (incl FoM). #LabourLeadership
If you fancy taking the Open Labour quiz you can do so here comparethecandidates.co.uk/?share=b
I must admit if @Keir_Starmer manages to get the Labour Party to drop its support for HS2 (one of the questions in the quiz) my flat mate @Amelia_Womack may be at risk of dying of laughter.
Unconfirmed reports that a (fast track) expelled @UKLabour member lost their life on Tuesday 11th Feb. If this is what it appears to be, then we are appalled that this has been allowed to play out #KierStarmer @EmilyThornberry @lisanandy @RLong_Bailey [Thread]
The despair, distress and isolation that people face in the face of this McCarthy style witch-hunt may now have become a serious safeguarding issue. Nobody should lose their life as a result of social media posts regarding Israel. <0.1%
People's livelihoods are often threatened in the resulting hysteria and frequent speculation surrounding allegations. What kind of socialist works to take away people's jobs (and lives)? #NaturalJustice
Almost all CLPs have nominated in the #LabourLeadership contest.
Some striking patterns have emerged.
I explore them on @LabourList 👇
labourlist.org/2020/02/what-t…
Some striking patterns have emerged.
I explore them on @LabourList 👇
labourlist.org/2020/02/what-t…
Starmer and Rayner are very clearly in the lead. In fact, more CLPs have nominated both than nominated any other candidate in either race.
labourlist.org/2020/02/what-t…
labourlist.org/2020/02/what-t…
Long-Bailey does well amongst CLPs which nominated Corbyn or Burnham in 2025 but not with those which nominated Cooper or Kendall.
Lisa Nandy is the opposite.
Starmer is equally strong across them all.
#LabourLeadership labourlist.org/2020/02/what-t…
Lisa Nandy is the opposite.
Starmer is equally strong across them all.
#LabourLeadership labourlist.org/2020/02/what-t…
*Request for help*
The preferential voting system for #LabourLeadership throws up interesting results. I want to crowd-source some information about how votes are transferring in CLP meetings.
Please fill in your answers, then RT the thread!
The preferential voting system for #LabourLeadership throws up interesting results. I want to crowd-source some information about how votes are transferring in CLP meetings.
Please fill in your answers, then RT the thread!
If Emily Thornberry is eliminated early in the contest, who do you think most of her votes will transfer to?
If Lisa Nandy is eliminated early in the contest, who do you think most of her votes will transfer to?
Lord Ashcroft's report on Labour, based on a poll of 10,000 and 18 focus groups in seats Labour lost. Nothing in these two paragraphs is unexpected, but it's great that he's collected the evidence to back up what many of us have been saying for years.
lordashcroftpolls.com/2020/02/diagno…
lordashcroftpolls.com/2020/02/diagno…
Top five reasons for Labour losing
According to defectors:
Brexit
Corbyn
Division
No longer represents its traditional voters
Undeliverable promises
According to Labour members:
Brexit
Mislead by media
Mislead by Tories
Voters are wrong
Voters are racist
According to defectors:
Brexit
Corbyn
Division
No longer represents its traditional voters
Undeliverable promises
According to Labour members:
Brexit
Mislead by media
Mislead by Tories
Voters are wrong
Voters are racist
Reasons given by defectors for not voting Labour
CLP nominations give you an interesting insight into the #LabourLeadership: where different candidates are getting their support. I've spent a bit of time looking at them, here are some of the patterns I've spotted, thanks to @CLPNominations' reporting.
@CLPNominations Comparing to 2015 nominations is interesting. For instance, Long-Bailey is sometimes described as the 'continuity' candidate but her support comes as much from CLPs which nominated Burnham in 2015 as those which nominated Corbyn.
@CLPNominations Similarly, Starmer has so far won a majority of the CLPs which nominated Corbyn in 2015, suggesting that there is more overlap between the two candidates' appeal than it might first appear.
In fact, his appeal is pretty broad. He's won a majority of Cooper and Burnham ones too.
In fact, his appeal is pretty broad. He's won a majority of Cooper and Burnham ones too.
#Richard4Deputy - A Thread (1/9)
Richard Burgon is showing why influential supporters of some of the other deputy leader candidates were eager to keep him out of the contest:
#richardburgon #LabourLeadership #LauraPidcock
#ThursdayMotivation #ThursdayWisdom
Richard Burgon is showing why influential supporters of some of the other deputy leader candidates were eager to keep him out of the contest:
#richardburgon #LabourLeadership #LauraPidcock
#ThursdayMotivation #ThursdayWisdom
"I’ll be a campaigning Deputy Leader.
Winning the next general election means regaining the trust of the voters we’ve lost. My focus will be building a Party rooted in every community with powerful local campaigns that show whose side we’re on. (2/9)
Winning the next general election means regaining the trust of the voters we’ve lost. My focus will be building a Party rooted in every community with powerful local campaigns that show whose side we’re on. (2/9)
"I fully back our previous two manifestos. These offer real solutions to the problems our communities face.
Great policies, however, aren’t enough. I’ll overhaul our campaigning and messaging to focus on 10 key policies that are easily explainable on the doorstep. (3/9)
Great policies, however, aren’t enough. I’ll overhaul our campaigning and messaging to focus on 10 key policies that are easily explainable on the doorstep. (3/9)
After all the controversy about Nandy's Scotland / Catalonia, comments, what should a #LabourLeadership candidate actually say about Scotland?
A thread...
A thread...
Note that this is not what I would do. I have my own views on independence that are not the same as the Labour Party's.
This is what the line ought to be if, like Labour, you do not want Scotland to become independent, and how to handle the issue.
This is what the line ought to be if, like Labour, you do not want Scotland to become independent, and how to handle the issue.
The central issue is this: the two fundamental proposals from Better Together during the 2014 independence referendum have not been delivered.
THREAD on the changing attitudes to the Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions (#BDS) movement.
I’m NOT commenting upon the efficacy, morality or legitimacy of the (BDS) movement – just the shift in attitudes to it, especially within the @UKLabour party, since 2014.
#Israel
#Palestine
I’m NOT commenting upon the efficacy, morality or legitimacy of the (BDS) movement – just the shift in attitudes to it, especially within the @UKLabour party, since 2014.
#Israel
#Palestine
Following yesterday’s announcement of the Board of Deputies’ #TenPledges, & the near universal & uncritical acceptance of it by #LabourLeadership candidates, I want to say something about the profound shift in attitudes to BDS within @UKLabour, since 2014.
Legitimate & proportionate criticism of some of the actions of the Israeli govt can & still too often do too easily slide into comments which are understandably construed as antisemitic. ALL of us on the left must obviously try to avoid this.
Brexit is happening, so why's it important that the #LabourLeadership NOT be MPs who opposed a 2nd referendum?
Because by 2024 it'll be clear to everyone Brexit was a bad idea, so Labour, as a credible alternative government, needs to be able to say they offered people a way out.
Because by 2024 it'll be clear to everyone Brexit was a bad idea, so Labour, as a credible alternative government, needs to be able to say they offered people a way out.
You know what the Tories are like.
They'll say "Labour's 2017 manifesto committed to Brexit. Corbyn couldn't make up his mind whether he wanted Brexit or not, and you *bailey/kinnock/nandy* opposed a 2nd referendum. So BOTH parties are responsible for our current difficulties."
They'll say "Labour's 2017 manifesto committed to Brexit. Corbyn couldn't make up his mind whether he wanted Brexit or not, and you *bailey/kinnock/nandy* opposed a 2nd referendum. So BOTH parties are responsible for our current difficulties."
They will use that stick to beat the #LabourLeadership every chance they get.
The only way Labour can even begin to wash its hands of this mess is if those leading the party are the ones who said that once Brexit was negotiated, people should have a chance to accept or reject it.
The only way Labour can even begin to wash its hands of this mess is if those leading the party are the ones who said that once Brexit was negotiated, people should have a chance to accept or reject it.
My ideal #LabourLeadership pick would be a Midlands/Northern woman who knew those areas were right to demand change in 2016 but never pretended spending 8 yrs negotiating with the EU and US instead of investing in those areas was the answer, and instead stood AGAINST nationalism.
That's why I instinctively thought of Bridget Phillipson.
But I'm just brainstorming.
Labour has about 2 years to get this right.(3 years for Labour to show itself to have solid stable leadership that's ready to take power).
So this shouldn't be rushed.
But I'm just brainstorming.
Labour has about 2 years to get this right.(3 years for Labour to show itself to have solid stable leadership that's ready to take power).
So this shouldn't be rushed.
"Why woman?"
Not a deal-breaker but:
🏴Politics has been a boy's club for a while.
The ERG ruled May.
The Tories just supported a deal 95% identical to May's and which Boris said no PM should sign. But this one happens to have a 'Johnson' attached🙄
Plus, Labour need to catch up.
Not a deal-breaker but:
🏴Politics has been a boy's club for a while.
The ERG ruled May.
The Tories just supported a deal 95% identical to May's and which Boris said no PM should sign. But this one happens to have a 'Johnson' attached🙄
Plus, Labour need to catch up.
"Progressive Patriotism", Rebecca Long-Bailey?
I repeat: If Labour has a leader who has simply appeased and pandered to the nationalist bull**** that brought us here, rather than tackled it head on, the Left will stay divided and Johnson will win again.
#LabourLeadership
I repeat: If Labour has a leader who has simply appeased and pandered to the nationalist bull**** that brought us here, rather than tackled it head on, the Left will stay divided and Johnson will win again.
#LabourLeadership
To those of you saying "patriotism doesn't always = nationalism":
Patriotism is the baseline! Nobody should be in public office if they're not patriotic.
But framing yourself around patriotism, ESPECIALLY when nationalism is rising, says you plan to go beyond normal patriotism.
Patriotism is the baseline! Nobody should be in public office if they're not patriotic.
But framing yourself around patriotism, ESPECIALLY when nationalism is rising, says you plan to go beyond normal patriotism.
Again, when the Right is taking over the first question to ask is "What the hell is the Left doing"...
A series of leaders who simply went with the populist flow IS NOT what we should be seeing.
Leaders LEAD!!
#LabourLeadership
A series of leaders who simply went with the populist flow IS NOT what we should be seeing.
Leaders LEAD!!
#LabourLeadership
The election was a disappointment, but it’s time to be positive about the future. There were chinks of light, stars leading our party to a better future-both stellar #LabourLeadership candidates and new arrivals in the Mother of Parliaments in 2019-my legacy for the nation: /1
Let’s start with my wonderful leadership candidate @AngelaRayner - a truly amazing woman whose hard life has taught her right from wrong! antisemitism.uk/politics/labou…
Also a deputy-leadership contender: tribune of Truth and Justice, @RichardBurgon! antisemitism.uk/politics/labou…
I'd love to switch off twitter. I'm physically, mentally & emotionally exhausted.
But Labour seems to want to sculpt its new leader out of the mould of the one that just delivered its worst defeat in 84 years and I don't fancy Boris Johnson as PM for 10 years.
#LabourLeadership
But Labour seems to want to sculpt its new leader out of the mould of the one that just delivered its worst defeat in 84 years and I don't fancy Boris Johnson as PM for 10 years.
#LabourLeadership
How difficult would this have been⬇️
Labour Leader June 2016: "52% has voted to leave, but over past few weeks we've heard many different versions of what leave could look like. So esp. as 71% of Labour voters voted Remain, the fully negotiated Brexit must be put against that."
Labour Leader June 2016: "52% has voted to leave, but over past few weeks we've heard many different versions of what leave could look like. So esp. as 71% of Labour voters voted Remain, the fully negotiated Brexit must be put against that."
Labour wouldn't have alienated the Remain voters who switched to the lib Dems (Corbyn aside), and the simple fact that Leave voters wanted incompatible things would have been in the public conversation from the start, so even Labour leaders would have been sympathetic to that.
1/ The #climateemergency is the defining political issue of our lifetime. Whatever changes of direction Labour's next leader pursues, radical action on global warming is non-negotiable. Let's have a look at the environmental records of the #LabourLeadership runners and riders...
2/ In October 2019, the @Guardian produced a climate 'score sheet' based on 16 key parliamentary votes designed to reflect the full scope of the 2008 Climate Change Act, which is regarded as a landmark piece of environmental legislation with broad cross-party support.
3/ It should be noted that some of the potential #LabourLeadership contenders have only been MPs since 2015, so it's not possible for them to have attended all the votes. Those elected prior to 2010 could have attended 16 votes, those elected in 2010 (13), those in 2015 (6).
1/ If we want a Labour Government 🌹 avoid Twitter Brutality:
1. Never tweet when angry
2. Those who loathe #Corbyn & seek his demise will never be persuaded otherwise. So unless armed with facts, stats or a witty satirical retort, ignore them.
3. ALWAYS aim to be respectful
1. Never tweet when angry
2. Those who loathe #Corbyn & seek his demise will never be persuaded otherwise. So unless armed with facts, stats or a witty satirical retort, ignore them.
3. ALWAYS aim to be respectful
2/
4/Acknowledge the existence of discrimation & bigotry.
5/ Stay away from #Drama however enticing. Block/mute & keep the action positive, the message inclusive & compassionate.
6/ Those who play with fire will eventually get burned whatever side of a wall they sit.
4/Acknowledge the existence of discrimation & bigotry.
5/ Stay away from #Drama however enticing. Block/mute & keep the action positive, the message inclusive & compassionate.
6/ Those who play with fire will eventually get burned whatever side of a wall they sit.
3/
7/ if you’re good with Stats & figures, employ them to back up a debate; or ask for them to support another’s debate.
8/use rage or frustration creatively.
9/Trolls will be out there making horrible/horrific mischief-let them be exposed for the chaos. Help expose them.
7/ if you’re good with Stats & figures, employ them to back up a debate; or ask for them to support another’s debate.
8/use rage or frustration creatively.
9/Trolls will be out there making horrible/horrific mischief-let them be exposed for the chaos. Help expose them.
