Thread by @swardley

X : Thoughts on nationalising UK rail?
Me : A good thing.
X : Wasn't that part of Labour's manifesto?
Me : Does it matter? Many of the good things this Gov talks about seem to have been lifted from the Labour manifesto. It's not important where it came from, only that it happens.

X : So, you agree with it?
Me : Yes. And the Conservatives timing is impeccable.
X : How so?
Me : A few days after Keir starts talking about a new manifesto not based on the past - theguardian.com/politics/2021/… ...

... it's the perfect time to pinch or accelerate any ideas which you think are good / fit with your own and start declaring you'll take action on it. Rail Nationalisation has just become Tory policy as Labour declared it has abandoned its past manifestos ...

.... you're going to get Boris et al doubling down on Labour's lack of policies, lack of action, lack of ... anything.

I have to say, Keir is turning out to be the most hopeless leader Labour has had in my experience.

X : Other examples?
Me : Gosh, so many. "Levelling Up Across the Country" is straight out of the 2019 Labour manifesto and given Labour's decided to abandon the past then Boris may as well pinch the mantra of "For the many, not the few".
X : Is it true?
Me : Does it matter?

Me : Politics is not a game of truth and integrity, it's a game of perception and deception. It's all about the theatre, the story, the narrative, the kayfabe.

X : But Labour could ...
Me : ... refine arguments, add nuance, come up with detailed ten point plans whilst Conservatives help themselves to the flags, the high ground of meaning. You either go more extreme or needle on small points ... whichever way the image is not good.

X : Truth and integrity are good things to have.
Me : They are beliefs and not ones that are universal. You need enough as long as people believe you're fighting on their side. Regardless of policies, Boris is doing a grand job presenting the "battling PM fighting for his people"

X : Is it true?
Me : Does it matter? Methinks you're not getting this. You keep falling back on truth.

X : How do you combat this?
Me : You build a new narrative at a very local level. You build up from the ground, build bridges within communities, show a different path through the CLPs.
X : Can Labour do this?
Me : With centrally organised think tanks and policy reviews ... lol.

X : Tips?
Me : Whilst Boris plays at heroic leadership, Labour needs to build principles from the ground, encourage swarming of people to tackle issues and create leaderless leadership where the leader is of the moment. You want to win, you need to change the game.

X : How long will that take?
Me : A decade. You have to start thinking long term. Forget the next election, possibly also the one after that. You need to be building long term.

X : Why do you think Corbyn failed?
Me : Gosh. Relentless attacks both internal and external, wobbling over brexit and weak leadership, the age issue - Corbyn is the most popular MP amongst millenials but you also need Gen X and Baby Boomers where he is not popular.

X : Baby Boomers?
Me : Yep, the over 55 crowd. They tend to love people like Rishi, Boris, Patel, Farage and even Norman Tebbit ... Corbyn is, well ... nowhere in their list of favourites, down there scrapping the bottom of the barrel with Nick Clegg.

Me : if the election was decided by people under the age of 40 then Corbyn would have probably won despite everything but it's not.
X : Any thoughts?
Me : No idea. As a best guess then a focus on opportunity and "We" becoming loss aversion and "Me" as you get older ...

... there was some work by a Romanian business school on the impacts of three years of economics teaching to a person's perspective. I suspect that continued exposure to global capitalism probably makes you more capitalist.
X : Because it's right?
Me : More institutionalised.

Me : I became more aware of this factor recently, When you look at an organisation, it's really important to listen carefully to those who have most recently joined the firm. They will give you a better perspective despite being new. I suspect the same happens in politics.

X : Solutions?
Me : You won't like it.
X : Try
Me : I suspect, for the health of a nation, then we should limit voting to those with most skin in the game who aren't institutionalised.
X : And?
Me : We probably need an upper age limit i.e. only 18-55 years old get to vote.

X : I don't like that.
Me : Well, alternatively, you could try lowering the voting age to counter any effect from institutionalisation.
X : 16?
Me : What's wrong with 14?

X : Hmmm
Me : Or, you could just simply accept that institutionalisation to the system is just part of life and try not counter it.
X : Which means?
Me : You can't win an election on millennials or hope that as those millennials age their views won't change.

That is part of the problem with the Corbyn myth, that it is only a matter of time. There seems to be an assumption that as those millennials age their views won't change ... they will change. You have to win everyone over, not just one group.

X : How do you win everyone over?
Me : Well ... you need to change the narrative, you need to build at a local level, create communities and stop betting all your chips on the idea that a hero leader will emerge. You won't get much better than Corbyn and that didn't work.