Poll: Should Labour turn left or right?

Should Labour turn Left or Right?

  • Left

    Votes: 86 23.9%

  • Right

    Votes: 67 18.6%

  • Straight ahead

    Votes: 27 7.5%

  • Mashed potato.

    Votes: 180 50.0%
  • Total voters
    360

stockhausen

stockhausen

stockhausen

Capodecina
Soldato
Joined
30 Jul 2006
Posts
12,130
Blair has surfaced yet again to offer his advice to Labour, suggesting that they erred in moving back towards their traditional supporters who may in fact no longer exist and that they should become more akin to the Liberal Democrats.

Mandelson (aka The Prince of Darkness) has offered much the same advice.

Alan Johnson has said that "Labour must return to 'aspirational Blair years'" whatever that means, presumably further Bank deregulation and more PFI?

Blair has devoted his time since leaving Government to satisfying his "Aspirations" and Mandelson is of course remembered for the egalitarian and typically Capitalist observation that New Labour were "intensely relaxed about people getting filthy rich".

Frankly, as the British public come to accept that "There is no such thing as Society" it is difficult to see how Labour can ever return to power without becoming a Mk. 2 Tory party - depressing :(


I didn't ask for a poll but it does help to demonstrate that when asked to consider a reasonable question, nigh on 50% of OcUK forum posters feel that their considered response is "mashed potato". Such "challenged" people shouldn't be permitted to vote; amongst other things they are an embarrassment to democracy and evolution.
 
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Labour haven't won an election without Tony Blair since 1974, so that would probably suggest they need to move more to the centre.
 
Assuming the question is in relation to where they are currently, then left. Tory-lite isn't a differentiator.
 
daz said:
Labour haven't won an election without Tony Blair since 1974, so that would probably suggest they need to move more to the centre.
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Based on this compass, is that towards the right?

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I wonder if the 'left' would be better served by the greens for the next decade?
 
To get elected they need to move right. But surely the whole point of Labour is to support the working man/woman? So to be true to the Labour party itself they should move left.

I really wish parties would stand up for their beliefs rather than sway in the wind to simply get elected.
 
Hades said:
To get elected they need to move right. But surely the whole point of Labour is to support the working man/woman? So to be true to the Labour party itself they should move left.

I really wish parties would stand up for their beliefs rather than sway in the wind to simply get elected.
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I think we also need to define who 'the working people' are? Actual labourers like builders and other hand on jobs? Or the multitude of office jobs we have now?
 
Left, but with the caveat that it needs to do a MUCH better job of explaining why that would be a good thing for the country and the people in it.

I'd rather support a principled opposition party than a party that panders to popular opinion just to get a shot at governing.

I wonder if the 'left' would be better served by the greens for the next decade?
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Undoubtebly. Personally I'd like to see Labour disband and be absorbed into the Greens/SNP.
 
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They went left under Ed and that was the wrong direction. Anyone with aspirations felt threatened by Labour. Raising taxes, spooking investors and not rewarding hard work was just a few things that Labour got wrong.

It is a fallacy that left supports the working person. If you work right is much better for you.
 
Hades said:
To get elected they need to move right. But surely the whole point of Labour is to support the working man/woman? So to be true to the Labour party itself they should move left..
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problem is the left now seems to be take from the working man to give to the non working single mother of 5.
 
Does it matter what side parties are on as its what the voting public want that'll get them elected. The poles for the election had a lot of people, enough to vote the Tories in, possibly voting thinking they'd have a coalition again that'd keep the government around the center but, as we know, that didn't happen. Time will tell if voters will regret voting the way they did. Despite my own political views I believe the center ground is the best overall place for the government to be as that, imo, covers most, if not all, people in the country.

Pragmatism is often better than idealism.
 
Mandelson: "We were sent out and told to say we're for the poor and hate the rich, ignoring the vast swathe of the population who exist in between."
 
I reject the premise of the question, Labour didn't lose on Thursday because they were too left wing - policies were pretty much irrelevant for this election (no-one can possibly believe the Tory manifesto), imo they ultimately lost because of three reasons:

1) Voters thought David Cameron would make a better leader of the country than Ed Miliband.
2) People actually believed that Labour overspending and not the global financial crisis caused the UK's debt and deficit problem. Labour should have been much more vocal about defending their economic record.
3) Voters thought Labour would do a deal with the SNP despite Ed ruling it out during the leader's debate.

The Tory propaganda machine was the difference here - you have the Sun, the Telegraph and the Daily Mail just repeating the same big lies again and again and people believe it. I dunno what the solution is tbh - do a deal with Murdoch like Tony Blair did I guess. Not a perfect solution but at least Murdoch didn't have it all his own way after Blair shagged his wife :D
 
your missing the big one there scorza

4) torys said "this is what were going to do" labour said "omg look at what the torys are going to do".
 
scorza said:
The Tory propaganda machine was the difference here - you have the Sun, the Telegraph and the Daily Mail just repeating the same big lies again and again and people believe it. I dunno what the solution is tbh - do a deal with Murdoch like Tony Blair did I guess. Not a perfect solution but at least Murdoch didn't have it all his own way after Blair shagged his wife :D
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I don't know how you can say this when everywhere you look on social media, there is someone telling you you are a terrible person and that you deserve to die in a flaming pit of bankers money for voting Tory.

If anything I would say i have been subjected to far more anti-tory rubbish than vice versa.
 
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