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Post by Pete Whitehead on Sept 24, 2016 19:02:02 GMT
spin lol
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Jack
Reform Party
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Post by Jack on Sept 24, 2016 19:12:32 GMT
Why does no one from Labour ever defect to the Lib Dems? Why does no one even suggest that?
Labour MPs seem to be categorised as either "socialists" or "right-wing traitor Tory scumbags".
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Post by Davıd Boothroyd on Sept 24, 2016 19:18:40 GMT
Why does no one from Labour ever defect to the Lib Dems? Why does no one even suggest that? I think you'll find there were a few Labour people who made that journey in the 1980s. Not certain that they intended to, but there you go. Oddly the last big Labour name to defect to the Liberal Democrats was Brian Sedgemore, who was one of the closest Labour MPs to Jeremy Corbyn. Before that, Christopher Mayhew defected in 1974. |
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Post by finsobruce on Sept 24, 2016 19:20:20 GMT
Why does no one from Labour ever defect to the Lib Dems? Why does no one even suggest that? Labour MPs seem to be categorised as either "socialists" or "right-wing traitor Tory scumbags". Why do you say never? what sort of time frame are we talking? Assuming you are ignoring the SDP I would put forward Christopher Mayhew and Brian Sedgemore. |
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Post by Pete Whitehead on Sept 24, 2016 19:27:24 GMT
There was that oddball bloke in Shrewsbury as well
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Post by AdminSTB on Sept 24, 2016 19:28:24 GMT
Paul Marsden (MP for Shrewsbury & Atcham 1997-2005) defected to the Lib Dems in 2001, though he went back to Labour just after the dissolution of Parliament in 2005.
Edit: Pete sort of beat me to it.
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Post by greenhert on Sept 24, 2016 19:37:33 GMT
Personally, in terms of MPs, my money (metaphorically speaking) on which Labour MP will resign from Labour first and/or defect is on Owen Smith himself, with a second-best guess being Frank Field.
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Jack
Reform Party
Posts: 8,682
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Post by Jack on Sept 24, 2016 19:38:24 GMT
I know there has been the odd few who have defected to the Lib Dems, but these days the more moderate Labour MPs who don't support Corbyn are just told to join the Tories, even though Lib Dem policies would come closer to their views.
I just find it odd that none of them seem to consider them.
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Khunanup
Lib Dem
Portsmouth Liberal Democrats
Posts: 12,011
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Post by Khunanup on Sept 24, 2016 19:39:38 GMT
Ian Austin.
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peterl
Green
Congratulations President Trump
Posts: 8,473
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Post by peterl on Sept 24, 2016 20:22:15 GMT
Of course with just 8 MPs, the Lib Dems would be a promising opportunity for anyone who wants to be a big fish in a small pond. It would also be a good opportunity for entryism by a Labour faction.
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Post by Pete Whitehead on Sept 24, 2016 20:31:25 GMT
Jess Phillips maybe - preferably into a lake
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Post by johnhemming on Sept 24, 2016 20:34:32 GMT
A key factor for any Labour MP is likely to be their perception of their chance of being re-elected in 2020. Hence people who face deselection with some certainty are likely to look around. The tories cannot really offer anything much because they have to protect those facing the loss of their constituencies. It is obviously possible to defect and hold the seat under a new banner. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_TaverneDick Taverne demonstrated that although he lost his seat reasonably soon after holding it both in a by-election and a general election (because there was another general election) Obviously Douglas Carswell has a similar case. Some of the SDP defectors originally managed to hold their seats and obviously that is an option, but does not really work with the polls as they are. |
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Post by greenchristian on Sept 24, 2016 20:49:03 GMT
It certainly started as spin. When Corbyn was first elected as leader, there was no reason to believe that the public couldn't be sold on a genuinely left-wing political platform if it was competently presented. By now it's been uncritically repeated by every part of the mainstream media for so long that it's probably morphed into a self-fulfilling prophecy. |
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Sept 24, 2016 21:13:41 GMT
Of course with just 8 MPs, the Lib Dems would be a promising opportunity for anyone who wants to be a big fish in a small pond. It would also be a good opportunity for entryism by a Labour faction. I would certainly hope that the LibDems have wargamed various scenarios with a varying number of Labour defectors to work out what they would do. And I would be surprised if talks hadn't happened if there were obvious candidates. |
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Post by Adam in Stroud on Sept 24, 2016 21:14:49 GMT
I know there has been the odd few who have defected to the Lib Dems, but these days the more moderate Labour MPs who don't support Corbyn are just told to join the Tories, even though Lib Dem policies would come closer to their views. I just find it odd that none of them seem to consider them. TBH, we could do with the injection of Parliamentary experience and in some cases experience in govt that could come with some defections from Labour. In reality, the MPs most out of step with Corbyn are also those who want to take an anti-immigration line - which may make sense for Labour but doesn't really fit in with the LDs. They also seem to take the view that public sector reform is synonymous with more private sector involvement. Liz Kendall's argument that there is not a progressive majority in Britain may have merit but it is hardly a clarion call for Liberal values. Most of them also represent constituencies which voted leave, which would make joining the LDs problematic for both parties. |
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Harry Hayfield
Green
Cavalier Gentleman (as in 17th century Cavalier)
Posts: 2,922
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Post by Harry Hayfield on Sept 24, 2016 21:24:27 GMT
According to Wikipedia the following Labour MP's have defected to the Liberal Democrats since 1950
Christopher Mayhew (Lab, Woolwich East) July 1974
Paul Marsden (Lab, Shrewsbury and Atcham) December 2001
Brian Sedgemore (Lab, Hackney South and Shoreditch) April 2005
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Post by Davıd Boothroyd on Sept 24, 2016 21:43:08 GMT
Can we just pause here to note that, after a year in which Labour MPs and councillors who disagreed with Jeremy Corbyn were told to "fuck off and join the Tories", not one has done so.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 24, 2016 22:09:49 GMT
I think someone like Frank Field might become an Independent Labour MP at some stage as a protest against Corbyn. Unlikely. His main interest these days is his chairmanship of the DWP select committee which enables him to pursue his many hobby horses largely unencumbered by the whip. He has no particular need to resign the whip and it might make his committee work more difficult. Bear in mind also he nominated Corbyn! |
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Merseymike
Independent
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Post by Merseymike on Sept 24, 2016 22:11:33 GMT
To Ukip? I assume you wouldn't want him. |
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Merseymike
Independent
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Post by Merseymike on Sept 24, 2016 22:14:23 GMT
Personally, in terms of MPs, my money (metaphorically speaking) on which Labour MP will resign from Labour first and/or defect is on Owen Smith himself, with a second-best guess being Frank Field. Smith is a very typical old style Labour machine politician. I couldn't imagine him in any other party. Field is a maverick and wouldn't fit into any other party particularly well. |
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