Copeland

[The Bishop]

Given that (as is well known) JC doesn't have a reliable majority on the NEC I would be interested to know exactly how that panel was arrived at.

[East Anglian Lefty]

I think it's a bit more complicated than simply faction. Formby represents Unite and is very close to McCluskey. Unite may be pro-Corbyn, but they're also pro-nuclear, and Sellafield is likely to be a bigger factor in the selection than Corbyn. And Trickett is close to Corbyn, but he was also a trusted advisor to Ed Miliband for five years. He's capable of being pragmatic when he needs to be.

Shawcroft is never knowingly rational, but the other two aren't as straightforward.

[johnloony]

Jan 10, 2017 22:37:50 GMT doktorb🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ said:

*asks Vue to send all their popcorn to this thread*

I am curious to know which insane hallucinating maniac it was who invented the absurd idea of having popcorn in cinemas in the first place. Of all the types of food that one might want to purchase or consume there, popcorn is one of the most inherently cacklyguckterous.

[john07]

Jan 10, 2017 22:33:50 GMT Davıd Boothroyd said:

There's a major difference between someone on the left-wing of the party, like say Jon Cruddas, or Owen Smith, and the Corbynite wing. So simply saying left-wing isn't enough.

I'd be wary of that line "we are the majority so we define truth". Life doesn't work like that.

The distinction is cult versus non-cult.

[Deleted]

From the Huffington Post

Voters in Copeland could be left without an MP for more than three months as Labour digs in for a long by-election campaign focused on the NHS, the Huff Post UK can reveal.

The current Copeland MP, Labour’s Jamie Reed, announced last month he would be quitting Parliament at the end of January, triggering a by-election in the Cumbrian seat.

- ADVERTISEMENT -

Speaking to Huff Post UK today, Andrew Gwynne - the man tasked with masterminding Labour’s by-election campaign in the seat - admitted there is a “train of thought” in the party that holding the by-election on May 4th would be preferable as it would increase turnout.

If Labour do decide to hold off calling the election until May, it means Copeland would be without a voice in Parliament when Theresa May formally begins the process for the UK leaving the EU when she triggers Article 50 in March.

Gwynne also vowed to focus on the NHS during the campaign, despite a senior party figure warning only last night that such a tactic would not deliver victories at the ballot box.

Speaking to the Huff Post UK in Westminster this afternoon, the Denton and Reddish MP said: “A decision has genuinely not been taken as to when the date will be. There is a train of thought that May is a good date in terms of turnout because you’ve got the Cumbria County Council elections on the same day, so turnout will better.

“The clocks will have changed, so you’ve not got dark nights. You’re probably heading into better weather, given you’ve got the first forecast of snow this week.

“There is a thought that May 4th is a good day.

“We’re planning for that as it’s better to plan for a long campaign and be pleasantly surprised than plan for a short campaign and then realise you’ve got to stretch your resources out for several months.”

[\quote]

[johnr]

Jan 10, 2017 21:46:21 GMT Davıd Boothroyd said:

That must be about the most pathetic response you've ever come up with.

Even with plenty of competition. 

[neilm]

Are there particular NHS issues in this area?

[Devil Wincarnate]

Jan 11, 2017 9:43:11 GMT neilm said:

Are there particular NHS issues in this area?

I sometimes wonder if the NHS is the left-wing "last refuge of a scoundrel" or "save the pound".

They'd be well-advised to come up with something more than that.

[neilm]

Jan 11, 2017 9:59:41 GMT Devil Wincarnate said:

Jan 11, 2017 9:43:11 GMT neilm said:

Are there particular NHS issues in this area?

I sometimes wonder if the NHS is the left-wing "last refuge of a scoundrel" or "save the pound".

They'd be well-advised to come up with something more than that.

Personally, I whole heartedly endorse a campaign based on 'our NHS' as it has worked so well for Labour in the past.

[Merseymike]

Jan 10, 2017 22:33:50 GMT Davıd Boothroyd said:

There's a major difference between someone on the left-wing of the party, like say Jon Cruddas, or Owen Smith, and the Corbynite wing. So simply saying left-wing isn't enough.

I'd be wary of that line "we are the majority so we define truth". Life doesn't work like that.

Owen Smith is not on the left wing of the party. Compared to you he may be left wing, but that's not saying a great deal. Cruddas is Blue Labour, and hard to categorise on either left or right.

Its simply a fact that at present the right of the party are not dominant, so cannot be seen as 'mainstream'

[Merseymike]

Jan 11, 2017 9:59:41 GMT Devil Wincarnate said:

Jan 11, 2017 9:43:11 GMT neilm said:

Are there particular NHS issues in this area?

I sometimes wonder if the NHS is the left-wing "last refuge of a scoundrel" or "save the pound".

They'd be well-advised to come up with something more than that.

Yes. You are right

If I am honest, its probably one of the few things we all agree on, so its an easy topic to fall back on when there are so few others which will unite rather than divide

[The Bishop]

Jan 11, 2017 9:43:11 GMT neilm said:

Are there particular NHS issues in this area?

Yes, very much so.

Those who sneer below your comment merely reveal their ignorance of the state of things in these parts.

[neilm]

Jan 11, 2017 10:58:55 GMT The Bishop said:

Jan 11, 2017 9:43:11 GMT neilm said:

Are there particular NHS issues in this area?

Yes, very much so.

Those who sneer below your comment merely reveal their ignorance of the state of things in these parts.

Aside from the usual rural issues, is there anything specific? Cottage hospital closed etc?

[The Bishop]

The future (or otherwise) of the main West Cumberland hospital is a big issue and has been for a few years now.

Its something the outgoing MP was very good with tbf to him.

[Merseymike]

Jan 11, 2017 12:12:09 GMT The Bishop said:

The future (or otherwise) of the main West Cumberland hospital is a big issue and has been for a few years now.

Its something the outgoing MP was very good with tbf to him.

This was the one which PFI cocked up momentously, wasn't it, with regard to basic design of the buildings?

[Davıd Boothroyd]

West Cumberland Hospital is not a PFI hospital.

The problem is that the trust which runs it has two hospitals, the West Cumberland and Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle. Cumberland Infirmary is a PFI hospital and so the trust are locked in to paying for it up to 2030.

One of the interesting side-effects of PFI hospitals is that the NHS can't close them. In other words, the fact that so many hospitals were built or rebuilt under PFI schemes during the Labour government is preventing the subsequent Conservative governments from shutting them and selling them off. It's possibly the most effective thing the Labour movement has done to save the NHS ...

[Merseymike]

Jan 11, 2017 12:21:41 GMT Davıd Boothroyd said:

West Cumberland Hospital is not a PFI hospital.

The problem is that the trust which runs it has two hospitals, the West Cumberland and Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle. Cumberland Infirmary is a PFI hospital and so the trust are locked in to paying for it up to 2030.

One of the interesting side-effects of PFI hospitals is that the NHS can't close them. In other words, the fact that so many hospitals were built or rebuilt under PFI schemes during the Labour government is preventing the subsequent Conservative governments from shutting them and selling them off. It's possibly the most effective thing the Labour movement has done to save the NHS ...

Hardly justifies a scheme which was grossly over-used.

I do recall issues surrounding a hospital which had cut costs and ended up building doors which a hospital bed couldn't safely pass through. I thought it was in Cumbria but I could be wrong?

[Richard Allen]

Jan 11, 2017 10:58:55 GMT The Bishop said:

Jan 11, 2017 9:43:11 GMT neilm said:

Are there particular NHS issues in this area?

Yes, very much so.

Those who sneer below your comment merely reveal their ignorance of the state of things in these parts.

Might I suggest that the sneering wasn't a denial that there are "NHS issues" in this constituency merely a weariness of Labour's near constant mantra that the NHS requires saving from the Tories.

[The Bishop]

Sure, I agree that it can be a bit of a "comfort blanket" for us. That's not the case here though, health is very much a live issue.

[carlton43]

Now 51 plays 24!!! The tribal vote has really come out for Labour. I do so hope that there will be a lot of disappointed people the morning after. I still think there well may be.