Corbyn's Defeat Is a Warning Sign to the Left Everywhere

[TexasTowelie]

Yesterday’s election in Britain was Trump’s biggest international win since 2016 and the left’s biggest defeat this decade.

Boris Johnson won his election as a national populist in the manner of Donald Trump. He promised to bring hope to the forgotten white working-class communities of old industrial England.

Trump called him a “Britain Trump” when Johnson became prime minister in July. While Trump focused on immigrants from south of the U.S., Johnson focused on the need to stop, or slow down, the immigrants from Europe.

At his victory rally on the day after the election, Johnson spoke under a giant banner proclaiming “The People’s Government.” Like Trump and other nationalist populists in Europe, Johnson now fuses himself with “the people” and in their name can do what he wants.

Read more: https://prospect.org/world/corbyns-defeat-warning-sign-to-the-left-everywhere-uk-election/
(American Prospect)

[beachbumbob]

1. Corbyn was a TERRIBLE face for the liberals. He should have stepped down years ago

[dalton99a]

6. And terrible messaging

[beachbumbob]

7. perhaps as bad as it gets as a political "leader"

he doomed his party years ago and ego kept him on top

[Maxheader]

2. 30%ers in Britain..who da thunk?

Fuckers are everywhere....aaaaahaaaaaa..

I got nothing..Maybe the english are smarter than we are and
throw their criminal politicos in jail...immidiatley....

[JaneQPublic]

3. And In Canada in 2019, the liberal party beat the conservatives.

That should likewise be taken as a greenlight to the Left everywhere.

[kentuck]

4. I think the warning is to not promise what you cannot deliver...

...or what the people do not want.

[OldRed2450]

9. Yes. He was over promising to the point of

Many not believing anything.

[ProfessorGAC]

5. Chicken Little Stuff

The House takeover 1 year ago wasn't a bigger deal?
An election in another country is a win for DOLTUS? How?
The article is wild conjecture with some scattered logic, and selective sense of history.

[meadowlander]

8. Corbyn didn't stand for anything.

His view on Brexit was literally "I don't know".

His defeat isn't a warning sign to "the Left". It's a warning sign to politicians who are so desperate to find the solution that pleases everybody that they end up not ever taking a stand on anything.

[budkin]

10. Nope

It isn't. He was awful.

[tenderfoot]

11. Yes you lefties. FDR is too far to the left. Just give it up already.

[bullwinkle428]

12. "Britain Trump" did everything in his power in the election lead-up, up to and including

literally and figuratively openly laughing and mocking him at the NATO meeting. He did everything short of wearing an "I'M NOT WITH STUPID" T-shirt!!

[JonLP24]

13. Leave Labour areas voted for Boris Johnson

Brexit was the dominant issue. Hillary Clinton already lost to Trump.

[jpak]

14. Bullshit - please stop

n/t

[moondust]

15. Three years of Brexit fatigue.

GET IT OVER WITH NOW!!! is what they wanted and what BoJo ran on.

On top of that, if you can find it take a look at the Tory platform. It resembles the Democratic platform in that they still run on doing things for the good of the country--unlike the obstructionist/neo-Confederate Republican Party. The choice for U.K. voters is nothing like the ridiculous choice that U.S. voters have.

[VarryOn]

16. I dont see them as comparable...

Due to Corbyn being so, so awful.

Boris Johnson running as the "happy warrior" made Corbyn's dour personality all the worse.

[uponit7771]

17. You mean don't run straight assholes as presidential candidates? Cause Corbyn's image was worse

... than Red Don's and the left in the UK knew this.

Looks like an outlier election.

[Garrett78]

18. The lesson to be learned is the need to put much, much more emphasis on anti-racism.

Nothing would have more of a long-term impact than reducing racism (including xenophobia, which - in most cases - is a fear of immigrants of color specifically). Addressing systemic racism will have the effect of reducing individual racism in due time (in the same way that marriage equality will, in time, reduce bigotry toward LGBTQ+ persons). There's always blowback in response to progress, but we must keep pushing forward. End racism and we end the Republican Party. Greatly reduce racism and we greatly reduce the Republican Party.

And there should be more emphasis on reducing ignorance in general. US media, highly consolidated, is abysmal and we've got to change the narrative about the media, as "liberal media" became a household term after right wingers beat that drum for decades without much pushback. And media literacy should be mandatory curriculum in every school. Students must learn to identify and verify sources, and be able to identify tactics such as projection and the Gish gallop. We also need more civics courses.

[muriel_volestrangler]

19. About the author, Denis MacShane: pleaded guilty to falsifying accounts

It was reported on 14 October 2010 that the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards (on instruction from the Standards and Privileges Committee[60]) had referred an expenses-related complaint about MacShane from the British National Party[61] to the Metropolitan Police. The matter referred was his claiming of expenses totalling £125,000 for his constituency office, the office being his garage. The Labour Party suspended MacShane from the parliamentary party pending the outcome.[62]

In June 2011, The Daily Telegraph highlighted further discrepancies in MacShane's expenses which had been uncovered by former independent candidate Peter Thirlwall. As a result, he held an emergency meeting with House of Commons officials and agreed to repay a further £3,051.38.[63] The lengthy investigation concluded on 4 July 2012 with an announcement that the Metropolitan Police would take no further action,[64] but it was reported on 21 January 2013 that the police were to re-open the expenses claims investigation involving MacShane.[65]
...
MacShane was re-admitted to the Labour Party in July 2012, but was then suspended again by the Labour Party on 2 November 2012 after a parliamentary committee found that he had submitted 19 false invoices for expenses that were "plainly intended to deceive".[6] Later that day, MacShane announced that he would be resigning from Parliament. He said: "I have decided for the sake of my wonderful constituency of Rotherham and my beloved Labour Party to resign as an MP by applying for the Chiltern Hundreds or as guided by the House authorities. I love the House of Commons and I hope by resigning I can serve by showing that MPs must take responsibility for their mistakes and accept the consequences of being in breach of the House rules".[58]
...
On 11 July 2013 the Crown Prosecution Service announced that MacShane would be charged with false accounting under the Theft Act 1968, involving the creation of £12,900 of fake receipts.[66] He continued to write columns for The Guardian, as well as appearing on television programmes relating to European affairs both in Britain and in other European countries. On 18 November 2013 he pleaded guilty to false accounting at the Old Bailey,[10] and on 23 December 2013 was jailed for six months.[11][67] He served his sentence in HM Prison Belmarsh and HM Prison Brixton, and subsequently by wearing an electronic tag.[68][69]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denis_MacShane

(reordered to make more chronological)

I'm not convinced he's in a place to talk about people's "contempt" for other politicians.

[okieinpain]

20. Didn't a Muslim carry out a terrorist

attack just before the election. I’m not surprised by the results at all.