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Yes, a very fair analysis rahrah.

I wouldn't be too sure about that party support for May *bob*. The tories are just better at hiding their differences than Labour, but Europe has widened an already large chasm within the party. Boris, from his comments over the weekend seems to be up to something, by trying to force action on article 50. I wouldn't be sure his ambitions to be party leader have not gone away either. Yes May would win an election today, but in two years? Labour won four council seats last week, two from the Tories and more interestingly, two from the SNP. Rahrah is right. As much as some may hate Corbyn, policy on education and fracking over the past couple of days are going for that middle ground, and Labour can do well from both those polices. Polls show two thirds of the electorate are against a return to grammar schools for example, and that nationalisation of the railways is a popular idea. This idea that a return to state investment in some areas and ownership in others is fundamentally bad is just nonsense. Most people didn't even know who Jeremy Corbyn was before he became leader. The media have been completely responsible for doing a hatchet job on him. And those problems with the PLP have never been about policy. Personally, I think Clive Lewis is the leader we need. He's on the left but would appeal to middle england. Jeremy gets into trouble on the things he cares most about - defense and foreign policy. Those are things that will lose an election. On domestic policy though, that pay gap has to close. People can not continue to be ripped off by corporations and private landlords etc. The tories have never been interested in doing anything about that.

May was not elected by party members. It never went to a second round election, because Leasedom stepped down. In the first round of Tory party elections, it is the MP's who vote, to narrow it down to two. Only then do the membership have a say. So May is were she is, chosend by a few hundred Tory MPs. No public mandate whasoever in ANY form. Before Miliband, Labour selected it's leaders in the following way. One third of the vote from MPs, One third from Affiliates (unions), one third from Members. It is only since Miliband that one member one vote has existed. Given that those changes were endorsed by both conference and the then NEC, it's a bit rich for those same people to now be calling for a return to the college system because they don't like what the changes they endorsed have delivered.

It might advice you'd be better taking Grok, then there would be no need for I or anyone else to call you out on your attitude would there?

I just think it's better to say nothing at all sometimes Robert, if one can't say something helpful. Assumptions can also be tricky. People are not equally resourceful. Sometimes it's better to be kind than judgemental.

Wow Elphinstone. Please forgive us for not understanding yours and Grok's inability to let people be. Get over yourselves. You don't have a divine right to tell people what to say, write or think, let alone to be rude about it.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/private-parking-tickets

Pretty sure they can't enforce it as it's not a parking fine.

Drugs taken in combination with others behave differently than on their own. This is why there is no use comparing those who deliberately cheat with combinations of drugs over those being perscribed single drugs for underlying conditions. Asthma, it has to be remembered, kills people. And athletes at that level are putting huge stress on their bodies. Personally, I trust the medical professionals who draw up the rules to make the right call on these issues.

The council leader is always drawn from the elected council. It has always been that way.

The project began under the previous Libdem Council so it's not just Labour councillors who are poor on this. Lambeth council are going much further and ignoring tenant/ leaseholder consultation altogether. The government has promised increased tenant/ leaseholder powers on the process and decisions made and I think the governments ruling on this is the start of that process. It's one thing to regenerate an area or estate, it's another when you lock out sitting tenants and leaseholders from the plans and benefits of that regeneration.

Did you actually read the OP Grok. Where does it say the OP hasn't tried to find a contact? She was simply asking for a heads up on the right person to go to, not asking for people to look up numbers for her. You really are an ass.

Was disaapointed at council leader Peter John's response to the decision on the news last night. On what planet do the council think it ok to not give leaseholders the market value of their homes?

I agree with you both. The centre ground is broadly where the electorate have always stood, or the swing vote that decides elections at least. The Libdems I feel, are going to struggle though, in the short term. More interesting to watch will be UKIP without Farage at the helm. Farage is bigger than UKIP, and a lot of UKIP voters were voting for him rather than the party. I can't personally see him keeping his oar out for long either. As for Labour and the Tories, I think they both have trouble ahead. May is going to struggle to keep her party together through Brexit as much as Corbyn is going to struggle to stay at the helm of Labour. And we have no way of knowing what the electorate are going to make of it all. President Trump is even looking like a distinct possibility now too. I half wonder as well, if this induced crisis over the EU may come to be a bigger crisis than the 2008 crash.

I think you are spot on Jenny. History always repeats and we never learn. UKIP and the SNP have been around for a long time. It's no accident that the swings to them comes in the aftermath of a huge financial crash. In turn, Cameron pampered to those sentiments to win the last election. And it can be argued that by not pampering to those sentiments, Corbyn will never win the next election. It's not reocket science.

DaveR dismissed a view as horseshit without offering any insight into why. He got the reposte he deserved for it. I don't understand why you are seeking to now make something out of it. You are over reacting. Really you are.

It's not like you LM to pick such frivolous fights. DaveR has shown no regard for the impact of this government's policies on the poorest before. I don't thnk Lordship has said anything out of turn.

There is also that saying that any ideology that fails to reign in it's extremes and excesses, becomes a corrupt one. That also is as true for the left as it is for the right.

To be fair Dave, every new government is a reaction to the last. So yes, the success of Blair was a reaction to Thatcher, just as the election of Corbyn as leader is a reaction to Blair. I still think and have said it many times, that the overton window doesn't and hasn't ever shifted much either way. The main parties still win elections by winning the centre ground on the whole. It's also why we get the parties and government we deserve, for better or worse. I also wouldn't call a comment like "No point in claiming advancement if much of your population has very poor [or no] accommodation or even not enough food." horseshit either. This is the reality of the impact of cuts made by this government, and some people really are suffering in ways I hope you never have to. I think most people rethink (or even thnk for the first time) their stance on politics Otta, during their twenties. It's easy to be idealistic and revolutionary when you are a student (and I've been there too), it's not so easy to be that when you have a family to raise and support. I'm just watching Dispatches on Momentum. It shows what I was saying about indvicuals and their links. But to be fair, the labour party will (and has) expelled anyone who shows support for the AWL. Momentum also has a rule that no person who is not a member of the Labour party can hold a position, however, Jill Mountford has been expelled, but still sits on the steering committee. This is the problem Momentum will have if they are seeking official affiliation to the labour party down the line (which I think they are). Thay will have to clean up their ranks. Some concerning issues around data collection there too.

That's an interesting perspective Otta, because for many of who lived through Thatcher, Blair and New Labour were saviours. That is, until the Iraq War, as you say. Just on Momentum. What do you know in reality about Momentum? I ask that because, as much as the media like to protray Momentum as some hard left top down organisation, it actually isn't. Local Momenuntum groups are self managing - there is no central office mantra in that orgaisation. There is a steering committee, but that's about it. On the whole, Momentum is a local campaigning affair, and most of the people who attend those meetings are people with campaign interests in local or trade union issues, the same issues you and I care about, housing, jobs, etc. Those people also knocked on doors for the Labour party to help get Sadiq elected etc. So there is a lot of nonsense written about Momentum, not based in any kind of reality. The problems seem to be with a few specific local Momentum groups (who are definitely behaving in a militant way) and with one or two specific steering group members, like Sam Tarry - who has a persona that is chilling at times. In other words, finding the hard left, or muppets within that is down to a few specific individuals. So the issue (or rather worry) there would be how close those individuals get to government. I tend to think that without Momentum, they would find another way anyway.

I think the last round of letters was sent two or three weeks ago? We had ours anyway.

Seconded nunun. No reason for not registering for the electoral register, and the council give plenty of oppurtunity to do so before they send someone out to your door.

Crossrail has cost a fortune but undoubtedly will be of huge benefit to London. HS2 will benefit who exactly? More commuters to London.