What is happening to the Labour Party?

[Wandering Warrior]

My mother said the same to me when Thatcher was in power and she proved right by 12 months. I expect never to see a Labour government again. Corbyn is completely unelectable and is as pig headed as Shaun Wane!

[BriH]

I'm not renewing my membership.
Thinking of joining the LibDems. They are talking my kind of language.

[Wiganer Ted]

Corbyn is left wing.
One of his left wing policies is unilateral nuclear disarmament.
It has never been the policy of the Labour Party only its left wing members. Corbyn was a member of CND, don't know whether he still is but UND will soon be Labour's Policy under Corbyn.
If he does go with UND then he will reduce Labour to a party of protest not prospective Government.
The British people don't believe in unconditional surrender to an enemy. That would be Corbyn's only way if we were threatened by a nuclear armed power.

As for nationalising the railways. Network Rail are already nationalised. The train companies are investing £billions in new trains, money which polititions would never ever spend.
We have a 125mph mainline service on the East and West coast main lines. That is due to Gordon Brown telling the rail companies the main lines were to be upgraded to 140mph. The train companies like Virgin then bought 140mph trains, Virgin with the Pendelinos. Brown then said he wasn't going to spend sufficient money for a 140mph upgrade but 125mph. So that's why we have 140mph trains on 125mph tracks. Soley because useless politicians don't invest what they should on our railways.

Whatever is nationalised the polititions won't spend what they need to have the infrastructure we need.
Corbyn will nationalise what he can. We all know that.
No wonder everyone thinks he's unelectable.

[cpwigan]

Surely even Dave O realises the defence policy of Corbyn are far left.

Hopefully the Labour party will not split and the 'good members / MPS' can hang in until the Loony Left runs its course and repeats previous history of heavy election defeats.

The nation is irrelevant as long as Corbyn can attend his preaching to the converted meetings and he received pats on the back from his Loony Left disciples. I will not be voting in elections whilst Corbyn remains leader of the Labour Party and do not expect another Labour Government in my lifetime.

Anybody find it ironic Corbyn asking Labour to unite behind the biggest rebel in Lanbour Party history.

[Wiganer Ted]

Corbyn is now the leader, trouble is he hasn't a clue how to lead.
Where Labour go from here I've no idea.

[cpwigan]

I presume Corbyn simply does what McDonald and the other leftys want him to. The problem is he still has to be the front / the presentation and he is incapable of doing so. The leftys are gradually dismantling the rules so whenever Labour returns to sensible leadership the rules etc will take a decade just to unravel again. I will never see a Labour Government again in my lifetime.

A party RIGHTLY spent the best part of 3 decades squashing the loony left only for it to be allowed to resurface AGAIN. I wish Momentum and the Leftys would FO.

[fozzieskem]

I'm not renewing my membership.
Thinking of joining the LibDems. They are talking my kind of language.

I joined the libdems a few years back when the fool Miliband was talking nonsense for the labour party,they too talk my language.

As for Corbyn the question has been asked can you name a left wing policy he has come up with?,id say can you really name a coherant policy he has come up with i know i can't.

[Wiganer Ted]

I'm begining to think that the Labour Party will split.

When I don't know.
Maybe they'll go early to try and establish a new left of centre party.
They could wait for the Tory's to implode over Europe again.
This time the bust up will be for real. Those who are for the EU may well join up with Labour splitters and form a new Party trying to coax Lib Dems into a pro EU party with a commitment to take us back in the EU.

I just don't see a long term future for Labour with Corbyn as leader and his ideas in the next election manifesto.

[cpwigan]

The impression I get Ted is that there is no apetitie to split and the right (the split would come from them, the left never splits) are trying to keep Labour together until Corbyn and the leftys run their course. I see no gang of 4. The experienced cente/right wing Labour had their time AND are retired or in the Lords. I cannot see where the right has strong enough candidates.

[DaveO]

Corbyn is left wing.
One of his left wing policies is unilateral nuclear disarmament.
It has never been the policy of the Labour Party only its left wing members. Corbyn was a member of CND, don't know whether he still is but UND will soon be Labour's Policy under Corbyn.
If he does go with UND then he will reduce Labour to a party of protest not prospective Government.
The British people don't believe in unconditional surrender to an enemy. That would be Corbyn's only way if we were threatened by a nuclear armed power.

UND is not Labour party policy. He is in favour of it but it is not Labour party policy.

As for nationalising the railways. Network Rail are already nationalised.

Network Rail Ltd is a statutory corporation created as a "not for dividend" private company limited by guarantee; Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd was reported in the 2010 annual company report as 100%-owned by Network Rail Ltd. Network Rail Ltd. has no shareholders thus is not owned by anyone but it is subject to various official requirements and directions.

In other words it was a private company and did things like pay bonus to its directors (controversially I may add).

In 2014 a change occurred whereby it became a public sector organisation, answerable to parliament and with a ballooning £34bn debt now on the national balance sheet. Nothing to do with Brown.

Ask a member of the coalition govt did they nationalise Network Rail in 2014 and they will say "no" but one thing is certain, before that it was not nationalised.

It's worth remembering why it came into existence born out of Railtrack (from Wikipedia):

The Hatfield train crash on 17 October 2000 was a defining moment in the collapse of Railtrack. The immediate major repairs undertaken across the whole British rail network were estimated to have cost in the order of £580 million and Railtrack had no idea how many more 'Hatfields' were waiting to happen because it had lost considerable in-house engineering skill following the sale or closure of many of the engineering and maintenance functions of British Rail to external companies; nor did the company have any way of assessing the consequence of the speed restrictions it was ordering, which all but brought the railway network to a standstill.

The costs of modernising the West Coast Main Line were also spiralling. In 2001, Railtrack announced that, despite making a pre-tax profits before exceptional expenses of £199m, the £733m of costs and compensation paid out over the Hatfield crash had plunged Railtrack from profit into a loss of £534m, and it approached the government for funding, which it then used to pay a £137m dividend to its shareholders in May 2001.

Private companies running the railways are just SO good at it aren't they Ted? The asset stripping following privatisation directly led to the disaster.

The train companies are investing £billions in new trains, money which polititions would never ever spend.

What on earth do you mean? They invest billions of taxpayer money in trains because the government gives them billions in the rail subsidy.

We have a 125mph mainline service on the East and West coast main lines. That is due to Gordon Brown telling the rail companies the main lines were to be upgraded to 140mph. The train companies like Virgin then bought 140mph trains, Virgin with the Pendelinos. Brown then said he wasn't going to spend sufficient money for a 140mph upgrade but 125mph. So that's why we have 140mph trains on 125mph tracks. Soley because useless politicians don't invest what they should on our railways.

When the west coast mainline was being modernised that was under Railtrack - the privatised predecessor to Network Rail. That went well didn't it! You can't have it both ways.

As to rolling stock much of it is still ancient and just who do you think funds Branson and Virgin investment anyway? It is US the taxpayer with HUGE subsidies to private rail operators. Literally BILLIONS of pounds per year.

YOU and I are paying for Virgin's profits. Branson loves it and of course the East Coast main line reverted to public ownership when the previous operator failed and once it did it was the most punctual and efficient service on the entire network. Only be be sold off again due to Tory ideology in the face of all logic.

Whatever is nationalised the polititions won't spend what they need to have the infrastructure we need.
Corbyn will nationalise what he can. We all know that.
No wonder everyone thinks he's unelectable.

They will if they are as misinformed as you about railway privatisation but as said previously, polls show a consistent 60% in favour of rail nationalisation. Which is hardly surprising when the facts are presented.

You need to take the blinkers off and look at the facts. Privatisation has been a disaster for the taxpayer over the years. We have had it going on for 30 years now and with rail and power we have paid through the nose for it.