In a very unwelcome way, the huge lowering of standards in public life that he embodies, almost has me hankering after the days of Profumo and Thorpe. It almost feels old fashioned to point out that an MPs private life can leave them open to blackmail and corruption, and whilst I'm thankful that a person's sexuality can no longer be used aganst them, I'm frequently left flabbergasted by how teflon our PM is.

I read some of them. I haven't the time or the inclination to respond to them all.

Yes, I thought I'd used it incorrectly too, but apparently not.

I don't think you've asked me a question.

Indeed, as an Old Labour person I find it very worrying that the SWP disappeared at the same time as Momentum started up. I find the Trotsky takeover of my party as distressing as the Soft Tory takeover in the 90’s. My father, an active member, councillor many times over (twice right now) has been kicked out of the constituency committee (although as councilor he still has input) for daring to point out that supporting a known anti-semite was bad. Saying that, we stay in, we weathered the last storm and corrected the course.... slight over correction actually, but we can steer it back again only if we stay on the ship.

It's usually to do with sects or groups or be the opposite of religious but potato tomato etc.

See above for qu. Or not. Fill your boots. Or don't.

That's the main problem, blueangel. Look at us, even having this sort of discussions (it's uncomfortable and I feel sorry for us and for Pashosh too).
I would have never thought 10 years ago that we would need to "indulge" in this form of moral relativism so we can move forward. Post-second world war, post-cold war and during (still) European Union time. What a disappointment in a way....of course I know that ten years ago we in the East had a naivety and optimism that others will never understand. Anyway, I do believe that not only EU can change, but the way politics is done today can change. I'm sick and tired of this vulgar populism that was promoted by certain circles and started in certain places and has spread now like the plague.
What do you think about the Liberal Democrats, since you seem rather sad and disappointed too because of the way the Labour party has changed? Whom with you vote for? Is there a middle way? Does it make sense to take it into consideration?

Exactly. To my mind, Blair was an act of desperation to claim the centre ground and break the tory stronghold, and I'm still bloody glad the '97 GE went Labour's way. I'll always remember that night as I'd come off shift at 2.30am and my phone began ringing at 4am when Portillo lost his seat, first my mum, then my aunt, brother, cousins...all celebrating that seat win. I've always had a lot of time for old, traditional Labour but exposure to the SWP violence and threats as a trade union rep, completely turned me off. One of them tried to have me blackballed off the union, and I knew nothing about it until I was sat on the top table at the annual wage negotiation members meeting in front of a 3-400 colleagues. Thankfully, the members unanimously voted in my favour, but it was a very intimidating experience and he made sure I knew it was because he didn't approve of women being union reps. Even so, I still believe most Labour MPs are damned good people, but it concerns me deeply that the SWP are ardent Brexiters and endorsing Labour in this election. https://socialistworker.co.uk/art/49...rexit+deadlock

It's time for Labour to get their party back. I just hope to god they do it soon.

I firmly believe that plague is ending, particularly since the Austrian GE results. We just need to make sure it happens sooner rather than later.
I'm biased because I've been LD since '88 and was Liberal before that.

I started off in my mid teens looking into the Anti-Nazi League until I realised it was a front for the SWP (socialist worker's party). I knew I wanted zero tolerance on bigotry, equal rights, proportional representation and ring-fenced funding for the NHS. At the time, only the Liberals and then the LDs embodied that, but as with any political entity, there are good times and bad. The 2010 coalition with the Tories destroyed many good people in the LDs and largely destroyed the party. Labour will never let us get past the hike in tuition fees which was against the LDs election manifesto, but conveniently forget that Blair did exactly the same in '98 when he introduced tuition fees. They also forget to mention that the fees increase was based upon the findings of the Browne Review which was set up by the last Labour government, but the findings weren't published until after the 2010 GE. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Browne_Review

LD sources I spoke to at the time said the Tories wanted to increase fees to £16.5k but the LDs talked them down to £9k.

I'll happily be voting LD in this election because it's also been named as the strategic party to vote for to depose the Tories in my constituency. I believe a lot of new, young voters will vote Green, and there are a number of good independents worthy of consideration. I see a lot of gumpf from Momentum calling LDs 'yellow tories', but find that frankly pathetic. Both they and the tories have lost prominent, centrist MPs to the LDs in recent months.

Finally, I'm a very strong believer in the NHS and follow the analysis of the parties manifesto pledges reported in The Lancet (most respected medical journal in the UK). In both 2010 and 2015, the manifesto they most approved of was the LD one, which bucks the belief that Labour are the party of the NHS to some degree.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/l...642-3/fulltext
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/l...587-6/fulltext

To repeat again as you don’t seem to understand the situation. The allegations are coming from members of the Labour Party! It’s not a grand political conspiracy! These are lifelong Labour Party members and MPs leaving the party in droves because they feel threatened as they are Jewish. It has NOTHING to do with Boris Johnson, this problem came to the surface before he was even PM.

I find it utterly distasteful the way people are diminishing how serious this is. The way the member who has Jewish family members in the UK was spoken to was really quite shocking.

If the people of the United Kingdom thought it was serious, Labour would be unelectable. Labour isn't unelectable.

You can do the maths for yourself.

Labour is unelectable, but mainly for its business policies and non stance on Europe.

No, it's not confined only to religious groups or sects, but can apply to any sort of partisan/fanatical behaviour that discriminates against another group.

As for your question, I haven't expressed any opinions, but of course anyone's opinion is as valid as the next person's. It's how they express it that matters and how tolerant they are of other points of view and whether they can engage with them.

The member with whom you are corresponding has shown no evidence of sectarian fervor.

Indeed, judging by tone alone (since I have met neither of you), you are the one who comes across as the more fervid.

Funny how perception works, isn't it?

Yes, I thought so too. It's clear some don't people understand or care that antisemitism is very distressing, whether it's very casual and unthinking, or more deliberate.

Antisemitism is horrible. Nobody is arguing that it isn't.

But it isn't politically important in the context of the forthcoming election, which is the essence of this argument. How we feel about that is neither here nor there.

The letter in the original link makes the point best (a point that many people on here are arguing against),

“But antisemitism is central to a wider debate about the kind of country we want to be. To ignore it because Brexit looms larger is to declare that anti-Jewish prejudice is a price worth paying for a Labour government.”

If you don’t like Boris Johnson or the Conservative Party then that’s fine, but I implore people not to vote for Labour. Vote for the Lib Dem’s, vote for the Greens, vote for Lord Buckethead, but please don’t legitimise the current Labour Party.

Which means the Labour Party has the ability to sort itself out and is well aware of those issues.
On the distastefulness scale, I found the Conservatives and their love affairs with Ukip and the likes even more distateful.

I’m sorry to be blunt, but it doesn’t sound like you really know what you’re talking about. The Conservatives have never had “love affairs” (I presume you mean pacts) with UKIP. Additionally, the reason people continue to leave the Labour Party is precisely due to their inability to sort itself out regarding antisemitism under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership.

Watch the video in the link below. Listen to what he is saying. This is a lifelong Labour member and former Labour MP.

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/poli...-a4280816.html

Are all the "conservatives" that blind?

Why do you try so hard to deny that Tories have similar issues as Labour? All distasteful things equal, why would you vote for the conservatives?

Please try to focus on the Brexit deal and who do you want to regulate those things for the years to come.

Anyone who still describes themself as a "conservative" in the year 2019 must be.