Reply to: !Right Honourable anymore

[EternalOptimist]

I don't think they go down on one knee. The last person to do that was Paul McCartney

[NickFitz]

Waiting for one about Cameron

Ben Okri salutes Jeremy Corbyn with poem called A New Dream of Politics | Books | The Guardian

Christ on a crutch

[darmstadt]

Waiting for one about Cameron

Ben Okri salutes Jeremy Corbyn with poem called A New Dream of Politics | Books | The Guardian

They say there is only one way for politics.
That it looks with hard eyes at the hard world
And shapes it with a ruler’s edge,
Measuring what is possible against
Acclaim, support, and votes.

They say there is only one way to dream
For the people, to give them not what they need
But food for their fears.
We measure the deeds of politicians
By their time in power.

But in ancient times they had another way.
They measured greatness by the gold
Of contentment, by the enduring arts,
The laughter at the hearths,
The length of silence when the bards
Told of what was done by those who
Had the courage to make their lands
Happy, away from war, spreading justice
And fostering health,
The most precious of the arts
Of governance.

But we live in times that have lost
This tough art of dreaming
The best for its people,
Or so we are told by cynics
And doomsayers who see the end
Of time in blood-red moons.

Always when least expected an unexpected
Figure rises when dreams here have
Become like ashes. But when the light
Is woken in our hearts after the long
Sleep, they wonder if it is a fable.

Can we still seek the lost angels
Of our better natures?
Can we still wish and will
For poverty’s death and a newer way
To undo war, and find peace in the labyrinth
Of the Middle East, and prosperity
In Africa as the true way
To end the feared tide of immigration?

We dream of a new politics
That will renew the world
Under their weary suspicious gaze.
There’s always a new way,
A better way that’s not been tried before.

[NickFitz]

JC seems to have gone one further by not turning up at all, when he could have actually gone through the ordeal with his principles intact. Why has chosen to operate this way who knows. And did his acolytes publicise to make political capital, of did the press?

As already pointed out, the fact that he didn't go along the other day means nothing. Cameron was admitted to the Privy Council in December 2005, but didn't bother attending and being sworn in until March 2006. It's not a matter of any urgency. It's just the Tory Press hooting and bellowing because they have nothing substantive to say against Corbyn.

[Zero Liability]

They are slightly caught out by him. If they ignore him or encourage him in the hope that labour will implode and it backfires there will be hell to pay. Instead the Tories are simply treating him for what he is - a British hating socialist from a bygone era. I very much doubt they are at all worried about him as they now have the centre of the political spectrum all to themselves.

Of course if UKIP were to get rid of farage and put a working class brit loving socialist in charge things might be different.This is the one thing that is holding back UKIP from true electoral success - nicktyrone.com

Doubt it, I've not seen a particular love of socialism amongst UKIP voters.

As for Corbyn, he strikes me as just another creature of career politics, just outside of the usual Westminster circles. He is no more "connected" to the "working class" than was Miliband.

[d000hg]

You don't really see anything beyond the binary do you. His actions are part of his anti britishness whereas clearly most of the Tories you mention were probably to busy doing something more important like partying in Pimlico rather than wanting to make a political point.

Wasn't JC also doing something else, rather than just not going?

I'm interested how you define "Britishness" though?


http://youtu.be/WITlM2pY_a4?t=46

[NotAllThere]

All this media hounding of Corbyn seems to be last first resort tactics of Tories and the corporate that support Tories to somehow stop Corbyn assuming power. Its obvious they are running scared of his popularity and his genuine politics. Its very exciting and I cannot wait for the next elections.

FTFY

The General Election is a very long way away, therefore I think this anti-Corbyn that we're seeing is not aimed at the general public. Probably it is designed to encourage unhappy Labour MPs to cause trouble, and also fan the flames of the left's tendency for in-fighting.

[unixman]

According to Private Eye, quite a few MPs have done the same thing because, like JC, they do not want to kneel in front of Her Maj for political reasons. Actually they genuflect rather than kneel, according to Portillo on Thursday (go down on one knee).

Apparently Her Maj is "quite unfussed" by this, and the standard in these situations is for the MP to turn up with a walking stick and say he can't kneel due to bad knees or physical infirmity. This is accepted by one and all and the ceremony goes ahead.

JC seems to have gone one further by not turning up at all, when he could have actually gone through the ordeal with his principles intact. Why has chosen to operate this way who knows. And did his acolytes publicise to make political capital, of did the press?

[Jog On]

They are slightly caught out by him. If they ignore him or encourage him in the hope that labour will implode and it backfires there will be hell to pay. Instead the Tories are simply treating him for what he is - a British hating socialist from a bygone era. I very much doubt they are at all worried about him as they now have the centre of the political spectrum all to themselves.

Of course if UKIP were to get rid of farage and put a working class brit loving socialist in charge things might be different.This is the one thing that is holding back UKIP from true electoral success - nicktyrone.com

Ever so slightly - they know exactly what they're doing and are not riled at all

[VectraMan]

Of course if UKIP were to get rid of farage and put a working class brit loving socialist in charge things might be different.This is the one thing that is holding back UKIP from true electoral success - nicktyrone.com

Farage must be distraught that someone else is doing the everyman, honest, straight talking, non-political elite thing much better than he ever could.

Dismissing Corbyn as a no-hoper strikes me as more than a little dangerous. The best reason not to support him is that he really doesn't appear to be up to the job, even more than the last bloke.

[DodgyAgent]

Same here. They really do appear genuinely in quite a flap over him.

They are slightly caught out by him. If they ignore him or encourage him in the hope that labour will implode and it backfires there will be hell to pay. Instead the Tories are simply treating him for what he is - a British hating socialist from a bygone era. I very much doubt they are at all worried about him as they now have the centre of the political spectrum all to themselves.

Of course if UKIP were to get rid of farage and put a working class brit loving socialist in charge things might be different.This is the one thing that is holding back UKIP from true electoral success - nicktyrone.com

[Jog On]

All this media hounding of Corbyn seems to be last resort tactics of Tories and the corporate that support Tories to somehow stop Corbyn assuming power. Its obvious they are running scared of his popularity and his genuine politics. Its very exciting and I cannot wait for the next elections.

Same here. They really do appear genuinely in quite a flap over him.

[MrMarkyMark]

to somehow stop Corbyn assuming power.

Almost fell off my chair

[fullyautomatix]

All this media hounding of Corbyn seems to be last resort tactics of Tories and the corporate that support Tories to somehow stop Corbyn assuming power. Its obvious they are running scared of his popularity and his genuine politics. Its very exciting and I cannot wait for the next elections.

[AtW]

When Cameron became Leader of the Opposition in 2005, he didn't bother going along to join the Privy Council for over three months. I don't remember the Press describing that as a snub

Yes, but he'd already joined the Piggy Council whilst in Uni ...