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The majority of people in many Labour supporting seats in the North of England are in favour of Brexit. The majority of people who actually voted Labour in thos

by pmyteh 7y ago

The majority of people in many Labour supporting seats in the North of England are in favour of Brexit. The majority of people who actually voted Labour in those seats are not. That's a subtle distinction, but it's hugely important to Labour's political decision-making.

mytailorisrich 7y ago
Many Labour supporters in those areas and the far left currently in control of the party do support Brexit. Even Corbyn is a life-long Brexiter. This is the very reason Labour is struggling to set out a clear policy on this issue: It is impossible to satisfy their supporters in London and their supporters in the North at the same time but they need to in order to hope to win a general election. A very telling example: Bolsover. 71% voted leave. MP is the infamous hard left Labour Dennis Skinner (MP there since 1970!), who is a Brexiter.
- pmyteh 7y ago
  Some do, but not the majority (in the leadership or the party). And the party activists (even the leftwing ones) are overwhelmingly remain. That's one of the reasons the votes at the party conference yesterday were so interesting: it was simultaneously a vote on Brexit policy (where most of the members are more remain than the NEC position) and a vote of confidence in Jeremy Corbyn (where most of the members are more supportive than the NEC!) It's not so much that Labour is finding it difficult to satisfy their supporters in different parts of the country (though that's a small sub-game), it's that MPs in leave seats fear that not leaving will turn over large chunks of the anti-system vote to the Brexit party. Both Bolsover and Skinner are hardcore leavers, though, that much is true. That doesn't change that the Labour membership is overwhelmingly remain, Labour voters are majority remain, and the majority of the leave vote was in Conservative parts of the south, not Labour parts of the North.
  - mytailorisrich 7y ago
    They are unelectable as long as communists control the party, IMO. Good.

by pmyteh 7y ago

mytailorisrich 7y ago

Many Labour supporters in those areas and the far left currently in control of the party do support Brexit. Even Corbyn is a life-long Brexiter. This is the very reason Labour is struggling to set out a clear policy on this issue: It is impossible to satisfy their supporters in London and their supporters in the North at the same time but they need to in order to hope to win a general election. A very telling example: Bolsover. 71% voted leave. MP is the infamous hard left Labour Dennis Skinner (MP there since 1970!), who is a Brexiter.

pmyteh 7y ago
Some do, but not the majority (in the leadership or the party). And the party activists (even the leftwing ones) are overwhelmingly remain. That's one of the reasons the votes at the party conference yesterday were so interesting: it was simultaneously a vote on Brexit policy (where most of the members are more remain than the NEC position) and a vote of confidence in Jeremy Corbyn (where most of the members are more supportive than the NEC!) It's not so much that Labour is finding it difficult to satisfy their supporters in different parts of the country (though that's a small sub-game), it's that MPs in leave seats fear that not leaving will turn over large chunks of the anti-system vote to the Brexit party. Both Bolsover and Skinner are hardcore leavers, though, that much is true. That doesn't change that the Labour membership is overwhelmingly remain, Labour voters are majority remain, and the majority of the leave vote was in Conservative parts of the south, not Labour parts of the North.
- mytailorisrich 7y ago
  They are unelectable as long as communists control the party, IMO. Good.