Last week never happened

[Ossian]

Bandwagons usually make me sceptical, but I've been taking the trouble to listen to Lisa Nandy (by some distance my preferred candidate for the leadership) since a couple of weeks before the election. I'm not much for shouters and blusterers; more drawn to those of a quieter disposition.

In her usual analytical way she calmly dissected Johnson's amended Brexit plan and presented it as an attachment to a tweet. Whether you agree or dispute her analysis is obviously a matter of opinion: what I found revealing was the tone of many of the responses - some thinly veiled, some less so - from ostensibly Labour supporters who clearly believe that what happened last Thursday was absolutely not of their making. As an aside, a number of the comments were also totally ill-informed.

A long time in politics...

It seems that nothing will placate these people in their search for ideological purity; certainly nothing as trivial as a northern MP who actually managed to hold onto her seat. Anyone with an inclination towards weighing complex issues in the balance; reconciling conflicting arguments; setting aside their own instincts in order to represent those of their constituents; concessions and compromise, clearly isn't the answer they're looking for. All of those are just different forms of treachery. 

I'm at a loss; seriously. I have no idea how this ends, or even where it goes next.

[baggy1]

I think Oss that the only action people like you and me can do is to join the Labour party to try and get a vote on some sane approach. £4.30 a month gives us a vote and means we can try and influence the future of the party and eventually the country.

[Babel]

We now live in The World Boris Will Make. What that entails is still unclear; what is certain is that British politics momentarily has a "unipole" around which everything else orbits, but which will become unstable. Being ready for that instability is essential.

Two concrete things that need to happen in the meantime are 1) the election of compatible leaders of the Labour and Libdems, and 2) a realisation that a non-aggression pact is agreed in specific constituencies leading up to the next election (Back to the '96 Future).

[Sotv]

I think Oss that the only action people like you and me can do is to join the Labour party to try and get a vote on some sane approach. £4.30 a month gives us a vote and means we can try and influence the future of the party and eventually the country.

You lost the party to leftist entryism, moderates joining back en masse seems a sensible response but I’m not sure they have the same commitment to the cause as their momentum counterparts

[baggy1]

I think Oss that the only action people like you and me can do is to join the Labour party to try and get a vote on some sane approach. £4.30 a month gives us a vote and means we can try and influence the future of the party and eventually the country.

You lost the party to leftist entryism, moderates joining back en masse seems a sensible response but I’m not sure they have the same commitment to the cause as their momentum counterparts

I agree but I can’t sit back and let it happen. I’ve joined with the hope that enough others like me do the same to try and make a difference. Sitting on my arse moaning is not going to make things better.