Randomman44 is the only known candidate for Lib Dem leader.
Randomman44 is expected to be crowned as Liberal Democrat Leader with no one declaring their candidacy to stand against him. Far from his promise “ to prove to the British public that Labour’s infighting has led to an incompetent opposition. “ it appears even before officially being crowned as Leader there has been a hemorrhage from those on the right of the Lib Dems to a new party called the coalition. Many political pundits expect Randomman44 to take the party towards the left and this can be seen by his declaration of war on the Libertarians in his opening pitch for the leadership, a stark change in direction from his predecessor who signed an endorsement deal with the LPUK and obtained a coalition agreement.
Amongst the defectors was former Prime Minister and Lib Dem grandee /u/TheNoHeart whose defection will no doubt come a blow. TheNoHeart’s resignation helped to topple Wagbo’s government alongside other resignations and having such a respected and trusted voice in the party leave will hurt. TheNoHeart ran an active campaign in Birmingham narrowly seeing out his Libertarian challenger but with his departure and a decline in the Lib Dem vote share all but inevitable it is plausible that the Lib Dems could lose this seat.
The biggest loss however was perhaps Deputy Leader /u/sapphirework who was a rising star in the Liberal Democrats on the political scene. She served as Justice spokesperson for the Lib Dems and was an active voice in the House of Commons and the press. There is no doubt her loss will be felt in Lib Dem HQ. This means the Liberal Democrats are in disarray having to elect a leader and a Deputy Leader simultaneously. The Lib Dems appointed temporary replacements until the elections go ahead.
/u/model-mili also left the party, despite only a short stint in the party, model-mili’s defection was a big win for the Lib Dems but is now short lived as he departs to join the coalition. Model-mili’s presence could have helped the Lib Dems broaden their appeal
The coalition will be headed by Brookheimer and has attracted big ticket names such as former leader of the Labour Party /u/Nukemaus and the outgoing Prime Minister, /u/Yukub. Most of the members in it are experienced with several ex leaders of major parties being members, including four former Prime Ministers. The party is positioning themselves between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats and will no doubt damage both parties taking active members from both parties.
This spells a tumultuous start for Randomman44’s Leadership and tough times ahead from the Lib Dems who have lost several active members including their former Leader who went to be speaker, two former Prime Ministers and their Deputy Leader.
A new trend on social media app ‘TikTok’ has swept the youth of the nation in the wake of the massive 70% off sale at Potenhams. The trend involves placing a pot on each of your hands and doing a dance from Vantage Interactive’s hit battle royale game ‘Age of Centuries’ known as the ‘Victory Pot’.
The dance – a common pose after winning a round – was common prior to the Potenhams sale. Taking advantage of the significantly reduced prices, however, TikTok users sought to expand on the fad and take it to a whole new level.
Pot Central Inc CEO, Jack Jayson, made a public statement on the success of the sale at Potenhams previously and reversed the significant sale. However, the trend appears to have taken hold regardless.
Pot Central Inc, the owners of Potenhams, have declined to comment on the trend specifically, and though they insist that their supply chain is up to the task they admit that “it is unlikely the sale will return to the levels we originally set it at.”
Free ports have been a crucial part of the Government’s policy to spur economic growth. But what exactly are free ports and why do they promise to revitalize the British economy? With the UK’s departure from the European Union and intention to negotiate Free Trade Agreements with various countries, it could just be that free ports are the key to unlocking the full potential of international commerce.
So first off, free ports to put it simply are an area of the country where various goods can be brought in tax-free and stored, processed, manufactured, and shipped out again with tariffs. These goods are only taxed when they enter the domestic economy or they are shipped aboard again. Typically free ports also include additional incentive packages such as lower taxes and lighter regulations.
Free ports have been used across the globe with great success. The World Bank estimates that there are over 4,000 free ports with an economic output of tens of billions. The chief lure of free ports for companies is increased potential for manufacturing and cheaper imports due to reduced duty and paperwork costs. The implementation of free port policy holds the potential to bring back business and create jobs for the nation.
Differing sources have estimated the economic benefits that free ports could bring. The Centre for Policy Studies models that new free ports could create up to 86,000 net jobs. Some studies such as a report from the construction firm Mace have been even more optimistic putting the number of new jobs created at 150,000 and add 9 billion dollars to the British economy.
A strategy of targeted free ports can bring jobs to disadvantaged areas and bring back jobs to communities that have lost jobs. It’s not simply the free port but a policy of the business-friendly government and overall crafted incentives that will allow companies to flourish. This government certainly has the ability to deliver for people in these communities and harness the full range of options brought by Brexit.
Secretary of State for International Trade Brain had this to say: “I’m an enthusiastic supporter of freeports, and am quite glad to be serving in a government that plans to select 10 across the United Kingdom. Specifically, we can help rebuild manufacturing sectors all across the UK (but particularly in the North, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland) as a way to revitalise commerce in areas, or fan the fires of expanding industrialism in our cities. This could be the difference of thousands of jobs!”
The new Labour Leader Lily-irl has a tough fight to lead their party through this term and set them up for success next election.
After the historic results on election night, there were bound to be major shakeups inside the Labour party. With hours of shock and defeat for the Labour Party which put them back to the third largest party in the Commons, a party leader had resigned paving the way for the leadership race. The race off front runner lily cemented her position as her favorite and won the election. Now with the formation of a Burple government and Labour limping back into Millbank Tower as Official Opposition albeit this time with the DRF, the Telegraph sat down with the newly appointed Labour head Lily to discuss the future of their party and the country.
Tres Commas: First off congrats on your win. Where do you plan to take the party to recover what can be coined as disappointing results? And for what purpose or main goal did the party elect you for?
Lily: Thank you very much, it’s a real honour to have been elected as the next leader of the Labour Party. You’re right, we lost three seats at the last general election, which for a party that had the lead in the polls during the term was certainly a disappointing result. I don’t think that the losses were as a result of the party membership, the organisers, the candidates, or the campaigners. Everyone worked incredibly hard throughout the election and I was very proud of all of our candidates, regardless of the results. Our primary issue, I feel, was delivering a message that voters could engage with. We presented a manifesto that had a lot of individually good policies, but I don’t think that we managed to really tie them together and present a vision for a better Britain. I want to move the party towards fixing that issue. We need to communicate clearly and effectively with the populace how their lives will change for the better under a Labour government. Obviously I can’t read minds so I can’t tell you exactly why people cast their ballots for me, but one of the strengths that I think I bring is my experience as a former leader and a veteran of the Sunrise Coalition. I will serve my party as long as it needs me, but I think that it’s fairly widely known that I ran for leader to fix the issues that urgently needed fixing in the party, rather than out of personal ambition to be leader. Which I do have, of course, this is my dream job. But it wasn’t my primary motivator.
Tres Commas: So Labour recently entered into OO as Burple formed. What’s your reaction to the govt and what does it mean for the country?
Lily: What Blurple means is an absolute decimation of the welfare state in this country. It means public services coming under attack like never before. We’ve already seen what a Conservative-LPUK budget would look like back in January. That budget underfunded our vital public services – and you don’t need to take my word for it. Debating the March budget, Sir tommy2boys said:
funding areas that the LPUK underfunded is the right decision
It’s clear to see that the Conservatives know exactly what they’re doing by entering this government. Abandoning the thin veneer of “compassionate conservatism” and one-nation moderation, they have capitulated to a far-right hell-bent on gutting our public services. I’m reliably informed that the Government intends on re-introducing the prescription charges that the Sunrise government abolished and the last two Conservative governments declined to re-introduce. The hypocrisy is simply astounding. It was a Classical Liberal Health Secretary who abolished the prescription charges. To see the party that they merged into turn around and back this is a slap in the face to the former members of that party, not to mention the nation. I’m worried, to be honest. I’m worried for the future under this Government.
Tres Commas: Also you have partnered with the DRF which has seen by some as weakness once you had numbers for OO even without them. So why exactly did you choose to coalition with the DRF and why are they the right choice to be your partners especially given some of their anti-monarchy views?
Lily: We entered coalition negotiations with the DRF before it was announced that the Blurple government was going to form. It was necessary because we were faced with the potential of an LPUK opposition. As this coalition agreement makes clear, they would not have been able to properly oppose a Conservative-led government, with or without the moderating influence of the Liberal Democrats.
It’s true the DRF are anti-monarchy. Some of Labour’s members are republican, some are monarchists. But regardless, we have a great deal in common with the DRF. We are committed to listening to and respecting the devolved Parliaments, despite the constant Conservative attempts to wreck a referendum on Welsh justice devolution. We are committed to empowering local government and better allowing the citizens of the United Kingdom to engage with their governments, through backing the implementation of the Lords report into local government in England, which the Tories refused to back. We are committed to replacing the archaic and unaccountable House of Lords with an elected body that provides representation to the regions of the UK. And while Labour aren’t united on the monarchy, we all recognize the importance of ensuring the democratic legitimacy of our Head of State, which is why we agree that a referendum on the status of the monarchy. The DRF are too big a force in British politics to deny that there is mainstream calls for republicanism, and we must listen to the citizens. That’s what sets us apart from the Conservatives – we listen. And the DRF shares that commitment.
Tres Commas: You mentioned that you think Labour failure in this election can be traced to poor message and vision. However many including former chairman Poot have a interview in which he highlighted the failures of Labour leadership including which you were part of to do election prep and rushing the manifesto and general lack of motivation. So ultimately doesn’t this lack of vision come from that poor leadership? What to do you say to many like Poot who believe Labour leadership failed them and how will you work to fix that considering that you were part of the leadership team that was in this ordeal?
Lily: I believe Poot and others who echo his thoughts have valid concerns. It would be foolish and arrogant to dismiss them out of hand. I’m not sure general lack of motivation is quite the issue – I think it was more aimlessness and demoralisation, which while similar have important differences. It’s just plain wrong to say that Labour members weren’t motivated – once the general election campaign got underway, I think that we ran a good campaign, and that was down to the motivation and hard work of our candidates. But I do agree that there is aimlessness and demoralisation. We were beset with resignations and scandal, and we’d dropped to third in the polls. We didn’t have a clear idea of where we were going. I think that is the main factor behind the issues that we were facing. We know how to fix that and we know how to get back on track. And while I haven’t been in leadership for very long, I think there’s encouraging signs.
I was elected as the Deputy Leader following the resignations of ThePootisPower and Youmaton. And I’d be a hypocrite if I denied that I could’ve done better. Of course I could’ve done better, I can always do better. But I worked incredibly hard in the run-up to the election and I continue to work as hard as I can as the leader. I think most in the party would agree that I put in my fair share of effort towards election preparation. I will continue to work hard as the leader of the Labour Party to get us back on the right course.
Tres Commas: Now everyone agrees Labour needs a way back, what is your plan to do so and do you have any party reforms to help in that climb? For example backbencher councils and invovling more members in policy creation have been mentioned. Will you take the party more to the left or center after this election after seeing the voters back the tories and lpuk on a centre right platform?
Some including certain persons in your own party have said that you are the right choice for the leader but need to train a DL to take over after next election so the party has strong and stable future leadership. Do you accept that notion and do you anyone in mind for that role?
Lily: The internal structure of the party needs a number of reforms, as I believe that as it stands the party is simply over-modularised, if that makes sense? At present, policy was meant to be developed in subgroups of the shadow cabinet where the relevant shadow secretaries could discuss policy. I think that approach, while promising when it was implemented, ultimately isn’t the right one for our party to take. It led to policy that seemed disconnected and sidelined backbenchers from contributing to policy discussions. And while I don’t want to attack our previous strategy too much, it’s clear we need to be having these frank conversations about how our party operates. Instead, I want to open up policy development to the membership as a whole, and ensure that anyone who wants to contribute in an area – be it policy, legislation, or press – is able to and has access to the resources to succeed at doing so. Archism_ has already moved amendments to the party constitution and I plan on proposing more to eliminate bureaucracy and promote an open and transparent party.
I disagree with the notion that the Conservatives and the LPUK are going to govern on a centre right platform. From what I’ve heard about their coalition agreement, they’re looking to institute many policies that can’t be attributed to any coalition with the label of ‘centre’ anything. They are set to re-introduce prescription charges, they are set to slash the funding for universal childcare. But to answer your primary question about what direction I’ll take the party in, I don’t really think it’s a question of left vs centre, I think it’s more a question of firmly articulating where we are. That’s where we struggled at the election, we presented policies with no easily definable platform. But I reiterate that Labour is a broad tent on the left wing. We have social democrats and democratic socialists. While we disagree on some of the implementation details, we’re united in backing a better, more equitable Britain and rejecting the regressive austerity of the right.
As I’ve said, I see it as my responsibility to steady the ship as the leader. Obviously I can’t stay on indefinitely, and I want the next leader to have the experience to effectively lead the party after I step down. It would be wrong for me to endorse a candidate in the deputy leadership election, as that’s a decision for the party at large to make, not me. But I think that we have a wealth of talent, and there’s many members who could, if given leadership experience, be incredibly successful Labour leaders. I’m confident when it’s my time to go we will be left in safe hands.
Tres Commas: There has been an ever growing public spat between your press office and members of the press. Your press office has made several incendiary comments such as labeling certain organizations as “propaganda “ and the Westminster Correspondents Association has called Labour out as being anti-press. Why do you think Labour has this issue and will you bring any reforms to your press office? Will you also apologize on behalf of your press office as the new leader and what can the press expect from Labour press office under you?
Lily: I think that there is certainly an impression among the press that the Labour Party is opposed to them. I regret that impression. Labour fully back a free press as vital to our democracy. I understand that the ‘spat’ has somewhat intensified since the appointment of a new Press Officer. I don’t put the blame on Geordie; it’s an incredibly high pressure job and he’s a new Press Officer. As a former Press Officer and Director of Communications in the Sunrise government, I certainly appreciate how difficult the job can be for a new appointee. It’s something that, with more time and experience, becomes less and less of an issue. In the interim, I do agree that there needs to be something done to dispel the false notion that Labour are anti-press. I think re-orienting the role of the press office slightly has done this, with Geordie taking a greater focus on press production and the leadership assisting with answering questions from the press. I think we’re certainly moving in a more positive direction in that regard and I feel that Labour’s relationship with the press will continue to improve.
Tres Commas: Now your press officer hasn’t backed down from attack the press. Most recently he attacked the Sun. Now in a interview Poot called him “a dead man walking” and many other press outlets have said its time for him to go. In your opinion that is he in the right? And is it time for him to go?
Lily: With all due respect to Poot, I don’t think he’s the best judge of our internal party affairs at the minute. Geordie expressed a fairly reasonable opinion that he had – that sensationalism in the press poses a real threat to accurate reporting. That it changes the incentive of the press from reporting the facts and holding parties to account to creating the most outrage, drama, and scandal. Poot, in fact, agreed with him. He expressed a reasonable opinion. While it’s not his or my place to dictate to the press what they can and can’t report, I certainly don’t think that his op-ed is a reason to sack him.
Tres Commas: Now going into this term other than opposing the government, what will your legislative priorities?
Lily: Labour has a number of legislative priorities that I am excited to be pursuing this term. Our priorities will focus on improving Britons’ lives in the workplace, in their communities, and in their nation. We will legislate to restore the efficacy of trade unions to properly advocate for their workers by proposing a bill to re-introduce the rights stripped from them by the Trade Union Ballot Funding Requirements Act 2019. We will legislate to abolish all fees for changing the name and gender marker on official documentation for transgender Britons. We will work with other parties to draft a bill implementing the recommendations of the House of Lords inquiry into local government in England. We will continue to support our bill on Welsh justice devolution that is currently in the House of Commons. We will legislate to end the archaic and outdated House of Lords and replace it with an elected chamber that ensures proper representation for all of the regions of the United Kingdom.
The Labour Party has an exciting agenda that we will pursue in Parliament and I’m looking forward to having our bills read.
The Shadow Secretary of State for Environment Kate Kwahena was convicted of an assault on a police constable at the City of London Magistrates Court today.
The Shadow Cabinet Minister was arrested during the Nature Rebellion protests where Green Party co-leader HKNorman was also arrested. They were convicted of criminal damage, not vandalism as reported yesterday, and fined £1500 after graffiting Winston Churchill’s statue.
Today at a trial at the City of London Magistrates Court, Kwahena pled guilty to the charge and was sentenced to do 80 hours unpaid work, alongside being prohibited from attending any protests linked to Nature Revolution for the next five months.
Kwahena admitted that she struck a police officer who had slammed her to the ground during the protest. This happened shortly after the Lord Chancellor /u/Vitiating was egged and the police converged on the protest to ensure his safe passage through the affected area.
In the closing statement, the Judge said: “I understand there were mitigating circumstances which caused you to come quick to anger. I can also see that as an MP and an upstanding member of society that you are unlikely to offend again.
“However as an MP, you are meant to be someone that people look up to in society. That means you cannot get away with striking a police officer, no matter the circumstances in which it happened.
“I also believe that if you cannot control your temper and impulses when attending a protest that it should be some time before you return to one. After this prohibition order has ended, I ask that you consider this before returning to one as if you end up back in this court on the same charge, the judge will not look on this so kindly.
Merely days ago the Nature Revolution movement delivered the following ultimatum to parliament.
“To save our planet, we demand that the following policies are immediately enacted:
Net Zero to be met by 2025
An immediate ban on diesel cars
Only two flights per person a year.
An Environmental Citizens Assembly that will hold the government to account on matters of the environment.
The end of nuclear energy and the removal of nuclear weaponry in the United Kingdom by 2030.”
The sheer absurdity of these proposals becomes clear the moment one is to examine the statistics behind them. As the latest round of arrests shows there are potentially thousands willing to go along with them and carry out acts of violence. The shadow cabinet included.
The seemingly most insane of the proposals is Net-Zero by 2025. 25 years earlier than most scientific recommendations. The proposal would force us to axe 20% of our emissions every year. The Blair government’s 20% pledge shows us that such a feat is not within the realm of reality. Even if such a reduction was achievable the costs of it would far outweigh any benefits. The scale of emission reductions required would equal the emissions of the entire business sector.
There are 39 million registered vehicles in Britain as of the writing of this article, about 10% of them are electric. Were the government to ban every single fossil-fuel vehicle this instant about 35 million vehicles would have to be replaced overnight. To put this number in perspective all manufacturers in the United Kingdom roughly 1.3 million passenger vehicles a year. To replace even a fraction of these automobiles one would have to import millions of vehicles, spiking CO2 emissions and exacerbating the climate crisis. More harrowingly though even the combined US and EU car production would be insufficient to replace these vehicles, especially not if hybrid and low-emission cars were to be banned as per the original demand.
If not cars then what? One might be inclined to ask. Our public transit and rail networks cannot tackle the quadrupling of passengers overnight even with billions being thrown at them. While flights would be restricted to 2 flights per person per year so any hope of commuting by air is nothing more than a pipe dream. Millions of people would suddenly find themselves confined to their towns and villages as our delicate transport network would face paralysis never before seen.
Most worryingly of all the phaseout of nuclear power and fossil fuels would leave Britain with at best a third of its current electricity generation, thus forcing authorities to ration electricity in a manner eerily reminiscent of the Three Day Week. Except that this time it would take years if not decades to overhaul the power grid to the NR’s liking.
All the while Britain’s enemies would have an incredibly easy time subverting our interests as the NR’s demands see the vast majority of MoD vehicles mothballed or scrapped including most combat vessels and Trident.
The drop in quality of life brought about by the fulfillment of this dictate would be an apocalypse of its own. Millions of people including children would go without food as the draconian restrictions would shrink the food supply to unsustainable levels. Electricity would become a prized commodity or perhaps even a thing of the past. Ailments once curable would become the new grim reaper as the NHS would lack the funds and medication required. Any semblance of civil rights and freedom would have to be crushed by an Orwellian state to impose this sort of misery upon us.
All in all the policy peddled by the Nature Revolution movement would at the least be as bad as the climate change they are trying to protect and at worst would force biblical amounts of chaos and destruction upon the United Kingdom and yet we have seen elected politicians at least partly embrace these destructive policies…
*This article was written by the Events team and published on request*
The Co-Leader of the Green Party HKNorman was fined £1500 and ordered to clean up Winston Churchill’s statue after being found Guilty of Vandalism during yesterday’s Nature Revolution protests.
Following their arrest yesterday, HKNorman pleaded Not Guilty at the City of London Magistrates Court to the charge of vandalism.
The prosecution produced mobile phone footage that was uploaded to social media website Twitter showing HKNorman graffiting the statue of Winston Churchill before being grabbed by two members of the Met Police and swiftly being arrested.
HKNorman’s defence stated that the evidence was not clear enough to show it was the Co-Leader of the Green Party committing the offence.
The Judge found that HKNorman was guilty of vandalism and handed £1500 fine plus an order to clean the statue or pay the additional costs. He expressed his disappointment in the former MP stating “A leader of a political party should hold themselves with dignity and decorum.”
“You let yourself and your party down by committing such a childish act in a protest which was meant to be about the environment.
“I hope you will learn from this and that you will think twice before committing such an act again.”
Labour Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment Kate Kawhena was also arrested during the protest and released on bail during the evening. In a comment, the Met Police confirmed this was the case and that she is being investigated for aggravated assault.
After the polls closed on election night the sun dawned on a new era of politics in Britain. The composition of Westminister has been dramatically transformed in a way unseen in over 100 years. In historic fashion, voters choose to support the LPUK, allowing them to break the Tory-Labour duopoly that has ruled the nation for decades in what is a major coup for the Labour party. The LPUK led by long-time leader Friedmantie19 who recently marked a milestone of 1,000 days as party leader to make him the longest-serving party leader in recent memory. This was no doubt a seismic shift in British politics marking a change in the electorate who choose to back a center-right majority over a falling Labour.
Part of the blame does fall onto Labour themselves, they failed to capitalize on gains this term, saw a rise of defection and falling activity, and in the leadup to the election was hammered by a jumbled manifesto and disjointed election strategy. Political pundits across the spectrum criticized Labour and right-wing papers like the Sun ran wild with Labour’s terribly rolled out economic policies. However, the other side of the coin for this election’s results lays at the feet of the LPUK Party and its leader Friedmantie19 who has led the party to on of the greatest comebacks in British political history. After the last election, the LPUK Party seemed in crisis. The Tories left the LPUK in favor of the Liberal Democrats and the Libertarian party was isolated from all allies as they went into UO.
The turning point came when was the VONC on the Clegg government. As the dusted settled on the Clegg government the LPUK picked up steam. They began pushing out legislation, working in the press, and increasing their activity across the abroad. They had a new message: The LPUK presented a consistent front of activity in the press and in the Commons. Introducing motions on foreign policy in defending human rights, backing reforms, and all backed by a robust LPUK Press Office. As the General Election approached the party prepared for what might be the most important election in a generation. The polls through the term had shown record-breaking polling heights for the LPUK. The LPUK has climbed from a distant third place in the lower single digits all the way up and breaking thee 20 point mark long considered to the domain of the big 2 parties. The most recent polls released on the eve of the election showed that the LPUK had displaced Labour as the second-largest party. The fight was on.
Key to their victory on election night was a well-tuned campaign office that sought to fight for every seat. We were told, election experts inside the LPUK’s Milton Keynes office worked day and night to analyze safe seats and in identifying weak seats to pick up. All this word amidst what we now know was an uncoordinated Labour leadership set the LPUK perfect for success.
Inside the LPUK War Room, one of the men leading the charge was Libertarian election mastermind Greetjatus. He had this to say:
“We gauged the mood of the nation extremely well, thanks to an extensive grassroots operation. People are tired of the same old Labour Vs Tory debate. For us, that was the clincher. In our target areas we had to become the people that would stand up for workers, people like you and me,” commented Greejatus from his helicopter “…you know, hard-working ordinary people. And that’s what we did. We planned we prepared, and we focused on a single message – Labour will ruin the economy, we will unlock it.”
Greetjatus was recently appointed Minister for the Cabinet Office, a position once again putting him in the middle of government and party coordination.
Following the victory of the LPUK on election night, the country has two real choices for a government. A Clegg government that would not have a majority in Parliament or a Burple Government with a majority of four. The choice was made for a Burple government and now the country sits with a Burple government with a firm majority and a Labour-DRF OO led by newly elected Labour head Lily-Irl.
ThreeCommasClub, the LPUK MP for Manchester North who recently won reelection and now Education Secretary had this to say: “Frankly, the LPUK has a strong message: to break the duopoly and we backed up our plan with a fully costed manifesto. Compare that to Labour whose manifesto was full of typos, mistakes, and illogical policies defeat was all but certain for them. Now in government, I look forward to serving the people and leading the country forward.”
Former Labour Chairman ThePootisPower sat down with the Telegraph to share his thoughts on Labour.
*This is an exclusive interview by ThreeCommas at the Telegraph. Any comments, leaks or other news can be sent to ThreeCommasClub on Discord.*
In an exclusive interview with the Telegraph, former senior Labour member and party Chairman ThePootisPower has dived into the issues that have seen the Labour Party fall behind to the 3rd largest party and the internal workings of the Labour leadership under Akko that oversaw such a monumental loss. They minced no words calling out the Party on what they saw as poor leadership. Revealing the lack of coordination and planning in Labour ranks brings serious questions about how much trust the backbenchers can have in their leadership and what ordinary members knew even as the party limped into an election they knew they were ill-prepared for. This interview also casts doubt into how much faith members can have on the current candidates for leadership who were in leadership as this breakdown was happening.
As Labour gears up for another election perhaps this interview will serve as a testament to what went wrong in the previous leadership from someone who was in the thick of it. A measure by which to judge the truths which perhaps even Labour leadership doesn’t want to reveal to its backbenchers and also as a measure to help judge future candidates for leadership. That’s why I joined ThePootisPower in a sit down interview.
To start off, we began asking the former Chairman about the elephant in the room. Why he choose to defect from Labour and what he saw in wrong inside Millbank Tower. He held nothing back. He highlighted the main reasons for his departure like this “The failure of leadership (including myself as chairman) to create a coherent policy agenda and plan ahead for the election, plus a total failure to engage the backbench in debates, the party as a whole in policy discussion and generally mobilizing the party has trapped the Labour Party in a downwards spiral.” Asked to comment on why so many other members from Labour were defecting he pointed on how many Labour members were getting burned out and how backbenchers were not properly consulted or involved in the discussion over crafting policy. He contrasted this with his new home at the Liberal Democrats where he was easily able to “ access press and policy labs” and “engage with the party in all aspects.” Such concern also brings up the question of how current candidates for Labour’s top job will seek to address this issue and give backbenchers more of a voice in the party going forward.
“The failure of leadership (including myself as chairman) to create a coherent policy agenda and plan ahead for the election, plus a total failure to engage the backbench in debates, the party as a whole in policy discussion and generally mobilizing the party has trapped the Labour Party in a downwards spiral.”
ThePootisPower
ThePootisPower then said they believed that instead of centralizing power and jobs the Party needed to “make [sure] everyone either have something to do or give them a break.” Asked to comment on the failure of top Labour Leadership regarding election prep, he again held nothing back. He openly criticized now ex-leader Akko who has resigned after the dismal results for Labour on election night, saying “The direction Akko took Labour was disorder, the next leader has to retool the party drastically and re-engage the rank and file in the organisation.” When questioned on Akko’s involvement in the election prep he honestly answered “Akko hasn’t got the leadership to do much of anything. They didn’t give us a “here’s what we’re doing today” agenda. They didn’t ask us.” It seems obvious to any observer that Labour’s leadership completely failed at any type of proper election prep. Even as the election loomed, Labour HQ was disorganized and fumbling around with no solid plan in mind.
“The direction Akko took Labour was disorder, the next leader has to retool the party drastically and re-engage the rank and file in the organisation. Akko hasn’t got the leadership to do much of anything. They didn’t give us a “here’s what we’re doing today” agenda. They didn’t ask us.”
ThePootisPower
Commenting on the type of leadership he saw by Akko and others he described it as such: “Labour leadership was reactive and panicky rather than contemplative and meticulous.” On the matter of Labour’s manifesto for this election was panned by their opponents and political pundits alike for its many typos, illogical policies and more he had this to say “But I have it in good authority that Frosty had to write two whole sections himself and without oversight, and he was one of the only people who actually had it in on time.” With such poor oversight and lack of planning on their manifesto, it will come as no surprise their manifesto turned out the way they did. Why he recalled that when he defected which was a few weeks before the election, work on the manifesto had barely begin and it not begun even being written.
We also asked Poot on how he thought the utter lack of leadership and should reflect on other members of leadership some of who are now vying to be Labour leader. He said on “Lily and Captain only just got into the roles in the last few weeks.” He expanded saying “Captainographer is partially responsible for not engaging deputy press officers and press contributors, holding a very very defeatist “why bother pinging them, I’ve tried it before and can’t get them to be active” attitude.” However, he said that he still trusted Captain as Chairman and that they deserved credit for the Weekly- “the only good thing about Akko’s reign.”
To summarize for the readers: Akko and leadership did nothing. A complete failure on all fronts to prepare for the election and what can be called to put it lightly a rushed and fumbled manifesto.
Next on the agenda were questions regarding Labour’s ongoing feud with the press which has received coverage across the UK and caused the Westminster Correspondents Association to publish an open letter decrying Labour’s actions as anti-press. Poot was sympathetic to Press Officer’s Geordie’s blight but said “But to be brutally honest, the press office hasn’t done fuck all since Geordie was brought in He seems to think he’s a dead man walking, that his career is over before it began. He needs to get a rocket up his rectal cavity and start cranking out content. ” He blasted the Press Office for their treatment of reporters and said that as a whole that Labour’s press office needs to be revamped. “at the end of the day the press officer needs to step up and lead from the front, stop treating journalists like they’re idiots and actually put forward a positive vision for the Labour Party, rather than ignoring very valid press criticisms.”
“But to be brutally honest, the press office hasn’t done fuck all since Geordie was brought in. He seems to think he’s a dead man walking, that his career is over before it began.”
ThePootisPower
On the question of leaks, he quoted the show “In the Thick of It” – “There’s literally nothing you can do to stop leaks
“To quote The Thick of It, labour operates under Tucker’s Law: “If some cunt can fuck something up, that cunt will pick the worst possible time to fucking fuck up because that cunt’s a cunt.”
ThePootisPower
This seems to be another question for Labour’s next leader to consider: a total reshuffle of their press office.
Finally, we asked his opinion on the current leadership race. He said that he believed “Lily is the best short term option but I believe they need to also pick out their successor and train them in preparation.” An opinion voiced by other political commentators as well. He also suggested that labor needed internal reforms calling for more members to be involved and advisory councils. “They should also look into finding popular notable members who are not grandees and giving them an advisory board access role. And perhaps also seeking to add a quasi-leadership body or role whereby new blood can be injected into leadership for 1-month terms to continually reengage and revitalize the Labour Party leadership.” Asked to comment on if the Party should move left or back to the center he dismissed that notion saying “It’s not a matter of “how far left should we be”, it’s “how effective and logical we can get.” There’s no point in picking a specific ideology. Labour is a broad tent, and the new leader must work towards this.”
“It’s not a matter of “how far left should we be”, it’s “how effective and logical we can get.” There’s no point in picking a specific ideology. Labour is a broad tent, and the new leader must work towards this.”
ThePootisPower
All these revelations shine a new light on the inner-working of Labour. An incomepent leadership that led the party to what was assured to be a defeat in the election. A lack of of drive and motivation by senior party members, a lack of involvement, or representation of backbenchers. A Press Office that is bent on avoiding questions and dismissing reporters. With all these factors one cannot be surprised that the Labour party has seen such bad results and a breakdown in function with many members choosing to defect. The only question now left is who members will choose to lead the party and next and what that person will do to bring the party back on track.
To leave Poot had this message for his former party: “This election result is an absolute catastrophe, a result of lackadaisical leadership and a disengaged membership. Right now, the only way to save Labour is for every single member of Labour to wake the fuck up and decide whether they are willing to work or need to rest. The Labour Party must fundamentally rebuild itself as a united fighting force that will not “react”, but proactively work to design a true alternative to the Right-Wing Duopoly.”
*ThreeCommas is a senior writer at the Telegraph.*
After the disappointing results for Labour on the election and the resignation of their leader /u/ARichTeaBiscuit it seemed that things could not get any direr for the party not that has been proven false. The last few days have seen a demoralized Labour limp into a leadership race they wished to keep locked down and secretive. But that seemed fruitless with numerous leaks and the list of candidates with endorsements leaking as they happen to a number of news orgs. This all comes amidst a Labour Press Office that is seeking to fight the press and clamp down on the flow of information . The Press Office has refused to comment on questions asked by the press, replied with increasing hostility , and sought to silence members of the Party. This led the Westminster Correspondents Association to publish an open letter to the Labour Party criticizing their press office’s actions on the campaign trail, comments by their press officer labeling news orgs “propaganda” and accusing from the press office of a “conspiring” news media. They went on to criticize the Labour as “are still anti-free press, anti journalist and fundamentally paranoid of any scrutiny.”
Now the Telegraph reports on the internal turmoil inside Labour as they head into a leadership election that will chart their fall or comeback this term. Internal sources speaking anonymously have spoken to the Telegraph despite attempts by the Labour Press Office to stop such comment. A senior Labour member and frontbencher had this to say “Labour HQ is in shambles right now when it’s not silent they’re lamenting the losses.” It seems a disheartened Labour HQ is having to face their voters and the press. On the other hand, however, it seems that certain members believe that leadership has the potential to revitalize the party. One member told the Telegraph of the race gaining traction and what seems to unofficial debates behind the scenes inside Labour HQ. These debates happening before an official debate is hosted by the party show what is set to be an interesting race. Especially in light of a Daily Mirror article which was criticized by Labour and other leadership candidates for excluding them and using their previous remarks ina what appeared to a Q&A.
When asked about this article Daily Mirror writer behind the piece apologized for what they deemed as their mistakes. He said that there was a misunderstanding between Captain_Plat and themselves and would be doing an exclusive with the candidate to make up for this oversight and said that “Nobody else had any complaints, really.”As for the general state of the relations between Labour and the press, a source inside Labour expressed that their Press Officer was doing the best they could in the difficult position and expressed support for VerkhovnaGeordie.
However, it seems not all Labour members see eye to eye on the party’s direction as Frosty seen before as a potential leadership candidate and a rising star in the party. Their defection came on the heels of a previous wave of Labour defections to the Liberal Democrats in the weeks leading up to the election which saw senior members leave the party. Will more defections follow? It waits to be seen.
As the Labour Party heads into their internal election they will have a choice. A party that veers more to the left or one that tries to appeal to voters that fled from Labour to the Liberal Democrats and the LPUK. A choice between a continuing nosedive or a recovery to put them in striking distance of their LPUK and the Tories next election. What the party will choose remains to be seen but one thing is clear they need change.
Model Telegraph 