Why are you so aggressive?

All we are doing is having a discussion about Corbyn's electability prospects - we are not at war!

I contend that his appearance and public persona render him unelectable like many of his Labour colleagues before him were. On top of his image he has done some pretty stupid things like the train stunt and openly admitting he would not fire a missile which does not sit well with many voters.

You contend that his policies are good enough to overcome any image issues which are being orchestrated by the Media.

[Link]

The above link is a BBC story about Ed Balls and how he thinks Corbyn's leadership style as "leftist Utopian fantasy"..... Did the Media force Balls to say that too?

Also, if as you say the Media have such a hold on us poor susceptible feeble minded souls that we cannot think for ourselves.... why did the referendum vote for Brexit happen? The Remain camp had the BBC and the rest of the Media in their pocket and we were force fed a diet of economic gloom messages for months!

Of course Corbyn's policies are going to appeal to the public in generic terms, but they are not much different to Theresa May's recently published stated aims - stuff like equality for all, lower taxes, greater opportunities, more sunshine, free beer etc.

We can all make promises that we cannot keep, so choosing a party to vote for or leader of a party comes down to candidates personalities and how they behave in many peoples minds. As I said Miliband's gurning whilst eating a bacon sandwich and tripping up the steps on the TV debate scuppered his chances of being PM. Neil Kinnock going arse over t1t in the sea all those years ago.... reputation ruined in one second. John Major's affair with Edwina Currie physically made people sick thinking about it, let alone vote for him!

People see these events and it may be in their subconscious, but their minds are made up that the person making a fool of themselves, or saying the wrong thing means they cannot possibly run the country if they are that careless.

I would also remind you that the public don't always get it right... Blair's image convinced millions to vote for him, and look how that turned out.

There's no need for you to be indignant and aggressive about our respective opinions differing - we're just two Palace fans having a political discussion on a website.

I haven't belittled your opinion calling it weak or ill thought out - I've just offered my own opinion based on my beliefs and experience.

I don't expect you to change your opinion, but I can assure you I won't be changing mine either!

All the best.

Edited by Hoof Hearted (29 Aug 2016 8.34am)

I agree with your sentiments in the last paragraph but people will still be making political decisions on image and actions rather than substance long after we've gone.... because it is human nature to do so probably?

Almost certainly. And then probably moaning about how out of touch politicians are, how they never fulfill their promises, and will say anything to get elected. And then refusing to contemplate electing anyone who doesn't fit into the same paramaters time and time again....

Ad nauseum.

I'd actually be interested to know if the data suggests Owen Smith (or anyone else in the Labour party) is more electable. They all seem a bit crappy to me.

Neither of them can win a GE as the entire Labour party is a running joke. Corbyn couldn't even get the 35 votes needed to be nominated to become leader until the last few did it out of sympathy/idiocy/for a laugh.

They picked the wrong Miliband and then should've gone for Benn.

She can't disappear from public life quickly enough for me.

All MPs should have a maximum number of years they're allowed to stand I reckon.

Sorry mate but this is total bollox.

He's made absolutely barmy policy suggestions. His latest one is to provide high speed broadband for all, how on earth is he going to afford that?

He makes promise after promise about how the world is going to be rosy for everyone without any means of paying for it. He'd never cut welfare, keep increasing spending on the NHS, provide free education for everyone, nationalise railways, nationalise energy... All nice ideas that are completely unaffordable.

His main scheme seems to be "clamping down on tax avoidance"...

Two things:

1) Does he not think the Chancellor would have tried this already??? It's hardly in his interests to allow companies not to pay tax

2) Good luck getting businesses to stop avoiding taxes by putting business taxes up.

He's a moron. And a bit of a t*** from what I can see in interviews. Constantly looks ruffled and irritated by even the slightest interrogation. He's completely unfit to run his own party, as has been demonstrated, and obviously unfit to run the country. That's why the PLP want rid. He doesn't represent what the country wants at all, which is why left wing candidates will ALWAYS lose general elections. It's called democracy.