Good post and clearly focused on points of interest.
However, I cannot vote for Labour while Jeremy is the leader. Here IMO are the reasons:
1. He has very hard left tendencies.
2. He is anti-establishment - always has been and always will be.
3. He clearly favours the 'downtrodden' and 'terrorist' groups.
4. His handling of antisemitism in the Labour Party is mediocre.
5. He is not a respected political leader of the Labour Party.
6. His politics hark back to his student days and he can't seem to move on from that.
7. Having replaced all the experienced middle-ground shadow cabinet and senior Labour people the result is a shambles.
8. He lacks the ability to grasp the overall large political picture and sticks to dealing with smaller issues, in other words will never be a statesman.
With the above in mind I feel Jeremy has to be replaced before considering voting for Labour.
From the moment you put that line in the rest of the argument becomes utterly pointless.
Honestly, if anyone ever uses the 'one of my friends' line in a political argument I think it should lead to a one week ban of self-reflection. It should be a month ban if the said phrase is posted with an inserted race or creed to highlight the said point
I had a friend a school that used to think playing with himself under the desks was a good idea. Not sure it would constitute a cogent argument that 'playing with oneself under desks should be a common policy in schools' argument.
I live in a Jewish area, happen have a Jewish wife (who doesn't agree with many of the political decisions in Israel, or many other countries including our own quite frequently), and in part I guess due to that I, therefore, have many Jewish friends (amongst all my other friends from all walks of life and political spectrums) with many different political views. I'm not sure I've heard anything but concern from even the most ardent Labour supporters, but there may be some that do support him.
Either way I wouldn't post on here to basing an argument on something so serious because one of my 'close friends Anthony', who also happens to be Jewish, thinks Farage is the dogs danglies and has voted for him at every opportunity. He's not the gospel according to Jewish opinion, he's one person with one opinion. Also, despite being of polar opinion on Brexit and Farage, we still manage to be friends, spend time together and take the pee out of each others viewpoint
Like everybody else, no matter what race or religion we happen to be, we don't all think the same way or believe the same thing.
On a personal level, Corybns' actions speak louder than his words. He may have a fantastic set of policies ( mixed bag at best IMO) but his actions and inactions make me more than wary.
My experience with ardent supporters and their total dedication is a feverish ability to make him out to be some sort saviour and completely infallible, which worries me even more. It's fanatical and unhealthy.
I can't stand the current Tory party. Seriously despise what they are doing, lurching to the right so heavily,plus Brexit, and austerity but having recently spent time discussing and engaging with Momentum supporters and members if they are typical I worry that my vote, which is likely to be LD, could put Corbyn in power. He looks worse than Johnson, his cronies, look even worse.
I don't believe you make the poor richer by making the rich poor and targeting them as evil. You close loopholes, stop waste and make sure you give the opportunity to more by raising standards not dragging everyone down to lower ones. Maximize skills, not debase them. You don't achieve either by forcing poverty and deep cuts on those who can least afford it.
This election to me is a choice between two terrible options if people only vote for the two main parties. I think it may come down to better the devil you know!
Whenever I see him speak, particularly at rallies I think.... there is a student that never grew up!
What about the 25 current/former members of the conservative party being investigated over islamophobic social media posts?
/proxy.php?image=https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/branded_news/16655/production/_109633719_ae59dfde-ae66-4346-b19c-87fc0c92a380.jpg&hash=b958af903aab9682638267db0015737a&return_error=1 Tories suspend members over Islamophobia claims The party takes action after the Guardian newspaper hands it a dossier of allegations. /proxy.php?image=https://static.bbc.co.uk/news/1.301.03486/apple-touch-icon-57x57-precomposed.png&hash=d21434ab3c7262ff4557fb93cdf34668&return_error=1 www.bbc.co.uk
It doesn't get half as much notice as the anti-semitism claims.
/proxy.php?image=https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/content/uploads/2019/10/PA-47091979.jpg&hash=8e872f8fc1c918f00c0bfa3e364db114&return_error=1 The battle isn't Labour anti-semitism vs Tory Islamophobia—it's everyone against hatred Too often, campaigners point to the other party's prejudices to detract from their own worrying record. This election, we should remember the fight for equality is a collective one www.prospectmagazine.co.uk
Whataboutery. Does it mean antisemitism is ok then?
Not at all, there needs to be a balance in media reporting, to wipe out all prejudice.
/proxy.php?image=https://spectatorblogs.imgix.net/files/2019/03/conflict.jpg?auto=compress,enhance,format&crop=faces,entropy,edges&fit=crop&w=620&h=413&hash=ae69476037b9b29655ae5a60f8217b71&return_error=1 The false equivalence between ‘Islamophobia’ and anti-Semitism | Coffee House I have been travelling in the Middle East for the last few weeks and slightly regret returning to the maelstrom of ancient animosities and unbridgeable sectarianism that is modern Britain. But in my… /proxy.php?image=https://blogs.spectator.co.uk/content/themes/spectator-new/assets/favicons/coffeehouse/apple-touch-icon-57x57.png&hash=5ae729b6a0f4a30dcd7816994813eede&return_error=1 blogs.spectator.co.uk
"but his actions and inactions make me more than wary." Take a look at his voting history, it's a lot better than most on the things I think matter.
/proxy.php?image=https://www.theyworkforyou.com/images/facebook-avatar.png&hash=64ec29e8237fa5c1f10959913f0e4ce9&return_error=1 Voting record - Jeremy Corbyn, former MP, Islington North - TheyWorkForYou See how Jeremy Corbyn voted on topics like Employment, Social Issues, Foreign Policy, and more. /proxy.php?image=https://www.theyworkforyou.com/images/apple-touch-60.png&hash=cc02c15bff7d1e48fd2353e2c34ade10&return_error=1 www.theyworkforyou.com
"You close loopholes, stop waste and make sure you give the opportunity to more by raising standards not dragging everyone down to lower ones. "
Labour will go after those trying to exploit loopholes, and the EU are doing it too. And I think that it is only fair that those who earn more, pay more into the system, otherwise we get what we have now, a severely imbalanced society where the rich rule over the poor and the divide is huge. A banker receiving a huge bonus should be taxed more so that citizens working in the public sector or just the general working class don't live in poverty and have to rely on food banks.
There's a good article from the IFS yesterday summarising the UK tax position:
How high are our taxes, and where does the money come from? - Election 2019 - IFS /proxy.php?image=https://www.ifs.org.uk/assets/favicon.gif&hash=3397b085c3c1f840483c037f499fc235&return_error=1 www.ifs.org.uk
We have a surprisingly progressive tax system.
I probably wasn't clear, I wasn't talking about his voting actions. I was referring to his handling of Anti Semitism and his past, shall we call, dalliances and support of people I would not put up high on my Christmas list.
Mostly it's been how it's handled when it went past the point of smoke, became a fire, and he still professed nothing to see here.
It's either racist, stupid, or deceitful. It could have been knocked on the head quickly and easily. The muck thrown at others in trying to play things down and the exodus from the party of serving MP's and workers points firmly to it being not just tolerated, but supported.