Are the left the only people who can defeat the nationalist right?

@Picklebobble2 Hopefully Corbyn but it's so messed up and hard to predict.

@Burnley123 Lol. I meant Tory leader replacement.

@Picklebobble2 Well... It could be Boris but most Tory mps hate him. It could happen though. I don't think a Remainer could win with their members and Jacob Reese Mogg is probably too much for their mps so...

Sajid Javid would be my best bet and would be a strategically smart move for them. He is a Brexiteer but not an ultra Brexiteer so he would have potential to unite them. Also, as a BAME man he would give them an image makeover. He is suave, urbane and articulate so if they are going for optics, it would work.

His politics are terrible and he's ultra right wing but I could see him winning a Tory leadership contest.

@firefall I'm open to that and basically it's my strategic view within the Labour Party.

Left parties have always relied on a coalition between different people and that includes the centre left.

A problematic aspect is when we define what is the centre. Many politicians who define as centre left (such as Blair and the Clinton's) essentially adopted the post Reagan / Thatcher economic consensus and their heirs are still somewhat wedded to that. Corbyn became Labour leader because those from radical left backgrounds ds were the only ones offering social democratic policies. Those proved surprisingly popular in the last UK election.

Owen's article mentions the danger of a new centre party. I agree with him when he says this party would likely be socially liberal and pro austerity economics. I think such a party would be a gift to the nationalist right.

@Burnley123 on that last, I heartily agree - it's essentially what's ruined the EU efforts on the economy in the last 15 years.

@fazer1k True but Labour increased its vote share by ten percent last time whilst moving to the left.

@Burnley123 I'd much rather have a labour government than conservative, without question, but whether that was more a vote [i]against[/i] the conservatives over Brexit than a vote [i]for[/i] Corbyn's manifesto remains to be seen.

@fazer1k The manifesto was popular on the doorstep when I canvassed and it coincided with a surge in the polls.

@Northwest I do believe that you should always vote pragmatically and there is no comparison between Hillary and Trump. I disagree with Hillary on foreign policy and I am a huge difference to the left of her but there is a bit of a big difference between a centrist and what Trump is. I would have voted Macron in France too (second round) and I like Macron even less.

You also have to support the party leader, at least somewhat. Labour is different in that we have a standing leadership structure even in opposition. It's called the Shadow Cabinet. We also have about 600,000 members, which makes us a big party. Though that is only one percent of the UK population, its more than the membership of all other UK parties combined. A member has a lot more regular involvement than with US registered supporters. Its a club with regular meetings, campaigns and social events and is active not just during elections.

I joined because of Corbyn and I'm very much on the left but I have never had a problem with working with people on the party right, provided they are also civil, which most of them are. I've canvassed for MPs who've openly attacked the leadership too because I know its for the greater good.

I think the DNC behaviour towards Bernie was awful and its inevitable that it created problems. The smart Berniecrats should have voted Hillary to keep out Trump and then carried the fight afterwards.

@Burnley123 I completely agree with your last sentence. I also love the shadow cabinet system you have in the UK.

@Northwest I like it too and it provides a government in waiting. Though the parliamentary system has a disadvantage in the MPs who are ministers or shadow ministers dont have the time to represent constituents like Senators can.

@Burnley123 Correct. I held my nose and voted for Clinton.

@QuixoticSoul I am only telling you what middle America THINKS. Not what I think. I am a liberal Northerner.

You really hit the nail fair and square here.. The catch cry "Its the economy stupid" has always been the elephant in the room. Presidents don't drive economies.. They grab the reins, and hang on, hoping the thing goes where they want it. Bill Clinton yanked hard at the end of the Dot Com bubble and freed up money for a real Estate boom, which busted. The Economy will end up where it wants, not where the President or the people want. Obama got a bad break with his time. Trump is having a dream run, skating on the thinnest ice. If you listen you can hear the cracks. And it wont be just him in the water.@QuixoticSoul