New centrist party to unite all the shittest bits of UK politics

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

The fun part is that they've set themselves up as a company, not as a charity, so they can bypass Electoral Commission rules and hide their funding sources.

Well, seven of them.
Also, first apology:

I'm really sorry that I misspoke earlier on Politics Live - here's my statement. pic.twitter.com/7csM95TFLo

— Angela Smith MP (@angelasmithmp) February 18, 2019

Yesterday's Ma

Good article and that is exactly how I feel about the "split". If the answer is Mike Gapes, you're asking all the wrong questions.

A bunch of self-appointed generals in search of an army. They'll be media darlings all the way to the next election at which EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. WILL. LOSE.

keep to the Fen Causeway

Labour will be stronger without them, sometimes criticism becomes a cancer and you have to cut it out. Real Labour MPs will replace them and be welcome.

These people have hated everything Corbyn has done and, even tho' brexit is a Tory initiative and a Tory policy, they have NEVER criticised the Tories. Indeed, this split is intended to make it easier for the tories to remain in charge.

Can't wait for Owen Smith and Stephen Kinnock to bugger off and join them.

keep to the Fen Causeway

Highlighted from article above ...

But Umunna was created in that New Labour laboratory. Elected in 2010, I first noticed his presence in 2011 when he hosted a Fabian Society reception for new MPs called "Thinkers and Doers". In its communications, Umunna offered to meet supporters in a "very informal drinks reception" which was "made possible by the support of A4e." The big party was paid for by workfare corporation A4e, which was entirely dependent on huge government contracts, and disappeared four years later amid allegations of fraud, corruption and cheating claimants.  

Umunna then became one of the Labour Shadow Ministers who relied on accounting multinational - and friend of tax-dodgers - PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to supply them with research assistance. PwC were one of the main architects of PFI, and have been an important advocate in NHS privatisation. Umunna's "assistance" from the company amounted to almost £100,000.

○ Staffline later bought A4e before rebranding the new composite company "PeoplePlus"

○ Fabian Society: Power and principle: Labour as a government-in-waiting
○ The Fabian Society: a brief history | The Guardian - Aug. 2001 |

Influencing opinion

In a further attempt to influence the opposition, Shai Masot said that he was involved with the youth arm of the Fabian Society, an influential Labour Party think-tank, and that he once "took a group of Fabians to Israel".

My earlier dairies ...

○ Israel Lobby is Leading in Attack on Corbyn
○ War On BDS, Progressive Left Under Attack

From Tikun Olam and America ...

○ Israel Lobby Seeks to Muzzle Ilhan Omar, Sabotage Democratic Resurgence

'Sapere aude'

Yes, Tagesschau is exactly wrong (Unglaublich!).  Having the likes of these leave your party is rather like having your bumming brother-in-law finally get a job and move out of your house.  It's the opposite of a problem.

I'm really sorry that I misspoke earlier on Politics Live - here's my statement. pic.twitter.com/7csM95TFLo

— Angela Smith MP (@angelasmithmp) February 18, 2019

<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Uphill battle?

'Good riddance': Penistone locals have their say on Angela Smith resignation

Following Smith's announcement, the local party said the MP should "take the honourable path" and resign her seat to trigger a byelection, allowing Labour "to move on and challenge her at the ballot box".

[...]

Smith has also campaigned prominently for a second EU referendum, pushing Corbyn to lead on a people's vote on Brexit, potentially putting her at odds with many of her constituents, of whom 61% are estimated to have voted to leave the EU.

Of the seven who quit Labour, Smith has the slimmest electoral majority. Barely 1,300 votes separated her from her Tory rival in 2017, when she lost a 6,723-strong majority following a big blue surge.

Back in the British Legion Club, all the talk was of an urgent byelection. "If not, then for the next three years people who voted Labour have got an independent MP," said Drewry. "That's not right, that's not democracy."

"I agree," said Drewry's snooker partner, John Clews, a 70-year-old former miner. "I do vote Labour but I'm not a great lover of Jeremy Corbyn. Since she's been MP, I've never voted for her. Get someone else in and I will vote Labour, no problem."

○ Penistone and Stocksbridge (UK Parliament constituency)
○ Vote of no confidence passed in Penistone and Stocksbridge MP Angela Smith | Yorkshire Post - Nov. 2018 |

'Sapere aude'

The "website registered in Panama" is a glorious faux-pas.

In reality the site is registered through a domain registrar called Namecheap which offers an anonymisation service called Whoisguard.

When you look up a anonymised domain, you get a "REDACTED" next to all the usual contact details. The only detail that's visible is Whoisguard's own country registration, which happens to be Panama.

I know this because I have domains registered with Namecheap and protected with Whoisguard to avoid spam. They all appear to be registered in Panama too, even though they were all bought and registered in the UK. (I certainly don't have any off-shore accounts - in Panama or elsewhere.)

This makes no difference politically, because it's just one more mistake that helped made the launch of the UK's Independent Group (er - UKIP? surely not...) so wonderfully inept and tone-deaf. Someone should have noticed the Panama connection and realised it wasn't a good look for a breakaway not-a-party-really-honest to have.

It's amateurish, incompetent, and frankly a bit stupid -  which bodes well for the future of the brave new "centrist" faction.

The timing suggests there's an election on the way, and this is a rather desperate spoiler to keep Labour out of power.

It's interesting the lead is antisemitism. Realistically most voters don't think that's a particularly pressing issue. And to Labour supporters the story is ridiculously implausible and comically transparent as a pretext for bullying Corbyn and the rest of the party.

The so-called centrists could have led with Brexit, but chose not to. I think anyone expecting them to come out unequivocally against Brexit is going to be very disappointed.

The Tories have already split, really split, but admitting it would be messy for one and all, so denial is just a big river in Africa.

Now he's decided that keeping the tories in power is absolutely tickey boo

keep to the Fen Causeway

that was then, but this is between her and her very lucrative expenses claims

keep to the Fen Causeway

"I'm in charge!"
 PM May

Just as Greece lacked skills in negotiation tactics with EU HQ in Brussels. Will the EU throw a buoy?

Decision time in Westminster ...

'Sapere aude'