All hail our saviours: The centrist dad party

[rekil]

Super Marche!

Slogan - "We're all lost "

 

[killer b]

En Cracke! perhaps.

 

[Sprocket.]

Centrepoint after another white elephant.

 

[mauvais]

En Cracke! perhaps.

Craque, surely, giving us the take-our-newspaper mating call of, 'En Craque!, Monsieur?'

 

[YouSir]

On a side note, if that money exists I wonder how much of it's going to be spunked away on think tank events and expensive getaways to sniff each others arses? Bet they can give even the dodgiest Right Wing cash cow a run for their money in dubious accounting.

 

[Rob Ray]

I feel like the name would need to showcase a combination of myopic arrogance, slack-jawed fetishing of technocratic elitism and misapprehension of what's popular in the public mind. "Disrupt" maybe?

 

[killer b]

Last election the labour party made surprising inroads into more affluent southern areas but without taking that many of the seats. That's the only possible areas in which these idiots could take a few hundred votes and have any electoral impact. In labours already worst performing areas and in the most marginal of seats.

A big reason nothing is going to happen is because the only MPs who might be interested in bailing to a new party are career blairites who were parachuted into safe Labour seats - which will remain safe labour seats after the next election.

 

[butchersapron]

Novus

 

[Slo-mo]

If you believe this report, and I don't, Simon Franks (the love film guy) is putting in the whole 50 million himself. (3rd paragraph)

Lovefilm founder reportedly behind £50m push to found new centrist party

Shoddy journalism, surely?

 

[mauvais]

I feel like the name would need to showcase a combination of myopic arrogance, slack-jawed fetishing of technocratic elitism and misapprehension of what's popular in the public mind. "Disrupt" maybe?

On that basis, 'Emergent C'.

 

[stethoscope]

If you believe this report, and I don't, Simon Franks (the love film guy) is putting in the whole 50 million himself. (3rd paragraph)

Lovefilm founder reportedly behind £50m push to found new centrist party

Can't vouch for the reliability of this website: Millionaire LoveFilm founder plots new political party but that reported back in October that this Franks guy was looking to found a party then

Simon Franks, who sold LoveFilm to tech giant Amazon in 2011 in a £200m deal, has raised around £20m from investors, corporate backers and City figures. A former Labour donor and supporter, Franks has told backers he wants to emulate Emmanuel Marcon’s En Marche! Movement, which swept the French President to power in May on a wave of popular support. Marcon’s party also won a majority in the National Assembly in June.

The tech entrepreneur has held a series of secret meetings about the new party – which does not yet have a name – with a group of wealthy individuals who share his frustration about the direction of the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn.

 

[agricola]

On that basis, 'Emergent C'.

More like B, after the Ark Ship to which all the people involved in this would have been assigned.

 

[Idris2002]

I feel like the name would need to showcase a combination of myopic arrogance, slack-jawed fetishing of technocratic elitism and misapprehension of what's popular in the public mind. "Disrupt" maybe?

Recruit Louise Mensch and they could be "UberMensch".

 

[Slo-mo]

I wonder what involment Blair will have, if any. I doubt he'll lead, but I'm sure he will be watching with interest.

 

[killer b]

are you weltweit's new alt account or something?

 

[Slo-mo]

are you weltweit's new alt account or something?

Was that aimed at me? If so, I'm not Welweit

 

[Threshers_Flail]

It's a non starter, few columns in the Guardian from the usual suspects and that'll be it.

 

[YouSir]

It's a non starter, few columns in the Guardian from the usual suspects and that'll be it.

Depends on who their rich people are. Think it'll be an absolute failure but wouldn't rule out a lot more coverage than a few Guardian talking heads can offer. Especially if Miliband or similar gets involved. Lots of sycophantic 'thought' pieces on the saviour of some shite or the other. Could get tedious very quickly.

 

[lazythursday]

Perhaps it's best to think of this not so much as about unrepresented views in the centre ground but unrepresented political interests - and the money is very revealing of that. Capital has basically lost control of the Tory party to the Brexiteers - clearly the majority of big businesses are not in favour of a hard brexit and it's against their interests. In 'normal' political times they would funnel their support and lobbying towards the Labour Party, but with the Corbyn leadership that just isn't going to work. So they cast around for another vehicle (and dismiss the clapped out banger that is the Lib Dems).

I'm perhaps less optimistic than others that it couldn't have some level of success, though I wonder if it might actually be more damaging to the Tories than Labour in the long term.

 

[JimW]

Party of Moderate Progress Within the Bounds of the Law.

 

[SpookyFrank]

If you believe this report, and I don't, Simon Franks (the love film guy) is putting in the whole 50 million himself. (3rd paragraph)

Lovefilm founder reportedly behind £50m push to found new centrist party

Shoddy journalism, surely?

The whole story seems to be a load of bollocks. One idiot with a few ideas too vague to be worthy of the name and a suitcase full of cash doth not a political party make.

 

[steeplejack]

Dial C for the Centre

I Can't Believe it's no longer 1997 Party

The Living in the Real World Platform

Sensible! Non-Revolutionary Dialogue in the Middle Ground (Grey Kia cee'd Drivers of the World, Unite!)

The Peter Mandelson Foundation ("No more Old or new Labour, but a welcome in my foundation for those who recognise that they need to change")

the 'some cunt's got £50 million and is determined to burn it whilst aiming for a K Foundation award' party

 

[Slo-mo]

Perhaps it's best to think of this not so much as about unrepresented views in the centre ground but unrepresented political interests - and the money is very revealing of that. Capital has basically lost control of the Tory party to the Brexiteers - clearly the majority of big businesses are not in favour of a hard brexit and it's against their interests. In 'normal' political times they would funnel their support and lobbying towards the Labour Party, but with the Corbyn leadership that just isn't going to work. So they cast around for another vehicle (and dismiss the clapped out banger that is the Lib Dems).

I'm perhaps less optimistic than others that it couldn't have some level of success, though I wonder if it might actually be more damaging to the Tories than Labour in the long term.

I do think they could have some limited success, yes. Not replacing either of the big two, but third place is potentially up for grabs- and hence maybe an opportunity to go into coalition as the LibDems did in 2010

 

[killer b]

Where could they have success? Name some constituencies.

The only places they could feasibly do well is in Lib Dem / Labour or three way marginals, and then only if they arrange something with the Lib Dems and roll up all the Lib Dem support... so. Sheffield Hallam? Leeds North West? St Albans? There's fuck all there.

They could lose Labour a load of seats, mind. Woodcock has a majority of 209 over the Tories. If he stands for En Cracke! he might take a few thousand tories, a few thousand labour voters and most of the lib dems, and the Tories are likely getting a new MP. Great.

 

[chilango]

Where, and from which, would such a project pick up enough actual votes to have an impact?

I don't see any appetite for it.

The only people I hear irl talking about the need for a miderate, centrist party are right-wing Tories who wouldn't vote for it anyway.

 

[Dogsauce]

Tristram Hunt?

 

[Slo-mo]

Where could they have success? Name some constituencies.

The only places they could feasibly do well is in Lib Dem / Labour or three way marginals, and then only if they arrange something with the Lib Dems and roll up all the Lib Dem support... so. Sheffield Hallam? Leeds North West? St Albans? There's fuck all there.

Richmond Park? I dunno. I'm not going through every bloody constituency in the UK looking for targets for a political party that may not even come to fruition.

 

[Slo-mo]

Ok, here's Anthony Wells' take on how well such a party would do..


UK Polling Report
Short answer? He doesn't know.

 

[Vintage Paw]

I am curious as to just how this proposed NCP would be any different from the LibDems. I've seen suggestion they'd be pro-EU, with all the pro-immigration that brings with it, but also anti-immigration. How does that work?

This strikes me as, for the moment, just another kite flying exercise at a moment of particular onslaught for the Labour leadership, in part to remind people that there are Sensible Politicians out there, but more importantly to remind them that Corbyn is most definitely not a Sensible Politician.

 

[DaveCinzano]

I am curious as to just how this proposed NCP would be any different from the LibDems. I've seen suggestion they'd be pro-EU, with all the pro-immigration that brings with it, but also anti-immigration. How does that work?