John McDonnell calls Winston Churchill a 'villain' - BBC

John McDonnell calls Churchill a 'villain'

Fucking hell.

I'm a bit sceptical about the Labour party but John D is reeling me in a bit with this one...

 

He should've said as far as he's concerned, he's lower than vermin

 

Churchill was a bastard & it pisses me off when I hear people quoting him like he was some kind of saintly type.

 

I wonder if Ian Austin Labour MP for Dudley has also got a portrait of Thatcher above his fireplace?
There is less than a cigarette paper between Churchill and Enoch Powell.
Churchill’s views on people from outside Europe would get him vilified today, especially his views on Muslims.

 

He couldn’t. It was a game where he had to give a one word answer ‘hero’ or ‘villain’. Given the choices honest John had to go with the latter

 

If it wasn't for Hitler Churchill wouldn't be the greatest briton ever.

 

Perhaps Mike Leigh’s next film should be Tonypandy!

 

Help me, Rhondda

 

Having seen Peterloo perhaps not...

 

Churchill is no hero of mine and it's good McDonnell says this too. He wrote some good rabble rousing stuff and I appreciate the work he did to popularise the onesie, but that's all.

 

He is factually correct but I doubt that statement will help Labour in the polls

 

As I understand it he was at a gathering of the political class and was playing a game called ‘hero or villan’. It’s a complete non story seized on by the press to prove he’s a dangerous revolutionary. Given his abandonment of capital controls and acceptance of the rules of the single market we can only wish that was the case

 

No doubt Churchill may have sent the troops in for Mike Leigh.

 

His views on people within Europe were shit too and he held his class hatred of the WC high.

 

He could have said something like “both”. Or the same thing he’d answered to the previous question, i.e. “next”. The shadow chancellor declaring Britain’s popular favourite historical figure a villain is obviously electoral suicide, no matter how accurate it is. How he thought it was more important to duck “who’s your favourite Tory?” than this question I’ve no idea.

 

I suspect it’s one of them. You are in convivial company with fellow members of your class and profession and the discipline slips in the knockabout atmosphere and a bit of safe posturing took place.

Seriously, I’m more concerned about his genuine commitment hold the line for the basic tenets of the mildest forms of social democracy. At present the signs are not good

 

Churchill was a dark lord, shit he did in India was diabolical...............
McDonell, should he have said it? I dunno, in times like these people don't want to know the truth they wanna look at the past with Rose tinted specs and the future too. It won't do Labour any favours though especially with the way our media bleats on.
Knowing what they're up against and being an opposition chancellor he should have held his tongue until after the election.
People don't like hearing the truth.....simple as......

 

It isn't electoral suicide or anything like it. Possibly not a brilliant idea, but considering The Times called Churchill a white supremacist yesterday I don't think he's as untouchable as he once was.

 

In fact, the conversations people have after things like this are how he becomes less untouchable.

 

A white supremacist and also a hero.

It was an interesting apologism...

 

He's a month late

MSP brands Churchill 'mass murderer'

 

Awwww yes

 

earlier than expected tho

 

The need or desire to have historical characters, sports people, actors, etc, be separated into proverbial good goats and bad sheep is foolish and annoying. Almost everyone who has publicly displayed some virtue or heroism has been a villain in some way. And likely all those who are damned for their evil have at times had virtues. Journalists key into this childish desire for simplicity and even intelligent people play along.

 

I’ll say this for him, he was a bricklaying enthusiast.

 

I heard he was a frustrated artist, too

 

He was both a villain and a hero, I'm no fan (especially up here) but you can't deny his importance either.