Emeritus Prof Christopher MayFeb 28

As this weekend's post-mortems of the Gorton & Denton by-election get under way its worth making the key point that I'm sure will be made anyway:

Its not so much that Labour voters have abandoned the Labour Party, but more the Labour Party has been abandoning its Left voters for years;

the lesson of Thursday is taking the Leftish for granted only works when there is no Left alternative.

If Thursday changed anything, it made that much, much clearer!

#GortonAndDenton #politics #Greens #Labour

Show threadKenny ParkFeb 28

@ChrisMayLA6 The people who voted Green were the same people Tony Blair told to "get a heart transplant" or the surge of Labour members when Corbyn was leader (he of twice getting more GE votes than Starmer).

The Greens aren't "splitting the Left". They're just… Left.

Show threadSarah WFeb 28
@KennyPark @ChrisMayLA6
Exactly. Labour should have taken notice of that huge surge in membership when people were excited about Corbyn.
Did Starmer never ask himself why?
Show threadEmeritus Prof Christopher MayFeb 28

@Sarahw @KennyPark

I think the Starmer clique saw them as the 'wrong sort of member'

Show threadTim Ward ⭐🇪🇺🔶 #FBPE
@ChrisMayLA6 @Sarahw @KennyPark Selling leadership votes for £3 always seemed rather odd to me.
Feb 28 at 9:14amWeb
Show threadJenFeb 28
@TimWardCam @ChrisMayLA6 @Sarahw @KennyPark or alternatively, it was a gateway into party politics for people who couldn't justify the full price on their meagre disposable income, but wanted to tip their toe into the water.

I wonder how many of them would have become full paying members if Corbyn had been given a fair shot at things?
Show threadDan HattonFeb 28

@ChrisMayLA6 @TimWardCam @KennyPark @Sarahw

Compared with the more traditional practice of selling leadership votes for £25?