{UAH} LABOUR LEADERSHIP ELECTIONS: ATTENTION WBK
|
11:33 AM |
No comments |
WBK,
Jeremy Corbyn has emerged as the surprise leader in the Labour
leadership elections and there is even a possibility that he may win
outright in the first round. Previously seen as just a token candidate
allowed to run in order to appease the left-wing of the party, his
sudden rise has shocked everybody and has brought out people like Tony
Blair scrambling out of the woodwork, warning the Labour Party that
electing Corbyn would be like voting for a death wish because the
party would never win power under a left wing leader. Jeremy Corbyn
has very strong support among young voters and the trade unions and
his strong anti-austerity campaign has cut a cord with the working
class and the poorer sections of society.
George Okello
Joseph Stiglitz: unsurprising Jeremy Corbyn is a Labour leadership
contender Anti-
Sunday 26 July 2015 17.01 BST Last modified on Sunday 26 July 2015 17.57 BST
A Nobel prize-winning economist has said it is unsurprising that an
anti-austerity figure such as Jeremy Corbyn has emerged as a contender
for the Labour leadership.
Speaking in London on Sunday, Joseph Stiglitz warned that policies
from centre-left governments such as Tony Blair's had undermined the
middle-ground message, partly by entrenching wealth for the very few.
Asked about the emergence of Corbyn against more moderate candidates,
Stiglitz said young people were the most likely supporters as they
felt badly let down by more mainstream politics.
"I am not surprised at all that there is a demand for a strong
anti-austerity movement around increased concern about inequality. The
promises of New Labour in the UK and of the Clintonites in the US have
been a disappointment," said the former World Bank economist who is a
professor at Columbia University in the US.
Membership Event:
Guardian Live | The future of Labour: meet the next leader
"Unfortunately the centre-left parties have wimped out. They have
joined in saying: 'Oh yes, we have to have a kinder version of
austerity, a milder version of austerity.' But one of the
disappointments of the eurozone, and Europe more broadly, is that you
have these elections, these centre-left parties get elected and they
have to cave into Germany and so they then do a rhetoric that is
gentler but the outcome is not much gentler."
Stiglitz said in the US research showed that all the economic gains
since the early 1980s had gone to the top 10%. "The bottom 90% of the
economy has seen stagnation for a third of a century and similar
trends – not as bad – are at play elsewhere.
"It's just very hard to say these centre-left parties – with emphasis
on 'centre' – have been able to deliver for most people. Their
economic models have not delivered and their message is not working.
So to me it's not a surprise that you have seen, say in the United
States, which obviously I know better, that [anti-austerity]
progressives are getting a much stronger voice in the Democratic
party."
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph
Stiglitz leaves the Greek prime minister's office after a meeting with
the finance minister, Euclid Tsakalotos. Photograph: Orestis
Panagiotou/EPA Stiglitz argued that the crisis triggered in the
eurozone by what he saw as the wrong-headed bullying of Greece to
accept a deal that only offered "depression without end" was in danger
of feeding anti-EU sentiment in Britain's forthcoming referendum on EU
membership.
"The UK made one very good decision [which] was not to join the euro.
It may have made it for the wrong reason but it was still the right
decision and you should count your blessings," he said at a meeting
organised by his publishers in central London.
Stiglitz said the whole eurozone currency model had not been a success
and he did not think of anything that could have been more divisive
for the European Union than the handling of the Greek debt crisis.
"You feel the antipathy between the Germans and the Greeks and
elsewhere … there are many people who are hypothesising that it will
play a role in the UK referendum, that people will say: 'Who would
want to be a member of that [European Union] club?'" he told an
audience at the Dover Street Arts Club.
Related:
More on this topicJoseph Stiglitz: how I would vote in the Greek referendum
Stiglitz said the best way to save the European political project was
"to let the euro go … Not only has there been evidence of a lack of
solidarity, there is even a misunderstanding of what solidarity is,
and you can't have a group of countries with the same economic
arrangements without some degree of solidarity."
The latest Greek debt deal and the austerity policies to be imposed on
Greece by the European leaders and the International Monetary Fund
were bound to fail, he said.
"Both the young and the old are being very adversely affected by the
troika [lenders] programme and yet people at the negotiating table do
not include either the very young people or the very old people. There
is a sense that the negotiators are not hearing the voice of some of
the people who are being affected strongly.
"Talking about the broader impact on the UK and elsewhere, it is very
clear outside Germany that the view that austerity is bad is very
widespread. I think it is the correct view. Its obviously going to
lead to a stronger sentiment, people saying we have to fight
austerity."
--
Disclaimer:Everyone posting to this Forum bears the sole responsibility for any legal consequences of his or her postings, and hence statements and facts must be presented responsibly. Your continued membership signifies that you agree to this disclaimer and pledge to abide by our Rules and Guidelines.To unsubscribe from this group, send email to: ugandans-at-heart+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com or Abbey Semuwemba at: abbeysemuwemba@gmail.com.
Jeremy Corbyn has emerged as the surprise leader in the Labour
leadership elections and there is even a possibility that he may win
outright in the first round. Previously seen as just a token candidate
allowed to run in order to appease the left-wing of the party, his
sudden rise has shocked everybody and has brought out people like Tony
Blair scrambling out of the woodwork, warning the Labour Party that
electing Corbyn would be like voting for a death wish because the
party would never win power under a left wing leader. Jeremy Corbyn
has very strong support among young voters and the trade unions and
his strong anti-austerity campaign has cut a cord with the working
class and the poorer sections of society.
George Okello
Joseph Stiglitz: unsurprising Jeremy Corbyn is a Labour leadership
contender Anti-
Sunday 26 July 2015 17.01 BST Last modified on Sunday 26 July 2015 17.57 BST
A Nobel prize-winning economist has said it is unsurprising that an
anti-austerity figure such as Jeremy Corbyn has emerged as a contender
for the Labour leadership.
Speaking in London on Sunday, Joseph Stiglitz warned that policies
from centre-left governments such as Tony Blair's had undermined the
middle-ground message, partly by entrenching wealth for the very few.
Asked about the emergence of Corbyn against more moderate candidates,
Stiglitz said young people were the most likely supporters as they
felt badly let down by more mainstream politics.
"I am not surprised at all that there is a demand for a strong
anti-austerity movement around increased concern about inequality. The
promises of New Labour in the UK and of the Clintonites in the US have
been a disappointment," said the former World Bank economist who is a
professor at Columbia University in the US.
Membership Event:
Guardian Live | The future of Labour: meet the next leader
"Unfortunately the centre-left parties have wimped out. They have
joined in saying: 'Oh yes, we have to have a kinder version of
austerity, a milder version of austerity.' But one of the
disappointments of the eurozone, and Europe more broadly, is that you
have these elections, these centre-left parties get elected and they
have to cave into Germany and so they then do a rhetoric that is
gentler but the outcome is not much gentler."
Stiglitz said in the US research showed that all the economic gains
since the early 1980s had gone to the top 10%. "The bottom 90% of the
economy has seen stagnation for a third of a century and similar
trends – not as bad – are at play elsewhere.
"It's just very hard to say these centre-left parties – with emphasis
on 'centre' – have been able to deliver for most people. Their
economic models have not delivered and their message is not working.
So to me it's not a surprise that you have seen, say in the United
States, which obviously I know better, that [anti-austerity]
progressives are getting a much stronger voice in the Democratic
party."
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph
Stiglitz leaves the Greek prime minister's office after a meeting with
the finance minister, Euclid Tsakalotos. Photograph: Orestis
Panagiotou/EPA Stiglitz argued that the crisis triggered in the
eurozone by what he saw as the wrong-headed bullying of Greece to
accept a deal that only offered "depression without end" was in danger
of feeding anti-EU sentiment in Britain's forthcoming referendum on EU
membership.
"The UK made one very good decision [which] was not to join the euro.
It may have made it for the wrong reason but it was still the right
decision and you should count your blessings," he said at a meeting
organised by his publishers in central London.
Stiglitz said the whole eurozone currency model had not been a success
and he did not think of anything that could have been more divisive
for the European Union than the handling of the Greek debt crisis.
"You feel the antipathy between the Germans and the Greeks and
elsewhere … there are many people who are hypothesising that it will
play a role in the UK referendum, that people will say: 'Who would
want to be a member of that [European Union] club?'" he told an
audience at the Dover Street Arts Club.
Related:
More on this topicJoseph Stiglitz: how I would vote in the Greek referendum
Stiglitz said the best way to save the European political project was
"to let the euro go … Not only has there been evidence of a lack of
solidarity, there is even a misunderstanding of what solidarity is,
and you can't have a group of countries with the same economic
arrangements without some degree of solidarity."
The latest Greek debt deal and the austerity policies to be imposed on
Greece by the European leaders and the International Monetary Fund
were bound to fail, he said.
"Both the young and the old are being very adversely affected by the
troika [lenders] programme and yet people at the negotiating table do
not include either the very young people or the very old people. There
is a sense that the negotiators are not hearing the voice of some of
the people who are being affected strongly.
"Talking about the broader impact on the UK and elsewhere, it is very
clear outside Germany that the view that austerity is bad is very
widespread. I think it is the correct view. Its obviously going to
lead to a stronger sentiment, people saying we have to fight
austerity."
--
Disclaimer:Everyone posting to this Forum bears the sole responsibility for any legal consequences of his or her postings, and hence statements and facts must be presented responsibly. Your continued membership signifies that you agree to this disclaimer and pledge to abide by our Rules and Guidelines.To unsubscribe from this group, send email to: ugandans-at-heart+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com or Abbey Semuwemba at: abbeysemuwemba@gmail.com.
0 comments:
Post a Comment