Building on yesterday's thoughts on the sticky predicament which Chuka Umunna and the Eds generously dumped Jim Murphy in on Monday, I have a wee piece in this morning's National on Scottish Labour's new shapeshifter leader, several months into his agitated stewardship of his troubled party. An excerpt:
"For his critics and detractors, it is all too easy to see Mr Murphy as the undead, malevolent soul fragment of Labour’s late, unlamented wizard of spin. Having assassinated the decent but lost figure of Johann Lamont, and snatched the “branch office” from her, Jim has evolved into a divisive figure who kicks up remarkable levels of antipathy.
Many see him as a sort of Lovecraftian monstrosity, conscienceless, centreless: all surfaces and no depth, his shifting harlequin face twisting and bending into whatever expression he imagines his audience want him to wear.
Today, he is anti-austerity Jim, crusader against cuts and defender of the rights of the common man. Scant months ago, he was Trident Jim, a fully paid-up cheerleader for the military industrial complex, calling on his leader to accept Tory spending cuts and shun “shallow and temporary” populism to prove the party’s credentials as a “credible” opposition to Cameron’s Conservatives."
You can read the whole thing here.
None of the characterisations of Jim Murphy provided seem mutually exclusive. Is he simply a rounded individual?
ReplyDeleteI think the lib dems are in a same bind, although with much less to lose than labour. In coalition with the Tories in Westminster, but thought it would be still ok to be in coalition with labour in holyrood. What on earth ever made them think this was going happen? It has taken a turn for the surreal, with Rennie in todays independent, accusing the Scottish conservatives of secretly wanting a 2nd referendum...reason? Because the Tories won't ask their voters to prop up the lib dems. The Tories sharks are circling hoping to increase vote share in former lib dem strongholds. All that Bonhomie, UKOK best of both worlds mutual support has dried up. It would appear that all the #SNPout tactical voting is achieving, is to kill off the lib dems. So much for being part of the warp and weft of Scottish history. Not that I think the tactical voting will achieve anything but misery for remaining UK parties. I suspect a lot of labour folk are going to be seriously pissed off at being asked to prop up a tory, and choose to punish their chosen parties by either staying at home or going for the green/snp alternative.
ReplyDeletePoor old Rennie - he doesn't even rate a rebuke from his own boss, he has to suffer the indignity of getting a kicking from Ruth Davidson.
I read the article in the National,great NEWSpaper.Unlike its rivals! it has improved and continues to do so,I'm glad I stuck with it from day 1.I just hope that all this lifting us up does not dash us down,as if we don't take about 40+ seats many will be disappointed,and perhaps lose heart,could be the polls are setting us up and are not true reflections of public opinion.Me I see 15+ being good and our best yet,but if we do take the magical 40+ I will be ecstatic,and it may take a year or so for me to come down to earth.I will dream on in hope,its times like this I wonder about being an atheist.
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