Should there be a new Centre Party in UK and would you support it?

I am appalled by the antics of both the extreme right and left.
Listening to Profile this morning John MacDonald seems more dangerous than Jeremy Corbyn.
The right is caught up with Farage and Trump over Brexit.
I heard Vince Cable saying that the Centre needs to reinvent itself and Tony Blair propounding that the Labour Party is lost.
Centrist Labour MP’s are being deselected by Momentum and a new method of selecting the Leader of the Tories, similar to that used by Labour is being put forward.
Northern Ireland has not had regional government for far too long and there seems no way forward.
Do we need a Government of National Unity or a new Centrist Party and which would you support?

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I doubt there is a need for a new party as such.
Sir Vince Cable proposes that the LibDems be restyled Movement of Moderates (or some such title) encouraging moderates from other parties to ‘cross the floor of the house’ and restore faith in politics.
Popular MPs shouldn’t have a fear about this; there have been many occasions where standing MPs have rejected their (original) sponsoring party whip and either forced a by election and won or have retaken the seat at the next GE.
It is time for a change without doubt.

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Tony Blair seemed to be suggesting a centre party last week, suggesting that Corbyn was unelectable.

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A huge ‘vacuum’ is opening up in UK politics with Labour moving left and the Tories moving right leaving the centre ground vacant. IMO October/November will be crunch time and if the Brexit talks aren’t going well then it will present an opportunity for a new party to emerge.

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The history of “new” centrist parties in the UK is not that great and the lack of PR means it is virtually impossible for a new party to get a toehold.

I can’t really see it getting anywhere

Don’t entirely disagree Paul but Brexit and the election of Corbyn has ‘polarised’ UK politics and something has to give, a seismic move left or right is not what the UK needs right now.

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**[quote=“Mat_Davies, post:3, topic:22224, full:true”]
Tony Blair seemed to be suggesting a centre party last week, suggesting that Corbin was unelectable.
[/quote]

But people suggesting Corbyn is unelectable isn’t going to make him unelectable, any more than suggesting he is an anti-Semite makes him one.

Corbyn’s critics such as Tessa Jowell, David Blunkett and Chuka Umuna are desperate to land a fatal blow on him, but they should know by now that the tide is on the turn, and politics is being returned to the people after several decades of lazy self-indulgence and assumed entitlement by a toffish elite on both sides of the political ‘divide’.

Brexit is evidence of the political ineptitude and narrow self-interest of this sorry gang, exemplified by Boris Johnson, the racist bunch in the DUP, and Nigel Farage.

Roll on March next year, we shall see which side the bread is buttered, and I hope Rees Mogg falls buttered side down on the sordid floor.

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You’re suggesting that he be ‘recycled’ then?

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Sooner the better if there is to be a viable Opposition!

Agree. The problem is that neither the Tories or Labour really have a clue how to handle a situation which has so many fundamental contradictions built in. As I have said before the only reason that the labour party can get away with having no coherent policy is that, not being in power the spotlight isn’t on them over Brexit. The UK political system remains differentiated along anachronistic lines which have less relevance today, especially in the face of Brexit.

In fact if rather pisses me off that we are constantly told the public support Brexit because 80% voted in the General Election for a party which supports us leaving the EU - as if there was a bloody choice.

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I’ve always said I would vote for a Common Sense Party, someone who thought “well what’s the sensible solution that benefits the majority”. Reward people who contribute and obey the law. More incentives to work. Common sense approach to law and order. And - controversially - sorting out the homeland before doling out foreign aid except where it is clearly proven to reach the people. Oh, and reorganise politics so that there’s proportional representation so it really IS the will of the majority as to which party gets into power. Whether this new party is centre or not I really don’t know. But an injection of ‘common sense’ into politics would be a refreshingly healthy bonus.

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Regretably Sandy, common sense and politics don’t sit well with each other :roll_eyes:

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Unfortunately common sense is not that common - certainly I doubt there is enough going around to form a common sense party.

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And the total wavering of Jeremy Corbyn.

I quite agree.
The problem is that for the most part politics is full of self servers and the national interest can go hang.
The Lib Dems went into coalition for the good of the country and where did that get them?
Their voters deserted them in droves.

Yes, it’s an interesting question as to whether this is the reason that they don’t seem to be able to capitalise on the widespread dissatisfaction with the two main parties.

I don’t think Jeremy Corbyn ‘wavers’, Jane. It’s politicians like TM and Cameron that ‘flap’ in the wind of the latest hysterical cause fomented by the Mail, the Telegraph and the other Tory rags, they’re the waverers and dog-whistlers. Many people, including most adults under 35, trust him and support him.

Corbyn is principled, consistent, not foul-mouthed or a rabble-rouser, and believes in the kind of democratic politics that is reflective, inclusive, progressive, co-operative and commited to peaceful co-existence. Those who thrive on casino capitalism hate and fear him.

Casino capitalism is going to bring the world down in ruins, fomenting nationalism, trade war xenophobia, the modern equvalents of slave-labour, feudal servitude, environmental diaster and epidemic degenerative and other disorders based on ‘over-nutrition’ and pathological over-consumption.

So I’m exaggerating, you think ? Not if you have a sense of world history and the growth and collapse of ‘civilisations’ built on hubris greed and imperial conquest.

I like Jeremy Corbyn. No amount of mendacious black-guarding of his character will change my mind, and I find myself in growing company.

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Sorry Pete, but I think Jed is nuts and therefore, I hope utterly unelectable :neutral_face:

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He might be unelectable Bill, but that doesn’t change the fact that he is a decent, honest, principled man as Peter says.
Its for the Labour party to change matters if it sees fit to do so.

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I don’t think he is unelectable…I’ve watched with dismay the toilet paper rag smear campaigns… the well funded lobbyists…he’s never wavered…I’m sad that he’s been bullied into accepting a “certain wording” but I think that it will only increase his support in the long run…not everyone is bought and paid for by psychopathic war criminals…

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