This has resulted in a sustainable high standard of living and quality of life for most Germans that many Brits would be astounded at if they only were aware of it.

I’m not sure what your experience of Germany is, but it is very different to mine. Germany is a sick country, that is crippled by war guilt and a population that is declining/aging at an alarming rate. Their Unions also appear to act in a much more constructive and responsible manner, which may be attributed to their Tutonic nature.

Also, their National Health Service is not a scratch on ours. A German friend of mine is sadly suffering from cancer, and was it not for the fact that he is wealthy and can afford premium care, he would likely be in a much worse state. A two tier health system like that would be rejected here.

As ‘The Bump’ said, Blair has proven that the Networking opportunities and the prestige of having held that position are a gateway to enormous wealth.

The ‘impartial’ BBC have given this leadership campaign more coverage than the general election! 😀 Well, certainly more coverage than any leadership campaign I can ever remember.

Speaking of the BBC, this is on their website this morning: 24 things that Jeremy Corbyn believes

Of particular interest:

Talking to militant groups is necessary to win peace in the Middle East. Corbyn faced heavy criticism for using the word “friends” to describe Hamas and Hezbollah. He has responded by saying he had used the term in a “collective way” adding that while he does not agree with either organisation, a peace process means “you have to talk to people with whom you may profoundly disagree”.

I fail to see how it is a “peace process”, when you’re proposing handing power to people that are proponents of gender inequality, homophobia, racism, anti-semitism, honor killings, FGM and all other manner of atrocities.

Replacing Trident would be a costly mistake. Corbyn, a long-term CND member, says plans to replace the nuclear missile system should be ditched. He believes the project’s £100bn price tag could be better spent “on our national well-being”.

I didn’t realise “national well-being” was a deterrent to unstable Nuclear armed states like North Korea and Pakistan, or had the ability to be a moderate voice among the much larger nuclear superpowers.

Labour should not support air strikes against Islamic State in Syria. Corbyn, who is national chair of the Stop the War Coalition, believes innocent Syrians would suffer and the supply of arms and funds to the Islamic State group should be cut off instead.

A little inconsistent, as we know he believes in including violent militant groups in negotiated power sharing. There is also the not inconsiderable hurdles of us having no ability to stop the flow of funds or weapons to IS, as they are clearly supported by wealthy regional backers with huge oil assets.

The immigration debate has been “quite unpleasant”. In an interview with Channel 4 News, Corbyn said the current discourse around the issue “fails to recognise the huge contribution migrants have made to this country”. He added: “We should let people into this country who are desperate to get somewhere safe to live”.

Now he sounds like a student union activist. Very few people would fail to acknowledge the huge contribution migrants have made to this country, but he is tarring everyone who is skeptical about mass immigration with the EDL brush. The majority, including the working class who he claims to represent, would just like to see immigration implemented in a controlled, sustainable manner. At this rate, we will have the largest population in Europe in 35 years.

The dispute between the UK and Argentina over the Falkland Islands could be resolved with “some degree of joint administration”. In an interview with the BBC in 2013 he said other territorial disputes had been settled in this way, and under such an arrangement the islanders’ British nationality could be maintained. He added that during the 1982 Falklands conflict it had been in Margaret Thatcher’s interests to “divert attention from her catastrophic economic issues”. During the leadership campaign, a Corbyn spokesman said he supported “a long-term negotiated settlement” that took the islanders’ views into account.

Within one paragraph, you can see that he really doesn’t understand the situation, and is relying on the Blairite tactic of immaterial soundbites. He presumes that those Islands are ours to do with as we please, and in doing so he is just as bad as the Argentine authorities. The islanders have already overwhelmingly voted in favour of British rule, it is not for us to go against their wishes and hand them over to Argentina. He also utterly dishonors the sacrifice of the British troops who went to the Falklands to fight for their right to self determination.

Ireland should be united.

Again, Northern Ireland should have the right to self determination. There is huge support for both positions, they are hardly being kept against their will.

A national maximum wage should be introduced to cap the salaries of high earners.

Because over taxing the wealthy has worked so well in France… drive off all the wealth and the wealth creators, and who is left to fund Corbyns Socialist paradise? I mean, the top 1% already pay 30% of income tax revenues. What he is proposing is effectively putting a huge sign over Britain saying ‘Closed for business’.

The arms trade should be restricted. Corbyn would like to see the “brilliance and skill of those in the arms industry be converted for peaceful purposes”.

Another nail in the coffin of our world leading arms industry. But Labour has a long tradition of destroying this industry (see Nationalisation of our Aircraft industry in the 70’s, and TSR2)

Although Labour Party membership has increased significantly over the last few days, if his views on these subjects become part of the Party Manifesto, it will probably spell the end for Labour.

Although I am theoretically in favour of nationalized, or at least partially nationalized utitlities and infrastructure, I can also see the huge failings in doing so. Nationalization destroyed many of our industries, and allowed the Unions to hold the country to ransom. They have consistently abused their power, and the public would be very reluctant to hand them that power again.

And the problem with this is?

They put their own self serving greed before the good of the nation. The notion of trade unions, like that of the Labour movement, is a noble one. In reality, they have been corrupted beyond all recognition. Funny how Labour and the Unions preach ‘each according to their need’, yet take home enormous salaries and milk the benefits of their positions.

And Labour under Corbyn will be even further from their origins. It is basic economics that saturating the labour market results in wage suppression, worse conditions and higher unemployment. Old Labour knew this, which is why they were anti EU. Corbyn and his ilk belong in the Socialist party, not Labour. At some point, the boundary between the two has become blurred to non existent.

Adios Labour 😀 It’s been awful knowing you.

Considering the election was fairly recent, and the opposition suffered one of the worst defeats in their history, I would have to disagree with you there.

Most people see ‘austerity’ for what it is: living within our means.

Apparently that is the only way they will fit. It’s been documented on Britmodeller before 🙂