tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6606798.post4274452142334395159..comments2024-03-27T16:39:43.522+00:00Comments on Liberal England: Stephen Tall: "Deluded to the point of mental incapacity"Jonathan Calderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00730157683743989696noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6606798.post-10364878164188819482007-10-08T23:22:00.000+01:002007-10-08T23:22:00.000+01:00But isn't it possible to agree with both these pos...<I>But isn't it possible to agree with both these positions? To believe that Ming's leadership has not proved a great success, but also to believe that getting rid of him will cause more damage to the party? That is pretty much my view, for one.</I><BR/><BR/>Spot on. Glad you drew attention to Simon's article too!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6606798.post-87692830713851257372007-10-08T21:09:00.000+01:002007-10-08T21:09:00.000+01:00There is no problem with Ming as a leader internal...There is no problem with Ming as a leader internally. He would make a great president, and would have made a great leader when CK was elected if his health had been better. But shit happens. He is now too old for the public perception, whether that is just or not. Simon is right about incrementalism. But I would rather be leading a charge - whether incremental or all out lead by somebody scoring +20 than -6, and Ming is never going to score +20Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6606798.post-50767173507560871022007-10-08T20:43:00.000+01:002007-10-08T20:43:00.000+01:00Thank you for the headline, Jonathan, I shall trea...Thank you for the headline, Jonathan, I shall treasure it!<BR/><BR/>I was saving my "deluded" scorn for those who think *both* that Ming is a drag on the party's popularity, *and* we should therefore get rid of him to make ourselves more popular. <BR/><BR/>My point on 'doing a John Major' is that the party / Ming simply reasserting he's the leader and here to stay is no longer enough - the media is going to bang on about it regardless of the reality (as we saw at conference). That needs a good, hard think. <BR/><BR/>As I freely acknowledge in the posting, re-standing for the leadership is hardly an option, not least because (unlike the Tories) it would have to be a full membership ballot, which is way too cumbersome for a vote of confidence.<BR/><BR/>I agree Simon's article tackles the bigger issues facing the party very well (though I disagree with some of it). <BR/><BR/>But the issues he identifies aren't ones which will be dominating the headlines in the next couple of weeks.Stephen Tallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11720133001571029678noreply@blogger.com