Watson regurgitates language that caused Labour’s 2015 collapse in Scotland in order to attack McDonnell, but lambasted by Scottish left for trying to create division
Labour’s notional deputy leader Tom Watson has made another ill-advised video in an attempt to attack Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, after McDonnell said Labour “would not block” a second independence referendum as it would “be for the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish people to decide”.
But to do it, Watson obliviously vomited up the same kind of ‘Project Fear’ language that was perceived by many Scots during the 2014 referendum campaign as putting Ed Miliband’s Labour on the side of the Tory elite, leading to the loss of forty of Labour’s forty-one parliamentary seats in Scotland in the 2015 general election. Only the ‘Corbyn surge’ in 2017 saw Labour stage some kind of recovery.
Watson put out a video dominated by forecasts of ‘turbocharged austerity’, ‘threat’ and ‘disruption’ if Scotland separated from the UK – and added shameless hypocrisy to the mix.
Not only does Watson want to deprive Scots of another referendum while he is constantly demanding a new one on the EU, but he appealed to the democratic mandate of Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard to support it – even though he routinely ignores the mandate of the twice – overwhelmingly – elected Jeremy Corbyn. Of course, Scottish Labour also has its own deputy leader and is entitled to look askance at Watson bypassing her with his condescending video.
The video was quickly criticised by actual Scottish socialists, as CfS (Campaign for Socialism, Scotland’s sister-organisation to Momentum) attacked Watson for “trying to create [division]” and for his “opportunistic drumbeating”:
Yet again Watson has demonstrated that so-called centrists never learn – or choose not to learn – the obvious lessons from their disasters. Aligning Labour with the Tory Establishment in 2014 shredded Labour’s parliamentary presence in Scotland a year later, yet now Watson is vomiting up exactly the kind of language that caused the collapse in order to attack John McDonnell and, indirectly, Jeremy Corbyn.
The only question is whether he’s ignorant, simply doesn’t care – or actively wants to damage Labour in Scotland as he’s damaged it in England and Wales.
Place your bets…
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I think he’s just a bit of a fool really. The more he says, the more we think, this guy’s an eejit
Personally I think fool is being kind. Watson is a self serving, manipulative anti-Socialist, pro neoliberal,pro war tool like many in the women only Lucas ‘unity cabinet’ proposal. A sniff of power appears to throw all principle, common sense and concern for the public at home and abroad out the window.
History shows that women are just as ideologically ruthless, war (‘do as we say or else’) hungry and self serving as men. Think Thatcher, H. Clinton etc.
Bingo , bang on right !
Don’t forget Shameless Opportunist, too!
An excellent twitter thread from Political Football on the Lucas unity cabinet proposal.
https://twitter.com/politicalfubol/status/1160808010668761088
Yes I hear the latest CLP NEC report notes that there have been a lot of resolutions calling for Watson to resign “which should concern him.”
Oh we don’t need an all white, middle class liberal, all women Cabinet we need a diverse socialist one led by Jeremy!
It’s unbelievable that he can write such a tweet. Fairness and unity plus job losses in this garbage. I can’t remember him talking about unemployment ever. As for unity. Well you’re the jury on that one. I still don’t believe he is as handsome as he thinks. Mind you the Tapeworms all think they are God’s gift. Unbelievable, he thinks (or knows ) that his position is eternal. How would any party react to such treachery? A bit harsher perhaps? I have no doubts that he would deal with any devil for personal advance. Why did the TWs ever join our party. We stand for everything that they loathe and fear.I’m on my way out but I want to be in a Socialist society. C’mon Jocks you know what to do. Red Clideside, John Maclean and many more showed the steel spine that runs through the working class. You need no advice from such a man. Keep your heads up, I sense something stirring north of the border. To paraphrase someone’s quote,
“Compared to JC, Tom Watson is a political pygmy”.
If ever there’s a lesson in how to not win a General Election, Labour is it. Whilst Johnson is clearly in election mode, Labour continue to self-destruct. Both sides are as bad as each other, and will deserve the impending defeat that is about to be inflicted upon them.
“There are none so blind as those that will not see” Tom Watson is in full mode at preventing a Corbyn led government. It’s my belief that his orders are coming from the backers of LFI which sponsors him heavily.
” Both sides are as bad as each other”
No they aren’t Joe.
One is venal, the other just not very canny.
But if anyone had had the conversation I experienced at the weekend with two people whose allegiances are solidly with Labour, you would be *very* worried about the the current lack of convincing strategy to combat the Tories.
It is, indeed a shambles in circumstanes where high-power thinking is required.
… and no, just bleating about the media and the right won’t cut the mustard. A much higher quality of thinking than that supplied by sundry operators past their sell-by date is required. Being outwitted by the right and allowing a number of good radical people to be suspended from the Party is but a litmus test of the wider failings of strategy and tactics.
Still not sick to death of strategy, tactics, spin and everything else New Labour, RH?
I am.
Honesty and plain speaking is Corbyn’s nature and his advantage – and, incidentally, the only ‘tactic’ I see as being worthy of Labour.
You confuse sin with competence, David. Nothing nuliarbore about being effective.
I’m tired of the habit of losing tied up with a bow of righteousness. I don’t do religion.
And I wasn’t talking about Corbyn – or his manifest strengths – rather the Party’s weaknesses.
Great comeback to a post probably ghostwritten Tapeworm by Tingers Tapeworm. Ta.
your wrong.
we have a labour party that is working towards being a socialist government and then we have a minority which we can call a party within the party that are doing everything they can to undermine the majority in order to maintain their positions of power and authority. labour is not self destructing it is being held back by the right wing with the manufactured lies, distortions and half truths.
the good news about this is that they are a minority and soon they may well suffer some unpleasant consequences of treating the actual grassroots members with contempt.
The only thing that matters for the future of our country is we have a socialist labour government lead by corbyn….anyone that uses brexit as an excuse to undermine the party and the leader of the party is not acting in the best interest in the future of the people or the country.
Ahh the little turd has resurfaced again , someone pse pull the chain to flush , NB it may take a few attempts
Why hasn’t Twatson resigned yet?
he wants to be the prime minister in a government of national unity, this is his game plan i think.
he is not an object of ridicule he is incredibly dangerous and needs to have his power and authority removed from him.
Shouldn’t be allowed to resign – should be sacked.
When faced with a troublesome, oversized turd that wouldn’t flush, one nameless relative of mine would get out the poo-knife, a rusted old thing which was fit for nothing but slicing up fat turds before flushing again. Did the job a treat.
My preference would be bleach and a plunger, but each to his own!
Labour- just how long are you gonna put up with this fifth columnist?
Bay Whitaker, fools can’t help it – they can’t be blamed for being fools.
Watson, Hodge, Mann etc… they work hard at being obnoxious.
They’re self-made twats.
Tom Watson is a jester at the court of Peter Mandelson and his cronies. He throws balls up in the air not knowing where they may land. He then does a double summersault and lands on his backside and then for the finale. He blows smoke out of his backside!!
“… language that was perceived by many Scots during the 2014 referendum campaign as putting Ed Miliband’s Labour on the side of the Tory elite, leading to the loss of forty of Labour’s forty-one parliamentary seats”
Can’t resist a Guardian-type self-serving fiction, can you Skwawkbox?
Yes – Watson is a devious irritant, out for his own fake ends.
But –
If you don’t know that Labour’s debacle in Scotland goes back much further than that, you don’t know a lot, even if that stimbling campaign compounded it.
Note uncomfortable fact : nothing substantial has changed since Corbyn took over from Miliband. That’s a measure of where Labour is in Scotland.
F.me.
Another day, another ineffectual camp-fire rant about Watson whilst adjusting the woggles to the left..
Job done. The right and Johnson splattered!
Not.
Still going about your main business of showing us all how much cleverer you are than the rest of us who post here are I see RH
Not more clever.
Just more realistic, awake and aware about the actuality of diminished electoral support.
(Hint : chanting ‘We hate Watson’ isn’t a magic incantation for success, any more than casting chicken bones.)
Do catch up with the world … and particularly the continuing failure to regain critical Scottish votes.
Without wishing to defend Tom Watson in the least, the Labour Left should be strongly AGAINST a second referendum on Scottish independence.
For starters, there’s already been one.
Secondly, to make such a concession to Scottish Nationalism is yet another manifestation of the left-liberal, Guardianista, anti-socialist, excessive emphasis on identity politics which now dominates the Labour “Left” at the expense of class politics.
Labour should be trying to unite the working class of this country rather than helping at attempt to divide it on spurious ethnic lines – as if there were some “essentialist” difference between Scots and the rest of us!
And another thing – shouldn’t Labour policy be made by Labour Party Annual Conference rather than by the say-so of John McDonnell? Policymaking dictatorship by leading figures is pure Blair.
”And another thing – shouldn’t Labour policy be made by Labour Party Annual Conference rather than by the say-so of John McDonnell? Policymaking dictatorship by leading figures is pure Blair.”
Unless of course it’s tom watson getting his 2nd ref/remain option into policy by using thinly veiled threats – including, but not limited to – kicking up a further stink about antisemitism; which of course they’ll scream & shout about, but NOT if it gets them their policy.
No coincidence that it’s the very same people who believe 52-48 isn’t democratic…
Tom Watson’s part in the Carl Beech scandal has been exposed and I truly don’t know how he can show his face.Most of us would die of shame. He on the other hand feels no shame or regret for his, at best, bad judgement and foolish actions and is happy to pontificate to the rest of us about a Scottish referendum.
I think we’ll leave the referendum issue to wiser heads than Tom’s.
Watson’s motto seems to be when in disgrace, keep digging!
Timfrom They used to talk about Teflon Tony because nothing ever stuck but even he wasn’t as tricky as Teflon Tom Watson self appointed witchfinder general and all round bully boy.
No sense, no shame.
….Bit like a few who continue to post their garbage on here, really.
You know?! The ones who happily allowed watson (By virtue of their lack of criticism and condemnation of his actions) to use thinly-veiled threats (Including but not limited to kicking up a further stink of overhyped antisemitism) to get their way of a 2nd ref/remain option without going through the democratic process of passing it at conference.
Chill, Toffee.
A/S is, to the general public, a non-issue. Don’t let Jack wind you up.
I’m chilled mate. jack t – ‘wind me up’? Plum wouldn’t know where to stick the key .
You’re quite correct …..But don’t allow that fact NOT to wind jack t up, as I don’t 🙂
Telling Scotland Labour won’t stand in the way of a referendum – that we’ll be sad to see them leave the Union if they choose to leave but that we’ll do everything possible to help them make a success of their independence including transitional funding arrangements – and that if they ever change their minds we’ll welcome them back whatever the reason – is just the right thing to do whether or not we gain politically.
Oh… and that if they chose to stay it would be a massively less London-centric and a massively more egalitarian Union under a Corbyn Labour government.
It’s not Labour’s job to stand in the way of a Scottish referendum. It’s our job to offer them a decent alternative and it’s up to them to choose.
“It’s our job to offer them a decent alternative”… rather impose a Tory Brexit for aminority of the UK to alienate them further.
David/Jack T
Spot on, throw in currency cooperative and owt else you can think of to make it easy to leave, including not campaigning one way or the other,
We want it to go through to allow us the excuse to bin Trident and give us a strong devolution model for North and Midlands
I happen to believe that honesty and respect for Scottish voters rather than subterfuge, threats, bribery, spin or obfuscation is the best way to persuade Scots that we’re different to New Labour – and that staying in the Union while there’s a Corbyn-led government is the best option for working people in both Scotland and England.
You presumably believe in doing whatever it takes to stop them leaving whatever the scottish voters want for themselves.
Don’t give up on the sarcasm though. It takes practice but you’ll get there.
Who made it safe for him to rear his unsightly cuboid head again?
Rat bastard shouldn’t be allowed to live his shithouse attack on Jennie Formby down.