The Artful Dodger

Every right to question Halal, but you must also question Kosher, which seems to have been unquestioned until now when people tag it on to end of their rant about Halal? Happily ban both of them myself. The Jewish Chronicle article being published is unsurprising, Pollard the editor is a very right wing editor and was one of the most fervent in the attempts to paint Corbyn as an anti-Semitic Svengali, almost comparable to the Nazis. His paper is vehemently anti-Muslim and sees the Israeli-Palestine conflict of one of civilisation versus barbarism. Pre election there were some risible attempts to make this about anti racism but now the Tories are safely installed you'll see the reality of what people like Pollard believe. Pollard isn't representative of the Jewish population though, we mustn't dismiss their very real concerns because of his thinly veiled bigotry. FWIW, though the tone of Phillips' argument is clearly one of hate and dislike of Muslims for a variety of reasons, there is a clumsiness around the word 'Islamaphobia'. Being critical of the religion of Islam is not something which should be discouraged, in fact we don't want it spreading beyond a private belief of some British citizens, same as any other religion. Anti-Muslim bigotry would perhaps describe what people want to defend against.

I think Scotland will take the UK government to court. They have a good case that they were knowingly lied to by Cameron about the UK's membershio of the EU when he knew he was always going to call a refefendum. In a really cynical sort of way, disorder in Scotland might be Labour's only real hope. The breakdown of the union could be disastrous.

Sounds as if Usmanov is key to all this, not sure above board this all is? Either way, looks like Everton have some serious dough.

Erm this seems to actually happening. Lot of issues to resolve but this is a coup for Everton. Whether happens, ancelotti is perhaps the classiest, most likeable manager I've seen in English football. Really hope it works out.

There seems to be some actual legs in the Ancelotti rumour, meeting again this week. I can't see it still, but it would be quite a coup of Everton if they did.

It doesn't matter where they're from or what gender, but I think the next Labour leader needs to be definitively working class. This is the party of Bevan, the greatest political figure in British history, we need to get to old Labour values and aggressive counterattacking the Tories. Corbyn, for all I agreed with him, was meek and mild, often letting others speak for him and insults fly by without riposte.

Not sure how much those polls tell the whole story. There is a reason that the Labour vote collapsed mostly in the leave voting North/Midlands, while quire remarkably picking up the seat of Putney. The Tory majority was all about Brexit. Having said that, Corbyn was a problem both for himaelf and his policies. That doesn't mean I don't think he was right, but being right doesn't always make you popular. I'd hope Labour will have an adult discussion about this but it doesn't look like it's going to happen. From the poncey London left like Ash Sakar insisting it wasn't that bad to the right of Labour saying austerity is popular and trying to purge Labour of anyone even vaugley left wing, I don't see much hope. Being brutally honest, the working classes of the towns and cities are now on different pages. The working class of Cardiff, Liverpool and Manchester are not the 'metropolitan elite', they feel the impact of poverty, austerity etc just as much as someone from Grimsby or Leigh. They just don't buy into Tory nationalism. That is a divide that may well be impossible to bridge. I'm hearing a lot about 'Blue Labour' now, they will feel this is their opportunity. They raise some good points and were proven right on Brexit. However, all this talk of a socially conservative working class doesn't bear out. Where is the talk of strengthening marriage (I didn't agree with Corbyn's aim to take away the tax benefits of married couples), lowering divorce rates, encouraging the nuclear family, edu action, work and most importantly, stopping the corrosive influence of market consumerism on our culture? Its essentially just about immigration. Anyway, I'm 30 now. Time to stop thinking the world will change.

Arsenal are an absolute coward of a club. The most pathetic, greed fuelled thing I've seen.

You really do believe everything you read on twitter, don't you? That's from 2012. Come on.

The Guardian are a paper largely staffed by extremely privileged people who like to say they vote Labour because it sounds good but tremble at the thought of a government doing anything even remotely left wing, might affect their income you see. Many people were right about Corbyn, even as someone who liked his ideas I knew he was going to be unpopular. I'm sure anyone who has lived in the real world knows that something being unpopular does not mean it is not right, but sadly in politics that does not matter.

I'm not sure who's happier, the Tories or most of the Guardian columnists, the glee is palpable.

Labour voters are not angels, we shouldn't pander to their worst inclinations. People who tend to hate Nicola Sturgeon tend to be dubious people, hate the Scottish etc. Labour should stand on principle and if we lose, then we have to make the argument better but never pander to the likes of him.

People need to join up the dots, why did Britain vote to leave the EU? There was a large right-wing element but the core of it was total exasperation with the state of things as they are. Speaking anecdotally, my mother's family are from Pontefract, a mining town. It's absolutely devastated. Now I'm not saying we should return to coal or even that the closure of the mines didn't need to happen at some point, but it's the way it was done, the treatment of people as 'the enemy within', just good, honest working people trying to make a decent life for themselves as a family. It was only the split with the Brexit Party that prevented the Tories from taking it?! My Uncle and Grandfather would be spinning in their graves. The economic dogma we've had for 40 years, unchallenged even by a Labour government, is responsible for the society we now live in. The real, real issue with how we are in this state is how we run our economy, and that seeps into our culture. Labour need to keep the message of change up, if they go back to New Labour they may prove popular for a bit but ultimately they are just buying into what is destroying our country.

Yes, Scotland should leave now. Do whatever it takes, protests, riots. You're being held hostage by a nation with an identity crisis.

Corbyn's the only Labour leader for a generation that has actively challenged the economic dogma that has devastated this country, left millions living in shells of towns with no purpose or reason for being. Corbyn isn't popular for many reasons and he should go, but if Labour abandon their opposition to ultra free market economics, again, the ultimate result will be far worse. This election was about Brexit, Brexit happened because of what I said above, the left behind towns and areas so decimated by how we run our economy. The only way to fix this country is to challenge that, I won't change that view Labour shouldn't just go populist because they've lost an election. Change the messenger, not the message.

The tory vote actually went down here, didn't think that was possible.

I dont want any violence. I'm just amazed that anyone who claims to be a Liverpool fan can take pleasure in tbe victory of a party which stands against the vast majority of their fans. It's like you don't really get it, like most glory hunters. Anyway, there will inquests, quite rightly and we will hear about how this is all about being too 'left wing', Blair will be wheeled out again and again to tell us this. This was about brexit and brexit only.

I'd like to see you at Anfield with your views. Not that you'll ever go or have been. A horrendous evening for a lot of people. Just got to laugh really. Things are going to be incredibly bad.

Scousers, mancs and cockneys generally all slag each other off but politically are the same. Extremely sad night. Although predictable. My grandfather would be spinning in his grave to see pontefract on the verge of going tory. You will regret this sooner or later. It's over. We've lost. Just look after yourself lads.

India and Pakistan are both pretty troubled and unpleasant countries in many ways, I'd rather the UK didn't pander to either community or their prejudices and I find it deeply depressing that people would be voting for a party because of perceived ethnic bias etc.

I still have basically zero hope but it is rather telling that the Conservative party are scared by a high turn out, they want people not to vote. This is pretty damning.

Hasn't that photo already been debunked? Abbott is hated because of who and what she is, several politicians have made worse gaffes, been more dishonest etc. It's clear as day.

The general public are generally bellends though.

I apologise if I've got you wrong and you are actually well read on the intricacies of the middle east, have engaged with both sides of the debate and tried to get a well rounded picture of everything. I just imagine the first you'd ever heard of the 1985 tunis bombing was when you read it about in the Sun/Mail etc, if that's incorrect, then I am sorry. I have tried to read as much as I can, yes, from both sides of the argument. It's not just the right, there are plenty of the left who don't know the very fundamentals of the creation of Israel, history of Zionism etc. It's why there is no hope, if people don't know their history properly then they won't know anything about the present and future.

Full expecting a tory majority, Brexit issue being decisive. Anything else will be a pleasant surprise but I'll be in a pub several pints down when the result comes in.