Sean: a Celebration

[french frank]

It already has.

It's no more and no less "socialist" than previous Labour governments. Even Attlee's government was sunk by those (e.g. Ralph Miliband) wanting him to be 'more socialist'.

[burning dog]

Could you perhaps supply an image that shows Andrew Neil’s keen interest in the Disco genre …?

No - But Robbie Gibbs freinds know him as Robin!

[Ein Heldenleben]

No, here it's much easier for the government to stick their placemen on the BBC board. In addition to the "death by a thousand cuts" inflicted by the last Tory governments, if one is to believe former Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis in her 2022 Mactaggart lecture or Lewis Goodall in yesterday's Observer, BBC news personnel have been subjected to editorial interference by Sir Robbie Gibb from his position on the supposedly non-exec BBC Board, before which benighted Auntie endured the imposition of Johnson's chum Richard Sharp as Chairman, until his facilitation of financial support to the disgraced PM proved to be a "perceived" conflict of interest (not an actual one, of course !). Odds on Sir Robbie seeing out his term until 2028 ??

On the shelf-life of presenters, it's notable how many distinguished news journos/presenters with plenty of shelf-life left in them have defected from the BBC to LBC within the last few years -- in addition to Mailtis and Goodall, Eddie Mair, Andrew Marr & Jon Sopel.

Just read the Goodall article . It’s excellent. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the money could be found to restore Newsnight to its former glories ? Worked on it briefly decades ago in its absolute heyday when it had a million plus viewers and a team of high quality FOREIGN correspondents not just the odd policy editor . The way things are shaping up globally we could do with them all again - where on TV is there any daily in-depth exploration of Ukraine , Middle East , the US , China etc ?

I’d also put the show on BBC One or peak time BBCTwo. It’s time for the BBC to step up and get serious in line with the deteriorating global situation.

[burning dog]

It's no more and no less "socialist" than previous Labour governments. Even Attlee's government was sunk by those (e.g. Ralph Miliband) wanting him to be 'more socialist'.

FF. It would have been Harold Laski in Attlee's time who may have sunk them.

I 'm sure the young Ralph Milliband would have wanted Attlee to be "more socialist" though.

[LHC]

Could you perhaps supply an image that shows Andrew Neil’s keen interest in the Disco genre …?

Here you go.

[burning dog]

Could you perhaps supply an image that shows Andrew Neil’s keen interest in the Disco genre …?

This is from a post disco genre I suppose.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/u0VG5eA1tpY?app=desktop

[Serial_Apologist]

It's no more and no less "socialist" than previous Labour governments. Even Attlee's government was sunk by those (e.g. Ralph Miliband) wanting him to be 'more socialist'.

Probably it will be a great deal less. Postwar for 20-odd years there was pretty much consensus in ruling quarters that Keynsian monetary policies were necessitated, and all but the backwoods persons saw nationalisation of utilities in infrastructural necessity terms, In other ways Attlee's Labour gov was (courtesy the affiliated unions) quite reactionary - on race, NATO, the atom bomb and de-colonisation. The old Left which could have caused inner division was caught on the hop - the positive fatalist Trotskyist far left had predicted either world revolution or fascism as the only possible outcomes of WW2; the Communists were totally in hoc to the Kremlin line of "peaceful co-existence" ruling out anything that would disturb the new world order to whose victory over Nazism they had contributed. Following China and Cuba, anti-colonial movements in the Third World were, up to the Anti Vietnam war movement, seen as to be from now on viewed as the displaced epicentre of world revolution. All that changed in the late 60s with the dual rise of "lifestyle anarchism" and Maoism, and a recrudescent Trotskyst movement. By ten years later the pro-USSR Communists had split, the majority aligned externally to the Tribune Group in the LP; the only remaining arguments vis-a-vis the Labour Party being less about its suitability as a vehicle for socialist change than whether or not to enter it for purposes of winning sections of its base (far larger than the revolutionary left) to its own brands of activism in the unions, communities and among ethnic minorities. The rise of the Green parties was based on WW2's encouragement of class collaboration through a common enemy being transferred to the likelihood of environmental destruction acting to transcend issues of class, colour or creed. The idea of Labour as THE potential vehicle of change (by electing a Labour government on a left wing programme) only really came back with Jeremy Corbyn. Essentially the Establishment (big biz, chiefs of police, security, law courts, banks, armed forces, the mainstream media) over-reached itself viz Labour while ineluctably correct in the wider dangers: Corbyn and his supporters had to be got(ten) rid of and Labour rendered safe for capitalism's continuance, as it always reliably had been. And so we are... where we are.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Here you go.

Thanks so much. I couldn’t upload as it exceeded a rather paltry 11kb limit .

yes the power of disco ..

this thread with its twin discussions on disco and politics / socialism has to be one of the more bizarre. Luckily Andrew Neil unites the seemingly irreconcilable.

[Serial_Apologist]

Thanks so much. I couldn’t upload as it exceeded a rather paltry 11kb limit .

yes the power of disco ..

this thread with its twin discussions on disco and politics / socialism has to be one of the more bizarre. Luckily Andrew Neil unites the seemingly irreconcilable.

Base and superstructure. It's all intertwined, innit!

[Ein Heldenleben]

This is from a post disco genre I suppose.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/u0VG5eA1tpY?app=desktop

Not seen that . I’d heard rumours . This is the late night BBC politics show that also had Diane Abbot on it ?

oh dear , oh dear …

[Ein Heldenleben]

It's all intertwined, innit!

what capitalist commodification of a folk genre ?
Try privatising the BeeGees .
I reckon the US pop music business is about as raw as capitalism gets - a lot of it is borderline illegal.

[Serial_Apologist]

what capitalist commodification of a folk genre ?
Try privatising the BeeGees .
I reckon the US pop music business is about as raw as capitalism gets - a lot of it is borderline illegal.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Thanks but I’ve just realised this is not the disco prom thread but the Sean Rafferty thread (that I started ) so my disco reference might bemuse some . But always a pleasure to drag out that photo ..and the added bonus of some video .

[LMcD]

Not seen that . I’d heard rumours . This is the late night BBC politics show that also had Diane Abbot on it ?

oh dear , oh dear …

I think it was the episode of BBC1's 'This Week' broadcast on 19/10/2018. The other guest was Caroline Flint.

[Maclintick]

Thanks but I’ve just realised this is not the disco prom thread but the Sean Rafferty thread (that I started ) so my disco reference might bemuse some . But always a pleasure to drag out that photo ..and the added bonus of some video .

Yes. LHC beat me to it as for some reason my share link from IMGUR failed.....