You do realise, don't you, that the Ontario Provincial government and Canada's Federal government are two different entities? What on earth has this news - if news it be, and assuming it is even slightly significant - got to to with Monday's Federal election?

In any case, I'd have thought it fairly obvious, given the quagmire of work-to-rule, threatened strike action, and fractious or fractured bargaining negotiations, that the provincial govt's new system for collective bargaining in education is a complete custerfluck. If $1m is the extra cost that OSSTF incurred as a result of the nonsense, then why should they not have asked for those costs to be refunded?

They're doing their back to basics thing, just like the conservative party membership went for IDS. It's a dead end but they have to go through the process to realise that. While labour go AWOL the conservatives have a free hand and really labour will only have themselves to blame.

Yes i see what you mean, but I dont think IDS was particualry a radical back to basics from what i can remember. This Corbyn is a radical left winger and makes Labour totally unelectable.

I think the official policy was "back to my place young man?"

IDS was and still is a very far-right conservative. Hence his draconian DWP regime.

Labour wasn't elected this year not because they were too left-wing. They didn't haemorrage voters to the Tories, they haemorrhaged them to UKIP and the SNP. They didn't support an EU referendum and they were taken to the slaughterhouse for going against Scottish independence. If they had a put an EU referendum matching the Conservatives conditions in, and if they had stayed neutral in the independence argument, Ed Miliband would be PM right now.

Even though Corbyn is a left winger, the labour party still runs a centre-right agenda as far as I can tell. All the things that the centre-left voters like me are looking for are not to be seen at the moment. Trident cancellation, renationalisation of railways and utilities, tuition fee elimination, more devolution, more progressive tax, living wage implementation etc. We go to the SNP in Scotland now. England doesn't have a similar option.

Not backing these things will cost Labour more votes than chasing the quasi-Tory agenda. Labour have unfortunately let the Tories win the economic argument and the second Balls admitted that it was over for them.

Some proof:

Ed Miliband did not lose election because he was too left wing - study - BBC News - Ed Miliband did not lose election because he was too left wing - study (Note that last line about Labour taking votes from Lib Dems in Lib Dem/Tory marginals that gave Tories 7 seats, swinging them into majority)

Analysis: Could Corbyn Become Prime Minister? - Study showing that at least some of the centre-left policies above would have a huge approval rating from the public.

You clearly don't know many of the people I do, if you think IDS was 'very far right'. Most of them would regard him as a cuckservative, at best.

Yes, many of them are quite nutty, but, if you think IDS is 'very far right', I guess they'd have to be 'ludicrous far right'. And they don't seem too far outside the normal beliefs of Canadians, if my experience is anything to go by.

As for Corbyn, it's good to see Britons actually being given a choice in how their country is run, rather than two barely-distinguishable PR weenies fighting for the centre.

Agreed. As much as I dislike IDS and think his social ideology heartless, I don't think he can be characterised as very far right.

As for Corbyn, he deigned to wear white tie last night (Chinese state visit) and its early in his term; there is time for him to evolve and surprise us all.

But hang on...this is supposed to be the Canadian election thread...!

I consider Conservative, UKIP as far-right, Labour and Lib Dems as centre-right, SNP as centre, Greens as centre-left and Respect as far-left.

Actually, quite close to what's shown here: The Political Compass

Just because we're living in a generation where the "centre" is moving relentlessly to the right, doesn't mean we should temper our language to hide or moderate the real far-right politics that is Cameron/Osborne/IDS Conservatism.

I'm Canadian. Eh.

IDS may or may not have been on the right, but he certainly pandered to those that were when he was in charge.

Even Gordon Brown, who famously refused to wear white tie for dinners at Banqueting House, stepped smartly into line when invited to state dinners by the Queen. His so-called "snub" to the power-brokers of the City was derided as a running joke or vilified as an unconscionable break with tradition, in almost equal measure. Throughout his tenure as Chancellor, he attended the annual knees-up in his "working clothes" instead of formal evening dress. But when Her Maj issues a dress-code instruction, even the prime minister is rather expected to follow it.

yeah but no but yeah but no but.... (further) thread drift alert.

Ed Miliband didn't get elected in large part because he was absolutely hopeless as a "retail politician." His voice, mannerisms, public speaking challenges, inability to eat a bacon butty - since the dawn of the TV age, never mind the age of Twitter and live streaming, it's been harder and harder for a politician to get away with not doing the glad-handing and off-the-cuff stuff well. Call-me-Dave might be odious, but he knows how to work a room.

One notable exception, of course, is Stephen Harper, but then for the previous two elections he was up against the charmless and acharismatic Stephane Dion and the aloof and patrician Michael Ignatieff. Jack Layton got it, but was building from too small a base; Mulcair not so much. Trudeau has it in spades.

Since we've already derailed this thread, it's worth remarking that this was probably quite a factor in Wynne's election in Ontario, too - I mean, Tim Hudak? Seriously? Personality bypass personified. The same will hold for Patrick Brown - the man's a complete non-entity of a person and is exceedingly unlikely ever to serve as premier of Ontario. Which is a shame, if only because it gives the liberals carte blanche to screw everything up and get away with it (again). Horwath had her chance and couldn't take it.

Harper was fortunate to come up against two incredibly unsuitable leaders previously. The conservatives won in spite of Harper as leader rather than because of him. It's pretty clear that Trudeau mkII brings charm and youth allied to positive soundbites. Obviously many (well approx 39% anyway) found it persuasive, how many of those were simply anti Harper votes who knows? The condescending remarks about conservatives being neighbours and apparent belief that he's the saviour of the woman in St Catherines are pretty unappealing. I suspect he'll turn out to be another one that fits rather well to Mathew Paris's description of Tony Blair

That's what they said about Justin Trudeau a few weeks ago.

I don't know if you study economics at all, but both Trudeau and Corbyn are Keynesians.

Both are completely electable. One down, one to go (although sadly not yet)