Keir Starmer Labour Leader

Dobba

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Looking catastrophic. Would think there will be a reaction. Starmer in danger? Or will it suit him, and give him the excuse to make 'necessary' and radical changes? I've no idea, sorry.
Cooper will come in and Labour will get back to focusing on the real enemy, disabled benefit claimants.
 

Sir Matt

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While the left wing and the centrists fight over the bloated corpse of the Labour party, some of the most corrupt and incompetent Tories completely avoid any electoral consequences heading into a second decade of power.
 
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Klopper76

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Seems like the Green Party has made some gains. Astonishing how many gains the Conservatives have made considering the disastrous handling of COVID. Maybe people have the vaccine rollout fresh in the mind.
 

fishfingers15

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YESHHHHH, We'll GOOO for it.
British politics as a whole has sunk to a new low. This current political setup would be torn to shreds by someone with the political qualities of Thatcher, Blair or even Cameron.

Labour has to not only reestablish itself as a centre left party but they also have to reconnect with voters and earn thier vote. The current Labour Party thinks blacks, asians, young people, the working class and the woke middle class owe them a vote and they don't have to earn it.

No leadership, no fresh policies, no work on the ground, no speaking to voters asking them what they want in a manifesto. Too much entitlement.

Hopefully they get stuffed tonight.
Every time I read your post about English politics, I keep going back to your stance on pakistani politics of how it needs to be modelled after quran.
 

Dan_F

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I’m not sure why the surprise, there was 10,000 brexit votes from the last election that had no real chance of going to any other party than conservative.

I have no idea how it’s possible for Labour to cater for areas like Hartlepool and still engage the younger left.
 

CassiusClaymore

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I’m not sure why the surprise, there was 10,000 brexit votes from the last election that had no real chance of going to any other party than conservative.

I have no idea how it’s possible for Labour to cater for areas like Hartlepool and still engage the younger left.
Exactly. Those voters are gone forever.

In a way it actually makes sense to vote for Conservatives at local level when we've seen how they distribute the cash. I'd want some of that Jenrick Towns Fund too.
 

TwoSheds

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I’m not sure why the surprise, there was 10,000 brexit votes from the last election that had no real chance of going to any other party than conservative.

I have no idea how it’s possible for Labour to cater for areas like Hartlepool and still engage the younger left.
They lost 9 points off their own vote. That's pretty appalling. Brexit is supposed to be over, they could try actually having some kind of clear direction for the party.

The best bit is the BBC already have the first quote from some neoliberal Labour MP saying it's because they haven't changed enough, they need to feck up the party faster and further to stand a chance.

Any leader with a shred of decency would be writing his resignation letter as we speak.
 

Dan_F

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They lost 9 points off their own vote. That's pretty appalling. Brexit is supposed to be over, they could try actually having some kind of clear direction for the party.

The best bit is the BBC already have the first quote from some neoliberal Labour MP saying it's because they haven't changed enough, they need to feck up the party faster and further to stand a chance.

Any leader with a shred of decency would be writing his resignation letter as we speak.
I’m not saying they couldn’t have done better, but they aren’t able to please their traditional base anymore and stay left. It’s impossible as far as I can see.

After spending the first part of my life (that I can remember) under a Labour government, thinking that Cameron was just a phase and the younger generation could get rid of them, I’ve fully accepted I live in a conservative country now.
 

Fluctuation0161

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Right, Corbyn apart it's not much then.

We are on opposite sides of the argument of course, but the problem is that the wider public don't think there has been any change at all. Starmer doesn't just need to do more to shift the party away from the far left, he needs to get through to the electorate that he is doing exactly that. Every year without a split is another year wasted for me.
The problem isn't that the public don't think there has been change. The problem is that Starmer offers very little perceived difference to the Tories.
 

Fluctuation0161

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Ok. I take the point about the large party membership.
But, I have to disagree again. This time around the strong policy direction.
Toward the end of the campaign, it became evident that policy was being made on the hoof and in reaction to the Tory campaign.
It may have started off reasonably clear. But very quickly, it got completely out of control and ended up like a spending pissing competition.

But it was the policy, or lack of it on Brexit which was anything but clear or strong.
It was a disaster and the result was the outcome of an unelectable leader and a shambles of a campaign.
Sorry, but that was the reality.
Wasn't Starmer the shadow Brexit minister for that election? It was his strategy.
 

Gehrman

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I’m not saying they couldn’t have done better, but they aren’t able to please their traditional base anymore and stay left. It’s impossible as far as I can see.

After spending the first part of my life (that I can remember) under a Labour government, thinking that Cameron was just a phase and the younger generation could get rid of them, I’ve fully accepted I live in a conservative country now.
I don't see why they can't stay left on traditional left wing issues.
 

Fluctuation0161

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Right, Corbyn apart it's not much then.

We are on opposite sides of the argument of course, but the problem is that the wider public don't think there has been any change at all. Starmer doesn't just need to do more to shift the party away from the far left, he needs to get through to the electorate that he is doing exactly that. Every year without a split is another year wasted for me.
You'll find if Labour split they will be in the wilderness for decades. They can't get majority now. Splitting the vote hardly seems logical.

Unless you want Tory in a blue tie versus Tory in a red tie.
 

Fluctuation0161

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While the left wing and the centrists fight over the bloated corpse of the Labour party, some of the most corrupt and incompetent Tories completely avoid any electoral consequences heading into a second decade of power.
That's the UK's FPTP system for you.

The political system was designed by the elites and has always benefited them.
 

Fluctuation0161

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They lost 9 points off their own vote. That's pretty appalling. Brexit is supposed to be over, they could try actually having some kind of clear direction for the party.

The best bit is the BBC already have the first quote from some neoliberal Labour MP saying it's because they haven't changed enough, they need to feck up the party faster and further to stand a chance.

Any leader with a shred of decency would be writing his resignation letter as we speak.
Absolutely. Starmer will use his failings as an excuse to further destroy the party.
 

Classical Mechanic

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Neither the 'London remainer elite' or the 'woke socialists' which make up the two rival factions in the Labour party have a vision that the electorate at large is interested in. In the short to medium term the Labour party is dead in the water. Doomed to the two factions blaming each other for Labour's absent appeal when they're both the cause of it.
 

Dan_F

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I don't see why they can't stay left on traditional left wing issues.
They can, but I don’t think that wins them enough votes in Hartlepool.

I guess you can wait a while after Brexit and maybe those voters will figure out that immigration wasn’t the reason they can’t buy a house or see a doctor for weeks.
 

Smores

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I’m not sure why the surprise, there was 10,000 brexit votes from the last election that had no real chance of going to any other party than conservative.

I have no idea how it’s possible for Labour to cater for areas like Hartlepool and still engage the younger left.
Labour gained the majority of the UKIP votes in 2017. Of course that was on a strategy that the centrists started publically infighting about, now they've got power they're hurting due to their own actions.

Honestly this approach was obvious. Why vote for a party pretending to be Tory when you can just vote for the real thing?

Labour have to actually offer something other than silence (which so many of you said was some 5d chess)
 

Jezpeza

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Labour went after libdem votes and got them. They just lost the rest in the process. They are now just an also ran, as the lib dem were for many years. Theres two generations of voters who will not forget what they did on brexit.
 

Buster15

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Wasn't Starmer the shadow Brexit minister for that election? It was his strategy.
Yes he was.
But that was party policy, not just Starmer policy.
But it is the public perception of Labour which is the problem. They are seen by many as old fashioned and not trendy.
Nevertheless, he is simply not strong enough a personality to challenge Boris. And as mentioned, the timing benefited the Tories.
Labour are like a football team in the doldrums. It will take time to turn the legacy of the last disastrous election around.
And that could take a change of leadership.
 

Buster15

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Labour went after libdem votes and got them. They just lost the rest in the process. They are now just an also ran, as the lib dem were for many years. Theres two generations of voters who will not forget what they did on brexit.
Fair enough. But the effects of Brexit have yet to have a real effect. We are just beginning to see how it will play out.
But credit Boris. He is a very lucky leader. But eventually luck changes.
 

balaks

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But I thought we were told Corbyn was the problem. Any other leader and it would be a Labour romp.
It was and still is the problem. Corbyn and his supporters have set the Labour party back a generation in my opinion. Labour is now pretty toxic for those moderate 'in-between' voters because of the entire Corbyn experience and it's going to take a long time to undo that damage. Also, you have the vaccine successes that the Tories can cling to which is undoubtably giving them a boost, plus English people generally vote Tory anyway. Labour are in serious trouble. Tories can always rely on jingoistic nonsense to rally the voters because a lot of people just want to feel like their country is still 'great' - sending the boats to Jersey on the eve of an election is just playing into their hands.
 

Jezpeza

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Fair enough. But the effects of Brexit have yet to have a real effect. We are just beginning to see how it will play out.
But credit Boris. He is a very lucky leader. But eventually luck changes.
what have labour done for working class people? A labour govt means plenty of spending on freeloaders, but if you work what do you get? The road outside my parents house has needed resurfacing for 30 years. The bin collections have been cut. Labour council. Brexit was the final straw. Everyone in my household went away from labour for good. Wokism, soft policies on crime and immigration and free spending on bemefits doesnt connect with working class people.
 

DoubleDinhos

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what have labour done for working class people? A labour govt means plenty of spending on freeloaders, but if you work what do you get? The road outside my parents house has needed resurfacing for 30 years. The bin collections have been cut. Labour council. Brexit was the final straw. Everyone in my household went away from labour for good. Wokism, soft policies on crime and immigration and free spending on bemefits doesnt connect with working class people.
I see this all the time, but what actual policies were Labour proposing over the last five years would qualify as 'woke'?
 

Snowjoe

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I see this all the time, but what actual policies were Labour proposing over the last five years would qualify as 'woke'?
To be honest I don’t think it’s actually their policies, but in my experience the people you generally find most vocal about labour also tend to be the people who are vocal on issues many would consider “woke”, and for a huge amount of the population that’s not something that connects with them
 

Jezpeza

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I see this all the time, but what actual policies were Labour proposing over the last five years would qualify as 'woke'?
To be honest its not so much the policies as the people. Dianne Abbot, who labelled every terrorist attack in london an ‘incident’ then when that bloke attacked a mosque a ‘terrorist attack’. Jeremy corbyn who was pictured with hamas and hezbollah commanders and the ira, but got all woke about israel then denied antisemitism in labour. And the large numbers of nauseating labour wokes all over twitter etc. The refusal to acknowledge brexit. List goes on
 

fergieisold

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Seems like the Green Party has made some gains. Astonishing how many gains the Conservatives have made considering the disastrous handling of COVID. Maybe people have the vaccine rollout fresh in the mind.
I think the vaccine rollout has saved them. UK now out of the top 10 on deaths per capita and presumably we'll fall further down that list as we're we are doing so well with the vaccinations.
 

Zlatattack

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Every time I read your post about English politics, I keep going back to your stance on pakistani politics of how it needs to be modelled after quran.
Firstly that's an over simplification. Secondly Pakistan is a completely different society to Britain.

1. 35% of the population is illiterate
2. It has a tribal social structure
3. It has a society where authoritarianism is appreciated - despite multiple military coups the army has the highest trust ratings in the country with 70% of people considering it trustworthy.
4. Research shows at least 84% of the country wants Shariah law, poll after poll has suggested Pakistani people want a conservative religious form of governance to reflect the society.

In fact the only similarity with Britain is that the political class of Pakistan is dominated by the wealthy elite and they rule it (rule no govern), like the brown colonialists they are.
 

Smores

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what have labour done for working class people? A labour govt means plenty of spending on freeloaders, but if you work what do you get? The road outside my parents house has needed resurfacing for 30 years. The bin collections have been cut. Labour council. Brexit was the final straw. Everyone in my household went away from labour for good. Wokism, soft policies on crime and immigration and free spending on bemefits doesnt connect with working class people.
Oh man :lol:
 

Jezpeza

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that emoji will probably be all over the torie whatsapp group when labour get about 40 seats at the next GE. Thats labours suicide pact at the moment - either laugh at lost voters who explain why they dont vote labour anymore or tell them they are thick and wrong. No skin off my back
 

Zlatattack

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The non sad part is that this is the view of the Labour party up and down the country, no matter how inaccurate it is.

Labour are shit at owning their own narrative - the tabloids and the Tories now define who Labour are. It's all well and good owning the twittersphere, but elections are won and lost by the votes of numpties who read the Sun, even after page 3 has gone.

I want Keith out - but it won't matter if he's replaced by a clone or if the labour party continues to let others speak for it. Elections might be lost at the top, but they're won from the ground, on the doorsteps. Locally Labour have spent years telling us Tory cuts mean we can't do this that or the other. If that's true, then maybe i ought to vote Tory if i want my bins collected? The thuggish behaviour of the Tory party is working. What Labour needed to do was deliver inspite of Tory cuts. In Derby they've made a lot of stupid decisions. Funding a fancy expensive council house refurb whilst complaining of cuts was one of them. Refusing to take action against flytippers was another. They're seen as ineffective locally and rudderless nationally.