Keir Starmer Labour Leader

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Starmer's a complete non-entity. My vote will go to Greens as long as he remains the leader.
Is Green the new Lib Dem?

I live in London, and there’s quite a big disconnect between national politics and local politics - I’m not sure who I’ll vote for yet. I’m certain Kahn will win a landslide in London.
 
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Zero chance of that.

He will be in charge for another two years at least, or until the next General Election if it is held early. There is no one who is an obvious replacement for one thing.
do these elections have a big impact? What’s the turnout likely to be? I’ve had not a single thing through my letter box from any candidates.
 

Frosty

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do these elections have a big impact? What’s the turnout likely to be? I’ve had not a single thing through my letter box from any candidates.
This is a bit of anomaly as last year's elections have been rolled over into this year's.

So we have a bunch of council elections, regional mayors, police and crime commissioners and the by election.

There is a big impact in terms of political momentum and creating a narrative. Generally speaking a governing party does badly in the elections in between General Elections, so in a "usual" year (if they exist anymore) Labour should hold Hartlepool, win the West Midlands mayoralty and win several hundred council seats off the Tories nationwide.

(I may have missed some other expected gains but it is late)

However it looks like the Tories will win Hartlepool for the first time in 60+ years, win mayoral races they should be losing and make gains in councils, possibly contributing to Labour losing Sunderlabd and Durham.

Circumstances are unique with the vaccine but the next GE is two years away and voters seem to remain enamoured with Boris, and Labour falling flat points to a very bad result in 2023 (not that I thought they could win then anyhow under any leader, but that's a separate argument)
 

Fluctuation0161

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This is a bit of anomaly as last year's elections have been rolled over into this year's.

So we have a bunch of council elections, regional mayors, police and crime commissioners and the by election.

There is a big impact in terms of political momentum and creating a narrative. Generally speaking a governing party does badly in the elections in between General Elections, so in a "usual" year (if they exist anymore) Labour should hold Hartlepool, win the West Midlands mayoralty and win several hundred council seats off the Tories nationwide.

(I may have missed some other expected gains but it is late)

However it looks like the Tories will win Hartlepool for the first time in 60+ years, win mayoral races they should be losing and make gains in councils, possibly contributing to Labour losing Sunderlabd and Durham.

Circumstances are unique with the vaccine but the next GE is two years away and voters seem to remain enamoured with Boris, and Labour falling flat points to a very bad result in 2023 (not that I thought they could win then anyhow under any leader, but that's a separate argument)
Circumstances are unique in that Starmer is purging the Labour party of its core support. He seems to be in place only to split the party and completely ruin any good work done under the last leader.
 
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This is a bit of anomaly as last year's elections have been rolled over into this year's.

So we have a bunch of council elections, regional mayors, police and crime commissioners and the by election.

There is a big impact in terms of political momentum and creating a narrative. Generally speaking a governing party does badly in the elections in between General Elections, so in a "usual" year (if they exist anymore) Labour should hold Hartlepool, win the West Midlands mayoralty and win several hundred council seats off the Tories nationwide.

(I may have missed some other expected gains but it is late)

However it looks like the Tories will win Hartlepool for the first time in 60+ years, win mayoral races they should be losing and make gains in councils, possibly contributing to Labour losing Sunderlabd and Durham.

Circumstances are unique with the vaccine but the next GE is two years away and voters seem to remain enamoured with Boris, and Labour falling flat points to a very bad result in 2023 (not that I thought they could win then anyhow under any leader, but that's a separate argument)
i agree with your points. Interestingly (or not), the only promotion I’ve heard about the London Mayoral election was a radio advert that started out as promoting the 2020 election, and then acknowledging it had moved.

you are right that usually the incumbent government does badly in these elections. The turnout is usually low, and my inclination is that it will be lower than normal - so I’m not sure how much we can draw from them?
 

Buster15

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Circumstances are unique in that Starmer is purging the Labour party of its core support. He seems to be in place only to split the party and completely ruin any good work done under the last leader.
Have to disagree with you about the so called good work done by Corbyn. Unless you class a devastating election defeat, the worst results for many decades as good work.
 

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Circumstances are unique in that Starmer is purging the Labour party of its core support. He seems to be in place only to split the party and completely ruin any good work done under the last leader.
Have many people been purged? I know one or two on here have said they have left, but are there any stats or any evidence of it?
 

Dec9003

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A lot of people I know that are my age have been put off of labour by him.
 

Fluctuation0161

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Have to disagree with you about the so called good work done by Corbyn. Unless you class a devastating election defeat, the worst results for many decades as good work.
Largest membership numbers for a long time. Strong policy direction and clear ideas. The Brexit election was not representative in my opinion. If you take Corbyn out of the equation and just look at the policies then Labour have regressed. There is no direction, voters don't know what they stand for.

But even if Starmer had just done what he said in his leadership campaign, which is to continue similar policy ideas but with a more "marketable" approach, Labour would be in a much stronger position. Without a massive decline in grass root movements and massive increased Labour voter apathy.

Unfortunately Starmer sold us a pack of lies, his only focus is to purge the Labour party.
 

Fluctuation0161

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Have many people been purged? I know one or two on here have said they have left, but are there any stats or any evidence of it?
There are the left leaning front benchers he has removed for a start.

The treatment of former leader Corbyn is a disgrace.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...-labour-reinstated-antisemitism-b1724842.html


50,000 member reduced last November.
https://www.thenational.scot/news/1...arty-membership-since-keir-starmers-election/

Barring debate at CLPs of the Corbyn suspension. Stifling debate at Labour meetings.
https://www.theguardian.com/politic...ers-ordered-not-to-discuss-corbyns-suspension
 

Buster15

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Largest membership numbers for a long time. Strong policy direction and clear ideas. The Brexit election was not representative in my opinion. If you take Corbyn out of the equation and just look at the policies then Labour have regressed. There is no direction, voters don't know what they stand for.

But even if Starmer had just done what he said in his leadership campaign, which is to continue similar policy ideas but with a more "marketable" approach, Labour would be in a much stronger position. Without a massive decline in grass root movements and massive increased Labour voter apathy.

Unfortunately Starmer sold us a pack of lies, his only focus is to purge the Labour party.
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.
 

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There are the left leaning front benchers he has removed for a start.

The treatment of former leader Corbyn is a disgrace.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...-labour-reinstated-antisemitism-b1724842.html


50,000 member reduced last November.
https://www.thenational.scot/news/1...arty-membership-since-keir-starmers-election/

Barring debate at CLPs of the Corbyn suspension. Stifling debate at Labour meetings.
https://www.theguardian.com/politic...ers-ordered-not-to-discuss-corbyns-suspension
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.
 

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He's just rubbish. Won't be voting Labour again.
 

MoskvaRed

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Putting aside Corbyn (ideas ok but too much personal baggage) and Starmer (personally ok but seemingly no ideas), how does Labour construct a majority? Given the polarisation between cities and the rest of the country (in tabloid speak, woke and gammon), how does any Labour leader straddle that? The Tories hoover up the non-city constituencies with their Brexit nationalism. What is a realistic Labour answer?
 

TwoSheds

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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.
A split would result in much the same, a strong minority leftist party, a wishy washy right wing "centrist" party (another one), and a large Tory majority. What they need to do is boot out the Blair vampires clinging on to the idea they can out Tory the Tories, elect a sensible left(ish) candidate with some semblance of a personality like Thornberry and actually unite behind them to modernise the party and stop sabotaging each other. It will take some time.
 

Fingeredmouse

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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 could just vote Liberal you know.
 

Jezpeza

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The guy is a fool.

A knighted ex oxford lawyer. What a man of the common folk eh?

he doesnt even provide opposition. He just gives an interview two weeks after an event and says what he would have done two weeks ago as if the power of hindsight doesnt exist and he is a genius.

wasted the whole of the pms questions rambling on about who paid for the £58’000 privately funded redecoration of a flat that labour spent £500’000 of taxpayers money on refurbing it.

will never ever vote labour with him in charge. If he doesnt go the tories already have my vote for next GE.

and his persona - if he was a colour, he would be ‘brilliant beige’. Unelectable
 

Fingeredmouse

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I did when Corbyn was in. I must be one of those floating voters :)
Totally, which is fine. The problem for me is Labour morphing into what the Liberals should be thus removing a party of the left from the political environment.
If you are of the left (and I suspect your idea of far left is different from mine) who are you mean to vote for?
 
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You're lucky, I got at least three three fliers each from Khan and Bailey.
i live in a labour stronghold - perhaps both parties focused elsewhere. I haven’t been into the City for months, so haven’t read The Standard or seen any messaging - very strange. I assume as most people won’t have heard of Bailey, they Khan will be re-elected quite comfortably.
 

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Labour acknowledged the elections would be "tough", with a Labour source saying: "Keir has always been honest about the mountain we must climb to rebuild trust to win the next general election.

"Labour is listening and we will continue to change in order to win back the trust of working people in Britain and their communities."
 

ha_rooney

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I wish he had as much energy & drive providing opposition to the Tories as he does going against the left/Corbyn in his own party.

In a year where we’ve had the start of the fallout from Brexit & a pandemic that’s been almost entirely mishandled by the govt, Labour have made next to zero gains & have regressed imo. Unless he suddenly finds some fight & actually stands for something, I don’t see it getting any better & Boris will walk to another win.
 

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Totally, which is fine. The problem for me is Labour morphing into what the Liberals should be thus removing a party of the left from the political environment.
If you are of the left (and I suspect your idea of far left is different from mine) who are you mean to vote for?
I've no intention of writing an essay for you, but I would say in relatively modern times it would be Gordon Brown. Your turn, who would you pick?
 

Fingeredmouse

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I've no intention of writing an essay for you, but I would say in relatively modern times it would be Gordon Brown. Your turn, who would you pick?
I may have voted for Brown if I lived in England, although there would be many aspects I'd be uncomfortable with.

The problem is it seems that the consensus is that to win power in England you have to move to a position that is, at best (from my perspective), centrist. This may very well be true but it leaves a political vacuum and Starmer's issue is that he's now caught in a limbo between appealing to the general trend of voting in England and not doing so as well as the Tories at this whilst also alienating the left.

The old status quo of a party of the right, a centrist party and one of the left seems to be over. I don't think it's a healthy situation.
 

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I may have voted for Brown if I lived in England, although there would be many aspects I'd be uncomfortable with.

The problem is it seems that the consensus is that to win power in England you have to move to a position that is, at best (from my perspective), centrist. This may very well be true but it leaves a political vacuum and Starmer's issue is that he's now caught in a limbo between appealing to the general trend of voting in England and not doing so as well as the Tories at this whilst also alienating the left.

The old status quo of a party of the right, a centrist party and one of the left seems to be over. I don't think it's a healthy situation.
A good summary. I think a left split would help both sides of the left in the long run, but not many would agree I know.
 

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i live in a labour stronghold - perhaps both parties focused elsewhere. I haven’t been into the City for months, so haven’t read The Standard or seen any messaging - very strange. I assume as most people won’t have heard of Bailey, they Khan will be re-elected quite comfortably.
It's a safe Labour seat where I am, so not sure why I got so many leaflets.
Not read the Standard for yonks either.
I've seen both Khan and Bailey on TV a bit, but yep expect a Khan win too.
It needs the government to step and sort out our local issue about the bridge being shut cos it's going to cost a fortune.
 

Zlatattack

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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.
 

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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.