What is the point of Labour ?

[SANTAN]

This definitely seems like a Twitter issue rather than a general electorate issue. 

[Dunning1874]

2 hours ago, Stormzy said:

This definitely seems like a Twitter issue rather than a general electorate issue. 

The leaflet or Hothersall? If it's the latter then yeah, no one has heard of him outside of twitter.

If you're meaning the leaflet, I'd say any major political party printing leaflets talking about incursions by an ethnic minority and talking themselves up for how they're going to deal with said minority should be an issue to everyone who isn't a racist, because that is appalling and overtly fascist rhetoric.

[SANTAN]

5 minutes ago, Dunning1874 said:

The leaflet or Hothersall? If it's the latter then yeah, no one has heard of him outside of twitter.

If you're meaning the leaflet, I'd say any major political party printing leaflets talking about incursions by an ethnic minority and talking themselves up for how they're going to deal with said minority should be an issue to everyone who isn't a racist, because that is appalling and overtly fascist rhetoric.

"Should" doing the heavy lifting in your post.

I wonder how many travellers vote, that would make some interesting reading. 

[Miguel Sanchez]

I have only ever heard of Hothersall on here. He's the "Spending Tory money to win Labour votes" guy right? Quality banter.

[Granny Danger]

The ardent socialist who doesn’t want to pay his workers the living wage wants to “ditch old politics” by being divisive.

I am totally shocked!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-56614136

[JamieThomas]

Is this good

 

[Granny Danger]

4 hours ago, JamieThomas said:

Is this good

 

Not for Starmer.

Two things surprise me.

The first is that he has been so appallingly bad; not my sort of politician in any way but I thought he must have had a plan when he run for Labour Party leader.  His plan seems to be to offer minimal opposition and few alternatives to the Tories; it’s obviously not working.

The second is why there has been so little reaction among Labour Party members and elected representatives.  They must be appalled by Labour’s standing as well as Starmer’s performance and subsequent lack of popularity.

 

[Baxter Parp]

Labour to destroy local election leaflet carrying anti-Travellers pledge

MP Charlotte Nichols apologises for offence and hurt caused by pamphlet distributed in Warrington North

Labour is to withdraw and destroy an election leaflet that made pledges about “dealing with Traveller incursions” after criticism over its use by a senior MP.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/apr/02/labour-destroy-local-election-leaflet-anti-travellers-pledge

What *is* the point of Labour?

[SANTAN]

There's not much pressure on Starmer because there's been a pandemic over the past year and pretty much everyone has agreed it's not the time for pointless political sniping but more of a cohesive message to encourage everyone to follow the rules. 

We're also nowhere near another Genral Election, check your beloved polls a little bit closer to the time. His real test starts soon, with the pandemic looking like it's nearing an end over here there are going to be huge questions for the UK going forward and you should expect to see a clearer Labour strategy and get an idea what this variation of Labour are about, he's done extremely well at sidelining the ineffective ex Corbyn lot who seemed content to snipe away and undermine the idea of moving on from the old guard and move the party forward into a position where it could actually win an election. There's a lot of work still to be done and we're approaching the time to see more action. If when the country is fully opened up we have Keir still parroting Bojo's lines and if we still see the same "visionless" criticism we've seen then it would be time to go and I'll be the first to admit he was shite but I do think the best/worst is yet to come, understandably so. 

 

[G51]

I see he’s talking about bringing Mandelson back into his cabinet.

If I was leader I would simply not appoint corrupt politicians to positions of power.

[Mark Connolly]

Any truth in the rumour Starmer's role is to be renamed Leader of the Abstention, given he never actually opposes anything?

[Granny Danger]

12 minutes ago, Mark Connolly said:

Any truth in the rumour Starmer's role is to be renamed Leader of the Abstention, given he never actually opposes anything?

‘Nominal Leader’ Shirley?  He doesn’t actually lead in anything.

[NotThePars]

Remember this goof Theresa May made?

https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/theresa-may-general-election-christian-fundamentalism-gay-exorcism-homophobia-abortion-a7762561.html

"Theresa May just visited a homophobic Christian fundamentalist church – how can gay voters trust her?" 

That church was Jesus House.

Now guess which church Keir Starmer just visited for Good Friday.

Yep, you guessed it!

 

 

[Detournement]

I don't think it's a mistake.

The New Labour/Blairite faction have a problem in that they destroyed the social base of their own electoral victory which was the final remnants and memory of mass participation working class society.

They obviously can't build a new one as that would require acknowledging class relations so the only option left is signalling to various amotised groups of potential swing voters that they are a viable alternative to the Tories.

[Aladdin]

Not for Starmer.
Two things surprise me.
The first is that he has been so appallingly bad; not my sort of politician in any way but I thought he must have had a plan when he run for Labour Party leader.  His plan seems to be to offer minimal opposition and few alternatives to the Tories; it’s obviously not working.
The second is why there has been so little reaction among Labour Party members and elected representatives.  They must be appalled by Labour’s standing as well as Starmer’s performance and subsequent lack of popularity.
 

I think Starmers strategy was to keep his powder dry during the pandemic. Given the brazen incompetence and borderline corruption shown by the tories, he's been extremely slow to react and put the boot in.

As I said earlier on the thread, Keith Starmer is not a stupid man. He's also been around the civil service and Westminster long enough to know the game. I would expect a clearer strategy as we exit the pandemic. If nothing is forthcoming and they enter the next election on a similar footing as they are now, they deserve to be absolutely obliterated.

[Baxter Parp]

Fuckin' 'ell.

[GordonS]

8 hours ago, Detournement said:

I don't think it's a mistake.

The New Labour/Blairite faction have a problem in that they destroyed the social base of their own electoral victory which was the final remnants and memory of mass participation working class society.

They obviously can't build a new one as that would require acknowledging class relations so the only option left is signalling to various amotised groups of potential swing voters that they are a viable alternative to the Tories.

New Labour didn't destroy the social base of their victory. They recognised that the working class are a minority, the middle class became the majority in the 1980s. We've had a quiet class war in Britain and the middle class won.

The extent to which the English working class voted against their own interests in picking Johnson over Corbyn is both extraordinary, and completely new. The 2019 election was the first time that the Conservatives got a higher proportion of votes among C2DE voters than ABC1 voters.

It's not possible to win a UK general election while representing working class interests. Starmer knows it. So it's lawr and order, immigration and patriotism all the way now.

[NotThePars]

2 hours ago, GordonS said:

New Labour didn't destroy the social base of their victory. They recognised that the working class are a minority, the middle class became the majority in the 1980s. We've had a quiet class war in Britain and the middle class won.

The extent to which the English working class voted against their own interests in picking Johnson over Corbyn is both extraordinary, and completely new. The 2019 election was the first time that the Conservatives got a higher proportion of votes among C2DE voters than ABC1 voters.

It's not possible to win a UK general election while representing working class interests. Starmer knows it. So it's lawr and order, immigration and patriotism all the way now.

^^^

Edited April 3, 2021 by NotThePars

[GordonS]

2 hours ago, NotThePars said:

^^^

I hate that it's true, but it's how Johnson gets 43.6% in a country that, until 10 years ago, would have regarded him unelectable.

That's the highest share of the vote any party has had in a general election since 1979.

[JamieThomas]

Why didn't these people just vote Lib Dem