Labour will only succeed in winning power and rebuilding Britain if it prioritises economic growth, wealth creation and radical reform of public services over reckless spending promises, says Keir Starmer.
That’s kind of what the Tory press want - if they can’t get you enthusiastic to vote Conservative, then they want to suppress the vote by driving home that they are all as bad as each other.
After a dozen years of this shitshow it is clear that this isn’t the case and any one of the line of Labour leaders would have saved the country a lot of pain if voted it, no matter what your feelings on Corbyn or the fact that Ed Miliband once ate a sandwich a bit weirdly.
Starmer is a personality vacuum and deeply uninspiring but, even if he performs exactly to most people’s low expectations, he’ll be orders of magnitude better than whatever robber baron stands against him.
When I’m in the voting booth do I pretend that Starmer has broken every promise he made to his own party? That he’s not going to provide universal free school meals? That he’s going to continue the child benefit cap? He’s ditched the party’s green plans? And whatever right-wing nonsense he spouts before the GE?
Personally, I’ll be voting to get the Tories out. I’d vote for a rabid badger whose one policy was that he was going to come round and eat my face (which is refreshingly honest).
My ideal solution would be that Labour get in but without a large enough majority that they can wave bills through parliament and have to do deals that mean proper electoral reform. I’m not quite sure how to engineer such an outcome, so (this side of him surprising us with a raft of secret radical policies he’s been hiding so as not to give the media a stick to beat him with) I am hoping he underperforms to such an extent that someone like Andy Burnham has to intervene and challenge him.
However, as long as my main aim (Tories Out) is accomplished then things will be better than they are now. That’s a really low bar but it’s a base to build from.
That’s not the system we have and it’s not how anything works. You have to vote for whoever can beat the Tories in your constituency, you don’t have a choice.
If you don’t do that, you’re just a useful idiot for the Tories. Acting like we have PR when we don’t and praying this is the moment of the Green breakthrough, honest, is madness. The UK is moving further and further to the right and short of a revolution we’re stuck with it, so please just vote to get the current shower out.
I’ll remember that when the second Sunak government forces me back into work-related activity. I’m sure it will be very comforting as I’m driven to a nervous breakdown.
Or a future Labour administration. Or Liberal and - though unlikely - Green.
But I’m sure you will enjoy Sir Kid Starver’s soothing voice as he takes away what remaining benefits or entitlements you have so he can slip them to his billionaire pals and media moguls. Try to get his autograph as he does that.
Makes no difference whether the PM is called Sunak or Starmer if they have the same neoliberal policies and prioritise profit and the economy over people.
We need proper political change and not the “football-ification” entertainment. I’m as pragmatic as the next, but I do think that issues like wiping out child poverty are fundamental. That’s not moral purity.
He states what he would like to do but sidesteps the question when asked directly what payrise offer he would make. His message is focused on growing the economy.
I think its expectation management, I think he sees his first few years as firefighting and he won’t make promises he can’t keep.
Labours message on the NHS was focused on rolling back privatisation, then it suddenly stopped and became about bed blocking and staff shortages.
I don’t think Starmer suddenly decided privatisation was good, its more bed blocking is eating NHS resources and there is a 30,000 staff shortage.
Those are critical issues which if left will cause the NHS to collapse, so if you know you won’t have time to address something like privatisation it makes sense not to promise to remove it.
Yeah they’re 18% ahead in the polls. It would be foolish to make any promises at this point - he doesn’t need to and only risks giving the cons attack headlines and losing votes. Until they have to produce a manifesto and while the tories continue to self destruct, these are the sorts of statements / interviews you’re going to get.
There is a choice, albeit a choice between a douche and a turd sandwich. Neither are appealing, but at least a douche is cleansing, while a turd sandwich just fills you full of shit.
Little point in voting in elections if all parties have the same policies. Labour exists to give the impression we have choice. We don’t.
That’s kind of what the Tory press want - if they can’t get you enthusiastic to vote Conservative, then they want to suppress the vote by driving home that they are all as bad as each other.
After a dozen years of this shitshow it is clear that this isn’t the case and any one of the line of Labour leaders would have saved the country a lot of pain if voted it, no matter what your feelings on Corbyn or the fact that Ed Miliband once ate a sandwich a bit weirdly.
Starmer is a personality vacuum and deeply uninspiring but, even if he performs exactly to most people’s low expectations, he’ll be orders of magnitude better than whatever robber baron stands against him.
When I’m in the voting booth do I pretend that Starmer has broken every promise he made to his own party? That he’s not going to provide universal free school meals? That he’s going to continue the child benefit cap? He’s ditched the party’s green plans? And whatever right-wing nonsense he spouts before the GE?
Personally, I’ll be voting to get the Tories out. I’d vote for a rabid badger whose one policy was that he was going to come round and eat my face (which is refreshingly honest).
My ideal solution would be that Labour get in but without a large enough majority that they can wave bills through parliament and have to do deals that mean proper electoral reform. I’m not quite sure how to engineer such an outcome, so (this side of him surprising us with a raft of secret radical policies he’s been hiding so as not to give the media a stick to beat him with) I am hoping he underperforms to such an extent that someone like Andy Burnham has to intervene and challenge him.
However, as long as my main aim (Tories Out) is accomplished then things will be better than they are now. That’s a really low bar but it’s a base to build from.
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That’s not the system we have and it’s not how anything works. You have to vote for whoever can beat the Tories in your constituency, you don’t have a choice.
If you don’t do that, you’re just a useful idiot for the Tories. Acting like we have PR when we don’t and praying this is the moment of the Green breakthrough, honest, is madness. The UK is moving further and further to the right and short of a revolution we’re stuck with it, so please just vote to get the current shower out.
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Sadly, I do think the whole thing is an entertainment platform of distraction. Voting for any of these enabling parties only contributes.
Thank you Rupert Murdock for your contribution to democracy there, but I’ll get rid of these tory nutters as fast as I possibly can.
I’ll remember that when the second Sunak government forces me back into work-related activity. I’m sure it will be very comforting as I’m driven to a nervous breakdown.
Or a future Labour administration. Or Liberal and - though unlikely - Green.
But I’m sure you will enjoy Sir Kid Starver’s soothing voice as he takes away what remaining benefits or entitlements you have so he can slip them to his billionaire pals and media moguls. Try to get his autograph as he does that.
Sure. Enjoy your moral purity as we head into the next Tory administration, and the next, and the next. Nothing to do with you, of course.
Makes no difference whether the PM is called Sunak or Starmer if they have the same neoliberal policies and prioritise profit and the economy over people.
We need proper political change and not the “football-ification” entertainment. I’m as pragmatic as the next, but I do think that issues like wiping out child poverty are fundamental. That’s not moral purity.
That isn’t what he said…
He states what he would like to do but sidesteps the question when asked directly what payrise offer he would make. His message is focused on growing the economy.
I think its expectation management, I think he sees his first few years as firefighting and he won’t make promises he can’t keep.
Labours message on the NHS was focused on rolling back privatisation, then it suddenly stopped and became about bed blocking and staff shortages.
I don’t think Starmer suddenly decided privatisation was good, its more bed blocking is eating NHS resources and there is a 30,000 staff shortage.
Those are critical issues which if left will cause the NHS to collapse, so if you know you won’t have time to address something like privatisation it makes sense not to promise to remove it.
Yeah they’re 18% ahead in the polls. It would be foolish to make any promises at this point - he doesn’t need to and only risks giving the cons attack headlines and losing votes. Until they have to produce a manifesto and while the tories continue to self destruct, these are the sorts of statements / interviews you’re going to get.
There is a choice, albeit a choice between a douche and a turd sandwich. Neither are appealing, but at least a douche is cleansing, while a turd sandwich just fills you full of shit.
I can’t see that Starmer is even a douche. It’s all shit!
Don’t be so pessimistic – you can have a red neoliberal or a blue neoliberal. What more could you want?
Could I have a mix of both? With nuts on top and a flake?