Angela from Housing

I think this will be our generations appeasement moment that we will live to regret.

Let's just throw some more working class lads in harm's way so you can feel like you can play billy big balls from behind the screen.

Oh yeah, let's not forget your throwaway comment about defending ourselves from US aggression... completely, idiotic. The US has put 6.3 billion dollars Ukraine's way.

Are you supportive of a full Nato response, without the US?

@HPFA same to you, is it your deliberate obtuseness that means you ignore the point.

What will stop fighting with our peacekeeping troops there? How high is the risk that we get involved in a new attack?

I agree.

If I were Starmer I'd announce an increase in income tax sufficient to increase defence spending AND remove the increase in employers NI.

Is it just deliberate obtuseness that leads you to keep ignoring the point?

No-one wants war. We'd all prefer it if Putin spent his time providing Russians with indoor sanitation and decent health care rather than trying to invade and kill his neighbours.

He's not going to do that.

We either try and deter him now while his army has taken a battering in Ukraine or we surrender, let him rebuild, and have a harder war later on.

If you don't want to hear it from me hear it from that well-known leftie Julia Hartley Brewer.

bsky.app/profile/politicsastar.bsky.social/post/3li63kz2g2k2l

Labour "won" by default. Stärmer is not a leader. So yes Labour won, but almost anyone could have been leader.

It's incredibly concerning how partisan loyalty leads to a post below on it being good

There are similar posts on other threads, incredible to see war mongering stuff

@HPFA have you thought through what happens if peacekeeping troops are attacked and end up fighting and the UK at war?

Then you most certainly won't want to send your dc I'm guessing

Don't walk into this stuff because you like Starmer

I hope the media starts reporting how many troops we have lost during so called peacekeeping missions.
It's sickening that this has been called a good news story.

Oh sorry, i must be living in a parallel universe. In your universe, are the Tories still in power?

@HPFA how many troops do you want to see go?

I agree with pp it's not a good news story. And keenness for sending other people's dc

Until recently the plan was to wither the army further from 108k to 72k, so 🤷🏼‍♀️ no idea

Europe have had ample opportunity to increase funding, they have been found wanting and now Ukraine will pay the price.
Ukraine have been drip fed supplies. Not enough to win, just enough to survive.
Our troops numbers are embarrassing, yet still Starmer won't commit a date for increased defense spending. I'd love to know where he's going to find these peace keeping troops, or how he's going to pay for it.

You do realise that it is just to support a peace deal and so in no way diminishing the resources of Russia or akin to fighting Hitler?

It only manages to achieve pissing off Russia a bit while it re-groups and Starmer can play at being a strong man parading around in army fatigues?

Surrendering to Putin doesn't mean peace.

It just means having a war after he's rebuilt his army.

By this argument we should have surrendered to Hitler - although in the case of Musk and Trump that's what they think we should have done.

Of course you won't be shipping off your own child for your good news story. You'd like somebody else's to do it for you

That is a good new story.

Defending European freedom from Russian (and now US) aggression is exactly what we should be doing.

And don't start on all that "would you want your kid to go to war". No, I wouldn't - which is why we need to be deterring Russia now before it gets a chance to rebuild its army.

And now Starmer is talking about putting boots on the ground in the Ukraine.

I'm just hanging on for a good news story here.

Yes, along with sky high borrowing. At least the tories had the sense to bin the mini budget when it went wrong.

Inflation, job losses, tax rises and welfare cuts. Cracking combination coming down the pipeline. What a mess.

From the Guardian of all places.
"Figures out this week are expected to show a rise in inflation and unemployment'.

www.theguardian.com/business/2025/feb/17/uk-firms-mull-biggest-layoffs-in-a-decade-as-business-confidence-slumps

Home secretary Theresa May even took Sir Keir out to dinner to thank him for his service, the book says, while the then attorney general Dominic Grieve described the soon-to-be Labour MP as “one of the most successful directors of recent years” at his leaving party.

Although he rebuked Sir Keir at the start of his tenure of DPP for being too political, Mr Grieve – who had the Tory whip removed by Boris Johnson after voting against his Brexit deal – is quoted describing him as “highly effective and someone who always behaved with great integrity”.

Sir Keir had made clear he would not seek a second term as DPP but Mr Grieve said: “I would definitely have reappointed him, of course I would. And I don’t think anyone else in government would have had any basis for taking a contrary view.

“For them to turn around now and attempt to muckrake his time as DPP is really infantile behaviour, completely unjustified and just a load of rubbish. It won’t work and I fear attacking public servants in this way will backfire badly on the Conservative Party.”^

He did not lead labour to victory

I agree, he was widely criticised at the time as being a weak/wet DPP.

Let's be honest - he demonstrated no leadership skills of note during his time as DPP. He's always been a weak, spineless buffoon.