To think Starmer has shot himself in the foot.

Clearly not. 🤣

I think the whole ill informed, low information rant is such bollocks that the idea of responding to it point by point makes me lose the will to live.

Stop paying Foreign Aid, our NHS, emergency services Universities etc need money pouring in and tax the wealthy more instead of hiking up business NI payment and making it so hard to get student visas.

Why? Do you think borrowing costs have gone down?

There is a huge difference between people legally coming here to work as they have skills we need and illegal immigration, there are loopholes that need closing so those that come here legally to work so they can’t work here for say 5 years and then receive a pension/ benefits if they haven’t paid enough tax.
Illegal migrants need to vetted, finger printed and have to pay for their DNA to be on a database and checked that they haven’t committed a crime in another country. I don’t think illegals should get paid benefits, they have to pay privately for GP’s/ hospital/ dentists etc nor get their rent paid and can prove they are able to be self sufficient before being allowed to walk our streets. Any crimes committed in this country means deportation as tax payers money won’t be used housing them in our prisons and once they’ve passed all the first checks, they have another seven/ ten years without any benefits etc, being in work and that they understand our British Law and they have to abide by them even if the beliefs of their religion/ country of origin differ. That they want to become British and integrate in our society and that these rules still stand throughout their lives, these rules need to be abided by all those that have become British in the past 20 years too.

Such bollocks.

So true.

I’m not sure Left vs Right explains U.K. politics anymore. I live in a suburb and I know many university educated people / people in professional roles etc. I also appear to have one of those faces where people are happy to chat away to me!

From my (many) discussions most people said they voted for Reform a handful voted Green at the locals. All the Reform voters were initially sheepish. But when they know you won’t ostracise them they are very happy to discuss. Immigration, safety and reducing numbers is key. Most want mass deportations Rapes of women are a huge concern. Terrorism is another. They can see their kids being priced out of the housing market. They can see rising crime and have read European reports on crime and Nationality. And Nationality and economic contribution..Bombs in Sweden (30 plus in Jan). And they can see not all people who move here want to integrate. Some are here to commit rape and crime. Shoplifting is rife. Two tier policing and criminal justice. But also they are watching the same issues unfold in Europe and the predictable ‘Far Right’ label is now found to be comical. But the level of knowledge, stats, facts etc is impressive. They clearly did their research.

When your PM pops to a garden party while girls are fighting for their lives and he calls concerned people Far Right it was clear he was a wrong un. And people watched and listened and are disgusted by his actions.

So I don’t think it’s Left vs Right as many of these people are pro benefits for the disabled. Many ‘right wing’ are against elderly fuel allowance cuts. Most recognise farmers are asset rich and cash poor. But they recognise we cannot afford a welfare state that supports immigrants who don’t work. And while paying for Net Zero. And hotels for economic migrants and benefits for legal migrants who don’t work. And foreign aid. Some are silently boycotting takeaways and uber as they worry about the black economy and what that funds. Barbers shops springing up with council approval. Others are silently writing to MPs. Something has to give we cannot afford it all. I know this is anecdotal but I can see the change in the last 6-12 months and I speak to a vast amount of people.

I believe Starmer was prioritising supporting immigration and foreign aid and Net Zero over the disabled and elderly and our own food security. He’s being pushed to change his stance on immigration. I’m not sure he will succeed, it’s likely just to be another ‘smash the gangs’ headline. All talk and no action.

In my lovely leafy 4 bed detached middle class street I know all my neighbours. I can run alone each morning. But I’m not naive enough to know this is not the case for a large percentage of the population. People don’t feel safe, because crime is rising. I no longer choose to visit London or Birmingham, I avoid it. I’m sure some tourists feel the same. It’s not pleasant anymore so I spend my money elsewhere and save myself the stress of being mugged, harrassed etc. I can’t be the only one and I believe money from tourism will dry up unless the gov get a grip it.

We don’t even know if Iran or Russia are sending in terrorists? Yet we let undocumented illegal immigrants leave the hotels and wander around the local communities! Some seem to prefer to import men with no ID rather than risk being called a racist (my none British friends think we are bonkers). Thousands of young men arriving each week who presumably still expect/demand/want sex in a country where rapists are rarely jailed - can’t see an issue there…

He’s an idiot and he’s thrown it all away. This country was desperate for change and voted for Labour values and policies. Unfortunately it seems Labour is no longer the party we thought it was. No idea what’s going on with Starmer he seemed to swiftly take a Tory turn and now thinks that he can swerve into a bit of reactive Reform type behaviour? It’s definitely not the Labour we thought we knew.

Such a shame when he had so much support and the opportunity to really bring about positive change .

He is not trying to out Reform Reform

He is listening to vast majority of voters the number one issue isn’t the NHS, isn’t the housing crises, isn’t the war in Gaza or Ukraine, isn’t concerns with Trumps chaos,

Labour have finally acknowledged that it’s immigration (as it is in the most western countries) immigration time and time again is coming up as a concern the left can no longer bury their heads in the sand about

Starmer just doesn’t particularly have political appeal. Put someone who can spin it better (like Blair could or Andy Burnham can) and you will have voters return

thats not to say Reform will lose their appeal over night or the Tories won’t pull it together before the next election (though I think it’s more likely to be the one after)

And its attitudes and quotes like this which will allow the country to walk into a Reform majority come the next election. During the recent local elections, people were sending out a clear message. Yet we still have people refusing to believe it can be a reality and ignoring the message.

They are still deciding on what the more stringent assessment criteria will be
How can anyone possibly assess the potential numbers affected.

Whilst I agree announcing something like this and leaving people in limbo is cruel I can understand why they wouldn’t announce and enact it straight away.

The early announcement is letting people know and allowing people to plan ahead.
Not knowing what the more stringent assessment is doesn’t help claimants but it will afford a potentially more accurate assessment come the time.

the idea is to get numbers down and ‘make work pay’ in line with Labours Election slogan.

They are skilled worker and will still be recruited in if needed.

However, there are many British born newly qualifed nurses and doctors who cannot get jobs as so many oversea medical staff were shipped in, yes seems unbelievable but look it up.

He doesn't really need to appeal to anyone at the moment. He needs to be in a position where in three years time he has a proposition people will vote for.

He doesn't really need to appeal to anyone at the moment. He needs to be in a position where in three years time he has a proposition people will vote for.

I think he’s getting the unpalatable stuff out the way early possibly? There won’t be another election for years. The Enoch Powell rhetoric is fucking disgusting. He’s putting this life long Labour supporter off massively. But I can totally see who he’s trying to appeal to.