A passive Prime Minister who prefers process over politics.

@scalt No one thought Blair was showy! A few misjudged holidays but not a BoJo.

Wanting showy leaders never works out. We tire of rhetoric over depth of thought very quickly. We do need someone to be very careful right now.

The main thing I dislike about Starmer is his ludicrous working class background insistence. He’s not. My DHs DF was a toolmaker. They were the higher paid people that kept the factory going by what would now be considered to be engineering skills. His mother was a nurse. My DM was a nurse. Both parents had decent jobs. Neither were working class jobs and how they could not pay bills is beyond me. I don’t actually believe any of it.

I think you're in a minority looking at the polls, of course.

And he can't make a decision and stick to it for long anyway.

Actually @gamerchick the podcast is good. Give it a listen. I’m a regular listener and it’s always interesting whether or not you agree with it. It’s unusual for someone with such right wing views to enjoy it.

He’s bloody brilliant saying no to Orange Twat, a proper statesman about it.

I don't agree, I think he's showing that he can make tough decisions and the right ones. He's putting policy before politics.

Which former PM do you think had it right then?

Starmer takes his job seriously and has had the courage to say No to Trump. Behind the scenes he is improving social provision.
I don't want some flash git .... been there, done that.

I don't think saying No to Trump is a passive act. It's the first sign of a backbone I've seen in him.

I agree, OP. I am absolutely not a fan of populism and voted for Starmer at the last election, but I've found him incredibly disappointing- no vision, no ability to rise to the challenge of the job or offer leadership. I have't listened to the podcast linked but the author of Get In has been doing the rounds and I heard him on another show where he effectively described him as doing an advisor's role, eg starting off by taking a view on the legality of a course of action, whereas what a leader needs to do is take a view on what the best course of action is and then take advice on how to do it legally. (To be clear they weren't advocating for a BJ-style disregard for the law, but arguing that both roles are important- the person with vision and the person who can turn that vision into legally effective reality. At the moment we only have the latter.)

I don’t think so.

I agree with you, @gamerchick. The OP seems naive.

The electorate is not behind the UK entering a war in the Middle East. 59% against a week ago.

https://yougov.com/en-gb/articles/54243-uk-public-opinion-on-the-us-iran-conflict

What he sounds like isn’t important, it’s what he says that matters.

I'm not going to listen to your podcast. You seem unable to see bigger pictures. He's not a performer like the Knobend we had during covid, he doesn't have to show every little thing to be put up for public judgement. We need stability, not a perfect plan right now. Personally I think with his background he'll be good at the walking the little thin thread that's been put at his feet for the minute

I don't shout at clouds and I don't want a change in government happening while all this war shits going on.

Why so constantly aggressive and rude OP?

people are trying to engage with you but you’re just berating them in response. Then complaining that you can’t have a ‘nuanced’ conversation

I agree.

He hasn't gotten everything right and I can't say that I agree with all of his policies. But overall it's certainly more positive than negative.

I'm not a fan of Rachel Reeves and I think sticking with her is part of his problem.

At the moment, dealing with Trump and Iran is a priority and I think he's played it really well. Thanks to Brexit we can't afford to be as bombastic as some of our European counterparts so he's treading a delicate line.

Overall things are heading in the right direction, albeit slower than ideal. Some of the reasons for that are outside his control, but there are other things that I think he could tighten up on, such as trying too hard to please everyone.

When the Conservatives were electing a leader I really hoped that Rory Stewart would win. I'm not a Conservative but he seems like a man who genuinely wants to do the right thing. I think his honesty and refusal to tell outright lies (like Boris' Brexit bus!!) is why he lost. He would have be the perfect PM to have had during COVID with his field experience with Ebola. But Boris was loud and full of bullshit promises - which, let's face it, any idiot could see were nonsense - and that's what the electorate seemed to want. We fell for it in this country and the US fell for it with Trump. It seems inconceivable that people voted for either of these men but here we are.

Someone mentioned Shabana Mahmood as a potential replacement for Starmer. She'd be interesting for sure. But I don't think the time is right to replace Starmer - we need a period of stability, not more turmoil. That's half the reason why we're in this mess. Plus I think Andy Burnham would stand - one way or another - and I think he'd beat her. And Burnham and his giant ego would be even worse for the country.

It’s not that. He probably gets more thinking he’s ok due to personality (particularly on mn) but it’s the policies that count. Growth, taxes and unemployment rates.

What @gamerchick said. People idolise the clownish performance politicians. We need to stop doing this.

Me too. He’s not “showy” like Boris Johnson or Tony Bliar, he gets on with it. Give me dull and boring any day, and shoo out the clowns who pretend they can work more miracles than Jesus: Johnson, Farage, Trump, Bliar.

Make politics boring again.

Agreed. The last thing we need at the minute anyway is a shuffling of government.

I think people have grown accustomed to the performance PMs that they don't know which way is up and allow their dislike of someone to rule their tongues. FFS the bloke got heat because he was in a shirt with no jacket. The fucker could bring about world peace single handed and the OP would be on here criticising something.

It's a shit job, I wouldn't want to do it and this isn't the time for visions or other shit. Stability comes first before visions. Grow up!

His process isn’t that great either look at the Mandelson appointment.

And that’s without the lack of economic insight.

Classic lawyer - follow the rules with zero thought for what might make the electorate tick. Political instincts at or close to zero. Dreadful orator too. Needs a voice coach.