Re: Starmer

Really!! The quip flew well past me then. (Sorry Andy).

No it was about Mr Starmer !

Have you tried @Chersfrozenface ? I wrote with no response but received responses about other issues. This has made me wonder if his post is being tampered with! I also assume my name is now on a list somewhere.

Meanwhile other people completely the other side on gender issues are chanting "fuck Kier Starmer"

Ultimately the job of any politician in a democracy is to listen/ understand different perspectives. Alas in trying to maintain balance/ moderation you can end up alienating a lot of people

I would love to vote Labour. But I can't.

Not outright, but those who had to install panic alarms and have bodyguards for protection couldn't really safely stay. That's a form of expulsion - 'constructive dismissal' perhaps.

It's the history of this that makes me think Starmer needs to be a lot more openly supportive of Duffield and others like her.

The fact that MP's, MSP's are so vague is what is really frustrating. They are clinging to this 'no debate' even though it's now the avoidance strategy. Much of the press have decided to throw their lot in with GC even the Guardian's having a wobble. Things have now changed because the public have been given the stark reality of self-id.

Labour might be looking at Wales and hoping they can keep the lid on anything negative so that they can spout 'wonderful progressive Wales, that's what we want'. What on earth prevents Welsh people from kicking up a fuss. I know they don't have prisons but they do have schools and they do have gender indoctrination. Would love to know what's going on, Cardiff young, university, obvious but what about the very traditional areas. I believe Mark Drakeford is looking at GRR, does he expect a different result??

Like that ' fucking little wooden Thunderbird puppet ' *

Who was that? Andy Burnam by any chance? (Trying to work out who looked like a thunderbird 😂).

Corbyn didn't expel members afaik. Not even obvious Tory warmongers like Blair or Mandelson. He was never leadership material. Too trusting. Many of his shadow cabinet 'colleagues' were unprincipled careerists. Like that ' fucking little wooden Thunderbird puppet ' *

• copyright Alexei Sayle

I get so so annoyed by the Scottish Labour leader.

He has got this one very very wrong. Its not that you can even argue that morally he did the right thing - he didn't. Not with the law that he voted to pass.

If I still lived in Scotland I could probably vote for a Westminster Labour MP, but I think in Holyrood elections I would have to spoil my vote. I wouldn't vote for any of them.

That's not going to stop me looking at individual voting records on the GRR and holding it against them at the next election.

Their Scottish leader said on Ch 4 news last night that they want to "humanise" (used this word twice, in lieu of clarity) gender ID but also look at single sex spaces. Because apparently these are compatible positions now.

The fact that he doesn't, and they have embraced the same approach in other areas around identity politics, is as significant to me as the embrace of gender ideology itself. It points to a significant capacity to govern in a bad way.

This is true of the Tories too, with rockets on it.

With the exception of Corbyn, he didn't go as far as Johnson did. Literally purging the party of anyone who might disagree. All the decent Tories ousted for opposing him, leaving the Tories up the shit creek, without a paddle, in a boat burdened with idiots who can't form a rescue plan.

On Corbyn - I think that was a bold move, but controversial. But I think justified given the disrepute the party came into under Corbyn, and the risk Corbyn's presence could stir it up again.

Johnson's choices: self serving, damaging, fascistic. Unforgivable.

I don't care if some members of a party have some views I don't like. I think it's fine and even good for parties to allow some diversity of views. I might not vote for an individual I thought was wrong on something important, but that is different. I don't expect Starmer to make everyone agree. I would be much happier if he allowed MPs to say what they wanted and vote how they wanted and argue what they wanted on this.

The fact that he doesn't, and they have embraced the same approach in other areas around identity politics, is as significant to me as the embrace of gender ideology itself. It points to a significant capacity to govern in a bad way.

I'm also not convinced their fiscal policies and other social economic policies would be as different from the Tories as some seem to believe. So maybe that doesn't weigh with me as much.

Haven’t..

I’m not never Labour again but not keen on this iteration, the policies don’t work for me. Corbyn was a disaster but Starmer hasn’t won me back.

Re Starmer getting someone like David Lammy to toe the line we’ll see. First he actually has to change direction from off the fence and we have seen much at all.

It would have to be unequivocal and clear.

I felt that way under Corbyn with the anti-semitism, misogyny and online bullying. Except I couldn't even lend him my vote. I wasn't at a 'never Labour ever again' as I am for the Tories though. I will never ever ever lend the Tories a vote. Even pragmatically. Telling my MP 'I'll never vote Tory again" only means anything if I actually follow through. Even Corbyn didn't get me there.

I can't imagine being keen to vote Labour again. That ship has sailed and my respect and loyalty has gone down with it. (Excuse mixed metaphors.) I'm also pragmatic and would lend them my vote again if they changed course, it's just that I can't see myself ever thinking of them as 'my party' again.

He’d have to face the 100% believers in his party. Not sure he’s going to do much there.

He did that on anti-semitism effectively. I used to see the most horrendous stuff in my Twitter feed, and it's almost all gone.

He'll never win with the 100% believers, but there will be believers who care about their paycheques more than challenging him, then there will be believers who saw what happened to Sturgeon and think "oops, the public are pissed" etc

At the end of the day, its voters he has to appeal to and I think he is very very aware if that fact. So we all need to keep on doing what we can when we can.

Shit, that just made think. I wrote to him about Lloyd Russell-Moyle and copied Moyle on it. I should have copied in Rosie Duffield and Miriam Cates too. Damn it.

He’d have to face the 100% believers in his party. Not sure he’s going to do much there.

Plus if SNP lose seats to Labour he may feel even more bolstered to go ahead.

I hope not, but unfortunately we’re not out of the woods yet.

The Tories are dead to me, even if they say the right things on gender. That doesn't counterbalance the harm they've done to Britain. I will never vote Tory again. And I've never said that about a political party before. I mean it too.

I would be delighted to see Starmer change his tune on this issue. I have no admiration whatsoever for politicians who cling stubbornly to one position in the face of increasing evidence supporting a different position. I'll find it difficult to get past his silent approval of the misogynistic behaviour of some of his MPs, though.

If I ever get a reply I'll let you know. I've only just started though. I sent it recorded delivery. More will follow.

I will happily vote for him as long as he doesn't bring in Self ID and ideally looks to tighten up the Equality Act.

I really don't like when other women should suggest who I should vote for.

What I absolutely will not vote for us another 13 years of what we have got now.

The harm that has been done to woman and children in the last 13 years is immeasurable.