@DameMaud - absolutely agree with everything you've written here.
My politics are very firmly left-wing but there has normally been right-wing politicians who I could admire for being principled, and for having integrity, even if I didn't agree with their world view.
And I think the absence of this is what I have mourned so much in recent years, especially through the COVID period when we so desperately needed someone who we could trust to do the right thing, rather than the populalist or self-serving thing.
This is about left vs right, it's about integrity. I thought Rory Stewart was a wonderfully principled man, and his biggest downfall was that he was scrupulously honest and up against Boris, the man who wouldn't know the truth if it bit him on the arse. Boris ushered in Trump-style politics into this country in a way that we've never experienced before. Politicians have often exaggerated but usually those at the top would have some scruples. We're now in a situation where everyone just shrugs when politicians are caught in the most outright and outrageous lies, because that's the point we've reached.
More than anything else I find this utterly, utterly depressing.
Keir Starmer has many faults, and I appreciate he's not everyone's favourite. But I do believe very strongly that he's a decent man with strong ethics. Throughout COVID he didn't attempt to point-score for easy political wins, he did the decent thing and quite often was mocked as being weak as a result. But what he did was the opposite of weak - he was strong enough to recognise when something was more important than gaining points over the opposition.
The only problem now is that he's lost his voice because he's trying to pacify all wings of his party - he's trying to recapture the lost red wall, and he's got a deputy who firmly believes the whole TWAW mantra, so he needs to keep that brigade happy too. I don't believe for a second that he doesn't know what a woman is, but he's too scared of pissing people off to stand up and say that.
And I think that's an enormous shame because I believe that Keir Starmer could almost "re-set" British politics. He is incredibly intelligent, sharp and nothing escapes his notice - he shreds opponents in the Commons, which isn't a surprise given his QC background. But his decency and strong sense of right and wrong - it would be wonderful if politicians saw voters attracted by someone who is honest and genuine. I do think there are decent politicians out there, but they're buried by people who will say whatever gets them to the top, people like Boris, Suella Braverman, and even Rishi Sunak.
Sadly while Keir insists on the whole TWAW thing, he's lost many voters - even though I think he might win without us anyway. But it will be a hollow victory because it will be another electoral win where the candidate said what he thought people wanted to hear, rather than what he truly believed.