How would it be different right now if Labour had won the last General Election?

[Dobbytheelf]

I've seen posts on Facebook from people who are saying that Boris is doing a shit job and that a vote for the Tories was a vote against the NHS etc from friends I know are very Labour and praising posts from people who were very vocally Conservative during the Election. There's nothing very specific though and I don't want to ask on there but if anyone on here has strong feelings either way what do you think would be different if Corbyn had won and was PM? I don't think I'm particularly intelligent on such matters and I don't have a strong affiliation to any party really so I'm interested to know what others who are/ do think. Is BJ doing a good job and could JC have done better? What would Jeremy Corbyn and his cabinet be putting in place now do you think?

Different? Well, everything would be the fault of dangerous socialist Jeremy Corbyn just like the last global financial meltdown was caused by Gordon Brown not by dodgy American banks. However this is a terrible situation for all politicians, (well not Trump, obviously, who hasn't yet been out healing the sick with his magic touch, can't be long) and all we can do is cross our fingers and hope they're at least half right. Don't see how Corbyn would have handled things differently overall.

I don't think things would be that different to be honest. It's strange times. Whatever the government does, it's wrong in some eyes. I'm no fan of the Tories, but I do think JC would not have been a good PM and he would have delayed measures (lockdown etc) even further while he thought about what to do.

I'm a paid up, card carrying member of the Labour Party but I think the govt has done a good job in the circumstances... I mean I'm no fucking fan of boris but I think Matt Hancock, Gove and the chancellor have all come across well... and as a teacher it fucking kills me to say that about Gove..

I’m a labour voter but doubt much would have been different. I think Europe as a whole failed to grasp the situation, Britain was not alone in this. Whilst I disagree with the way the situation has been handled, I’d be surprised if a Labour government would have done too much differently. They may have been slightly quicker but I’d be surprised if there was much difference.

I feel like Theresa May would have done well under these circumstances and kind of wish she was still PM but I can't put my finger on why I think that. I can't imagine Corbyn or how he would be dealing with this, but I suppose if you'd asked a month ago I couldn't have imagined Boris dealing with it either.

Gove mammy? No. Still too slithery to trust a word he says, that man could slide under a door. I give you the rest though.

I reckon it's how the long term effects pan out will be Shar they are judged on. Can't see how else it could have been done either.

Possibly not hugely different, but small differences might mean thousands fewer deaths. There wouldn’t have been enough time to improve public investment prior to the outbreak. Seumas wouldn’t have been whispering substantially better advice than Dominic, and may well have also fallen for herd immunity early on. But I don’t think they would have gone for that, it’s too far against the instincts of the shadow cabinet. We’d have gone into lockdown and closed the schools a week or two earlier. A lot of the stuff with tests and PPE may well turn out to be administrative incompetence which might actually have been worse with the more inexperienced Labour politicians in place. They probably wouldn’t have tried to bluff about it though.

On balance the earlier lockdown would have saved lives. That’s probably the most significant difference.

Im with sabine apart from the labour voting bit

I think our government many have fucked up with testing, and lock down and ventilators

BUT...I’m not sure labour would have done anything Differently

Having said that i think that possibly labour voters would have more of a grasp on what labour wouldn’t/would have done

I feel like Theresa May would have done well under these circumstances

I feel she would have been utterly frickin useless. Just like she was in the relatively benign conditions circa 2016-2019. Thankfully she isn't still in situ....

About the same I reckon. I think winning this last GE was drawing the short straw

I thought Theresa May would have handled this very well. Having said that. I do think they've done their best in unprecedented circumstances. And it could be far far worse, we, we could have trump!

Imagine what the daily Mail & their ilk would be saying if Jeremy Corbyn & his government were giving away all this money to people.

She was trying though wasn't she? To get a Brexit deal so that Brexit happened but bearing in mind lots of people didn't want it at all. Then she was blocked time and time again by parliament. Along came Boris who said fuck that and just aimed to leave, not caring if we had no deal? Again, I'm not smart enough to follow such matters so I absolutely stand to be corrected but that's my take on TM.

nancy that's a very good point, one I hadn't thought of!

They would have got the blame for 10yrs of Tory austerity.
Tories seem to be getting away with it at the moment.
I think they may have closed things down sooner as less swayed by the risk of economic harm tha

I am sure that money would not be going to businesses for them to filter it down to their employees. Money would be going straight to the people, a universal basic income. And it'd be cheaper too. Non means tested means everyone gets it. No faff with applying, phone calls, delays etc. No staff to deal with who should and who shouldn't get it. Those who don't need it can opt out if they desire. Or not. But we'd have it now, in our pockets paying our mortgages and rents. It'd be in your bosses pocket too. And so on. That security would keep everything ticking over. As it is we are all waiting 3 months and it'll be too late for many people.

Also this whole thing wouldn't be such a 'brand'. Stay in, protest the nhs save lives is starting to feel quite creepy and propaganda-y. The slogan is everywhere and I don't watch live tv. The purpose of this slogan is to get the message through but it also transfers blame onto individuals who have no ability to control larger outcomes. We can all do what we need to but this message gives us guilt, and compels us to blame those who we feel aren't doing what we interpret as the right thing. This government has a very good track record of shifting blame. See poster above blaming Gordon Brown.
The tories find a phrase and repeat, repeat, repeat. They have their printed media helping and it sticks. This slogan is starting to work it's magic and we now collectively blame those who took a second walk for a nurse dying. Ridiculous. Our focus is shifted away from the real people who we should blame - the government, who should and could have taken the control earlier. They have for the last 10 years alone completely decimated the NHS and reduced how many doctors and nurses are trained. It's broken up and all but privatised.

A jeremy content labour government would have maybe seemed rougher round the edges because none of this media marketing would have been about. But behind the scenes you can be 100% certain those who needed help would be getting it. He would be leading a government for the people who live under it. Unlike the conservative government who are actually just a business. We mean nothing to them.
And when it's all over....Those who can afford to take the hit (ie those not paying their taxes....amazon etc) would be mopping up after. And of course it's all a lot more complex that this, but when we look back on this time and our story is reduced to a chapter in a text book for our great great great grandchildren, the main take home lesson will be hundreds of thousands of people died because of a planet full of power hungry money grabbing load of politicians.

Labour would be struggling with inexperience at the most senior level. Not their fault but it would have stung them and made it harder for them to take decisions with confidence.

They would - ironically - have been more worried and less ready to spend so much money. Because excessive spending is Labour’s weak spot. Not so Sunak the Conservative. He can chuck it all at the NHS, build new hospitals and recruit more staff, and all the lefties will continue to wail that the Tories are terrible and mean.

but bearing in mind lots of people didn't want it at all

Bearing in mind that after three years of Theresa May dicking around, Boris Johnson won an 80 seat majority on a platform of get Brexit done and Labour saw its heartland obliterated, losing constituencies it had held for a hundred years. Theresa May turned a Conservative majority into a precarious alliance with the DUP. She was a catastrophe. The thought of her in charge during this is the stuff of nightmares.

John McDonnell said a Labour government would have closed the border early and banned all unnecessary travel.
Considering a lot of cases stemmed after half term jollies, I think we would have stopped the tide.

Do I think Boris and Co are handling it well? No I don't, and that's not just due to my vote being for Jeremy last time and the time before that.

We are still not testing people coming through airports. Not one. My sister came home this week via a country with the virus and she expected to be tested. Nope. She just walked straight through and off to her car.

There is still next to no testing of any kind, antibody or positive testing. No contact tracing.
The clanger of herd immunity and take it on the chin.
Not enough PPE. The government saying they are "wiping NHS debt"- it's not debt, it's how much they were underfunded by 10 years of Conservative rule.

The only consolation is even Murdoch would be hard pressed to find a loophole where it's Jeremy or Labours fault this time.

We have just lost the best leader in a crisis we could have ever had.

But as long as we clap every Thursday it's fine, right?
Right?

John McDonnell said a Labour government would have closed the border early

Credible. Not.

Well, when you put it like that Bovary... 😂
Thanks, this is why I'm glad to have MN!

Labour have constantly been asking for action before the government takes it. It’s perfectly credible that they would have closed the borders earlier. There’s also a strong ‘socialism in one country’ strain that would have pushed to make it happen quickly.

I think that this government has set aside party politics - unthinkable just a couple of months ago. I also think that a Labour government would not have taken the same view, and would be sailing much closer to the party line.

Whether introducing lockdown earlier would have worked or not - we shall never know, but with Labour in charge, I suspect that we would come out the other side in a far worse shambles.

If we'd shut down everything earlier, then I honestly believe that the general population would have either not taken it seriously, or would have been furious and rebelled. Either scenario would have been disastrous. By the time it did come, everyone accepted that it was a necessity.

That's enough politics for me for one day...