Anyone in Hartlepool - what on earth is going on

[Purplecatshopaholic]

Genuine question. (Apologies if this is in the wrong place, I don’t post much). I’m Scottish and in Scotland, and I am constantly aware these days of how different the views are of Westminster up here, to across the border sometimes. We also have our own Labour Party leader up here. But really? Is Keir Starmer that bad? Are other parties not available? Who on earth is still voting for Boris…? Any WHY?

Lifelong labour supporter (Bennite at heart). I haven’t known clearly what the Labour Party stand for for years now. Also stopped party membership due to ‘women’ and womens’ rights being rewritten and trampled all over due to gender politics. I wouldn’t vote Labour right now !

No, but your “only Muslims are homophobic” is both demonstrably wrong and tangential
Did you not realise I was being sarcastic?
Are you suggesting there is nothing in the Quran that could be interpreted as homophobic?
See above.

@Moonstone1234

If you don’t know the answer by now Labour are going to be in the wilderness for years and might even split in the next few years. They are a complete mess and full of a woke agenda. Starmer isn’t as bad as Corbyn but who could be but he isn’t strong enough.

They need to move back to the centre and where is the next Tony Blair?

Bloody hell, you want another labour leader who will lead the country in to an illegal war? That's sickening. Blair is the epitome of a red tory. He is worse then Starmer. Corbyn would have at least introduced real, positive change but no, everyone believes what they read in the daily heil and the sun etc. There are very few genuine politicians left. We could have had one as pm but apparently people prefer a man who lies, cheats and breaks international law. The UK, as a whole, disgusts me.

InterstellarObjective, if the UK disgusts you, then I think you will find 90% of other countries even more distasteful. Where do you think is better?

@XingMing Finland and NZ spring to mind.

Someone said boris does not care about business .

It’s as if people still do not understand. This pandemic was not just in the uk . It was and still is worldwide.

And as a small business owner I can tell you that the government have provided financial assistance , grants and furlough that have helped a lot of business to continue. I know it was not perfect and it has been such a hard year but they are now encouraging business to take on the unemployed and providing training grants . They have been trying to look forward at the same time of dealing with an unprecedented situation .

And to come on here and basically call the people of Hartlepool stupid is basically a good indication of why Labour failed .

Blair is the epitome of a red tory. He is worse then Starmer.

He DID get the party elected though.

Which is the whole point of this politics business, no?

@dadshere

Perhaps you would like to explain to the people of Hartlepool why they are stupid and selfish ? I am sure they would love to reply to you ?

Perhaps it might be more stupid for a party just because “ you always have”

I voted conservative yesterday (not in Hartlepool) for the first time in my life as I couldn't bring myself to vote labour, plaid, lib dem or green due to their attempts to destroy women's rights by failing to recognise what a women is. It was a struggle as conservative austerity policies disproportionally disadvantage women, but where I live is a very safe plaid seat so it was more a protest vote, i may have simply spoilt my ballot paper if I lived somewhere where I thought my vote would actually count.

Heard McDonnell say they need to go further left to win... what a stupid, totally out of touch thing to say.

But don’t worry apparently Abbott will be giving her view shortly.. must listen to that one.

I do wonder though if some in the LP don’t actually want to win, they just want to moan and complain and not offer anything very much. Much easier to judge rather than be judged.

[quote hamstersarse]@LetSophieGo It's actually no joke that I am considering getting a Union Flag / or maybe a St Georges cross. Was only talking about it the other day.

I am the least likely person in RL to have one. Friends on the left who are lecturers and teachers and nurses might be horrified, but at least it might get the conversation going.

You might have inspired me to take the plunge[/quote]
Why not? Before ppl start asking questions. Last time I was back in Blighty I was amazed at the ubiquitous Union Flags , table cloths , tea towels, beer mats. Britain used to be too self confident to indulge in all this bantam strutting. Strange, almost wartime feeling about the place lately Though?

Is it because Conservative run councils tend to have more investment?

@TheKeatingFive

Blair is the epitome of a red tory. He is worse then Starmer.

He DID get the party elected though.

Which is the whole point of this politics business, no?

No, the point is to pass policies you think will improve the lives of people - or have I missed something? Career politicians believe getting elected is all that counts and that's the problem. All Blair did was destroy faith in the Labour Party and continue Thatcherite policies - what's the point of that?

@Figgygal

I have absolutely no clue what is going on in this country How are people being taken in by Boris and his cabal

Gods sake, we are not being taken in, boris is a sodding buffoon and plays it well. But he knows what a woman is. And for quite a lot of us on here, that'll do. It's not great/fabulous/sterling its just a start.

I'm not in Hartlepool - we just voted in Council elections here. But, if the Labour candidate here was anything to base the results on it's no wonder. Our candidates for LibDem, Conservative and Green Party told us what they were planning (hoping) to do if they were elected. The Labour candidate told us what was wrong with the current Council...but nothing about what they planned to do about it. So I didn't vote for her. I don't like manifesto promises being broken .... but I at least can see if the Councillor that was elected actually breaks them if I vote for any of the other three.

Labour, unfortunately, is floundering about at the moment. They need to realise it isn't about winning heart and minds of Labour voters. It's about winning over reluctant Conservatives. Labour have to become a bit more 'purple' if that's going to happen - regardless of how unpalatable that may be to ardent Labour voters. Because ardent Labour voters aren't enough to win now. Labour has to show the middle of the road Conservative voters that they aren't going to go back to Union control, high taxes for high earners etc because a lot of people do not like that and won't vote for a party that supports it.

Female to male trans ppl are not invading men's spaces in sport , changing rooms, dating sites etc. Cormoranstrike

Exactly what @bigvig said. Plus, Blair has as much blood on his hands as this current tory government. I'm baffled that anyone can still vote tory after this past year.

Someone said boris does not care about business .

He is on record as saying Fuck Business. That being the case, it's legitimate to assume that is what he thinks of it. Unless, I suppose we take the stance that since he lies all the time, he must think the opposite.

A self employed friend received nothing from the furlough scheme and had 12 days work in as many months. I have no idea how she votes, but she certainly wasn't singing the praises of the furlough scheme.

But he knows what a woman is.
Which woman?
The one he cheated on while she was having cancer treatment?
The one he had a 'love child' with who was obliged to keep it quiet?
The one(s) he giggled at for looking like 'letterboxes' and 'bank robbers'?

From the BBC 10 minutes ago:
The general secretary of the Unite union has said Sir Keir Starmer must “reach out to the left”.
Len McCluskey said the Labour leader must learn the “correct lesson” after the party lost the Hartlepool by-election.
He told the BBC's Nick Robinson people do not know what the party stands for and that Sir Keir must bring back Jeremy Corbyn.

No, the point is to pass policies you think will improve the lives of people - or have I missed something?

You’ve missed the point that you can’t pass policies unless you get elected

Finland and NZ spring to mind.

Have you actually lived in NZ?

Blair has as much blood on his hands as this current tory government.
Really? That much?

Holy shit... Women are voting tory because of trans rights??? Trans women are women, trans men are men. Get over it.