Thread 17: Starmer: Treading softly.

[DuncinToffee]

Lettuce pray

Keep it civil

Cat, dog, flowers tax much appreciated

Previous thread
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5257111-thread-16-starmer-mad-world?page=40

I think it says something lovely!

She was effectively pronounced dead by George Osborne (who is nominally a moderate) who discussed Jenrick and Farage discussing this arrangement. She always had to beat them.

Starmer is comfortably beating her at PMQs each week without trying very hard. That wouldn't matter so much if she brought in money or she was polling better. But she isn't.

She is absolutely toast. The comments about her are not good under that BBC article you posted.

Blue border with AA Milne in red writing and a drawing of Pooh and CR in the woods under a blue house?
Mines from 1970.

And an orange hardback WTP, dust jacket long gone.

Mine is a 1976 reprint. Yellow (but not as yellow as the pages now are). The title is brown print and the author and illustrator are black. The pic is of Pooh and Tiger eating hunny (because 'i'ers oh't ike a'orns)

50p 😊

I have the one with the blue border. Those were the days.

And I've realised that, despite my best efforts, I'm probably poor, put upon Kanga.

The fangirls of the sainted Kemi have gone rather quiet.

Winning The Pooh was the first book I ever bought myself. I bought it st King's Cross station with my holiday spending money and I must have been about 6 so 1965. I still have it.

They have the blessed Trump, saviour of women, to adore.

Extraordinary given the litany of sexual misconduct claims against him.

I suspect Osborne would be considered too moderate for the current Conservative party.

I read something yesterday which I now cant find which claimed Osborne said that if Labour were to do a limited deal with the EU (eg agri checks) that simplified the process at the border & made it cheaper, that there would be a boost to GDP AND they'd box Badenoch/Conservatives in to arguing about reversing such simplification and adding expense. Farage will obviously play Thats Not My Brexit.

I assume Labour are already working on this sort of thing and that is what the 'reset' is focused on - I want Labour to make Cons/Reform argue the economic benefits of Brexit. The L/D's are already there.

He is demolishing DEI, that's all they want.

Taping over women's photos is just an unfortunate consequence.

Plus all those policies that will keep poor women poor, deny them basic healthcare and severely limit their ability to make reproductive choices. What's not to love about him?

Again, it's the company you keep -

"I linked DOGE staffer Marko Elez to a deleted X account that advocated repealing the Civil Rights Act, backed a “eugenic immigration policy,” and wrote, “You could not pay me to marry outside of my ethnicity."

He just resigned. www.wsj.com/tech/doge-st...

bsky.app/profile/klong.bsky.social/post/3lhjx7usgvc26

project 2025

Is it just me - or is the gift of a 'golden pager' by Netanyahu to Trump really fucking distasteful?

The Israeli prime minister also presented a golden pager to Trump.
The gift was a reference to Israel's deadly operation against Hezbollah in September last year, using booby-trapped communications devices.

@Notonthestairs I think you are spot on with your assessment and I believe that's what the government is working towards.

There are two limitations

A) the amount of time the EU will take. We want this in three months. The EU are so slow it could be three years.

B) showing the gain to the economy. The longer A) takes the less the pay off in terms of growth and productivity

That's actually sick. And I don't mean siiiick like the teens say.

Yes, as you say the EU's glacial negotiating style is a key problem.

Ideally Labour would start selling a deal to UK voters in advance (light at the end of the tunnel) but I don't suppose that is how international trade negotiations work.

No it isn't just you. It was a repulsive thing to do.

@Notonthestairs on your last point there is

C) Labour government is not gutsy enough to say it perhaps?

Starmer was once quite gutsy on the benefits of the EU and a second referendum. That probably contributed to their loss in 2019. He has yet to find a narrative about the EU to sell to the country.

Maybe he hopes to "Ming vase" it. Can that work? Doubtful

Extremely so. Probably as a thank you for Trump's moves to sanction the court that has Netanyahu on a wanted list for war crimes.

It's possible that Trumps actions could accelerate the process ?

The golden pager is just vile beyond adequate words. I accept there are many views with the many people involved, but celebrating death and destruction in this way, mocking it, bigging yourself up for achieving it - wow, but shows where they put 'life' on their list of priorities (excepting their own) - very sad times 😞

@SerendipityJane - this is I think the challenge. The EU would presumably be very tough with the UK on vet standards and an agreement because it would have a concern that US products entering the EU via NI. And even that will be conditional on all the other EU asks which are really unpopular like migration pacts and fish. Not a fast process unless you just fold like a deck chair and just agree. But of course doing that could finish off Starmer politically.

At the same time, Trump is offering a simple deal which has none of these complications and means safety from punitive tariffs. And the US moves at pace.

This is very difficult, and if Starmer manages to navigate it I would say he is an extraordinary politician. I imagine he will try to do both. The speed of the EU worries me. It suggests that Trump will offer something that offers growth immediately where thr EU will get all ideological about say, sand eels.

We are piggy in the middle