Labour isn't Working - Thread 28

[redange]

Continued carry on with discussion.

I just read the Telegraph article. Every decision Keir Starmer and this Cabinet make seems so be exactly the wrong decision. He is so far from being a leader it’s embarrassing. He decides one thing, is completely out-flanked and shown up by the other European leaders, has to change his mind but the damage to international relations is done. So he’s upset the Americans, all the gulf states, Jordan, the Cypriots, other European leaders by-pass him as and when it suits them and on and on.

They did a poll 48%. Think he should stay out completely a journalist was saying.

It’s fine. We can stay out of it but then we won’t have any allies and will be completely vulnerable as our armed forces are not what they were. We barely have a navy worth the name any more. Means our citizens abroad more likely to be vulnerable too as we will have no allies or influence.

I know so short-sighted 🙈

How embarrassing is it that we don’t even have a ship available to go to Cyprus and the French ship will be there first! So of course the Cypriots now questioning why they should let us have a base on the island if we are not willing or able to defend it when necessary.

Labour can’t be solely blamed for the fact that our armed forces are in such a woeful state though. The weakening has happened through successive governments. However their response to the current crisis just shouts weakness. The article quotes the German leader. The German Chancellor said “appeals to international law would have relatively little effect”. Mark Carney and Anthony Albanese have backed the White House.

It was a very Starmer mistake. Other comparable countries didn’t do the same as you mention.

Thanks for this, good read.
Its a good summary of everything I've been reading over the week.

I wonder if the same 48% would agree with the UK govt failing to protect our people and assets abroad when under attack from Iran and it's proxies.

Both Labour and the Conservatives are guilty of inadequate defence spending. We are a welfare state and that takes priority.

Yes basically a weak Welfare Island. That’s our global reputation. Talking of weakness, the Times reports a network of at least 30 so-called charities exist in the UK aligned to the Iranian regime.

Yep. Absolute joke.
The IRG are welcome here, don't know whether to laugh or cry!

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15613571/How-Iranian-regime-infiltrated-Londons-ultra-exclusive-property-market-Ayatollahs-cronies-snapped-capitals-lavish-mansions-including-Billionaires-Row.html

I agree the conservatives spent years decimating our armed forces.

Looking forward to Kemi's speech at the spring conference. She is not happy with Starmer's response.

https://news.sky.com/story/pm-sitting-on-the-fence-over-iran-kemi-badenoch-claims-and-labour-is-no-longer-patriotic-13516331

Going OT for a moment to say Ian Huntley has died. Not before time (apologies to anyone offended by my sentiment).

This is in voting too. People tend to go for more welfare over defence.

Excellent news. Hope it was long and painful for him.

Yep, every time. Been going on for decades now.
The only positive that may come out of current events is that more people become aware of how bad things are. I hope.

That’s shocking. We need to clean house.

That’s the whole problem.

Sir Richard Barron has been banging this drum for a while. He co authored the strategic defence review for the govt. This article is a few months old, but he's still saying the same in interviews this week.

General Sir Richard Barrons, who co-authored the Government’s strategic defence review, said rearmament efforts were proceeding at “half the speed” necessary because the Ministry of Defence was “on its knees”.

Sir Richard said: “If we make this welfare offer to ourselves at the expense of security and defence, which is what we are choosing to do right now, that might be seen historically as a national act of self-harm.

http://archive.today/kLfPL

I mentioned that here last week

Many charities thought to be proxies for the Iranian regime - some investigations seem to have started in 2023 but haven't been concluded yet.

I fully accept that many things in this country now are totally incompetent - but this sort of thing makes me ask questions about corruption.

I won't be around today till later, but I must try and ignore the news because honestly the state of this country is so worrying

I absolutely agree that all of it is not the fault of the current government. That makes me feel even more despairing and is one of the reasons why I think Kemi needs to go a lot further in distancing herself from previous decisions made by the Tory party. Even if she has to stand up and say "we were wrong and we made terrible mistakes" - that seems to me to be necessary.

which countries haven't gone horribly wrong? If all of this is global, it's truly terrifying because we don't have any good models to look towards. Obviously, I have a positive view of the US - but I'm also extremely aware of the problems over there and it does seem very much a state lottery over there.

Someone military was speaking on the radio the other day dealing how vulnerable we are to missiles and drones should we ever need protection

It’s concerning, it’s easy for people to dismiss. Or to say we don’t want war and sell in the Greens version. Of course Iranians don’t want what they have, Russians and Ukrainians either.

Ukraine is a cautionary tale on what to not get rid of.

If we have enough not much happens, we spend on defence and hopefully all is ok, if the opposite is true then it does make me concerned.