To like Keir Starmer?

[Emmanuelll]

Unlike Tony Blair, he comes from a working class background - his siblings would still call themselves working class.

As a very bright lawyer, he could have sought a path which made him rich quickly but instead chose human rights which isn’t an easy route to take and he’s defended ‘the little guy’ against corporations. He’s also anti-death penalty.

Ok, he’s a Sir, and I’ve heard people (perhaps not unreasonably) question why the leader of the Labour Party would have a title like that. But he earned it through work for the criminal justice system.

On the face of it, it seems as though he deserves a chance.

I would much rather have him as PM than a former Bullingdon club member who used to burn money in front of homeless people for the fun of it.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2010/apr/21/world-cup-1970-harold-wilson
Even dear old Harold Wilson milked football results for all they were worth.

I think that's pushing it a bit! No one ever says who was in Government when England won the World Cup in 1966.

I wouldn’t say that

I am not a hardcore Tory. I didn’t vote for BoJo or Brexit or anything like that. I also didn’t vote for Starmer because I think his private school policy is wrong. I voted tactically to oppose Starmer, specifically because of that policy. The main reason I don’t like him is because of this policy - and the extrapolation that his socialism is far more extreme than people currently think. Politically I’m in the centre. Hate hard left. Hate hard right.

It seems alright for rich people to get lovely houses in catchments of the best school (or tutor for the remaining grammars) and to pretend to be “humbly” using “state schools”. But I didn’t have that option - my eldest is SEN, we were caught in a difficult fix. Luckily he’s now left, but I’m appalled that I’d be VATted for using a private school to help my SEN kid - I don’t live in a million pound house like lots of the people who buy them in lovely catchments. The private education my kids received is equivalent to a good state school.

What a stupid post.

I’d imagine it is posed. Like these:

Emily Thornberry spoke about this. She said she would definitely go private, but confirmed that for Starmer it wouldn’t be a question. He believes in the NHS.

One of my family suffered in pain for over a year rather than get a straightforward treatment done privately because she 'believes in the NHS'. I mean, WTF? It's a service not a religion. You shouldn't need to suffer for its glory.

Her choice. Private medicine drains the NHS. Private hospitals don’t train their own staff. They don’t provide any urgent or emergency care.

People are ridiculous. Honestly, KS is a wolf on sheep clothes. The same people vilifying the Tories for years are coming now like evangelicals praising the rather out of depth new PM. They must all be part of the Fabian Society as well. 😂

Mind you it was the same with Biden and Kamala. But soon after…

Out of depth? Presiding over a government that’s been clearly meticulously planning for power for a long time. However I think it’s correct that he’s not what he seems - he’s obviously ruthless and rules his party with a rod of iron and the fact that Tory voters are hellbent on underestimating him is so predictable.

Exactly that’s what we need right now someone who actually knows what they are doing and isn’t using being prime minister to stroke his ego or promise things that won’t happen. I like the fact that he’s come from very humble background and his worked bloody hard to get to where he is nothing was handed to him. He’s very calm and confident and he knows exactly what needs to be done he hasn’t come in off the back of promising this that and all the rest of it knowing that 4 years down the line none of it will of been done. For the first time in a long time we have a government that we can trust to get things done for the good of everyone not just the ones at the top.

He didn't have a privileged upbringing though. That’s factually nonsense.

I don’t think you can reasonably compare the democrats in the US with the Labour Party in the UK. They are nothing alike.

Unless you mean the relief some people felt just that Trump wasn’t staying in the WH? Unfortunately though, he still had a lot of supporters. The way things go in America is madness. At least here, the leader of a country gets ousted if their behaviour becomes demonstrably hypocritical or unethical. In America they now have an actual criminal trying to get back in the WH.

The facts that are in the public domain. Such as Starmer’s tax returns and the salaries of MPs and the Leader of The Opposition. 🙄

Literally, who actually cares.

Sir Keir Starmer’s job is to get through office unscathed and level headed, with no PTSD to his immediate family. Thereafter, he will make millions. It’s not relevant. He and his immediate family have to survive leadiing the country, level headed, making the best possible impact given the circumstances. It’s literally like the footballers in the Euro. Perform to your best ability. Make good decisions. Then market the brand.

You won't be 'vatted' - it's the schools who are vatted. It's up to them whether they pass the extra cost on to you. Presumably there'll be grants available for private SEN schools.

What do you think his "inflexible ideology" is? We've just had 14 years of inflexible austerity ideology - i.e. make the wealthy and powerful wealthier and more powerful. Centrist pragmatism is hardly even an ideology in comparison.

That’s bullshit that labour put out to justify the policy. The majority of private schools do not have spare cash. Ours certainly doesn’t. VAT will be charged on fees paid by parents. It’s not a charge on the school, although some schools might be able to make a contribution initially to reduce the parents’ bills during a transition phase. Most private SEN kids are in mainstream like mine were.

"The legislation means Sir Keir is exempt from paying tax on pensions savings over £1m. It is not clear whether the Labour leader has saved enough to have benefited from the scheme.
After last week's Budget, Labour pledged to reverse plans to introduce similar exemptions for high-earners if it wins power.
Sir Keir said the government's tax exempt scheme would only benefit the "richest 1%", and proved the government had the "wrong priorities".
He said a tax break should only be available to NHS doctors, to encourage them to keep working and not take early retirement."

Perhaps he could tell us.

The NHS is broken and cannot provide a decent standard of healthcare for many people. Labour knows it - Wes Streeting has said it, and that it need fundamental reform. Notions of 'saving' and 'protecting' the NHS by depriving yourself treatment and remaining in pain are foolish virtue signalling.

I agree it’s broken beyond repair

Labour have said the NHS needs reforming a few years ago the tone would have been very different but people have wised up and realised the NHS is broken and has to change

The tone wasn’t different with the last Labour government. Unfortunately all the improvements it made to the NHS have been undone.

Many trusts are paying off millions in interest from PFI loans just interest …

The last Labour government were too shortsighted in funding the NHS the Tories just finished it off

It was very different the public still has huge faith in the NHS and so did NHS employees

thats changed

staff dedication is often misrepresented as dedication towards the NHS when it’s not it’s dedication towards providing the best treatment/care/support to patients