To think Keir Starmer is looking more ridiculous by the day

[Viviennemary]

I've just seen an interview with Keir Starmer talking in riddles. If he knew then what he knew now then this mess wouldn't have happened. Three hour debate about it tomorrow in Parliament. Surely his time is up. But if a lefty takes over it might be worse.

What about the u turns on winter fuel and welfare reform?

Thing is, I don’t understand Mandelson either. Except Mandelson is greedy man, loves money and power and is extremely effective at handling those people. He had his own personal seat at the preferred restaurant of the MAGA crowd and his own special plaque from them. But his emails to Epstein are repellent. They spin away the most disgusting criminality. Starmer should answer some questions about that except I fear the answer is rather limp; he let McSweeney handle it all for him. Well that really is poor judgment. And who is in charge if that’s what happens? Mandelson apparently all over this government and its decisions by proxy?

Consecutive posts by @ilovesooty

Of course it was Cameron's fault. It was down to him that there was a referendum and the campaign was badly misjudged and executed.

If we've got to the stage where people seriously think there was no harm in Johnson lying to the monarch, I wonder about the judgement of the electorate.

The point of democracy is that you have to accept the judgement of the electorate, even when you don’t like it. But I get the impression that you don’t really like democracy at all. In one post you say that Brexit is Cameron’s fault because he 1) let the electorate vote and 2) didn’t tell the electorate what to do in the right way so that they gave the wrong answer. In the next you suggest that our democracy is going down the drain because the (elected) Prime Minister supposedly lied to the (unelected and constitutionally powerless) monarch. If what you mean is that the electorate is too dim witted to be trusted and you’d prefer a paternalistic monarchy, well, fine, don’t be shy!— I disagree, but I respect your right to hold a quirky political view.

There is nothing that this Labour government has done that matches it for sheer incompetence. Nothing.

They implemented a children’s education tax!

Oh give over. Are you for real? Or just going to the most self absorbed post prize?

You’ll be shocked at them nationalizing trains next or considering wealth taxes. Get thee to Dubai if this bothers you. It’s not like they hid it, nor that it threatened to melt down the basis of government borrowing….

Labour are not going well, it’s not just the pp who has noticed. Look at polling outside mn.

Please let's aspire to do much better and stop judging one Government's poor performance to the equally woeful performance of another.

Now now. Truss was forced out by her own party due to her total incompetence. Should that happen to Keir Starmer, I think you will have a valid point. Until then, I am afraid he is still better placed than the frighteningly low bar set by his predecessors.

And that, 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' looks like a Reform government does it!

No! But they are a shoe in if both the main stream parties can't do better at attracting talent before the next election. Currently its an open goal for Reform

It is the old Humphrey maxim; yes it’s a shambles. But is it a total shambles?

Roll on the next budget which is likely to give the answer

They did! Then they fought kids with SEN in court to retain a policy which causes harm without raising any money.

Also a jobs tax, a farmers tax, WFA - where were they in the Labour manifesto?

How can anyone continue to defend this government?

Maybe they will but it generally takes longer for Labour to do it which can also be problematic.

What so we get Reform by default not because of their 'talent'?

It’s not their predecessors they need to worry about going by the polling results below…

Yes.

Mandelson has a rare political genius, hence his four comebacks, but he is also ineradicably tainted by his association with the loathsome Epstein and corrupted by his pursuit of oligarchs.

The Labour government had at least a year to prepare for office because it was obvious that the Tories were going down in flames -- despite Sunak doing a very decent job. Apart from Wes Streeting, who seems to be doing a difficult job pretty well, none of the rest appear to have any depth. The Budget stalled the economy, Lammy's deal with Mauritius for the Chagos Islands looks expensive and inept, small boat arrivals are up 25% over last year, the first Business Secretary had never been in business (and wasn't a qualified solicitor), DEFRA was being led by a chap who didn't realise he would need a pair of wellies, Milliband is refusing to reconsider his ideological position on energy and North Sea oil so our energy costs are still the highest in the world, and that's before Rayner's SDLT fiasco or the suits, specs and hospitality shenanigans.

It's Labour's to lose. They have done an excellent job of that so far.

Fair, a reminder on that front

Are you arguing that Reform are talentless then?

No. Are you?

No. The Conservatives face the grim reality of becoming a very junior partner in a potential Reform led government. That is the only way to obliterate a Lab Lib coalition in 2029. That’s on the current figures. But it is 2029, unless the market has Truss style meltdown, which is why I talk about her significance because it is something of that order that destroys a government, not VAT on private schools.

Oh, I missed Louise Haigh and Tulip being forced to resign...

If Labour don’t start listening to the electorate, then yes, we will end up with a Reform government. The polls have already put them in the lead over Labour, just over a year after they won. And when I say ‘won’, they didn’t really win - the only reason they got in, is because people wanted to punish the Tories. They were given a golden opportunity, and they’ve blown it.

You did! How's the corruption trial going for the ex anti corruption minister? Any news?