To not get the visceral levels of hatred people have for Keir Starmer

[LastChristmasigaveyousomesocks]

I’m not suggesting he’s the greatest prime minister ever. I’m not even suggesting he’s good at all. But some people really, really passionately hate him.

He is a bit insipid and doesn’t have much charisma but overall he seems like a decent enough bloke who perhaps lacks the political skill and acumen he needs. He’s out of his depth basically.

But that’s not a reason to actually despise someone is it?

When did we get to a point where we can’t just disagree without painting the other person as the devil incarnate?

I can't have an ounce of respect for someone who can't accurately articulate what a woman is.

I agree too. I think he has made a lot of mistakes, his political instincts are very poor and I'm not convinced that he has any real vision for what he wants to achieve as PM. But I also think he is a fundamentally decent bloke, trying his best to do a good job, and that he is a damn sight better than many of our other recent PMs.

I don't think he is the greatest leader we've ever had, but I certainly don't understand the level of hatred that seems to be leveled at him. It is like he is getting all of the blame for the previous government's failings because he hasn't managed to fix everything yet.

I blame the right wing newspapers stirring up the hate. The public believe anything they read in these newspapers.

Yep. This. They did the same to Gordon Brown.

I think there is definitely an increase in shouty people on Facebook, which makes it seem more like he is widely reviled when he's not.

I live in a long time Labour constituency and any time the local Labour party posts anything on Facebook there's a pile on. I don't think it's co-ordinated per se, but I'd say at least half the posters are not local. I'm thinking of posting something positive every time to get another voice in there, but dunno if that would be pointless. I'm not even a member of the Labour Party, but I'm fed of people trying to bully them out.

I agree with pp that some people are pissed that he didn’t create utopia in a few months.

GB News doesn't help I'm sure. It's like the TV version of the Daily Mail.

Yep, I agree. The man is not a great PM but when you look at the last few, he's not worse than them.

As you and others have said , this is the issue really. It doesn't matter what the opposing voters say, its about what his voters think

I didn't vote for him but I think they've done lots. I dont agree with it all but I am not left leaning so that wasn't going to happen
And I have been pleasantly surprised by his manner dealing with foreign affairs, even if we all feel ill when he has been obliged to flatter Trump
But Labour have scored some massive own goals (WFA, benefits payments regorm both went too far) and their messaging just doesn't seem to get through. ..Some of it will be right wing media yes but the Greens messages are gaining traction so it can't just be that. Trump is dominating headlines of course

Certainly prefer him to Boris & co and Farage would drive me insane

He's not the only recipient of visceral hatred. Many politicians (and other public figures) today seem to enrage people disproportionately. We're living in uncertain times, and measured, reasoned responses are not in fashion.

But the greens are doing well? It can't just be the media?

I don’t hate him and I find it odd that so may people have a visceral reaction to people they disagree with. Even on MN people say awful things about politicians or voters they don’t agree with - it seems it’s no longer possible to disagree on policy but have no personal animosity.

I think social media amplifies this but it’s probably always been there. I do judge people who make personal comments on people they’ve never actually met.

He’s a bit meh, but he’s ok and certainly better than the alternative. He seems like he’s a fairly decent person and he not even that bad a PM compared to the shit show we had under the tories.

I really don’t get the hatred towards him but I think a lot of it comes from the right wing propaganda machine. A lot of people are just clapping along without really knowing why they hate him.

This. We got so used to the revolving door of PMs, each one more outrageous than the last that we've forgotten what it's like to have a stable person (who had a respectable job before politics) at the helm.

I don't get it either. He's just a boring politician doing boring politician admin which I don't expect anything more than that really. Theresa May was the same. Better than the clown theatre of Boris, Truss, Sunak etc.

I just don’t get it either. I went to a football match recently and the crowd were shouting “Keir Starmer is a wanker” How is he that bad? Now Boris - he was a wanker

This. He looks and acts like… well a boring, adult man with a grown up job. He’s not flashy, he’s not purporting to be a genius, he’s not slick or greasy or overly posh or joking around like a buffoon to get people on side. Just a bloke doing paperwork and shaking hands.

There’s far too much visceral hatred in politics. I like to think we can agree to disagree on political issues but still get along.
I save visceral hatred for anyone who abuses children, animals or the vulnerable.

Totally agree OP

After the last 14 years of Tory decimation on the country, I’m actually quite happy to have a boring, dull and moderately competent pm running things. He has got a bunch of stuff wrong, but hasn’t completely screwed things up either..

The foreign owned press will largely try to convince the not so engaged public to think otherwise of course…

Reform will be a skip fire of epic proportions, and let’s face it they’re all failed tories (the ones that screwed us up in the first place)

In my view he, and his advisors ( I'm looking at you MacSweeny) are politically inept. Most of the reverses this government has performed were so inept. I'm a reasonably informed person. I could see their miss steps as soon as they made them.

I'm becoming to believe that the right of the Labour Party are trying to strangle the left.

if the Green Party would drop their policy/belief that the UK should leave NATO, I would support them. But while they stick to that belief, I can not.

He gives me the rage when he speaks. And he has zero charisma to make anything he says engaging. Probably because it's generally lies or u-turns. He's very disappointing. I haven't had this reaction to any of the previous ones. Rishi was a bit cringe but in hindsight better than this lot, Boris was Boris, Liz Truss probably would have been this annoying had she lasted, Theresa May was professional but dull, DC was engaging. That's as far as my memory goes.

Same here.

I like him, level headed, professional, calm. Opposite of Trump.

Apart from a relative having personal experience of him ( put it this way his public persona is very different to what he is really like) he was a human rights lawyer…and we all know what they are like!

Totally agree. Can't stand the man, not at the level of hate though. No energy to hate politicians these days.