Keir starmer is dead in the water

[Bertiebiscuit]

The UK cannot have a prime minister who gave a plum job to a man when all the time he knew that Mandelson was still close friends with an ex-con who was convicted for trafficking children for sexual abuse. Starmer is destroying the reputation of the UK, he is an embarrassment and shoukd resign, if not the Labour party should demand his resignation.

Is there evidence that Miliband would be incompetent? My recollection of his party leadership was frustration thar, yet again, the press focused on petty things (like how he ate a sandwich) rather than his actual ideas, which i liked.

He seems to me more human, more committed to actual principles (the environment) and less tribal. But maybe that's just because he's a throwback to the days when politics seemed in hindsight slightly professional.

Side note, but my kids are 11. At their age I was just on my second prime minister. I can't believe they could be about to have a 6th.

He is actively destroying manufacturing in this country with his net zero madness. So Im hoping that his name doesn't come up too often as potential PM.

I was on my 4th (Eden, Macmillan, Douglas-Home, Wilson).

If I'd been born 4 months earlier, it would be 5, as Churchill resigned in April '55.

I'd go Yvette Cooper. I think she is well respected and would be a steadying hand on the tiller.

Followed by Shabana Mahmood or John Healey.

Alas, the PLP are tribal.

Miliband stood and failed before, of course.

Streeting is too tied to Mandelson

I’d say Rayner out of all names floated

Right.

So, over to HMRC, then. Unfortunately, it’s a busy time of year for them.

@Dragonflytamer I’d go Yvette Cooper too, I think she’s brilliant.

However, the trouble with all are that the press will find a way to discredit them - even the way they eat a bacon sandwich, as pointed out by a previous poster (I still can’t believe that such a fuss was made about something so ridiculous, so much so that even after all these years we remember it).

The trouble with Angela Rayner is - whether people choose to recognise this in themselves or not - is that people are so venomously prejudiced against anyone who sounds ‘common’. People will bleat that ‘politicians should be just like us’ but baulk at the reality. Coupled with that and the misogyny, she doesn’t stand a chance.

I have a friend with a very common accent and a working class background. I am shocked about the things that he has said about Angela Rayner, based on the way that she speaks alone.

There was the Ed stone too remember. Bacon sandwiches and Ed stones. He was funny!
Not so funny now though with his net zero madness.

I'm guessing the low level criminal activity routinelg overlooked by the British government and charity sectors didn't typically extend to being part of paedophile financiers' human trafficking rings

That's a question the average voter would hope had an unequivocal answer, but in light of the last 15 years, it's not easy to tell.

Passing on privileged information from high places that gives others the potential to profit from it, on the other hand - I can think of plenty of precedents where the political circles have been unequivocal about that sort of thing.

How unpleasant to muse on comparisons like that.

Fair point. But he can always be readmitted.

(Was a joke anyway.)

When the left decided on Corbyn as their candidate it was because he was well liked amongst MPs. He is by all accounts a very nice man but a ditherer. John McDonnell while more able & a better candidate unfortunately has a somewhat abrasive personality so has fewer friends.

John McDonnell also ruled himself out on health grounds, did he not? I always liked him, but like so many in Labour, he hasn't done himself any favours with recent pronouncements on gender.

Starmer removed him from his post when made aware that he was more involved with Epstein than he had earlier stated. The later disclosures of emails from the US government revealed more again. Starmer, no matter what you think of him, cannot be blamed for what Mandelson did during Tony Blair's premiership. Nor can you blame him for believing Mandelson's lies when he was questioned before his appt. to the embassy in the US. If you need to blame anyone (apart from Mandelson himself) - blame Trump's administration who were sitting on all these revealing emails since before Labour was elected).

No 10 appointed Mandelson despite security concerns, Sky News understands | Politics News | Sky News https://share.google/SAuymxOO4zu3s415F

Of course he’s responsible. Even his own party MPs are fed up with this line. Check out Harriet Harman’s comments.

The FT knew about the Epstein links and brought it up before the appointment, Starmer was warned internally and told those people to shut up pretty much.

This is all on Starmer as much as same try to deflect, hence it’s looking likely that he goes.

Hes either a gullible fool or knowingly appointed a known associate of a paedophile, with trust issues. Neither is a good look in a Prime Minister.

I simply can't believe that someone who has come up through Criminal prosecutions would be that gullible. He took a risk, the risk didn't pay off so he should stand down.

A 20% price hike?

Rearrange these words into a well known phrase or saying

Back
Straw
Camel
Broke

Please, please don't let it be Wallace, Gromit would do a better job!

I agree.

I believe he should stand down. If he doesn't this will rumble on for months when the country and party need strong leadership and the government need the party who in are mostly backing their leader not one that so many are plotting their own ambitious move

She's unpopular generally though. Labour would lose the next election if she even got that far due to press hounding.
You can't have someone who had to stand down as deputy leader due to the tax thing - then end up leader and expect anything but criticism.
Starmer appeals to moderates floating voters. They win the election and right now moderates won't vote Kemi or farage.
If starmer stands down it will be tories or reform win the next election. That's why theres so much pressure for him to go.

He's been so astonishungly politically naive, even for the leader of a party which has been in opposition for 14 years, right from the start. I really thought they couldn't do worse than the Tories. That went well. B of E downgraded our growth forecast and upgraded our unemployment forecast yesterday. 😔

He doesn’t appeal to many given his rating and Labour’s polling. However votes are more important so let’s see how May elections go.

If Rayner gets the top job (to the sound of scraping barrels everywhere), I hope she’ll call a GE. After all, that’s what she said should happen when Boris did a switcheroo with Liz, and then Rishi…

Nobody likes a hypocrite, Ange.