Media pushing Starmer to war

[Indigosky37]

Daily mails headline is “Keir Starmer accused of hand wringing and pearl clutching” and Kemi Badenoch saying he’s “scared”. Then a comment section full of “he’s a coward” “ he’s a chicken” “incompetent idiot” “an embarrassment”.

So are the media pushing Kier Starmer to take us to war then? Is that what they want, because if he did the headlines would be about how we don’t want a war. The man can’t win. But pushing for war and making out Kier to be weak for not doing it is worrying.

And if he followed Trump from day one everyone would be saying he's Trumps lapdog. The guy can't win.

He's right not to jump in to this conflict head first.

I'm with Starmer on this (unusually), the last thing the UK should be doing is getting involved with Netanyahu's illegal war mongering.

He has explained why. Which bit didn’t you hear?

Exactly. This thread would be full of 'He's just like Blair' comments and calling him a war mongerer instead.

Edited to add: that was meant to be a reply to a PP but you clearly share the same sentiment anyway!

He gave a statement to Parliament yesterday!

I'd much rather we spent money on our schools than on missiles to blow up Iranian schools.

But...he did exactly this on the 1st. And I have no doubt he'll do it again as the situation evolves. Just because you weren't spoon-fed it on your TikTok feed doesn't mean it didn't happen.

He put out a statement directly to the public which appeared on my social media on Sunday, and went before Parliament for over two hours yesterday. Did you want him to come round and explain it to you in your kitchen over coffee?

Dragonflytamer, it is not often that I agree with you but in this case I do and with your previous post.

After being nagged by Trump and Hegseth he changed and gave permission to use Akrotiri and Fairford. That is not resolute. Not heard anything about Israel from him.

Yes I disagree with him giving permission for the US to use the airbases. You won’t hear a peep out of him about Israel that’s for certain! But at least he admitted that regime change likely wont work, and we should learn from the past.
However I would like to know more about exactly what support we are giving US and Israel in terms of intelligence etc…

It is pragmatic. Treading a fine line when the incumbent in the White House is volatile and not bothered about the rule of law, but maintaining visible support for a Western ally. I can’t see what else could be done to balance international relations at a time like this.

The right wing media and political parties are all pro-America and this war, so the DM is just toeing the party line. If you listened to the comments in the HoC yesterday, they were split along the same lines - right wing in favour, left wing not. I hope dithering Starmer holds his line. The UK has no dog in this fight and should stay the hell out of it.

Every right wing newspaper is clamouring for war this morning as are Tories and Reform supporters (the same who always mention Blair in his role for Iraq).
Starmer is acutely aware that he needs to stay out of this US war and I agree completely.

If he went to war, they'd say he is Trump's puppet.

I agree but is seems that pragmatism is an alien concept for a chunk of the population. In a way they aren’t to blame as we have all been clearly encouraged into division since Brexit which carried on into Covid and I think is starting to become a bit entrenched as part of the national psyche now.

It's strange;

just like this thread the majority of people I've spoken to, or read about on other forums, think Starmer is right on this occasion.

However, Chris Mason said that a poll of public opinion had found that a substantial majority of people wanted us to join the war.

It's on the BBC website.

Something isn't right.

Well the media do love a war.

And this is, I suspect, a major reason why he's trying to tread a fine line between not supporting the war and not falling out with unpredictable Trump. Starmer is many things, but he's not an idiot, and he remembers the Iraq war and how Blair following Bush into Iraq not only brought Blair's premiership to an end, but it tarnished his reputation forever. It's more than 20 years since Blair became Bush's 'poodle' and he's still not allowed to forget it.

Pretty much.

It will flip over from "coward shirking his responsibilities" to "warmonger with blood on his hands" faster than you can blink.

I think Starmer is a dreadful leader but in this instance he is perfectly right not to get us involved in a conflict that was only started to distract from the Epstein files and to pander to Israel.

Some of us are old enough to remember what happened in Iraq and Afghanistan...

He is.

Starmer: "I want to be very clear: we all remember the mistakes of Iraq. And we have learned those lessons. We were not involved in the initial strikes on Iran… and we will not join offensive action now."

Without a shadow of a doubt. Basically Starmer can’t win in this instance whatever he does.

Can i ask( genuinely, not trying to defend him) what Starmer has done so have people hate him so much? I dont think that hes more incompetant than Boris or Rishi for example, but people seem to think hes worse than them

CORRECT.