To think Starmer will be gone by the end of Friday? Or will it be Monday evening?

[SingleSexSpacesInSchools]

Whoever you are voting for today, it's probably not Labour - they might loose 2,000 seats.

How long exactly will it be before he resigns?

They don't need to 'substantiate it'. They're intelligent to make an informed decision based on the overwhelming evidence. Maybe Labour voters should try that approach.

Yes I find hurling insults at people is the one thing guaranteed to make them see your point of view 🙄

I think I've had 2 leaflets. One from Honest Nige wanging on about boats, the other from the local Lib Dem team talking about what they've done locally. I'll probably vote tactically for the LIb Dems to keep out the possibility of Reform.

Will Starmer go? Hopefully not (and Blair lost a host of councils and councillors in 1999 and went on to win another GE). I've had my fill of bouncing between leaders and there is no obvious successor anyway - which is an entirely different problem with the LP. It'll be a choice between which massive careerist you'd prefer.

Probably time they thought about bringing back the grown up Miliband.

And as for Starmer - for all of the screw ups on a national level, he is an excellent statesman on the international stage and given the precipice on which we currently stand, the last thing we need is instability.

Wes Streeting has made some catastrophic decisions about the NHS, so I wouldn't trust him with the whole government and while I think Raynor would do alright on a national level, I don't think either of them have the gravitas needed to manage the international situation as it stands.

I'll take Starmer until the next election (for which I am yet undecided between Labour, Lib Dem and Green) or until Andy Burnham is in a position to take over - he is the only potential Labour leader I have any time for (unless another, as yet unnoticed candidate comes to the fore).

The sooner we can move to proportional representation, the better!

It may do - but it does nothing to help improve local services and just leads to a lot of wasted money.

There are other ways of putting pressure on the national government without cutting off your nose to spite your face in terms of local services and ammenities!

I usually vote Labour but tactically voted Lib Dem in an attempt to keep out Reform in my local area.

I don’t think so, how people vote really matters to politicians. Protests and petitions don’t come close.

No elections where I live but i have a horrible feeling that Reform would make significant inroads as they took control of the county council that my city is part of. Since then it has all been about flags (sigh) and a brief time of not allowing the local press into the council chamber to watch the proceedings because they felt the local rag was too critical. None of this was in their manifesto. My local coucillors are a bit useless but not all of them are, the neighbouring ward has a wonderful and deeply committed coucillor who lives and works in the area and really understands the issues.

Ah, “trust me bro”. I see.

I see the ‘international stage’ is the defence of choice for Starmer fans.

I assume that includes his judgement about senior ambassadorial posts.

I ask, sincerely, why do you bother? It’s completely unconvincing and TBH it’s an admission that there’s nothing worthwhile to say about Starmer’s and Labour’s record at home here, which is what people vote on.

MN when the Tories are in power and lose loads of seats in local elections: See, that proves everybody hates the Government and wants them out.
MN when Labour are in power and lose loads of seats in local elections: Local elections mean nothing, people who think they do are thick

No one is worse than BJ. I’ve never known a PM - corrupt, self serving and a proven liar…

lying about brexit,
illegally proroguing parliament,
partying through lockdown then lying about it,
contracts for mates,
millions wasted on ppe,
backing mps despite bullying, sexual misconduct, lobbying for money allegations and lying about his knowledge of these allegations,
accepting large undeclared gifts and holidays,
costly Downing Street revamp paid for by us,
trying to get wife a foreign office job,
had two ethics advisers resign saying he was too corrupt and menatious.
I might have missed a few.

KS is angelic in comparison with this and I hope he stays in post.

I think the 'international stage' thing is carrying a lot of heavy lifting tbh.
He has not caused any chaos and scandals internationally, but it's hardly a ringing endorsement.

This entire thread in a nutshell.

Ah yes, the other perennial argument:
He is not as bad as BJ/The Tories.
Not good, just 'not as bad'.
Bingo!

Insult after insult. Labour voters never change. 😂

Unfortunately there are no elections in my county today but I’m very much looking forward to Labour getting an absolute roasting elsewhere!

Don't think historical events are in the past. You are living history. today. For example....

• 1926: General Strike
• Trigger: the government’s handling of the coal dispute, especially miners’ pay and conditions.
• Why it mattered politically: the Conservative government under Stanley Baldwin was seen by organised labour as siding with mine owners.
• Unrest/disruption: Britain’s only general strike, with transport, printing, docks and heavy industry heavily disrupted. The National Archives describes it as growing out of long-running disputes in the coal industry.
• 1971: Internment in Northern Ireland
• Trigger: internment without trial, introduced in Northern Ireland and approved by the UK government.
• Why it mattered politically: it was viewed by many nationalists as state repression and was overwhelmingly used against republican/nationalist suspects.
• Unrest/disruption: raids, riots, gun battles and deaths followed. CAIN records serious rioting and gun battles around British Army searches in 1971.
• 1972: Bloody Sunday aftermath
• Trigger: British soldiers shot civil rights marchers in Derry on 30 January 1972.
• Why it mattered politically: it was a direct crisis of state legitimacy in Northern Ireland.
• Unrest/disruption: protests, riots, radicalisation and international backlash. The British Embassy in Dublin was burned down soon after. This is one of the clearest examples of unrest caused by a UK state action.
• 1974: Ulster Workers’ Council strike
• Trigger: opposition to the Sunningdale Agreement, power-sharing, and the proposed role of the Irish government in Northern Ireland.
• Why it mattered politically: unionists and loyalists saw it as a constitutional betrayal.
• Unrest/disruption: strikes, roadblocks, intimidation and loyalist paramilitary violence brought down the Northern Ireland Executive. CAIN says the strike lasted two weeks and succeeded in bringing down the power-sharing executive.
• 1984 to 1985: Miners’ Strike
• Trigger: pit closures and the Thatcher government’s confrontation with the National Union of Mineworkers.
• Why it mattered politically: for many mining communities, it was seen as a deliberate attack on organised labour and working-class communities.
• Unrest/disruption: mass picketing, violent clashes, arrests and huge police mobilisation. Oxford’s history project describes miners fighting the Thatcher government’s attempt to close collieries and break the union.
• 1984: Battle of Orgreave
• Trigger: part of the miners’ strike, focused on mass picketing at the Orgreave coking plant.
• Why it mattered politically: it became the symbolic confrontation between the Thatcher state and the miners.
• Unrest/disruption: violent confrontation between thousands of police and pickets. Contemporary reporting recorded 51 miners and 28 police officers injured, with 93 arrests.
• 1990: Poll Tax riots
• Trigger: the Community Charge, known as the Poll Tax, introduced by Margaret Thatcher’s government.
• Why it mattered politically: it was seen as unfair because it charged individuals rather than being based on property value or ability to pay.
• Unrest/disruption: mass non-payment, demonstrations and the major Trafalgar Square riot on 31 March 1990. Hansard recorded 339 arrests after the day’s events.
• 1994: Criminal Justice Bill protests
• Trigger: the Criminal Justice and Public Order Bill.
• Why it mattered politically: protesters objected to new powers affecting raves, trespass, squatting, travellers and public order.
• Unrest/disruption: large demonstrations and clashes, including the Hyde Park protest. A Home Office FOI release identifies the 1994 Coalition Against the Criminal Justice Bill march and rally in Hyde Park.
• 2000: Fuel protests
• Trigger: high fuel duty and rising petrol/diesel prices under Tony Blair’s Labour government.
• Why it mattered politically: protesters framed it as an unfair tax burden on motorists, hauliers and rural workers.
• Unrest/disruption: refinery blockades, rolling roadblocks, panic buying and severe supply disruption. At the peak, several refineries and distribution depots were affected, and the government used emergency powers to protect essential fuel supplies.
• 2004: Hunting Act / foxhunting ban protests
• Trigger: Labour’s legislation to ban hunting wild mammals with dogs.
• Why it mattered politically: many rural and pro-hunting campaigners saw it as an attack on rural life by an urban political class.
• Unrest/disruption: major protests around Parliament. An IPCC report described “large-scale public disorder” in Parliament Square on 15 September 2004 during a Countryside Alliance rally against the Government’s Hunting Bill.
• 2010: Student tuition-fee protests
• Trigger: the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition’s decision to raise the tuition-fee cap and cut higher-education funding.
• Why it mattered politically: it was seen as a betrayal, especially because the Liberal Democrats had campaigned against tuition-fee rises.
• Unrest/disruption: mass protests, occupations, clashes with police and disorder around Westminster. The protests were held against planned cuts and an increase in the tuition-fee cap.
• 2012 to 2013: Belfast Union Flag protests
• Trigger: Belfast City Council voted to reduce the number of days the Union Flag flew over City Hall.
• Why it mattered politically: loyalists saw it as an attack on British identity in Northern Ireland.
• Unrest/disruption: riots, attacks, roadblocks and police injuries. CAIN records rioting after the vote, with police and security staff injured and property damaged.
• 2019: Brexit / prorogation protests
• Trigger: Boris Johnson’s attempted prorogation of Parliament during the Brexit crisis.
• Why it mattered politically: opponents saw it as an anti-democratic attempt to shut Parliament during a constitutional crisis.
• Unrest/disruption: widespread protests, but largely not riot-level disorder. Worth including as a constitutional flashpoint, but weaker than poll tax, miners, fuel or Kill the Bill.
• 2021: “Kill the Bill” protests
• Trigger: the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill.
• Why it mattered politically: protesters believed it gave police excessive powers to restrict protest.
• Unrest/disruption: serious disorder in Bristol, including police vehicles burned and officers injured. The Bristol protests were part of a wider wave of demonstrations against the Bill.
• 2024: riots after the Southport murders
• Trigger: not a single government Act, but a domestic political flashpoint around immigration, policing, misinformation and trust in institutions.
• Why it mattered politically: the unrest was quickly channelled into anti-immigration and anti-asylum mobilisation.
• Unrest/disruption: violent disorder across towns and cities, attacks on police, mosques and asylum accommodation. A 2025 parliamentary report found the 2024 summer riots led to 1,804 arrests and 1,072 charges.

I’ve gone past feeling angry now & just feel really sad about politics. Glad there’s no local election in our area today because I’ve no idea who I would vote for.
Not a huge fan of Starmer but at the moment I can’t think who would be preferable.

I think quite a large number of people will be able to think of someone preferable.

In which case the British public has very short memories.

I’d rather Starmer than Rayner….

Did you miss the London riots? That seemed to come out of fresh air (I know the supposed trigger) there has been nothing like that ever in the UK that I can remember, everything else had a very definite political/economic fuse.

Like a month or a month? Anyway it won't be that, there's not enough time.

Neither of them are desired by the public though, they need someone really untainted and competent, but it doesn"t matter really, the UK"s fate is with the bond markets now.