To feel slightly sad for Labour and Keir?

[Wellwhatnowbellaboo]

Aibu to feel sad for Labour's results so far ? I've not historically been a Labour voter but I think Keir has done a good job on some things but on others he was never going to be popular...and no one would be ! I like that he's the first leader recently to appear to have a moral backbone and consistency (if he truly wasn't informed about Mandelson I might add).
How do you feel about the state of play particularly if you've been lifelong labour and did you swing to a different vote this time round ?

It’s a fringe issue - meaningless to many of us.

Interesting that you ‘care’ about Gaza but not other issues around the world.

And do drop the ‘R’ card - its so tired.

@Castellio I absolutely agree & Im frustrated no one will tell the public the truth but tbh I think a lot of the public don’t want to hear it. Thats why Reforms fantasy utopia of lower taxes, lower immigration& better services is so popular.

All Labour has done i the past 2 years is fuck over the taxpayer over and over again.
Now they are starting to reap what they sow

The tax payer has been fucked for years though! We never recovered from the financial crash.

What exactly do you want Keir Starmer to do about it?

Ethics and compassion , yawn , you can’t run an economy on ideology.

I find reforms fantasy economics less irritating than the Green’s fantasy economics of MMT and wealth taxes which is just trolling people who know anything about economics whatsoever. I wouldn’t vote for either. Two cheeks of the same arse.

@Castellio I agree, they are two cheeks of the same coin.

I suggest many ‘care’ about Gaza so they have something to use against the right wing.

As I say, it’s a fringe issue, and should not be on the ballot. This country faces some serious domestic issues - those need to be the priority.

The press have never given them a chance. People are stupid and think a crook like farage is going to help them. After the shit show of Brexit ffs.
Im giving up. People cannot be helped.

I don't feel sorry for them no. The pasting in the local elections is a direct result of their weakness, poor decisions and management of the country's finances.

I do admire Keir in some regards, he seems to be doing particularly well in terms of diplomacy and world relations IMO but management of this country, no, it's a bag of shite.

But the ‘press’ helped them win the 2024 GE.

Which way round do you want it?

To bring it back to the local elections… yes I think a lot of the voting will be a reaction to broader dislike of Labour policies.

But - I think it also points to people feeling like their local councils are failing. And many are (even just on paper), bankrupt etc. Local services seem to get worse every year, council tax goes up.

No one is happy to pay ever escalating amounts of council tax to fund what is predominately SEND commitments, social care for the elderly and to fund council pensions. A new solution needs to be found for all three of these issues.

Why are people voting Reform:

They work and they feel others who don’t work are better off.
They struggle to get housing and (rightly) in some cases think migrants are allocated housing before them.
They feel the rising level of migrants in their area makes it less safe for them and their families.

Labour could address these things.

They could reduce the welfare bill, tackling pensions AND other benefits.
They could prioritise those who have been waiting longest for housing and those who have a local connection (see Glasgow for how not to allocate housing).
They could put migrants in detention centres until they have been processed fully.

No one is happy to pay ever escalating amounts of council tax to fund what is predominately SEND commitments, social care for the elderly and to fund council pensions. A new solution needs to be found for all three of these issues

Well pensions have changed, they are far less generous now va current recipients Plus the LGPs is the only funded scheme in the public sector I believe.

We have an ageing population which is expensive but every government has ignored the issue. It also impacts the NHS.

Transport for SEN is a big cot? there must be a more efficient way of doing is as opposed to paying black cabs etc

I’m afraid Labour MPs are delusional if they think this is all about Keir. Like the Conservatives before them, they are being challenged by their left and right wings.

As the Conservatives found, you cannot please everyone all of the time. You need to develop your vision, form your policies, find a loyal top team and then inspire the population to join in with your vision.

If you can inspire the floating voters (usually in the centre) you can win and govern. This has changed.

Sadly Reform and now the Greens have turned the extreme wings into the mainstream. There are overlaps in policy but questionable politics on the outer fringes.

I hope the population sees the danger here and allows sensible politicians to work together for the good of the country. I think we have a way to go before that happens, unfortunately.

They could reduce the welfare bill, tackling pensions AND other benefits.
They could prioritise those who have been waiting longest for housing and those who have a local connection (see Glasgow for how not to allocate housing).
They could put migrants in detention centres until they have been processed fully.*

We have a huge housing problem and a severe lack of social housing but fixing it is going to take years.

The problem with tacking the welfare bill is that the majority of it is spent on pensioners

There are 22m people over 50 & I think 26m aged 18:-50 so you can see why policy has shaped around older people.

Everyone else's tax burden increased to fund the welfare bill, which is now bigger than our income tax receipts.

Cost of living crisis.

More small boat crossings. Every week we hear about another crime committed by this cohort.

Junior doctor strikes and tube strikes.

Pernicious laws (eg banning tumble dryers, lowering the alcohol driving limit, 20 mile an hour limits down artery roads)

I've probably missed some.

No I don't feel sorry for Labour. We need a GE.

Not everyone is obsessed with Gaza. Understand this.

Labour are being sent a clear message by voters.

Sadly, many in Labour will take that to mean they need to spend even more than they already are.

To the economically illiterate, the answer to failed socialism is always more socialism…

Everyone else's tax burden increased to fund the welfare bill, which is now bigger than our income tax receipts

What is the alternative with an ageing population though?! 55% of the welfare bill is spent on pensioner benefits.

Also what is repeatedly forgotten is as the state pension age has increased those 60 somethings that historically would have come under the pensioner category are now classed in the working age category but healthy life expectancy hasn’t increased.

To the economically illiterate, the answer to failed socialism is always more socialism…

When you look at economic policy when labour and tory have been in power they actually aren’t that different. Perhaps there really is not much we can do fiscally.

theconversation.com/have-labour-or-the-conservatives-run-the-uk-economy-better-in-the-past-50-years-new-research-233370

I don’t know the Welsh results yet but Labour have run Wales into the ground. It is a mess, health boards in special measures, education poor, councils devoid of money to do anything. For years Welsh gov blamed uk government and now Labour are in power, they can’t do that.