... not to understand the loathing of Keir Starmer?

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

So many people who haven't voted Labour, whether they used to or not, say they haven't voted Labour in yesterday's elections because of Keir Starmer. Is that shorthand for 'the current state of the Labour Party' or is it genuinely a real dislike of the man himself? He seems very bland and inoffensive to me, and in some ways is doing an OK job - e.g. in keeping us out of Trump's war without rupturing relations with the US. Maybe his blandness is the problem. Can anyone explain why people have this reaction to Starmer?

I was just saying the same thing to my husband. He seems a decent man who has had to do a lot of important work abroad recently. I like him - not a Labour supporter but I think he’s ok.

His voice is like nails down a blackboard to me. Also Rachel Reeves has a monotonous drone to her voice. And Milliband.
Don’t really have a strong political stance either way - I’m old enough to have learnt they are all dreadful fibbers, but none of them make me want to listen to what they are saying. Having a bit of interesting je ne sais quoi is very important to a public figure and none of the present government seem to have any. I’d not want to chat to any of them in a pub!

People want a President or a grifter like Farage

I don't loathe him. I didn't vote labour.

I thought he would be a respectable figure on the world stage and despite not necessarily agreeing with Labour policies I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

I was disappointed finding out about his freebies after Labour had ridiculed
previous Tory incumbents. I was disappointed by his initial support for Rayner after her dodgy dealings.

I don't loathe him, but I think he is hypocritical.

I alm glad he distanced himself from Trump over the recent Middle East malarky, but I wish he hadn't fannied about beforehand.

Well if it was Boris, Farage or Kier Starmer who would you pick?

I'm not a supporter of any particular party but I agree about him as an individual. I think he comes across as a genuine decent person.

The English do.
He's done shite in Scotland. As expected.

I can’t bear listening to him. They have rowed back on so many policies and made too many mistakes.
I have never voted Conservative or Reform, but I can see why people have for these council elections and I had high hopes two years ago that there may be a change, but it all feels hopeless and very depressing all round.

I don't get it either. To dislike policies I understand but to 'hate' the man? That is too ridiculous.

I didn’t vote Labour either, but I’m indifferent to Keir Starmer. Although I don’t want him to resign, I think we’ve had too many prime ministers over the recent years, let him serve his full term.

Starmer for me. The most honest and with the best record in a responsible job prior to brcoming PM. I don't give a toss about his voice or whether he'd be a good laugh in a pub. I wouldn't accept a job based on criteria like that, never mind deciding who should run the country.

Reform didn't manage to win in Wales either, thankfully. Although they won a lot of seats. They didn't win any seats in Scotland, did they?

Not in the constituency votes. There’s the list to come still apparently (friend in Scotland).

I like him. I feel for once that we have a grown up in charge of our country rather than a teen wanting to win a popularity contest. No politician is perfect and I’d rather Labour than any of the other choices. Agree with PP, let him serve his full term. We need the stability.

Ah, thanks.

I don't understand this either. He was previously a human rights lawyer, so clearly cares about the rights of individuals, discrimination, civil liberties etc. He seems to be squeaky clean in terms of marriage and family, and while possibly a bit bland, he's a thoroughly nice guy. He can only be doing that job because he's interested and caring, unlike many recent PM's.

I really am perplexed by people thinking he shouldn’t be PM because his voice annoys them. Politics isn’t a game show or a film.
He’s a decent bloke. Too cautious for me,I’d like him to go for real change with that massive majority but I think maybe he’s aware that a lot of the votes were anti Tory not pro Labour so he’s avoiding being too radical. A mistake in my view.

I think one has to separate the policies from the personality. I have never voted Labour, and I disagree with many of Sir Keir's policies and decisions.
However.....
I think Sir Keir himself is a decent, principled man. I can imagine that, 20 years ago, any potential in laws would have been thrilled. I have no doubt that he was an excellent lawyer but, unfortunately, he is a terrible politician and as a Prime Minister he is out of his depth. He should really have stuck to the law, because he was doing well at that!

There's been a definite campaign - lots of bots on social media etc. When you consider some of the shite the Tories pulled with nowhere near the response Starmer has had, it's obvious there's something else going on. It's terrifying to think that because of overseas malign influence we're in this position.

I don't know if it's because people just don't think. They just take everything they see on social media as gospel, when it's bleedin' obvious so many of the terrible posts about Starmer are being generated in their thousands.

You think he’s a terrible politician after the way he turned Labour fortunes around (yes the Tories helped but even so)? And after the way he’s handled Trump? And the way he’s viewed internationally?
2/3rds through the manifesto too.
Like I say, he’s not radical enough for me, I’m not a massive fan, but the idea he’s out of his depth or bad at politics is weird.

He hasn’t that much integrity to appoint Mandelson of all people. Whatever your point of view on that, it was badly handled.

That's what's worried me. So few people now get their news from the traditional media, which for all their faults are still regulated, unlike social media.

Thats very true, I had forgotten about that

That was an extraordinarily bad decision, agreed. I remember the previous two occasions when Mandelson was sacked. How can anyone come back from that?

I agree. Starmer messed up badly with Mandelson but on the whole he seems a decent man who is trying to do a very difficult job, and I think he actually handles foreign policy very well.

I also think we need to be honest about how damaging it is for the country to be changing PMs every couple of years. Burnham circling and trying to work his way back into Westminster is a very poor look in my view.