... 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?

The hate he receives seems entirely disproportionate to what he's done. He's been a disappointment for sure, but he's not evil or avaricious like many other political figures. I think a lot of it has been manufactured by the media and social media. It's not normal the levels of hatred people have for him. To be fair though the people who loathe him are probably the type who think that Boris and Farage are fantastic - they need their heads examined.

It's delusional levels of hatred which can't be backed up by facts. They've gotten themselves so angry and about what exactly.

I think he has done a bad job and the Starmer/Reeves combo is not good for the economy. I think he is marginally better than some other people who might replace him. I hope he stays in because then labour will definitely lose the next election.

I like him and think he’s competent at his job. People love to hate. If it was Jesus Christ running the country, or even better David Attenborough they would hate him too!

I'm a party member, I voted for him to be leader. Yup, he's a bit boring and he's not the most dynamic but I'm sick of the Westminster pantomime, with revolving PMs that we have seen since 2016. He's intelligent and considered. We're no longer an embarrassment on the world stage. He's definitely made missteps but rather him than any other leader.

I'm sick of the media talking bollocks, I've cancelled my TV licence due to the lack of integrity on news reporting.

I've heard France24 is supposed to be a decent channel for facts/non hysteria if anyone wants to watch.

I don’t think you can say that. It’s a long time off and when the positives labour is striving for are more visible Labour will be more popular. Conservatives won’t get back in, Reform aren’t fit to govern which most know and most of the country weren’t part of this weeks councillor election. The numbers from the few that were that were eligible to vote were low. A general election is a whole other beast.

He’s completely inauthentic. His voice is so distracting I feel nauseas. He is more like a puppet. I adore the thought of him and the sensible nature of him but he is a disaster for Labour.

I agree, but then I think the level of rage and hatred generally is completely off the scale in the uk currently. There was an article in my local online newspaper yesterday about which councillors had won in my city. Many (not all) of them were brown skinned and when you looked at the comments it was full of openly racist and islamophobic viciousness about none of them being 'home grown'. Hundreds of likes for these comments, based on nothing more than prejudice about how someone looks/ sounds (they had no idea, and just didn't care, how many of the cohort were born here). It was just awful. When I think back to pre 2016, there was nothing like this level of unbridled racism and 'othering'. The past decade has completely eroded so much progress under the false banner of 'free speech'. Those same people will claim they're no longer able to share their 'reasonable' views because Keir Starmer has introduced laws that will put them in prison etc. Their online echo chambers further fuel their obsession with 'just saying it like it is and you can't stop me any more - I'm proper British I am'.

At least on mumsnet you (mostly) get more intelligent, coherent responses as to why people don't like him (policies, performance to date etc). But the UK is in a terrible state, and it speaks volumes that so many seem to think Reform are the only answer to all their problems - just 2 years into a new parliament, after 14 years of destruction.

Fwiw I like KS but think he has a big PR problem, particularly when you realise that most of the electorate seem to like their politicians to be 'characters' rather than calm, serious people who can hold their own on the world stage. I mean, we elected Boris fucking Johnson ffs - a man who hid in a fridge to avoid questions and partied his way through a pandemic.

He may well have done but Starmer said that 99% of women don’t have a penis so he obviously thinks that 1% do.

Totally agree. Trouble is, KSs government and Civil Service are still struggling/failing to follow the law even following the Supreme Court ruling. This is his total lack of leadership or respect for actual women.

The media don’t like him.

At then end of the day the prime minister is the conduit for what people think of the government - regardless of who they are as a person.

I'm sure he is a decent human being (as was Sunak, not BJ or Truss) - but the economy is tanking, and that is always the governments fault.

The electorate don’t like him, and happily they get to vote. Even though some attempts were made to hinder it.

I think his deep involvement in and close relationship (and subsequent promotion of) with Lord Hermer working to hound British servicemen through the courts on charges that were proven lies deserves a pretty strong reaction - and that’s just one of his many failings.

So are you saying that service personnel should be exempt from the law?

Where did I say that?

I think if you are going to go after British servicemen, you should at least be checking that the charges were not actual lies and should definitely not be promoting the man who pressed ahead knowing that they were lies (as his recently exposed messages proved).

Surely, it's weird to feel like you hate someone that you don't know in person.

To be disgusted, bored, cynical about him, who's favour do you think that works towards when it comes to voting. People are manipulated so easily, that is the scary realisation of politics today and it's only going to get worse if people don't develop some critical self awareness!

I know he makes mistakes. The problem is that HE doesn’t seem to be able to acknowledge that he makes mistakes and take responsibility for them.

He has the slopiest shoulders in politics, everything is always somebody else’s fault. He is the PM, the buck stops with him, not with whichever civil servant he picks on this week.

You what now? He’s admitted the Mandelson appointment was a mistake and apologised to give one example. This isn’t whataboutism, it’s direct comparison - did Johnson ever apologise for any of his mistakes?

I would never have voted for Boris either!

It isn’t. The global financial crash started in the US and our current difficulties are because Trump started the debacle in Iran.

I don’t loathe him either! Think he’s highly intelligent But some of his decisions hand been a bit tone deaf…

@Blossomtoes
We have fundamental issues with the economy in that we spend more than we earn and have mountains of debt. Servicing the uk debt is a mega drain on government finances. It’s very close to tanking and has little resilience. It’s awful to load this debt onto young people who already have issues with getting jobs and affording anything. The older people sucking in all the benefits need to think very carefully about this or the Greens will come in and you will be taxed until the pips squeak!

Yep sacking so many people and whipping MPs to stop scrutiny.

He drives away voters, to anywhere else really.