AIBU to wonder why Burnham attracts so much negativity?

[Conicallychronic]

Why is there so much negativity towards politicians and Burnham in particular? Burnham hasn’t really done anything yet but so many on here appear to hate him.

I agree that politics has been a shambles recently but what’s the alternative?

Personally I feel a degree of optimism that we may have a PM that actually turns things around for us.

This
He rocked the system for his own interests, yet nothing he did was actually “wrong”. Just not right either!

Yes. Hopefully your Johnson comparison is wrong. I dislike his 'man of the people' schtick but if he's able to make some strong policy moves quickly he might prove that's not all he is.

Did people only dislike Boris because they were told by the left wing press not to like him? I think people generally can make their own minds up about these things. Fact is Starmer was pretty much despised across the political spectrum. Some of the most vicious criticism was coming from the Left.

I don't like the way he came to be PM.

I also don't like his talk of re-setting the clock back 40 years. I'm old enough to remember the 1970s. I'm sure there is much in society that needs changing but going back to the policies and economics of the 1970s is not one of them. But maybe I have misunderstood what he means by that.

What is there to like? He is an unelected usurper.

I didn’t rate him very highly as a cabinet minister previously. And I don’t think Starmer was doing a bad job, he just failed to engage the public in the way he needed to. I don’t like the cult of personality politics, as we saw with Johnson, who was a disgrace.

However mostly I don’t like the way the process has taken place to get him into number 10 and the disloyalty shown. A few weeks ago I thought John Healey was admirable for standing down as Defence Minister over funding. Now that he’s been handed the role of Chancellor I’m questioning his motive for standing down and I think it stinks.

I want Burnham to succeed and prove that this was the right decision. But I hope he sticks to the manifesto we voted for, otherwise he doesn’t have a mandate from the people.

People are all over SM saying he hasn't done enough. He hasn't made the promises they want to hear. Apparently it should be done in less than a day.

40 years ago is 1986!

Facile tribalism, showing-off and anger-issues. Pretty much the causes of most of the problems in the world.

I think they're scared of him.

What left wing press? 🤣

Boris is still far more popular than he deserves to be, given the shenanigans.

The criticism of Starmer from the left was because they were worried about being unpopular, not because they thought he was getting things wrong, beyond the fact that the public weren't warming to him.

You can point to five or six (plus) specific decisions, examples of corruption, and outright lies that made people hate Boris Johnson.

Kier Starmer? Can't put your finger on them can you.

Some hate his take on how the country should be run OP. He is left wing. Those who are very right wing will disagree with his take on things.
Some will say negative things ( the press are largely right wing so red tops bar the Daily Mirror ) because they have a public audience they want to influence to vote differently. Throw enough mud at someone and much of it will stick etc will be the thinking.
Some feel uneasy around him. He has been known to be ‘chippy’.
His ideas are not new. Mr Prescott had all these devolution to the region ideas. They never got past the Treasury. And had to be shelved. The Treasury felt so much public money going to the Regions was not auditable/traceable. And therefore unacceptable as a policy. It never happened.

He’s a great guy and I have high hopes. I feel he’s the first genuine PM we’ve had for many years. I have no idea why people dislike him so much beyond sneering classism.

He was hurried into post as a desperate measure to save a failed party/government; dreadful grounds for a premiership (personality politics).

If his early pledges are indicative, he's going to be a disaster. Ending rough sleeping is a noble cause, however there are literally dozens of complex and lengthy steps to be taken before he has the luxury of that being a focus (never mind a top priority!).

The announcement that he's 'saving' us 40 quid a year - an announcement made as though it's a ground breaking game changer for our living costs - is also alarming (because you'd expect a new PM with a plan and a grasp of the country's mood to not be indulging in cringe gimmicks on his first day!).

Why is there so much negativity towards politicians and Burnham in particular? Burnham hasn’t really done anything yet but so many on here appear to hate him.
From an outside perspective it is the English culture. From Politicians, the Royal family, Sport stars. The media whip up the narrative and the hate spreads. They’ll pump you up and rip you down.
How many PM’s have been put out before the end of term?

I think it would have benefited him to have at least gone through a leadership contest. At least we would know what he believes in and what direction he intends to take the country. Atm it just feels like he’s landed in Number 10 having won an X Factor style popularity contest. It all feels quite vapid and superficial.

We don’t have FPTP in Wales anymore for Senedd elections. And Burnham has shown he (nor his advisors) doesn’t have a clue about the devolution that currently exists here, or that his defence spending plans mean taking money from the Welsh and Scottish pots.

www.facebook.com/share/v/1EHLTQzbnB/?mibextid=wwXIfr

He would have gone through a leadership contest if someone had stood against him. It’s not his fault that no one did.

Heh I think like that. 40 years ago was before my time type of thing

I think it probably is his fault. I think Streeting (and others) was persuaded that he couldn't win a contest and that he should step aside for the good of the party and the country.

Thank you for raising this question about the Defence role. You are confirming some of my thinking on this. Healey and Burnham go back 20 years as colleagues, in the Treasury office and other roles, when Brown was Chancellor or PM. Many people welcomed Healey's speech and resignation letter and think now he is going to cough up for the Defence spending.

However, I think the shared vision with Burnham is to do with devolution, reindustrialisation (this is the 70s bit). There is no evidence Burnham knows anything about defence. In fact, what we do know is that Streeting has been given Defence, and it is said was first offered to Reeves. What is that all about when Dan Jarvis was very qualified to stay in the role?

It is about a faction of the Labour party who have assumed power by stealth.

I would be happy for him to make some strong policy moves.

But I fear he is pretty much hamstrung and won't have the bottle to see them through.

Maintaining electoral support in Labour these days is an almost impossible balancing act between the left leaning middle class (who basically have to pay for everything) and the working class/benefits claimants.

Then you have the balancing act of labour left (spending money) vs. the markets (funded budgets).

Labour can spend money, but only if it is funded or is likely to lead to growth in order to gain market approval. Most of these things do not involve shoveling money towards his preferred section of the electorate, so are unlikely to boost his popularity.

I know why I didn’t like Starmer’s without having been told not to by the media the same way I know why I disliked Boris Johnson without being told by the media.

People with money have a louder voice.

They can pay bots, spam us on SM and they own media companies. We rely on the professional standards committee to contain their influence on politics from within.

The only place the majority of us can be actually heard is at the silent ballot box and even then we may have been influenced by those in my paragraph above.

I like Andy Burnham. Im a labour leaning centrist. I didnt dislike Kier Starmer - he did make some rookie mistakes, sadly, but otherwise was doing a competent job given nothing happens overnight. But he didnt have the character to shout it from the rooftops. Charisma..I guess so, that was lacking too - and in the world that loves reality TV over factual content he didnt stand much of a chance there. Anyway, Burnham will tell it as it is. And no doubt come across the same pressure from those with money as Kier did. He will handle it differently though, but how that will land we wait to see.