Keir, what do you think?

[Lovepeaceunderstanding]

Labour will win this General Election but I don’t think Sir Keir will be party leader a year from now because there are many amongst Labour MP’s who will want to be more radical. Who would you like to see as leader of the Labour Party a year from now and why?

I think that unless Starmer does something really stupid along the lines of Tractor Porn MP Neil Parish, he's going to be PM for a long time. He's been quite ruthless in taming Labour's lunatic fringe - in fact, Sunak could learn a thing or two from him. And the country wants calm, sober, stable government, not more lunacy and drama.

In short, I want him to stay and I think it's very likely thta he will.

Why would they oust him shortly after a landslide win and four years before an election?
Come to think of it, when have Labour MPs ever ousted a leader? You are confusing them with the power-hungry Tories.

I think he's exactly what the country needs right now. Not too radical and very strategic and sensible

I think if he gets in he will alter the democratic vote so he gets power for a generation.

Once he is in power he will either kick out what remains of the left, or make a massive swerve in that direction. It remains to be seen which.

I'm very confident that if Labour has a clear majority then he will still be leader a year later. It would be incredibly unusual to ditch a leader who has taken a party from a bad electoral defeat to victory in a short space of time.

I really don't see Starmer as the tractor porn type!

I think he'll be there for a long time to come.

But that’s not where the country is. I don’t understand the seeming inability of significant parts of both parties to understand that you can win big in the middle ground- the top of the bell curve is where blairism meets one nation Tory.

Honestly I’ve got my doubts about Keir and his likely cabinet ( mainly around zero business experience) but I think he’s pitching the policy about right in terms of getting some sort of national consensus he can work with.

I don’t think he’ll be ousted if he takes the party into government. Which MPs would be daft enough to do that and return to the opposition rather than be in government and create change?

I know some find Keir Starmer a bit of a wet lettuce, but I like him. He seems measured and thoughtful. After the bombast and nonsense of the last few PMs we’ve had I’d finally like someone sensible in charge. I don’t care that he isn’t a firebrand. That isn’t a quality needed to be a good PM. I’d be happy if he just quietly got on with trying to fix the mess we’re in.

Er... what now? How on earth would he do that?

It would be sensible of him to use his majority to bring about proportional representation - that would mean we would never have a Tory government again, but equally after one term we would also never have a Labour government again. Is that what you mean?

Nor do I, it's just that it would take stupidity of this order of magnitude.

Had very high hopes and I think he’s a thoroughly decent man. But weak, a hand wringer and ultimately is panicking now he’s realised he will be PM in a month and unable to provide everyone with the land of milk and honey he has promised

By giving millions of people the vote (who would most likely vote for him) and importing in a lot more people (who would most likely vote for him) and giving them the vote too.

If you are thinking of voting Labour or Reform to punish the Tories you need to be very careful about understanding what you are wishing for.

The only serious check I see to Starmers power in the next 10 years is going to be the markets. Which means we are going to get Starmer on steriods if he gets in.

The hard left are biding their time - they will never give up.

Ah, I see - you're scared of the nasty 16 and 17 year olds who won't vote the way you think they should.

Hard disagree. They are old enough to work, join the military (although not front line) and pay tax, and so they should get a vote.

In case you hadn't noticed - it is no longer the case that older = Tory voter. The Tories have thrown that away. Even in the 70+ age bracket, Labour wins by 7 points. That is how bad the Tories have become.

You seem to think that the only reason people will vote other than Tory is to punish them - pardon me while I laugh for the next half hour. You're also presuming to lecture MN on what a 'responsible person' would vote for. I think I need some more laugh time, do please excuse me.

So bloody nasty all the time. Grow up.

When did he promise people a land of milk and honey? I must have missed that.

You are weird.

Read what I wrote again.

I didn't say 16 and 17 year olds are nasty or that they should or shouldn't get the vote. I simply stated what the consequences would be. And by the way, if you think there are (edited) millions of 16 and 17 year olds in the country you need your head looking at.

No. I never said the only reason people would not vote Tory was to punish them. Read what I wrote again.

I'm not lecturing anyone on who "responsible people" should vote for. I never even used the word responsible. Simply that they should think about the consequences of their vote and what the outcome might be, and that outcome might have greater consequences than they expect.

Don't get the laugh time - spend your time brushing up on your comprehension skills. You need more of them.

Yes. He’s had to scrap previous promises as there’s no money.

I agree with PP. You have to stay in education until 18 now so it stands to reason you’re not at a stage in life where your mind is, on average, developed enough to vote. We all know teens will be far more likely to vote Labour so it seems like a tactical move just to rake the votes in.

I mean a 17 year old is considered a child on here whose parents owe them a roof over their head as a right. Unless you disagree?

What hard left ?

Who is actually left of the "hard left" ? I mean Abbott has been a good politician but she is finished now politically. Corbyn has been banished. People like Skinner have retired.

There isn't really a hard left. Starmer doesn't have to really purge it, because it isn't there. The biggest chance of a resurgence of the hard left really comes from the Labour leadership itself lurching to the left.

Will that happen ? I don't know.

Don't be silly, he's doing nothing of the kind, he has promised nothing of the kind and in fact he has made it quite clear that it will take a lot of patient hard work to improve things. Contrast this with what we have now...

I don’t think he’s ever promised to deliver a land of milk and honey. In fact, I think he knows how bad likely things are (the extent of which won’t be known until he is in government and has access to much more info) and is being careful not to make promises he can’t keep.

You’re being silly, if you are so literal you don’t understand the clear meaning of my post. What we know is so awful so by contrast virtually anything looks good. Is that a glowing review?

I remember Tractor Porn MP he was a Conservative. Must have thought everyone was thick with the excuse he came up with. Thankfully dispatched long ago