Are Labour just going to blame 14 years of Tory rule for next few years?

[Korner]

No I am not Tory HQ. Probably only voting due to women’s suffrage. Might spoil ballot - haven’t decided.

But aren’t Labour just going to spend the next 0-3 years blaming 14 years of the Tories? Literally what the Conservatives did when they got in?

Already sick of it

YABU for saying Tory rule. The phrase which HQ are clearly insisting everyone use is Tory chaos.
Unlikely to vote for either party and didn't last time.

It's the standard political playbook.

No wonder people are searching for an alternative. I don't think Reform is the answer, but one can understand the appeal.

It'll take two terms to sort out the shitshow the Tories have left.

It's not a playbook as suggested upthread, it's the truth.

I mean... they would be justified in doing so. Whereas the Tories weren't justified in their blame.

I know it's fashionable (read: easy and lazy) to say "they're all the same" but there really are substantial differences between the two situations.

The Tories have utterly destroyed the country's productive capacity and social fabric with their unnecessary and idealogical austerity cuts, which they then followed up with the disastrous self-harm that is Brexit. Which is not even to mention Trussonomics, or the more intangible destruction they've wrought upon trust and democracy itself. It will take decades to recover, if recovery is even possible.

Whereas Labour (on the domestic front at least) improved countless lives and drove up living standards (while admittedly running a deficit, but one that the Tories would undoubtedly have also run) before being unlucky enough to be in power during a global crash caused by the US mortgage market. One which Brown and Darling responded to by quickly making decisions that saved the banking system and led the response of the rest of the world. (Incidentally, imagine what the result would have been if Johnson or Sunak had been in the big chair at the time!)

The two aren't remotely comparable. I'm fairly sure that yes, the Tories will be blamed, because it's bloody well deserved, and then some.

They are going to face an absolutely terrible mess. Things will be much worse than we know at the moment.

It is going to take decades to repair the damage done in the last 14 years- and that's just what we know about. The consequences long-term for everyone's health and children's development will become apparent as we go on.

Our infrastructure has been damaged - roads, rail networks, water supply networks. Housing is a shambles and Tory policies have only succeeded in making a bad situation much worse. The NHS and emergency services, the military ate severely damaged and eroded. No one decent wants to be NHS DRs and dentists, or teachers, police officers. Adult social care is horrific- truly awful. I have seen it myself over the last year and it is terrible.

We are at crisis point on almost every front. We have the lowest state pensions in Europe and a collapsing NHS and very few NHS dentists and the Tories plant to get rid of Nat Ins. It's bonkers.

Labour should have realised that once Ed Miliband came after Murdoch, the papers would crucify him if he ran for PM.In this country the two things were incompatible. This should not be true, of course.

Absolutely ridiculous, reaching the epitome of ridiculousness with that inane “two cheeks of the same arse comment”. It certainly suits the Tory narrative that nobody is or could do better. Fortunately for all of us it’s not true.

Why do you have a problem with giving 16 year olds the vote? People with learning difficulties have the vote. People with cognitive decline, including dementia, have the vote. So why not 16 year olds? They can work, pay taxes, in the case of 17 year olds they can drive, they can join the military. So they should vote.

Giving prisoners the vote is also not controversial - in much of Europe, prisoners do have the vote and society hasn't broken down yet.

Tell me, how do you feel about proportional representation, aka real democracy?

No point in asking her. She's leaving the country apparently. Because tax.

Well there's a lot to blame. Much of it stems from "austerity" which was just an excuse to cut funding for public services to the bone. Wealth inequality has widened hugely. We have a lack of economic growth. And then there's Brexit - an own goal. All of these require huge, structural change which is going to take years to undo. I'm hoping the public doesn't expect miracles to be achieved in the first term. Hopefully we will see a gradual improvement.

The tories managed to make the general public think the global economic crisis was all labours fault, so I'm sure labour will want to do the same to the tories when given the chance.

They are desperate to push that fake narrative, to try to claw back some votes. Most intelligent people won't fall for it.

Is there any reason to believe that prisoners are likely to vote Labour?

Ah, then you haven't seen this before? I'm 66 and have seen it happen every time.

The Tories are still harking back to the Labour government of the 70s, by the way.

They all do it, have always done it and to an extent are justified in doing so.

They did - and I've seen people on Mumsnet repeating this nonsense very recently.

Actually I'm really annoyed with this government and think they should be held accountable for; the state of our economy, public services, immigration and appalling unprofessional behaviour, (back handers re: PPE and the shit show that is/was HS2?).
I can't think of any other profession where they would be allowed to walk away and someone else would pick up the mess.

I pity whoever takes control from them. If I was Kier Starter I'd run a mile.

Yes, Starmer doesn't need to do this, and I genuinely admire anyone who is prepared to take on this poisoned chalice.
It was bad enough in 97, but now? After the Tories have trashed the very infrastructure? That's going to be tough.

It's a choice.
It's null and void though because you are not casting a legitimate vote.
Imagine if every other voter did that.

There really isn't. If you look at prison votes in the Netherlands, the right and far right are overrepresented.

You don’t think the Tories, in 2010, spent a few years blaming 13 years of Labour rule? They all do it.

Yes. The SNP have blamed Westminster for their entire time in power. The first minister of Wales blamed Welsh conservatives for the state of the NHS in Wales despite the fact that Welsh Labour have been in power for about 40 years.

It’s tiresome and not worthy of respect.

Of course they will. Starmer is absolutely disgusting and total weasel.

The latest gem is that he vehemently agrees with Tony Blair about what is a woman. But when Rosie Duffield and JK Rowling were saying the same and getting threats and abuse, he couldn’t stand up for them. He literally left one of his own MPs to suffer the worst abuse, often from his own MPs.

A disgusting, horrible man, not to be trusted.

FWR is that way ➡️

True, and it always smacks to me of petulance and immaturity. Find a candidate who you think could best represent you. If you can't, then stay at home. It's just a nuisance at the count.

Excellent summary of the dreadful situation we are in.