How dumb are Labour

[ohdelay]

Just seen this and I swear they keep forgetting they won the election and are in power now
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c62m2pde4p6o

The constant gaffes and sixth form debate club politics are very embarrassing. I was ready for change, but fucking hell.

What I posted isn’t bollocks. I also don't need your advice, thanks. Wait till the power cuts start then we’ll see about another 4 years.

Weren’t the power cuts in the 70s - the last ones I can remember - under Heath’s premiership?

Yes. The unions flexed their muscles and helped to force out an elected government. Of course, after their preferred party then got in they just carried on in the belief that they’d get ever more concessions without resistance. Which led to them having to confront, and lose to, Thatcher.

Ah, how history tends to repeat itself.

To be fair Heath chose to call an election on 'who governs Britain'

The country said we're not sure but not you pal....

It may be - in fact I’m sure it is - sentimentality, but I miss Heath and Wilson.

I once read a fascinating piece about their rivalry and how Wilson always felt the lesser man because Heath served in uniform in WWII (Royal Artillery, took part in D-Day) and Wilson didn’t - though he did try to.

@Rummly I agree. If only we had politicians now of the quality of Wilson, Heath and their contemporaries.

One of the things which has happened during my life-time is that when I was a young adult the 'old school tie upper-class' type of PM was changed and we had a few prime ministers who had been to state schools. I suppose I expected that drift to continue but for the last several years it seems to have gone back.

That’s an effect of the end of grammar schools. Before any anti-grammar posters pounce and make the (respectable) anti-grammar case, it’s just an observation.

Heath, Wilson, Callaghan, Thatcher and Major were all products of grammars.

So am I and I couldn’t agree with you more. They were one of the biggest routes to social mobility.

I don’t blame him TBH

Of course 😂 you don’t blame him for owt.
Some of the posters on here will only be happy when Nige or the Tories are back in power. I’m surprised posters aren’t angrier about the mess the country has been left in tbh. I mean nothing’s working but yup let’s get aggravated by a complete non story.
I just hope when Nige and friends (like some godforsaken twosome with Honest Bob Jenrick) are in power, said posters remember how enthusiastic the Tories about handing out benefits etc and hold them to it. Funny how when the shoe’s on the other foot principles change drastically..

Or maybe Labour supporters can be held to Labour’s hypocrisy, here and now?

How so hypocritical ?
You expect 14 years of mismanagement to be resolved in 6 months ? Really ? Certain degree of naïveté there I think. It would be hilarious if not so sad. Like toddlers stamping their feet, ‘we demand improvement NOW’. How many chances did you people give the tories ? Year after year.

Ok, leaving aside your juvenile insults. Try these:

A year ago:

https://x.com/darrenpjones/status/1726503349036748968

After the election:

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/airbus-labour-rishi-sunak-david-lammy-andrew-murrison-b2585798.html

And it’s got worse since then.

I think the Darren Jones/Labour hypocrisy is much the worse. Not only was it a lie, but a lie that both falsely encouraged votes and then hurt the voters lied-to.

Darren Jones letter to the then is normal MP fayre. Do you think he knew 12 months ago that Labour would win an election in the summer? And that after that their Chancellor would abolish the WFP? He's guilty of nothing more than being made to look a bit silly down the 20/20 hindsight telescope.

Removing WFP as a universal benefit is a rational policy even if controversial. Mrs B would have got it but we don't need it. The mistake was to base it what is probably the most underclaimed benefit of them all and not to smooth the cliff edge, perhaps by changes to Warm Homes.

As to using HMG's Airbus do we expect Lammy et al to grow wings and fly to Lahore or wherever

I agree the use of scheduled flights should be considered but a Minister and his staff are quite a large block booking and they can't conduct their business in Economy Class. And don't HMG sell seats to the press on some of these trips?

Darren Jones was Shadow Chief Sec to the Treasury. He is Chief Sec now, so was doing the job when the WFA cut was announced very soon after the election. It was not a standard MP’s tweet.

And I’m sorry, but if Labour publicly call the Tories’ use of private jets “obscene, brazen and disgusting” you can’t wave the hypocrisy away with some silly jibe about sprouting wings.

Among other later Labour private jet flights, Starmer took one to the Euros final.

This is a genuine question. Why is it ok for you to say someone else's comment is hypocrisy but say it's rude if they say yours is naive?

Quoted the wrong post - I'm asking @Rummly after their response to this.

As I said, Jones has been made to look bit of a chump. But that's all.

I think the private jets jibe from Labour was largely about Sunak's use of 'executive jets' owned by Tory donors.

In all seriousness how do Ministers and their team get to places where security and/or practicality preclude scheduled flights? The Airbus machines operated by Titan in the 'UK' livery are dedicated to that task.

Mrs Thatcher, like Callaghan, Wilson and Heath before, would have had an RAF VC-10 (or HS 125 for shorter range stuff) at her disposal.

@Rummly oh wow, I really regret voting Labour.
You don’t realise that every single action the labour government takes will be scrutinised 10 fold more intensely than the Tory administration ? No doubt they’ll do other things that will be misrepresented in the press, and some of the criticism will be
entirely justified, but this is pathetic.
You didn't answer btw. Did the tories make a hash of things over 14 years and do you think it can be solved in 6 months realistically?

This government isn’t more closely scrutinised than any other government.

What’s pathetic about pointing out Labour dishonesty and hypocrisy?

I didn’t even mention the Labour slum landlord or the absurdity of Starmer Jr supposedly having to revise in a Covent Garden penthouse. 🙄

I think the Tories made some terrible decisions. But nothing like the picture that Labour paints of them. The record of the second 1970s Labour government is often defended on the basis that it had to cope with world crises. So did the last Tory government.

No, no government can obviously improve matters in 6 months. But I’ve never said they could - that goes for any government.

Sorry, I missed this.

I don’t understand your point. Why should I not respond like that. What’s the problem?

And there’s your answer. You don’t think they were corrupt or incompetent, you’ve probably forgotten the utter mess that Tory Brexit caused, the lies, the corruption, the waste of money, the bungs given to cronies. That’s all an exaggeration. You need to head north and see the state of many towns up here due to Tory austerity.

Um, there’s plenty that could be offered about that, but all I’ll say is that much of the north of England voted for Brexit (Scotland different for other reasons).

I voted remain.

Because of Tory austerity that unfairly hit the north. That’s why they voted Brexit.
And most hated the Tories.

If Labour’s leaks are to be believed there’s much more austerity to come.