Starmer sounds deranged at PMQs

[Dragonflytamer]

Stamer's lost it. He sounds like an angry lunatic in response to questions.

I think this is evident when not on mn which still has more pro Starmer. There’s a reason his rating is the lowest for any PM.

It’s the women’s PLP. They meet regularly- stop making mountains out of nothing.

i know you want him to fail - seems like most of the country does tbh.

Starmer has never addressed them before as I understand it.

Depends if you believe Lisa Nandy or not. Personally I wouldn’t ask her for the time.

I’d believe Tonia Antoniazza - wonder if she’s said anything yet?

Well its good hes finally listening to Labour women anyway. Shame its just to shore up his own position but beggars cant be chosers I suppose.

I really don't want him to fail. I'd be delighted if he wasn't creating scandal after scandal. We know that group meet regularly - what matters is that Starmer hasn't met them before and now he is busy trying to "womenwash" his government.

What about Baroness Hazarika she said the same.

@Pineneedlesincarpet - re your point about eating cake begin worse than sex trafficking here:
I was embarrassed for him. And surprised actually that a KC could react like this from basic questioning. Which I think was the problem for him. His reply to the questions about Doyle and Mandelson was "partygate". Which implies he thinks eating cake is worse than sex trafficking and paedophilia.

This is quite funny from Matthew Doyle.
https://archive.md/MKgpi

The whole thing is funny but on the party-gate riposte to Badenoch he said:

“The prime minister likes to claim he cares, but he only cares about victims when he’s trying to save his own skin,” Badenoch told him. “We saw it with Mandelson, with grooming gangs, and now we see it with Matthew Doyle.”

Starmer was predictably furious but his fury didn’t help. “She defended partygate for months and months and months,” he shouted.

When you’re bang to rights, it’s common in politics, though never wise, to point out that your opponent is worse than you are. It’s never wise because it’s not a denial, it’s an admission of guilt. This was like that, but worse. When you’re on the ropes over child sex offences, you can’t really return fire with an illegal cheese and wine party, but he tried it."

and on the temper losing reply to Davey:

“People in this country have been let down for years and years and years,” [Starmer] said, his teeth gnashing together as he did so. I only know that’s what he said because I’ve since checked the video. In the room no one heard a word. “One of the reasons was austerity, which his party supported. He should take responsibility and accountability for what he has inflicted on this country.”

That, in case you’re lost, is an apparently serious suggestion that Davey is in no position to question the prime minister, at prime minister’s questions, because of the economic policies of the coalition government 16 years ago."

Slippery fucker

Very good piece. Very funny. I think Keir's worst PMQs to date. And most entertaining.

So he needs to woo his own party female MPs. I hope they see through this. There's 93 of them.

Hate to tell you that this economy isn't stagnant. It is dying. We are going to be in a major major recession in less than 18 months.

Our chemicals industry (only 20 years ago a world leader) is dying. Driven to this by net zero.

We no longer make virgin steel and are the only country in the g20 not to do so.

Our car industry is collapsing as we let ourselves be flooded with Chinese cars whilst Europe and America increase tariffs on them. The brand value of Bentley, JLR and RR is in decline in key export markets.

Our financial services industry and legal sectors are shrinking jobs and work is leaking to better regulated jurisdictions like the UAE which has copied and improved our regulations and make decisions on regulatory approvals in weeks not years.

House building in the capital has totally collapsed. Investment in property is in decline.

The high street is dying, labours backhanded business rates increases are killing small businesses.

Our AI industry is now offshoring activity to countries with cheaper electricity because it's so expensive to use data centres in the UK compared to other countries due to our net zero electricity bills.

The latest published vat receipts show the UK economy shrinking - if it weren't for inflation spending would be lower than a year ago. Consumers have stopped discretionary spending on luxuries and electronics. They have lost confidence.

The chancellor hasn't ruled out more tax rises and each time she increases tax she shrinks the economy making further tax increases necessary because she won't hit her tax raising targets.

The pound will decline in value, this will increase inflation and cause further consumer misery and political unrest.

Starmer should be praying that Venezuela and Iran pump sufficient oil in the next 18 months to keep inflation down to prop up our economy.

Most of that isn’t Labour’s fault though. It’s the fault of the Tories, Farage and Brexiteers.

I’m assuming that your proposal to fix this is to vote for a different Labour leader, green or Lib Dem whose position on Brexit has always been clear. If it isn’t and you are suggesting we oust Starmer to vote in Tories or reform then I’m not really sure the economy is what your actual issue is.

The logical conclusion to what you are saying (if you believe in democracy) is another election (because Labour said in their manifesto they would not be aiming to get back in the EU) or a rerun of the 2016 referendum.

I mean...politics has become a bit boring recently with everyone agreeing and not much going on....

The national sport of talking down the country does not do anyone any favours.

Labour appear to be particularly poor at spinning a positive narrative and way forward.
I do not think we have a dying country, more a redefinition into a middle economy not world leader. This was always going to happen with the rise of the superpowers in Asia and the US.
At the cross roads we are at, we have to redefine based on more self sufficient Scandi and Swiss style models for ourselves by recognising the talents we do have eg university, highly educated populations. We do need to move to high income and worker protections for all and harder to come here and undercut wages.
Selling off parts of the country and importing cheap labour has not done us any favours. If the Swiss and the Scandis are still thriving, we can as well with the right political will and right way of organising things that works for everyone. The thinking on both the Left and the Right is wrong. The thinking needs to come together to redefine for all and copy what has worked in other countries (but without corruption). Creative industries are a huge thing here with massive potential, yet we have a Government mandating STEM and Maths for all which runs counter to what we have historically stood for.

True. Not sure Labour would be willing to risk it

I'm sorry your wrong

1. Increase in business rates and national insurance which is killing small business is directly as a result of labour decisions

2. Tariff policy on cars - directly a labour government decision. They have done nothing whilst the USA and EU have taken action

3. Virgin steel isn't being made here because of current government policy. This has happened under their watch. In recent months government backed schemes have agreed to buy billions of pounds of Chinese steel which could have been made in the UK. The government's own decisions are accelerating the decline of our steel industry.

4. The collapse in house building in London is down to the policies of the Mayor of London and the labour governments increases in stamp duty.

5. Failed labour budgets which reduce economic activity and require more tax increases at the next budget are 100% a labour created problem.

Yes the country was in absolute mess before Labour were elected and the tories were useless but the Labour party is making things much worse more quickly.

And for voting, I'll vote for whoever unashamedly puts British taxpayers first and British interests first eg anyone who thinks giving Mauritius the Chagos Islands and 30 billion pounds is good policy isn't on the side of British people or taxpayers - I won't vote for them.

I won't vote for anyone who thinks low wage immigrants are a solution to the NHS instead of training British people. I won't vote for anyone who thinks the solution to our demographic crisis is more low wage immigration (for people who are net tax beneficiaries) instead of paying for more nurseries.

I won't vote for anyone who thinks 10m net immigrants in the past 20 years hasn't pushed up houses prices by increasing the population by almost 20%.

I also won't vote for anyone who thinks higher electric bills and more people out of work is justified because of climate change. So probably not Greens or Labour.

That sums up my thinking too. Another good post Doris.