A passive Prime Minister who prefers process over politics.

[TeenagersAngst]

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-news-agents/id1640878689?i=1000755128315

Quite the listen. A worrying review of Keir Starmer’s approach to being to the top man in the job.

I agree with you, @gamerchick. The OP seems naive.

I don’t think so.

I agree, OP. I am absolutely not a fan of populism and voted for Starmer at the last election, but I've found him incredibly disappointing- no vision, no ability to rise to the challenge of the job or offer leadership. I have't listened to the podcast linked but the author of Get In has been doing the rounds and I heard him on another show where he effectively described him as doing an advisor's role, eg starting off by taking a view on the legality of a course of action, whereas what a leader needs to do is take a view on what the best course of action is and then take advice on how to do it legally. (To be clear they weren't advocating for a BJ-style disregard for the law, but arguing that both roles are important- the person with vision and the person who can turn that vision into legally effective reality. At the moment we only have the latter.)

I don't think saying No to Trump is a passive act. It's the first sign of a backbone I've seen in him.

Starmer takes his job seriously and has had the courage to say No to Trump. Behind the scenes he is improving social provision.
I don't want some flash git .... been there, done that.

Which former PM do you think had it right then?

I don't agree, I think he's showing that he can make tough decisions and the right ones. He's putting policy before politics.

He’s bloody brilliant saying no to Orange Twat, a proper statesman about it.

Actually @gamerchick the podcast is good. Give it a listen. I’m a regular listener and it’s always interesting whether or not you agree with it. It’s unusual for someone with such right wing views to enjoy it.

I think you're in a minority looking at the polls, of course.

And he can't make a decision and stick to it for long anyway.

@scalt No one thought Blair was showy! A few misjudged holidays but not a BoJo.

Wanting showy leaders never works out. We tire of rhetoric over depth of thought very quickly. We do need someone to be very careful right now.

The main thing I dislike about Starmer is his ludicrous working class background insistence. He’s not. My DHs DF was a toolmaker. They were the higher paid people that kept the factory going by what would now be considered to be engineering skills. His mother was a nurse. My DM was a nurse. Both parents had decent jobs. Neither were working class jobs and how they could not pay bills is beyond me. I don’t actually believe any of it.

I've been told to 'grow up' by PP. That's rude. And they hadn't even listened to the podcast which is the whole point of the thread. I doubt you've listened to it either.

This podcast is an interview with Gabriel Pogrund and Patrick Maguire who wrote the book. It’s really interesting to hear two extremely well-respected journalists’ take on Starmer.

The not showy thing is odd too, Starmer dressed in military kit for photo ops and planes in the air and boots on the ground press conferences for Ukraine. It came to nothing tg but he certainly does showy over substance.

He loves a photo op, more than most.

They’re not “taking him on”, they’re reporting the facts. There’s no judgement.

Where did I say they were ‘taking him on’? I didn’t.

I said I was interested to hear their ‘take’, which means someone’s opinion.

iIn any case, they’re reporting facts in so far as they are reporting what people inside number 10 are saying about the PM. But of course there’s judgement involved as not everyone agrees with them.

I'd rather have a PM that gathers the facts and takes opinion from experts first and then acts.
I wonder if the perceived lack of leadership is coming in some part from the near relentless foreign crises happening. So many factors driving stability and growth are being hammered by agents outside the control of the Government.

He loves a photo op

Unlike Farage and Badenoch 😅

At least he doesn't have to roll back his support for Trump's war.

If it's anything like your one-sided wibblings on this thread, then it's some way down my watching/listening list.

At this point in time, we don't need an ideologue, or a visionary, or (god forbid) a personality. We need the opposite, ideally (given how polarised things are becoming) a boring centrist. God knows the current government is imperfect - none is - but I'll take what we've got for the moment, thanks.

That may be the case and I'm not one for following the social media and daily mail narrative. I read broadsheets and make decisions based on my on mind.

When we have far right politicians and a fat American meddling in our politics I'm not surprised by the polls. Farage has no solutions just more of what Trump is selling......he will just sell us out to unscrupulous Russians and big predatory business. Has anyone taken the time to visit America and talk to Americans struggling with unemployment and inflation....that's the Trump effect....a return to old fashioned norms.

Farage is still parroting Russian propaganda....it was NATO that started the war in the Ukraine. It's NATO that must cede to Russia. While I think NATO was a concern for PUTIN he ultimately used it as an excuse but the truth is PUTIN wants a return to the USSR...... something that NATO seeks to avoid.

So when people refuse to give a Labour government a chance to deliver an alternative to what the right want I wonder what is the point of a democracy if it's so easily influenced by outsiders. Labour are not perfect and I could think of better candidates for PM but the truth is people voted for Labour to reinvest in public services and build a more fair society.....how short are peoples memories. You can't blame this government for the problems we have now..... Labour have had less than two years yet the Tories had nearly 20 to turn us into this mess.

So I'll continue to vote Labour and give them a chance to implement their manifesto. After that I'll make own decision whether it's working.

Newsagents latest podcast is all praise for Starmers response to Trump and the Iran war

Of course he does. Hence dressing up in nonsense when telling us we’d have planes in the air for Ukraine.

The op’s thread makes him sound better than he is. He loves soundbites over substance and his process is lacking - Mandelson appointment.

Can we have a link to Starmer telling us we’d have planes in the air for Ukraine? I don’t remember him ever saying that. I do remember him saying that the UK would contribute to a peacekeeping force in Ukraine when the war there ended and you being appalled by it.

Being a good PM is about delivering what you said you would do, particularly productivity, and not being distracted by external events.