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Fair enough, day 1 should probably have read "early on".
You didn't answer the two questions in the post.
SB
Obviously we have very different ideas about “leading the debate” but talking about regional inequalities and child poverty is something this opposition should always be doing rather than when it comes up. They should be talking about transformative policies whenever they can. Like the environment, human rights, structural racism, wealth inequality, worker rights, dealing with AI and automation plus much more.
Instead we’ve got Starmer talking about family, nation and opportunity as if we can get back to the good old days of Cameron. Or abstaining on vital questions for some strategic win.
At the same time that’s in a world (with UK politics it’s own little self-regarding world set apart from that) where the big issues are increasingly outflanking traditional politics and especially a safe, comfortable, supposedly grownup centre. But there is no vision there, no solutions, just a desire to keep things roughly as they are and “sensible”.
And that’s why the centre has been complicit in what’s happened in the UK over decades. Because ultimately, ignoring swathes of the population, the regions and many of the pressing social and economic questions serves their interests too.
But sure, let’s keep making the same mistake and getting worse and worse governments. I hope you’re right that this time that it’ll work but I think it’s an even stupider mistake considering Scotland and the traditional Labour support are almost over the horizon. The only way to get them back is to actually address the underlying structural problems that have led to such disillusionment and disenfranchisement.
You're overlooking the fact that we've established in the last few years that 52% of the voting public are morons. This poll shows that 10% of the morons have either become less moronic or have passed away!!
You're overlooking the fact that we've established in the last few years that 52% of the voting public are morons. This poll shows that 10% of the morons have either become less moronic or have passed away!!
Though to be fair this government is making it very easy for them to do so. For all their many faults it was far harder for Corbyn to point the finger at Cameron and May compared to Starmer v Johnson.
You do know that Corbyn had a General Election against Johnson, right?
And lost it, badly.
I am deeply unhappy with Starmer's bizarre decision to whip Abstentions on the "James Bond can live out Boris Johnson's fantasies" Bill, but we can't change history: Corbyn failed to win against the terminally unrelatable Theresa "running through wheatfields" May, and a bloke who had just shut down Parliament illegally.
Under the current, bent, system with gerrymandered constituencies and the media lined up against him, Corbyn was unelectable. He tried twice. Labour needs to align itself quickly behind Starmer, or they will lose again, against a corrupt and incompetent Government. But Starmer needs to give a vision to, particularly young, Corbyn-friendly activists which will motivate them and give them something to believe in. Just being "dull and competent" won't be enough to unite the Party and give him a chance under our deeply flawed and unfair electoral system.
You do know that Corbyn had a General Election against Johnson, right?
And lost it, badly.
I am deeply unhappy with Starmer's bizarre decision to whip Abstentions on the "James Bond can live out Boris Johnson's fantasies" Bill, but we can't change history: Corbyn failed to win against the terminally unrelatable Theresa "running through wheatfields" May, and a bloke who had just shut down Parliament illegally.
Under the current, bent, system with gerrymandered constituencies and the media lined up against him, Corbyn was unelectable. He tried twice. Labour needs to align itself quickly behind Starmer, or they will lose again, against a corrupt and incompetent Government. But Starmer needs to give a vision to, particularly young, Corbyn-friendly activists which will motivate them and give them something to believe in. Just being "dull and competent" won't be enough to unite the Party and give him a chance under our deeply flawed and unfair electoral system.
Agree on the whole and certainly with the last part about a vision to motivate and a commitment to unify. That’s where I think he’s been particularly bad and no longer even seems on nodding terms with the genuinely motivating and unifying pledges many took at face value.
But I think the truth re: election performance is somewhat between 2017 and 2019 where the major difference was Brexit as a dominating issue and a ramping up of the attacks on Corbyn.
May was of course an uninspiring opponent and the Tories weren’t as focused without a Cummings-style playbook so we can’t take 2017 as a normal result either. But it did indicate that progressive policies do have traction and can engage and energise voters. That was also shown in polling around policies in 2019 and the breakdown of the age demographics.
That energy and engagement is a feature of politics that the Tories tapped into with Brexit, and it’s a feature that’s here to stay. Here’s a good article about Starmer’s leadership so far and problems with it.
Oborne’s conclusion is that Starmer is a leader and possible future PM who risks being swept away by the tide of events. I’d go further and say he’ll be swept away electorally by the tide of events until he can start leading the debate and not leaning into Tory and the right-wing press’s own talking points. It’s such a dull, uninspiring and hopeless message that a BLM, a Green Party, the SNP will steal his thunder or even that the Tories just pivot and push “progressive” policies themselves. All the while moving the conversation away from their actual record that they should be skewered by.
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