I think you’re wrong on this one. I don’t rate Rayner that much, but she’s fucking miles ahead of Starmer in terms of relatability.
I think Labour saw the success that Blair gave them and went for an identikit replacement, hoping that floating voters would vote for him…
Due to recent history this doesn’t seem to have worked?
I think there is certainly a minority that believes this, but they tend to forget his time in office and the fucking shambolic state of the Tories, knee-deep in sleaze, at war over Europe and ready to bow out.
If John Smith hadn’t died, I’m sure he’d have got in, and he was nothing like Blair.
Very much like they are now, apart from they have a loveable buffoon at the helm!!
There’s a plausible argument for that event being the tangible beginning of Labour’s current problems. Turning away from their core vote as represented by John Smith in search of widening the vote to the aspirational middle class voter, represented by Blair. Subsequently alienating the original core voter, who took some time to realise that “their” party no longer viewed them with anything but contempt.
1 Like
They’re not at war over Europe. They’ve got a PM that some people actually like. I’m not defending the fuckers, but they’re not in the same place they were in back in '97.
Of course, they should have been out by now. Their third PM? They’ve been kept in by the same wing of the Labour Party that is supposed to be so electorally successful.
1 Like
The biggest problem for Labour is that the Tories have shot the massive elephant in the room. They have been riven with division for the last 40 years on the subject. Labour had better hope that they find something else to fall out over pretty sharpish
They have also purged the party of all of the dissenters like grieve and Soubry
Personally I think the Labour Party is a busted flush in general now. People now have higher aspirations (and an overinflated sense of self worth) and don’t class themselves as working class - and a vote for Labour is an admission of this.
They need to evolve into a party that represents the left properly.
The issue with that is that many of the voters that got them back into relevance in the 90s and early 00s will jump ship at this, and that will lead to literally no chance of power.
Rock and a hard place - lose voters for shooting for the stars and trying the middle, or lose voters for sticking to your underlying principles and going back left.
It needs rebranding completely - There is a place for a left leaning party which is more in tune with the majority of the population, but that will not be acceptable to the current membership and big chunk of which still want the politics that Corbyn promised.
The turmoil has allowed Boris to park the Tory tanks on Labours lawn - they are spending like socialists and will have to not doubt tax us more at some stage.
Andy Burnham has one massive obstacle to becoming Labour leader though - he’s not an MP, plus of course he’s just been re-elected for a four-year stint in Manchester. Now it’s possible that he’d be willing to ditch the Manchester position (though it would hardly make him look good), or combine it with being an MP (not a great look either).
But even if he did one or other of those things, he’d still have to find a seat - and it’s hard to see Starmer engineering a by-election to allow him into Parliament. So I reckon he’s out of the running until after the next general election. Mind you, that might well work in his favour.
On another note, here’s a comment from Sienna Rodgers (editor of LabourList) in an article on Starmer’s botched reshuffle today:
Now that’s what I call damning.
1 Like
Where now for Labour?
Punch-lines in Boris’ stand-up routine.
She is getting properly stuck into Kier - it’s all his fault etc
Bet Kier wishes he had shit canned her completely
He can’t, any more than Corbyn could have done with Tom Watson. Rayner’s the elected deputy leader of the party and nobody can sack her from that position.
She’s making her play for the leadership, as she should tbf. She’ll never have a better chance as I can’t imagine that Keir will be as green going forward - he knows he needs to make a proper impact now.
Well, that’s fair enough, but it’s like asking special Olympics Cartman to beat Usain Bolt in the 100m men’s final.
Not an impressive speaker or politician. Has no policy. Fucking inept on the latest evidence.
You sure he can win that race, or even compete?
Moreover, I bet he wishes he hadn’t bothered. His PPS had to resign yesterday after it emerged that she was spreading baseless rumours about Rayner to Labour MPs.
Rayner was his link into union land; she has strong links with GMB and is reputedly one of the most connected politicians in the PLP.
Corbyn fcould always rely on the members. Starmer can’t, and he’s just pissed off a good proportion of the PLP too. They are fucking skint, not getting the small donations from all the members that have fucked off, not getting the big donor money either.
As I’ve said before, he’s the Owen Smith that “worked”.
No.
@pap you mentioned that Kier could be the Labour IDS
I think this is worse - IDS was up against a pretty competent Labour government - All Kier has to do is take down Boris, and Boris is stood glued to the middle of the ring offering a free shot at his chin every five minutes.
Its like me trying to box after 15 pints
I think that was @Fowllyd.
I don’t think Keir is capable of taking down anybody. Which of course, makes it worse.
Seriously though, the Tories have nicked so many of Corbyn’s policy threads recently that the triangulation that the right of Labour learned from Clinton just won’t work now.