New Labour LEADER

I should state in addition to my above post, I do not believe that anyone is aware of how the affiliate membership voted, and in all probability will never be aware of how any individual or group of affiliate members voted in this leadership ballot.

Labour needed a new leader for a long time, but I don't think he's doing Labour any favours by having a go at Boris he should be helping in these unprecedented times,and showing how Labour are for the people.

Suzie yes pleased with the result because I feared Long Bailey would win. As you said ‘pointless thinking of the next
election’, I too hope we will have a strong opposition now

He needs to get rid of the momentum thugs & anti sematism too if he is serious about changing the Labour Party,let’s wait & see.....Corbyn set the Labour Party back years.We don’t want socialism that’s why Boris won a landslide victory.

I actually think talking about the next election is incredibly pointless at the moment. Who knows how the political, economic and social landscape may have changed by then? All that matters now is that there’s hope of an opposition and any one who cherishes democracy should be glad of that. Perhaps some right of centre people wanted RLB elected because they wanted the complete destruction of the Labour Party and they are now quite miffed. BTW annie are you pleased with the result or not?

I am going to whisper that, as a life-long passionate left-winger, I supported Jeremy Corbyn and I will miss him.

Now I am retiring to my bunker, as the bullets fly overhead.

urm what policies of Starmer are Tory?

Mamie, I believe that many such as myself believed that Rebeca Long-Bailey would tear the Parliamentary Labour Party to threads which may be a task that will eventually have to be done.

However, Kier Starmer has been stating throughout the campaign all that the activist wish to hear, and in that, I believe they are prepared to give him a chance.

However, I feel the above may well be carried out with little enthusiasm. A fresh political start is I feel what those activists would like to see.

Corbyn was a disaster because he was so inept, it was very difficult for a government to lose to him. The danger with Starmer, is not that he can't win an election, it is he will win on a platform that is so Tory, he will achieve nothing in office. Just like New Labour.

What we need is a path between the two extremes of Labour. It is no good being a Corbynista but being a red tory is pretty much pointless as well.

mamie has said it for me

So if only 18% of affiliate members voted last time and 35% this time, it might be reasonable to conclude that there was more enthusiasm for Starmer than Corbyn.

So Grandad1943 if you are saying that union activists supported Corbyn, why did they not vote for Rebecca Long Bailey, who was seen as the Corbyn continuity candidate? Why did affiliate members vote for Starmer with RLB in third place?

Mamie in regard to your post @13:14 today, if the figure of 35% of affiliate members voting in this leadership election, then that number would be well up on the number that voted in the last election.

That figure the I believe was just over 18% for it is normally only activists who register to vote and then actually do carry that out.

It could well demonstrate how efficiently the trade union online registering of members wishing to vote and then vote recording was carried out to achieve such a number.

Whitewavemark2 in regard to your post @13:06, as I have stated in my above post it is without doubt that many within the trade union movement felt that Corbyn was a labour leader very much on their side, and in being that he was completely undermined by those on the right of the Parliamentary Labour Party.

As evidence to the above, in the days immediately following the general election I attended a special meeting of my Unite trade union branch at which real anger was expressed that even during the election campaign MPs on the right of the Labour Party had made attempts to undermine Corbyn as leader.

In regard to how those MPs viewed trade union member activists was summed up by one very longstanding on-site union rep when he stated: "there are MPs within the Parliamentary Labour Party who look upon us in the trade union movement in the same light as they would look upon a lump of dog sh*t on their shoe".

That statement was clapped and cheered loudly for more than a minute following it being made. That very large trade union branch consists of employees and activist from the road haulage and distribution industry and they are not left-wing by any stretch of the imagination.

The above I feel sums up the task that will lay ahead of Kier Starmer in bringing about unity and confidence between the Parliamentary party and the broader Labour movement in the country.

What marvelous news!!
Hurrah!!!

It is worth noting that Starmer won in all sections including affiliate members. As I said upthread only 35% of affiliate members voted, but Starmer still won that vote.

grandad what is the issue with Starmer and the unions? I can’t honestly believe it is because he isn’t Corbyn.

elaine Starmer was the DPP and as the head of the organisation, apologised as he should have done for the CPS “s failings.
It was not a cover up, more a cock up.

He was of course not personally responsible

Please, please don't use these threads to be nasty to each other - especially just now! We should be grateful that we live in a democracy ( more or less) and all have the right to vote. The majority of people ( sadly there are exceptions), want a safe, prosperous, healthy, fair society and think that the party/individuals they vote for in local or national elections have the best chance of achieving that.
Over the years, I have voted for at least three different parties, never being sure which was best until about 12 years ago I came to the firm conclusion that, for Scotland, independence was the way forward and hence joined the SNP.
I have realised I am definitely fairly far to the left but hope I would listen with respect to other views from any friends, family members or acquaintances. I certainly don't feel that labour have been effective in opposition in recent times and hope that KS may change that ( along with SNP who have tried to be an effective opposition but without sufficient numbers in Westminster to do this alone). Even if I voted Tory, I would welcome an effective opposition as that is democracy in action. I've just seen that there are posts on FB calling into question KS's role in the lack of investigation into early complaints against Saville, but I doubt KS was actively involved in any cover-up.

The first crisis that Kier Starmer could face may well be in finances of the Labour Party. A large section of the Parties income is derived from trade union members being willing to pay the political levy over and above their normal trade union subscription.

Under legislation brought in by this government, trade union members have to sign a fresh document every four years agreeing to pay that political levy.

In 2016 the unions through their lay activists made a huge effort among the members to secure that funding for the Labour party with the Unite Union obtaining agreement from eighty five percent of its membership to continue the payment. The GMB secured more than fifty percent with other unions obtaining similar.

I believe that the process has to be carried out once again this year and while Corbyn was a leader of the Labour Party those trade unions and their activists were sure that at the top of the Labour Party there was a person who was "on their side".

However, with many believing within those trade union ranks that Corbyn was completely undermined by many on the right of the Parliamentary Party, it may well be that such an effort to secure the political levy once again will not be forthcoming from the trade unions and their activists.

Starmer I feel has to "bring back on board" those trade unions and especially the activists within them very quickly as a first task.

The Tories will be pleased.
If Lisa Nanny had become leader- an intelligent northern woman - many of the northern voters who voted Tory in the last election would have reverted to voting Labour..
I would suggest that however good Keir Starmer may be ,many northern Labour voters are tired of having yet another London based leader.

Many are saying that Hancock having failed on tests, ventilators and PPE, and so is trying to deflect by starting a war of words with Sunak.

To be fair I suspect that the whole government will be found complicit in the failure, but NOW is not the time to start arguing.

We need a united government.

If he had been leader at the last election Boris could well have lost.

I always hoped that KS would talk sense about the coronavirus emergency and BJ would announce the same thing in his own words a few days later. Doesn't matter. So any betting that we hear the words 'reveal exit strategy from lockdown' from the prime minister some day soon.

^Angela Rayner in an interview this morning, said more of
Corbyn than Stammer , Corbyn is still leader for her.^

You do realise that's an opinion, not a truth, don't you Annie.

I saw the interview. She has obviously been very ill and questioned whether the PM or ministers should go out after 7 days rather than 14. I thought that was extremely important especially as round about the 10th day seems to be the decider for the person who has it. Not too sure what is either Corbyn or Starmer about that view.