New Labour LEADER

I agree Mamie I think he will be good for Labour and the country.

Rayner appears to have persuaded the government to provide vouchers to families who usually have free school meals over Easter.

She is now pressuring the government to reconsider the decision to scrap universal infant free school meals.

It seems that Starmer is contacting unitary and city councils in person, to see what is happening with regard to the virus and what help is needed.

He is almost certainly doing that with hospital trusts as well.

Good stuff.

Quite

paddyanne

'Titles are something that dont belong in a socialist party .'

I think that ship sailed long ago, if it ever existed.

I know trisher but things will have changed quite a bit after this virus has gone.

I suspect most didn’t believe that their job would be gone, that they believed the spin put out by the Leave campaign, relating to various issues and I think the economic situation will focus minds considerably.

WWMK2 cutting your nose to spite your face doesn’t seem terribly sensible does it? This about the people who voted for Brexit despite what will happen to their jobs etc!!

Loosing an election is not doing well trisher.

Maybe trisher but cutting your nose to spite your face doesn’t seem terribly sensible does it? Only time will tell, but I see Starmer as an excellent roll model.

I see the Sun is describing him as the millionaire Labour leader, and that from a billionaire foreign owned dubious publication. Makes you grin doesn’t it?

Galaxy May was forecast a majority she didn't get in that election and Labour in spite of a lot of adverse publicity did well. Much has been posted on GN about how Labour would have to win back its heartlands. I just don't understand how Starmer will do that. And yes WWMK2 it has happened but there will always be a residue of feeling about it and many will not forget or forgive Starmer for his stance.

If someone comes from a working-class background, goes to grammar school and university and becomes a QC and Director of Public Prosecutions through intellectual ability and hard work then that is exactly what the Labour movement should celebrate in their new leader. I have been a member for fifty years and I am delighted by the result.

trisher the brexit decision has been made. We left at the beginning of the year.

It may be rising but it's still a small proportion of the electorate. The point I was making is that trade union legislation is not a driver of peoples voting behaviour.
Starmer isn't necessarily the leader I wanted, he is the best of the candidates, a different thing entirely.
They may turn to Starmer or they may not, depends what he does, they wont turn against him because of his background or education.
Corbyn lost the 2017 election by the way against the worst tory campaign I have ever witnessed.
I dont often use this phrase but grandad is right, this debate is a welcome distraction from the current crisis.

Callistemon they didn't put their prejudices aside at the last election why should they at the next?
Galaxy actually women membership of unions is rising and they are becoming much more active.
It isn't enough to think that Starmer is the leader you wanted, you still have to consider who will vote for him and why. The GE in 2017 showed the North supported Corbyn, The 2019 election showed they wanted Brexit. Why on earth should those people now turn to Starmer?

I don't think that Starmer will be the " people pleaser " that Corbyn was, but we'll see.
I think he'll sling out those who lean towards the hard-left of the party, will be interesting in the coming weeks.

Perhaps I am wrong and the North will welcome him with open arms

Well, 'the North' seemed to like Tony Blair pretty well..

I think 'the North' rather likes an 'establishment' figure. I think (as an incomer who's only lived here for 30+ years) that 'the North' is rather (small 'c') conservative. I suspect they'll be fine with Starmer.

I'm still inclined to think that, as most councils in our area were Labour controlled, Labour got the brunt of peoples' frustration with reduced local services. (The reductions being the product of tory cuts, of course).

Anneliese Dodds - shadow chancellor.

Ah, but Annie, Corbyn moved oop North, albeit only as far as the Midlands and on the border with Wales.

That's actually a bit simplistic Trisher, it wasnt just about Brexit in the North. Something to do with ambition as well and a view that the labour party was irrelevant to the North. Perhaps assumptions about the working class they claim to represent. The union issue for example, I work in a sector mainly staffed by poorly paid women, not one is in a union, discussion of trade union legislation would have no relevance for them whatsoever.
Starmer comes from a working class background not that I care one way or the other about that. Corbyns early life was not one of deprivation. Again none of this is relevant, this kind of identity politics is not good for the labour party.

Thise who don't rate Starmer because they think he is a posh, titled, educated southerner and not left wing enough may have to put their prejudices to one side if they ever want to entertain the hope of ousting the Tories and seeing in another Labour Government.

Sorry, but if you fail to do that then you will shoot yourselves in the foot and see the end of the Labour party and any hope of having either a credible Opposition or a future Government.
What will the future be like then?

Sorry, thread has moved on a lot since I wrote that post... I thought I'd sent it much earlier.

He has to take a middle road because if you hit companies and investors too hard they pay less tax, so the government has less to spend on infrastructure and services.

I think that the current 'emergency' government spending measures are proof that that way of thinking is now completely blown out of the water.

You don't for one moment believe that all the billions that are being poured into the economy at present a) come out of taxation, or b) think that it's all going to be taxed back from us at some point in the future? Was all the £240+ billion of QE to save the banks in 2008 'taxed back' from us? No it wasn't.

What you are doing is acquiescing in the 'national economy is the same as a household economy' myth. If enough people can be kept believing in this as soon as this crisis is over the 'establishment' (all the low tax, free market rightwingers) will be cracking down with more 'austerity' for the less wealthy to bear. Which is not only a totally discredited economic 'theory' but will destroy what little 'real' economy we will have left.

'austerity' left the NHS on its knees and ill prepared to cope with this crisis

Corbyn was born in Wiltshire and has lived in London for about 50 years

You can call him Sir if you wish to paddyanne but he does prefer not to use it. It was not an hereditary title btw.
Rather like Sir Alexander McEwen, Sir George Reid

Annie ??