McCluskey really wants to ensure Labour will never be electable !

I do want to say about Brown, he has a great sense of humour but he couldn’t’do tv, he is so much more relaxed off the screen.

Don’t forget Brown in all of this he steered a very steady ship and ensured that Labour could achieve nearly all it set out to achieve. He was an excellent chancellor.

trisher

Whitewavemark2 If you could explain "playing the Cummings game" to me I would be grateful. As it is I cannot see what use a LP Tory lite party will be in the next 4 years with such a huge majority in Parliament and actually insisting that those of us who believe in left wing policies are splitting the party is untrue. The policies are debated and agreed upon by party members. Unfortunately no-one seems to know which ones Starmer agrees with (and I have asked).

Divide and rule.

No one knows what the LP policies are because they haven’t yet been finalised. We have 4 years and the U.K. will be a very different place (hopefully) to what it is now.

If I was party leader I would see absolutely no point in wasting time on formulating policies knowing full well that things are going to fundamentally change.

Starmer is better employed acting as the opposition and dealing with Covid and Brexit.

Rubbish to claim the Blair government were Tory light , they
were not far left. The country will not vote for a far left government, Michael Foot, Corbyn

Johnson on the whole surrounded himself with those who agreed with his stance on brexit, it didnt matter what skills they possessed, this impacted on the quality of those around him.
What you called tory lite made a considerable impact on every family I know, many of whom were in desperate situations, their lives were better under Blair.

otherwise he will start making babies with some of the horrible mares around - and then ... the rest will be sad history.

sp sorry

Yes, the horse has tragically bolted- but together, being strong, united, clever - we might still be able to catch the blighter and control him until, together, strong, united and clever- we can deal with it approproately.

Whitewavemark2 If you could explain "playing the Cummings game" to me I would be grateful. As it is I cannot see what use a LP Tory lite party will be in the next 4 years with such a huge majority in Parliament and actually insisting that those of us who believe in left wing policies are splitting the party is untrue. The policies are debated and agreed upon by party members. Unfortunately no-one seems to know which ones Starmer agrees with (and I have asked).

trisher

If only that had been advocated before the last election biba70. Closing the stable door after the horse has bolted I'm afraid.

You are playing Cummings game trish

as biba says divide and rule.

If only that had been advocated before the last election biba70. Closing the stable door after the horse has bolted I'm afraid.

as we see Johnson, Cummings and ERG destroying our Sovereign Parliamentary Democracy little by little, day by day- this is not the time for the 'left' to dither and to be divisive among themselves. The situation is dire, and dangerous in the extreme - the left, and the centre too - need to pull together to stop this. Any scrap of energy and time used for division- is letting them destroy our country as we know it. Divide and rule - Ye Olde Principle still works.

Who should Johnson have included in his team then Galaxy? Although I don't understand how Brexit has stopped him-I just don't think that there is the talent.

Part of ability is pulling together a team with a range of skills. Johnson hasnt really been able to do that because of Brexit. Blair was able to do that.

I don't think Blair had that much ability I think he traded heavily on having Alistair Campbell as his rottweiler.

Thanks for repliying trisher.

Maizie, I agree - plenty of talent in the LP at the moment, but noe necessarily in the anti Starmer camp. And yes, enough 'so called charm' for a lifetime and more.

But Blair, for all his grievous fault over Iraq, did have ability.

Johnson reminds me of a favourite saying of one of my primary school teachers 'Empty buckets make the most noise'

I thought that after Blair MaizieD but then we got Johnson!!!

I actually think that after the Johnson experience many voters will have had enough of 'charm' to last a lifetime...

(And I'd score May's charm quotient at 0% )

the quality of labour MPs is not high at the moment,

Oh, I don't know - Hilary Benn, Yvette Cooper, David Lammy, Ed Milliband...?

I actually think that's part of the problem Starmer faces, the quality of labour MPs is not high at the moment, he has a long road ahead of him.

I think I have already said that I don't think there is anyone in the LP with charm at present biba70 Lisa Nandy has potential but not enough just now. By the way I don't think charm is necessarily a good thing just a requirement of the public.
As far as costs to the taxpayer go as well I was thinking of how much housing benefit is now going into the hands of private landlords and how if local authorities had still been the huge landlords they once were that money would be being spent on roads and other local services. It's not always as simple as just paying taxes.

Good points trisher-

and a reply to my question would be nice, thanks. Who 'has got it' - the charm and other qualities to become Labour PM.

M0nica I think only the LP produced a costed manifesto. I also think some things are difficult to cost. But there are also some misaprehensions about what is really happening with costs. For example the railways which were franchised. Most will probably assume that they are privatised and therefore don't cost the taxpayer, but actually costs have increased. This in spite of the fact that ticket prices have soared, usage is up and in many cases a poorer service is involved fullfact.org/economy/how-much-does-government-subsidise-railways/
So it is a question really of would you prefer subsidised services which cost the taxpayers but the money provides better services or subsidised services where the money goes into the hands of private investors?

Trisher- who in the LP would have the necessary 'charm' in your opinion ?

^ I am also aware that they would cost £££s billions and paying for them would involve at least doubling income tax basic rate. Soaking the rich would not work one, there are not enough of them and two they can afford to take themselves and their millions to a country with lower taxes.^

MOnica, where do you think the nation's money originates?

(Clue. See what the Bank of England says about where it comes from: www.bankofengland.co.uk/knowledgebank/how-is-money-created)