A year of Starmer What do you think?

It was always a mountain to climb, to claim back any credibility, it was never going to happen in a year.

How can Starmer be judged on his first year as leader ? Boris on
tv every week, PMQ just a few dozen involved,

I am involved with telephone canvassing for the May elections,
people are no interested, their concerns is the virus, lockdown etc.

Andy Burnham is good as our Mayor. He can’t be leader as he isn’t an MP. It’s obvious good people like Andy will support KS
John MacDonald was interviewed yesterday. He stated clearly, of course KS is a socialist - he should know, he worked alongside him for years.
Thanks for your posts MayBee

Strangely enough, Andy Burnham voted for Keir Starmer as leader saying about him ‘Keir is a brilliant man. The fact that he was a former DPP and came to work in my shadow Home Office team with no airs and graces says a lot about him’.

MayBee70

I’ve asked this before but who do people think should be leader of the Labour Party?

I have said this before, but I think Andy Burnham would be a good leader. Whether I think he should replace Sir Keir, and how I think they (the PLP) should move ahead, I honestly have no idea. I am not a political strategist, just a voter who believes in a fairer and kinder society.

I sincerely hope that Casdon is right, and that the differences between Johnson and Sir Keir became obvious to the electorate in time for the GE, but right now I can't help thinking that there is so much corruption, so many media lies and so much manipulation of events (eg Johnson taking credit for the success of the vaccination programme, blaming a lot of the impact of Brexit on Covid) that it wouldn't matter who was leading the opposition. It is such a mountain to climb that it is almost impossible. I am verging on despair.

Some good posts maybe

So it’s irrelevant that Starmer makes Johnson look like an idiot at OMQT because ‘no one watches it’. Johnson does lots of photo shoots and it makes him popular. Starmer does them and it’s wrong. Is there anything that Starmer is doing right? How are Labour going to win an election? The policies that Corbyn stood for were rejected by the very people they were meant to help. Where do the Labour Party go from here? Maybe if Starmer had punched that pub landlord today he would have made himself memorable to the public. Or should he have numerous affairs and bestow public money in his mistress. Do Glastonbury but then refuse to go on any of the people's vote marches. Refuse to call out the Russians for poisoning people in this country. Sultana is great, but she’s far too inexperienced.

Maybe70 no one I know who voted Labour is even discussing Brexit now. It's a done deal. PMQ'sis a side show no one bothers with. Boris knows that. He does photo opportunities and people see them.

varian good luck with that with Starmer in charge. He'll have to have focus groups for every one of those suggestions. Come back in 2050 he might have made a decision by then.

But people keep saying he doesn’t stand up to Johnson. And I see him make Johnson look an absolute idiot every week at PMQT. Someone with an astute legal mind is what’s needed to do that. Another argument against Starmer is he no longer opposes brexit. Well sadly, imo that bird has well and truly flown. Johnson’s election campaign was based purely on getting brexit done and that is what the voting public overwhelmingly voted for. So how can Starmer commit the Labour Party to rejoining the EU? Lisa Nandy said right from the start that the result of the referendum had to be upheld so how will her leadership unite the party? All this talk of things that Starmer has or hasn’t done within the party is irrelevant to most voters. All they see is a Conservative Party that shows a united front and a Labour Party that is constantly bickering. I didn’t like Corbyn but I still supported and voted for him because I want to see a Labour government in my lifetime and I can’t see that happening.

trisher We’ve been here before, I’m not doing it again and boring the whole of Gransnet. We disagree on the future, and we disagree on the prioritisation of the policies, as I said above.

If the Labour Party was serious about becoming a future government they should have two priorities -

Firstly, to apologise to the majority of their voters, their members and their MPs and former MPs who overwhelmingly voted Remain in the fraudulent referendum of 2016, for their kowtowing to the brexit press barons and acquiescing in the most damaging change ever to have been inflicted on our country in our lifetimes.

Secondly, to acknowledge that the UK is not currently a democracy - if it was we would not have an appalling right wing government with an 80 seat majority in the House of Commons inflicted on us by a minority of those who voted in the last general election. If this country is ever to progress we need a Constitutional Commission. We must make serious changes to the nonsense of the House of Lords, we must root out corruption and most important of all we must become a democracy by introducing a new voting system so that no government supported by less than 50% of the voters can dictate to us for five years. All governments should be elected in future by proportional representation so that no single party can rule without the support of a majority of voters.-

So which of the LP policies will you change Casdon? These were not "Corbyn" policies they are voted on by party members.

Apart from "He's good in PMQs", (which is a bit like a teacher telling a parent their child has such a nice nature they shouldn't expect him to be academic) what exactly has Starmer done that peple approve of since he became leader?

I’m not getting into an argument on this again trisher, but what the left of the party want is to pursue all the policies that Corbyn eschewed, with a leader who is preferably cut from the same cloth. That will not make the party electable.

Casdon The only people who have even suggested that Corbyn return are those who support Starmer. The argument seems to be that if you don't support Starmer you must necessarily want Corbyn back, but I have yet to see anyone who has actually asked for that. It is though a mark of how ineffective Starmer is that the only argument in support of him seems to be "He's better than Corbyn".
Those of us on the left simply want a leader who will unite the party (as Starmer promised to do), who will stand up for human rights (as Starmer has failed to do), and who can present themself as memorable to the voting public (which Starmer has failed to do).

Maybee70 I'm thinking of a younger woman- Lisa Nandy perhaps and coming up Zarah Sultana- but she's relatively new.

I’ve had to leave various Labour Party Facebook pages because all they do is criticise Starmer and not the government. I think we’re just going to have a Conservative government forever. All Labour supporters seem to do is find reasons why they shouldn’t have lost the last few elections and it now seems to be Starmers fault that they lost the last one because he’s a Conservative. I’m actually too old and tired to care any more.

Casdon, I voice my views less than I have in the past. My response is predictable in that I agree with you.
Starmer was challenging Johnson strongly on sleaze during the last pmq’s. The public opinion is sympathetic to Johnson, in addition he’s an 80 majority on the back of Corbyn. Pandemic is a bit like war, the public wants to support its government.

How Starmer can unite a party being torn apart by monentum/militant types ?

I’ve asked this before but who do people think should be leader of the Labour Party?

varian Perhaps each person should contribute only once to give their response to your question, otherwise it will get into the usual circuitous arguments between party supporters that have been repeated ad nauseum on this thread and others. Fundamentally I think the current differences within the party are insurmountable.

For what it’s worth here’s my thoughts.

1. Starmer should not resign. The Corbyn supporters who do not support the way forward for the party should leave the party, their constant attempts to undermine the leadership are a counterproductive distraction to making the party electable again
2. Starmer and the shadow cabinet need time to rebuild, and given the damage caused to the party’s reputation in recent years it’s not going to be a quick job. It is a concern that the current government will fail before they are fully prepared, but if it does run to the 5 years term they will be more than ready.
3. In terms of personal demeanor and debating ability Starmer runs rings round Boris, and the current improper behaviour investigations will be a gift that I think will build his reputation with the public. The press have already picked up the red wall implications for the Tories.
4. The party needs to listen to what the public values and not over-promise, or get distracted by the minutiae of ‘pc’ issues which the vast majority are not interested in. That’s of course not to say that there shouldn’t be plans to improve and resolve issues, but they shouldn’t be over-sold at the expense of the big issues that will give the public confidence.

I’m now going to retreat as I know what the response will be. It would be great to see a response from gransnetters who don’t normally voice their views.

The excuse given for not signing the letter is that apparently Labour doesn't sign letters that are instigated by another party.
I read about the letter in The Guardian.

Grany

These 6 party leaders have signed a letter to the Commons Speaker calling for an inquiry into Boris Johnson’s dishonesty:

Ian Blackford
Sir Ed Davey
Liz Saville Roberts
Colum Eastwood
Stephen Farry
Caroline Lucas

These party leaders refused to sign:

Sir Keir Starmer

Where has this been reported, Grany?

It seems incredible that the leader of the main opposition party would abstain from something like this. (I'm not doubting you - just stating the obvious.)

Starmer should resign. He has manifestly failed to keep his promise to unite the party and hasn't actually made any progress in fact he has failed to present a proper opposition to the worse government ever.
The enquiry into what happened in 2017 should be reopened and any guilty parties removed.
They should elect a leader who might at least support human rights.
As regards how popular Corbyn is What the F has that to do with Starmer? He was the leader of the LP when that poll was taken but fewer people had actually heard of him. I suppose that sums him up. In future years when his name is mentioned people will go "Who?"

I would like Labour Party supporters to suggest how, from their point of view, the prospects of the Labour Party could improve.

I hope no-one suggests "sack Starmer and bring back Corbyn" because the chances of that happening or succeding are zero.

This is how popular Corbyn is.
yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/explore/public_figure/Jeremy_Corbyn
This is how popular Starmer is.
yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/explore/public_figure/Keir_Starmer