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Two Years of Keir Starmer. What do we think?

(212 Posts)
Ilovecheese Sat 22-Jan-22 14:17:34

Last year there was a thread asking what people thought about Keir Starmer after he had been the Labour leader for a year.
I thought it might be interesting to see what people think another year later.

I actually voted for him in the leadership election but have since left the Labour party. I don't know what his policies are so can't really judge them. It looks to me, from his enthusiasm about the Conservative who defected to Labour a few days ago, that he is positioning the Labour party as similar to the Conservative party, but not quite as right wing.

Has anyone on here who didn't vote Labour last time been inspired by Keir Starmer to change their mind?

Mollygo Thu 27-Jan-22 20:38:34

Varian I agree, but if he won’t promise it before he’s elected, he won’t be allowed to do it if Labour get in.

Dinahmo Thu 27-Jan-22 22:55:14

Whilst the majority of the population want PR I'm not sure about all the members of the LP. Two of my oldest friends have been members for all the time I've known them (over 40 years) and they want to see Labour in power - full stop. Under PR they could be the most important party but not be in charge since it would be necessary to negotiate with other groups.

M0nica Fri 28-Jan-22 09:27:52

Everyone says they wnt some form of PR, but when there was a referendum on the subject of a change, even if the change was not perfect. Hardly anyone bothered to vote, even to vote against it. So they cannot be that bothered.

I did vote in it. How I voted I really cannot remember.

varian Fri 28-Jan-22 10:16:18

Dinahmo

Whilst the majority of the population want PR I'm not sure about all the members of the LP. Two of my oldest friends have been members for all the time I've known them (over 40 years) and they want to see Labour in power - full stop. Under PR they could be the most important party but not be in charge since it would be necessary to negotiate with other groups.

A much-anticipated motion at the Labour conference motion proposing to embrace proportional representation (PR) for future elections has been defeated as overwhelming support from local parties met opposition from mass union votes.

The motion, calling for the next Labour government to replace first past the post with a form of PR, was submitted by more than 150 constituency Labour parties (CLPs), and was the second most popular issue for the conference.

After an inconclusive show of hands in the conference hall in Brighton, a card vote showed just under 80% of CLP votes backing the motion. But the votes from affiliates – almost entirely comprising unions – were 95% opposed. The eventual result was nearly 58% against.

www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/sep/27/unions-vote-down-local-labour-parties-call-to-axe-first-past-the-post

varian Fri 28-Jan-22 14:12:33

First Past the Post cheats voters out of real, meaningful representation. It favours the two major parties and concentrates politicians’ attention on the tiny minority of seats which may change hands in any given election. It allows huge swathes of the country to be ignored and silenced by a political system that is supposed to represent them.

Kali2 Fri 28-Jan-22 14:14:13

Indeed- I have voted each and every time since 1973, knowing full well my vote would go straight into the bin! Not very encouraging.

varian Fri 28-Jan-22 17:59:07

I think that FPTP has survived so long in this country, when all over the world other countries chose to become democracies by changing to proportional representation, is because of the hold of the media, who just love the confrontational drama of two party politics.

Politics has to become more than a branch of entertainment.

Whitewavemark2 Sat 29-Jan-22 05:37:55

James Oh Brien
The most important thing to remember now is that, no matter how bad Johnson is proved to be, the people most in need of abuse from the ‘Left’ are Labour voters who explained in epic & painstaking, evidence-based detail why Jeremy Corbyn never had a hope in hell of beating him.

Whitewavemark2 Sat 29-Jan-22 05:44:29

“Rule of law in jeopardy, NHS under mortal threat, freedom of expression being criminalised, police apparently in Boris Johnson’s pocket, Brexit proving to be everything we predicted, Labour polling better than it has in yonks. But please, keep attacking those awful ‘centrists’.”

Grany Sun 30-Jan-22 15:26:06

More payouts from Labour

Iam64 Sun 30-Jan-22 18:49:18

Whitewavemark2

“Rule of law in jeopardy, NHS under mortal threat, freedom of expression being criminalised, police apparently in Boris Johnson’s pocket, Brexit proving to be everything we predicted, Labour polling better than it has in yonks. But please, keep attacking those awful ‘centrists’.”

Go white wave ???