Sir Keir Starmer

Not snobbery at all. Perfectly reasonable to have some concerns about some of the shadow cabinet just as there was when Labour lost to the Tories last time. Many unknown quantities. Give them a chance. They'd soon become household names in time.

There is snobbery and there is inverted snobbery, but we must not be too quick to agree with either view.Indeed, without knowing the person who makes comments on not trusting or not liking any MP or member of the cabinet or shadow cabinet or their reasons, it is not good to jump in with own ideas about them.

Anniebach

People didn’t stay loyal to their party at the last two elections,
Labour had the worse defeat since 1935

I agree. There is a huge sense that "traditional" supporters of both parties feel that their party has changed beyond recognition and no longer represent them. I think it is all up for grabs at the next election.

MayBee70

Glorianny

I'm not sure about him either as a man or as a politician. He may be attracting Tory voters but that's nothing to boast about looking at their last 2 choices. More seriously he leads a party with major financial problems, some of which he certainly contributed to. I'm not sure that's shows he is as responsible as he seems.

Isn’t it better that a party stands on its political ideology not by how many rich backers ( with their own personal financial interests) they have.

Of course it is Maybee70 however because of the loss of union funds, a huge membership drop, and a lot of money paid out, the LP has serious financial difficulties. It is at present relying on the fact that this is mid-term and not GE time. At the same time Starmer is looking at high profile donors. In which case we will have two parties supported by rich backers. One of the things being relied on is that the fall in membership is the usual mid-term shift and it will climb as we approach a GE. Perhaps it will. But it has made a lot of office staff redundant, it has a £5 million pound deficit, and if an election were called tomorrow I'm not sure what sort of a campaign it could run. It is very worrying.

I feel now there is no good leader.
Also, why have someone representing a constituency when they left school without any GCE results.While the firms where both my two work for insist on having a degree.

Agree Prentice the Corbin factor was very strong, I left the
Labour Party after a 50 year membership, back in now

Interesting piece in The Guardian this morning by a former Tory MP.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/sep/29/tory-mp-truss-kwarteng-labour?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=IND_Inside_Politics%202022-09-30&utm_term=IND_Brexit_CDP

Cath9

I feel now there is no good leader.
Also, why have someone representing a constituency when they left school without any GCE results.While the firms where both my two work for insist on having a degree.

Snobbery QED

John Major?

Less than sterling school results and no degree?

Not a bad PM

MaizieD

Cath9

I feel now there is no good leader.
Also, why have someone representing a constituency when they left school without any GCE results.While the firms where both my two work for insist on having a degree.

Snobbery QED

John Major?

Less than sterling school results and no degree?

Not a bad PM

Who left school with no GCE qualifications?

Some recent PMs and the present one all have Oxford degrees and look where that got us.

I'm not counting Oxford-educated Theresa May btw, she's a decent woman.

Anniebach

Yet there is much criticism of anyone who went to Eaton

Perhaps it is because we would be 'entitled' to expect anyone who has had the massive privilege of top Public Schools to have some intelligence and understanding of the issues facing the country, and the consequences of their actions.

Now when I see the mess they have got us into, someone without qualifications, but lots of experience and common sense, would be very reassuring!

Let's face it, apart from the people who follow politics very closely, few voters have any idea of the calibre of potential office holders when a new governing party is voted into power.

They might know a bit about the party leader and their own MP, but nothing about the rest of its MPs. Or what these MPs have been doing prior to taking office.

We take it on trust that the party leader is competent and able to pick good people for ministerial posts.

Prejudging on school attended, accents, qualifications etc. is ridiculous; there are many other qualities and competences required of a government post holder (or a party post holder, come to that).

For Green New Deal there is no community organisations talked to involved in it's all top down,

Points based immigration system only the wealthy will get through.

70% home owners - need social housing.

Grany

For Green New Deal there is no community organisations talked to involved in it's all top down,

Points based immigration system only the wealthy will get through.

70% home owners - need social housing.

You haven’t been listening or reading anything have you?

You are wrong on all counts.

From Labour List. Some verdicts on Keir's speech

The positive polling comes after Keir Starmer had a very good time at Labour’s annual conference; the annual fixture went off without any major scandal for the Labour leader, and Starmer delivered a leader’s speech largely well received by his critics and fans alike. Progressive Britain’s Tom Collinge wrote that the agenda set out was one that “most wings of the party can engage with”. Seemingly in agreement, Momentum co-chair Kate Dove argued that – in order for Starmer to lay out a compelling alternative to the Conservatives – it was “to the left that he turned”. (She did also add that "Keir must go further and we must push him".)

Can't link, I'm afraid because it's from their daily email, which I subscribe to.

I think most people value the people who care for their relatives so I'm not sure why people have to be spiteful about someones qualifications when they had a complex home situation when they were a child

I admire people who have worked hard and managed to change their lives. It is a good thing, not something to be sneered at.

JaneJudge

I think most people value the people who care for their relatives so I'm not sure why people have to be spiteful about someones qualifications when they had a complex home situation when they were a child

I admire people who have worked hard and managed to change their lives. It is a good thing, not something to be sneered at.

Here, here. I don't like Angela Raynor's left wing ideas but I often listen to her and think if she was a bit more moderate, she would be a great PM. What she appears to have, worth more than most of the academic qualifications, is common sense, an ability to work hard and achieve where many would have failed. As a former employer, I often found that qualifications would get somebody a job and then you would have your head in your hands when they turned out to have no common dog whatsoever!

How the tide has turned, not long ago GN had people saying Starmer had no charisma, he was dull etc and now it seems yes he ok but the rest aren’t. They just cannot be any worse than the mob we have now

Remember Cameron's slogan ' Stability with me, or chaos with Ed Miliband'

give me 'chaos' - please

MaizieD

From Labour List. Some verdicts on Keir's speech

The positive polling comes after Keir Starmer had a very good time at Labour’s annual conference; the annual fixture went off without any major scandal for the Labour leader, and Starmer delivered a leader’s speech largely well received by his critics and fans alike. Progressive Britain’s Tom Collinge wrote that the agenda set out was one that “most wings of the party can engage with”. Seemingly in agreement, Momentum co-chair Kate Dove argued that – in order for Starmer to lay out a compelling alternative to the Conservatives – it was “to the left that he turned”. (She did also add that "Keir must go further and we must push him".)

Can't link, I'm afraid because it's from their daily email, which I subscribe to.

Here Kate Dove Labour List

labourlist.org/2022/09/as-truss-declares-class-war-starmer-must-side-with-the-organised-working-class/

Classism is alive and well on GN! Don’t want anyone in politics who has ‘no GCSEs’, speaks with ‘common’ northern accent … and was a teenage unmarried mother? I say, congratulations that person! Her hard work, resilience and common sense have served her well. Would put myself in the hands of such a person over the privileged, elitist, entitled Eton / Oxbridge twits any day - even if they do have GCEs, degrees and speak with lovely posh accents. Still twits though, and I ain’t doffing my cap to ‘em!

?

Common sense would tell her that her deliberately gobby and abrasive approach isn’t going to win over traditional Conservative voters. I’m sure Starmer is well aware of that.

Germanshepherdsmum

Common sense would tell her that her deliberately gobby and abrasive approach isn’t going to win over traditional Conservative voters. I’m sure Starmer is well aware of that.

Are you saying she’s the Liz Truss of the Labour Party then Germanshepherdsmum, because the cap fits your description?

I'm probably a bit biased toward Angela as she was a pupil of my husband when he was running courses for women who wanted a chance to make up for a bad start in life. They included battered women from a local refuge and lots of single mums who had had their education interrupted. One woman I remember, had to take her exams in broom cupboard as her abusive husband was prowling about looking for her. She has gone on to take up a post at Harvard.
Angela was part of that group, and they were the most understanding and supportive group of women I have ever met. I wish her great success in life, she deserves it.

No, I’m saying she needs to row it in a bit. I dislike Truss intensely and want to see the back of her but I wouldn’t call her gobby. Raynor seems to go out of her way to sound as common as she can. That won’t appeal to traditional Conservatives so why persist in it if she’s serious about winning them over? She and Starmer are like chalk and cheese.