Keir Starmer and Project Fear

We don’t need charisma. We had our fingers well and truly burnt with Boris Johnson. Charisma is out and competence is back in fashion.

Casdon

And yet, he’s the second most popular politician in the UK according to YouGov.
yougov.co.uk/ratings/politics/popularity/politicians-political-figures/all

Think you'll find it Labour voters they ask these questions of. Certainly as a non Labour voter I've never been asked.
He comes across as sleazy, not committed to the people of this country at all.
He's all for minorities, race, religion, gender.
Not for the majority. Careful what you wish for.

Freya5

Casdon

And yet, he’s the second most popular politician in the UK according to YouGov.
yougov.co.uk/ratings/politics/popularity/politicians-political-figures/all

Think you'll find it Labour voters they ask these questions of. Certainly as a non Labour voter I've never been asked.
He comes across as sleazy, not committed to the people of this country at all.
He's all for minorities, race, religion, gender.
Not for the majority. Careful what you wish for.

No, Freya5*, YouGov polls are not specific to party allegiance,, this poll was selected from an ‘all voter’ demographic. I don’t think there are any issues about the methodology they use, it’s a worldwide and reputable polling enterprise.
I appreciate that everybody has a different perspective and we are all entitled to our opinions, but I think it’s useful to point out what unbiased sources say too - it’s a reality check.

I actually think if you polled Labour voters you would find Starmer less popular.
The problem with this right wing newspaper's criticism is that it's based on fact and on many of the things the left of the party have been saying for a long time.
His duplicity over Brexit, Corbyn, and uniting the party is on record. His failure to fully support the NHS is obvious.
Unfortunately we seem to be saddled with him. I do wish there was a Labour MP who could replace him. I fear there isn't.

"The right wing press" as referred to here even in little Gransnet, is only one of the infiltrations into all media of extreme Rightist views.
The extreme Right is a force to be reckoned with when you see internatonally .

The extreme Right is a force to be reckoned with when you see internatonally .

Usually funded by many of those multimillion or billionaires that most people on Gnet recently defended so vigorously

I think the left is making its presence felt quite vigorously on Gnet - as it should I hasten to add.
Idle comment whilst waiting for my nail polish to dry …..

Quite vigorously

ronib

We don’t need charisma. We had our fingers well and truly burnt with Boris Johnson. Charisma is out and competence is back in fashion.

add the charismatic tony blair, the only time I ever voted labour, he opened the floodgates

Blair Not liked by the far left, won 3 consecutive general elections

Corbyn. Adored by far left, lost 2 general elections even gave the worse election result since 1935

Casdon, I used to do YouGov surveys until they became impossible to give a correct answer. The surveys were so biased that whatever your opinion, it was twisted to suit whatever they wanted to show the world. Quite nasty really, not to be trusted.

He will win the next election because he is not the Conservatives

Yes he will, and that is precisely the reason. It’s actually nothing to do with him at all, it’s simply because he is not the Conservatives.

I fear though that the NHS will still be subjected to more privatisation. Too many MPs have vested interests

I stopped reading newspapers several years ago. We need an independent media not governed by foreigners who try to distort our views . I prefer to elect my 'dictator. "

I'm waiting to see what starmer can achieve in 10 years time once he's managed a way through the slime left behind by the years of Tory misrule. Hopefully he has a longer term vision for the country than the dithering ineptitude we've had to put up with. I doubt things will improve immediately but I see it as a journey towards a better governed country that will take time. I hope our children and grandchildren will live in a better world than they do right now, have better prospects and more hope in the future. At the moment it's just the rich getting richer and public services and the environment we live in being milked for their benefit. Even if a Starmer led government doesn't benefit me I hope it ends the gravy train for the rich and benefits those who are struggling. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and judge by what he does, not says, or music he plays.

karmalady

KS is certainly not a leader, it is very obvious, watching his body language and his lack of action or planning and he has the charisma of a dead fish

Is it “charisma” we need in our PM? Johnson? Blair?

What planning and action can any opposition do? They have no power? Their role is to call out those in power, which personally I think Starmer does.

Or is it a safe pair of hands and someone who is, for a political, pretty honest and understands Mr/Mrs Aversge, because this is how Starmer grew up!

I gave up reading right wing rags when all they were doing was highlighting the few people who diddle their benefits, loving the royals (bar evil Meghan), and generating slating all public services.

It’s a shame as at one point the DM had some really good investigative journalists who highlighted some excellent cases of public interest, for example a council who were putting children up for adoption from parents with low IQs (no danger to their children) and some of the other things which happen in our “closed” courts.

I don't care who they put at the front of Labour, its policies I vote for and Labour have always been the party of the working people, as in NHS etc. their recently cancelled policy to secure school buildings deleted when the Tories + LD got into power have showed us how much other parties care about ordinary services.
OK Starmer isn't as slick and charming as Tony Blair but he is solid & reliable & thats what we need at the moment. I like the rest of the Labour team too.
The right wing press is terrified of him, billionaire owners will loose their non-dom status too, and that's just for starters. I do think Labour have been very sparing with their policy announcements, probably wary of headlines like 'what a bloody silly idea that is' or words to that effect, they've wanted to leave headline space for Tory scandals, and what a good job they've done of that.

Just reading that Labours manifesto is intent on “not frightening the horses” and allow the rabid right wing to kick it into touch.

So we will see a paired back plan for social care - remember that labour and May got slaughtered with their social care plans when they were labelled a destructive tax? Labour is keen not to fall into that trap again, and so will focus on increasing and training care workers before tackling the main issue in future years.

Likewise the net zero issue, and green energy will be paired back until they are able to see what a state the economy is in (I know, I know maizie😄) and how we will be placed to invest.

The focus on growth is to enable the economy to grow and the resultant revenue can be used for the care issue, green energy and all the other things like child care etc.

Honestly they have so much to tackle I am not sure where they will start.

But what I worry about is too high expectations from a population that has had it so hard for so many years,

The manifesto has been released ?

Anniebach

The manifesto has been released ?

No! It is being put together, and I have been reading on the likely content.

It makes sense given how labour has reacted to date.

Thanks

I have enjoyed this thread. I think Keir Starmer is sincere if a little wooden. I am a Conservative but freely admit that governments can be in power for too long and the current crop of MPs are a mediocre lot. I think Labour has good intentions but the outcomes have not been good. I speak of the NHS and School#. Building new hospitals was good but not to tie them to PFI because any repairs or maintenance was done by greedy cibstruction companies. Schools were built but teachers are in short supply, Todays teachers are faced with students many of whom do not want to learn and discipline is missing. I was shocked by the person who thought that Ed Davey had not been hit that hard. I think he is toast even in his own party. Where did that poster get their information.? I ma be a Tory but please do not think Tory voters are stupid. Most of us know the party has lost its way. Many of us don’t know how to vote next time. One thing is for sure and if the candidate for Labour in Hampstead and Golders Green is a good choice maybe I coukd be persuaded to vote Labour for the first time, I don’t think it will happen and fear a great many Tory voters will stay at home. If the Tories lose in my constituency that will show the level of dissatisfaction with the Conservative government.

The main thing is that the last 14 years of Tory rule have been pretty dire. I think Starmer is cautious and competent so I want to see him in No. 10. In my constituency that means voting Lib Dem though I find the candidate a poor choice.

maddyone

^He will win the next election because he is not the Conservatives^

Yes he will, and that is precisely the reason. It’s actually nothing to do with him at all, it’s simply because he is not the Conservatives.

His aim at the moment is probably just that - to win the election and have a working majority. Once in power, he can try to steer the various skeins of interest in the Labour party into enacting the reforms that he wants, It will be interesting to watch how that goes, there are some one-issue segments in the party.

I never knew he played the flute. That distinguishes him from other politicians...