Why doesn't Starmer hold another referendum?

I don’t hate him either but I don’t think he is cut out to be PM. He does not, even after the shockingly dreadful results last week, seem to realise what a mess he has made. He tried to look dincere and the big man this morning but he failed. Even with the rolled up sleeves and no tie appearance.

Instead of concentrating on his own job he rants on about Farage and calls him a grifter and a chancer. I have noticed this name calling is something people on the Left do all the time. He should know from last week that thousands of people would disagree with him and are looking to NF and Reform instead of Labour. He just doesn’t get it does he?

M0nica

Do people really hate Starmer. 'Hate' seems to be a word much misused these days. Everything is love and if it isn't love it is hate.

I do not hate Starmer, but I think he is monumentally incomtent and I am revolted by the way he makes no pretence about his determination to hold onto power, even when so many want him to go. He does not seem to care a toss for the damage he is doing to the party he professes to support.

But none of the above is hate. Contempt, yes, uite a bit, but in the dismissive way one looks at anyone who is so shamelessly clinging on to power when everyone else knows they should go.

But once he has resigned, if I met him at a social event the following day I would uite happily chat to him about anything other than politics, possible find a shared interest, enjoy his company, for all I know he could be a witty and charming person outside politics.

I'm sure he does want to hang on to power. However, the alternatives are interesting.

Firstly, Labour still has an overall majority in Westminster. Secondly, Labour still has more councillors than any other single party - don't forget that only a percentage of seats were up for election this time round. Thirdly, there is no obvious replacement for Starmer. I think Burnham has done a good job in Manchester, but I'm not sure he would make a brilliant PM.

Despite all the drama, the majority of the UK population does not support Farage and Reform. The majority of voters in the UK have views which are somewhere in the centre - maybe a bit to the left or the right. Reform does not represent those views.

Savvy political strategists know how to play our current electoral system to win most votes, which accounts for Labour's win in the last general election and Reform's latest success. The LibDems used to be the experts in exploiting local support, but Reform (allegedly) has been watching their tactics.

Given that most people are centrists and that Corbyn scared the hell out of people, Labour needs to find a safer pair of hands than Starmer. I'm not convinced there is one - especially one with thick enough skin to ignore the inevitable smear campaign which would kick in the moment a new leader were to be chosen.

It could be argued that Starmer is actually saving the country from the chaos and uncertainty of a leadership election, despite the stress this must all be causing him and his family.

Farage is a grifter and a chancer!!

Good post twaddle

Thanks.

I can’t see Starmer ever giving the country a voice..As Rosie Duffield MP said “he always thinks he is always right and never wrong and doesn't listen to anyone”..she also said I can’t ever see myself going back to the Labour party again while he is the PM…

Kats2

I can’t see Starmer ever giving the country a voice..As Rosie Duffield MP said “he always thinks he is always right and never wrong and doesn't listen to anyone”..she also said I can’t ever see myself going back to the Labour party again while he is the PM…

Sounds a bit like Thatcher! And she didn't give in easily.

Romola

I think Starmer would plan a step-by-step approach to making closer ties with the EU. There are areas such as defence and immigration where EU countries are keen to have the UK on board.
There would be a cost for joining the single market. But I remember the benefits for businesses which came in 1992, wiped out by Brexit. Culturally too, we put ourselves outside our European heritage. It was a tragedy which should and can be reversed.

I doubt you would think another vote should be held if the referendum had gone the other way!

Primrose53

I don’t hate him either but I don’t think he is cut out to be PM. He does not, even after the shockingly dreadful results last week, seem to realise what a mess he has made. He tried to look dincere and the big man this morning but he failed. Even with the rolled up sleeves and no tie appearance.

Instead of concentrating on his own job he rants on about Farage and calls him a grifter and a chancer. I have noticed this name calling is something people on the Left do all the time. He should know from last week that thousands of people would disagree with him and are looking to NF and Reform instead of Labour. He just doesn’t get it does he?

You are so right, he tried to look all ready to get stuck in with the rolled up shirt sleeves 😂

I also agree about people on the left being name callers!

The weakest argument for keeping Starmer as Prime Minister, is the one that says 'But who can replace him?' Starmer is so incompetent that anyone could do the job better than him. The Downing Street cat could better.

Surely if the only possible PM is a total disaster aand there is no one better then it is tiem the government resigned and held a general election. Is the Labour party so devoid of talent and ability that starmer is the best they have, Good grief!

Brilliant comment, M0nica

M0nica. Do you want a Reform government full of the same racists, Islamophobes, conspiracy theorists, fraudsters and perverts who have just been elected to local councils?

Hereabouts it wasn't Labour who lost seats but Tories.

A GE right now would go the same way.

What I want doesn't enter into it. If that is what the majority of people in this country wanted, If the country voted in a Reform government, I would just have to learn to live with it.

Unfortunately democracy is a 2 edged sword, you can congratulate yourself when you get a govern elected that you can live with, but if the majority of the electorate wanted a right wing rabid government, then that is what we also have to live with.

This is what has happened in Hungary. Vicotr Orban led a rightwing party that governed Hungary for 18 years. A month or so ago, he was decisively voted out of power replaced by a more centrist government.

I have spent most of my life living in a country where I deplore the policies and philosophy of the two parties who have been in government.

I assure you, you really can live in a country which is continually governed by parties you profoundly disagree with.

There’s a small part of me that says, Go on PM. Call a snap election.

Reform would win and Farage would poop his pants at having his bluff called and then get down to destroying the country.

In Suffolk, the now Reform-controlled council is saying its councillors will need six months to get to grips with things.

A Westminster government has to hit the ground running. A new PM with no ministerial experience. A new Cabinet with no ministerial experience. 149 ministerial posts filled with people with no ministerial experience, their one common claim to fame, a dubious talent for posting racist and other obnoxious remarks on X. Or alternatively, Farage's friends appointed, horrors such as James Orr, Arron Banks, Nick Candy, George Cottrell as well as Zia Yusuf.

The City will go into freefall just as it did with Truss. Pension funds will fail and there will be nothing to save them this time as Reform doesn't believe in quantitative easing.

I have also has lived nost of my adult life under governments I didn’t want, mostly Tory, but I have never had to live under fascism.

The only EU news I've heard is the proposal to ask for students to be able to study in the EU, work under student type schemes and to live in EU. Not sure what the "living" encompasses. The Greens in Scotland have a newly appointed MSP who is from India on a student visa. They have to apply for a new visa to work as an MSP at £80k a year.

4allweknow

The only EU news I've heard is the proposal to ask for students to be able to study in the EU, work under student type schemes and to live in EU. Not sure what the "living" encompasses. The Greens in Scotland have a newly appointed MSP who is from India on a student visa. They have to apply for a new visa to work as an MSP at £80k a year.

Isn’t it just reinstating the Erasmus scheme that we lost because of Brexit?

MOnica, re "If the country voted in a Reform government, I would just have to learn to live with it."

The majority of the "country" will almost certainly never vote for a Reform government. If there's a Reform government, it will be as a result of fragmentation and the FPTP system and/or somebody (probably the Tories) agree to a coalition.

Polls are consistent that only about 25-30% support the kind of agenda which Reform has. The remainder are centrist or more left-wing.

If, by some fluke, Reform does find itself in government, it will be (as Graphite has described) be a disaster.

Meandrogrog

Romola

I think Starmer would plan a step-by-step approach to making closer ties with the EU. There are areas such as defence and immigration where EU countries are keen to have the UK on board.
There would be a cost for joining the single market. But I remember the benefits for businesses which came in 1992, wiped out by Brexit. Culturally too, we put ourselves outside our European heritage. It was a tragedy which should and can be reversed.

I doubt you would think another vote should be held if the referendum had gone the other way!

No need for a vote! Just do it!

M0nica

The weakest argument for keeping Starmer as Prime Minister, is the one that says 'But who can replace him?' Starmer is so incompetent that anyone could do the job better than him. The Downing Street cat could better.

Surely if the only possible PM is a total disaster aand there is no one better then it is tiem the government resigned and held a general election. Is the Labour party so devoid of talent and ability that starmer is the best they have, Good grief!

I don't think so Monica! Maybe you should volunteer to do the job, if it's so easy.

They could make him foreign minister perhaps ? He might be quite good at that though he would probably go ahead and rejoin the EU without permission I suppose.

I think Starmer should stay for the moment; stability is needed in these turbulent times. Longer term I would like to see Al Carns in more senior roles and possibly, ultimately as PM.
A manifesto for the next election including Single Market / Customs Union would be excellent news.
I am pleased to be living in a Borough Council where not a single Reform candidate was elected.

twaddle

Meandrogrog

Romola

I think Starmer would plan a step-by-step approach to making closer ties with the EU. There are areas such as defence and immigration where EU countries are keen to have the UK on board.
There would be a cost for joining the single market. But I remember the benefits for businesses which came in 1992, wiped out by Brexit. Culturally too, we put ourselves outside our European heritage. It was a tragedy which should and can be reversed.

I doubt you would think another vote should be held if the referendum had gone the other way!

No need for a vote! Just do it!

How democratic you are!

Sarnia

Cameron had originally said he would stay whatever the result but he very quickly legged it when he realised he had read the country very wrong.
Are we supposed to have referendums until Remain win?

No of course not, we are supposed to look at the implications of leaving, decide whether it was a good decision or not and act accordingly.

AI Overview
Based on data up to early 2026, evidence suggests that Brexit has not helped the UK economy, with studies indicating it has created persistent structural costs, including reduced trade intensity, lower investment, and lower GDP per capita than if the UK had remained in the EU.

Economic Impact: By 2025, it was estimated that UK GDP per capita was 6–8% lower than it would have been without Brexit. Investment was estimated to be 12–18% lower, and trade (both imports and exports) has been significantly affected by non-tariff barriers.
Cost of Living: Research suggests Brexit made the cost-of-living crisis worse, with studies attributing a significant portion of food price increases to leaving the EU.
Trade and Regulation: While the UK is able to set its own regulations (e.g., for AI and financial services) and strike independent trade deals, these have not outweighed the reduction in trade with the EU.
Immigration: The UK ended free movement of people, replacing it with a points-based system. However, this has not resulted in a decline in overall net migration, but rather a shift in the composition of workers.

Meandrogrog

twaddle

Meandrogrog

Romola

I think Starmer would plan a step-by-step approach to making closer ties with the EU. There are areas such as defence and immigration where EU countries are keen to have the UK on board.
There would be a cost for joining the single market. But I remember the benefits for businesses which came in 1992, wiped out by Brexit. Culturally too, we put ourselves outside our European heritage. It was a tragedy which should and can be reversed.

I doubt you would think another vote should be held if the referendum had gone the other way!

No need for a vote! Just do it!

How democratic you are!

Democracy is a much misused term.

twaddle

Meandrogrog

twaddle

Meandrogrog

Romola

I think Starmer would plan a step-by-step approach to making closer ties with the EU. There are areas such as defence and immigration where EU countries are keen to have the UK on board.
There would be a cost for joining the single market. But I remember the benefits for businesses which came in 1992, wiped out by Brexit. Culturally too, we put ourselves outside our European heritage. It was a tragedy which should and can be reversed.

I doubt you would think another vote should be held if the referendum had gone the other way!

No need for a vote! Just do it!

How democratic you are!

Democracy is a much misused term.

Yes, in your world it does seem to be 🤣