Starmer’s Speech today.

Cardamom

I'd have more confidence in Starmer if he ditched Rachel in Accounts; get someone in as Treasurer who knows what they're doing instead of repeatedly hiking taxes on small businesses who are then forced to make redundancies or close down. She's accelerated the high street decline single handedly. Time she was out.

Useless.

All he'd get is another 'economist' who treats the national economy like a household economy and who lives in fear of bond vigilantes.

Mollygo

Who would people like to see instead if Starmer?
I keep reading suggestions of Rayner or Reeves but don’t feel they’d be an improvement. If KS does go, let’s hope the replacement has cleaned up their act before being appointed. Starting as PM with a list of accusations about your actions has never been a good idea.

Burnham.

He has the support of one of the very few MPs I know of who actually understands how a national economy works and knows that the current economic orthodoxy is not only not working, but can also be changed. Clive Lewis, MP for a Norwich ward.

I posted a couple of links to his message on X this morning, One directly to X, another to a verbatim reproduction of it by Richard Murphy

x.com/labourlewis/status/2053538238384787606?s=66

www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2026/05/11/clive-lewis-the-labour-mp-who-gets-it/

It's long, but worth reading by anyone with an interest in alternatives to the current state of affairs.

(Burnham does, of course, have more MP supporters than just Clive Lewis)

Even if Burnham doesn't get the leadership what he has done in Manchester is a good blueprint for what Labour could achieve

I'd have more confidence in Starmer if he ditched Rachel in Accounts; get someone in as Treasurer who knows what they're doing instead of repeatedly hiking taxes on small businesses who are then forced to make redundancies or close down. She's accelerated the high street decline single handedly. Time she was out.

I believe the stalking horse has withdrawn her challenge; obviously can't get enough MPs to support her, but is asking for an orderly exit in the Autumn.

Starmer is not giving up because he 'is not going to be plunging our country into chaos; the Labour Government would never be forgiven.' Note: not Starmer.

He did attempt to establish his Working class People credentials, again, by talking about Mum and Dad and siblings Working Very Hard and struggling to pay their bills. He didn't mention his late twenties-niece, two degrees and still no paid job, parachuted into Croydon as a prospective councillor while two serving councillors were blocked from standing. Didn't hear whether she was elected.

Did it take him all weekend to write that speech?

Fallingstar

If Starmer cares so much about the country I believe he should fall on his sword and let another leader step up.
We have to prevent the billionaires club aka Reform from coming to power and this requires a new leader and a major rethink.

Farage used Starmer Out as a slogan during the council elections. Why can’t people see that, if Starmer is made to stand down Farage will claim it as a personal victory and it will only strengthen his so called party? ( you know, the one that would have taken us into a war with Iran). He’s already destroyed the Conservative Party and he’s now destroying Labour. And the electorate who are supporting him are the very people that will suffer the most under a Reform government. Just like in America now.
.

I was going to mention all the things he said that made me livid but I'll just say that the arrogance of the man is unreal.

Who would people like to see instead if Starmer?
I keep reading suggestions of Rayner or Reeves but don’t feel they’d be an improvement. If KS does go, let’s hope the replacement has cleaned up their act before being appointed. Starting as PM with a list of accusations about your actions has never been a good idea.

MaizieD

Kandinsky

They say they have to change - but how?
They have to appeal to all the reform voters who took their votes & that’s more or less impossible for them.

From the figures I've seen Reform took most of their votes from the tories, not Labour. Previous Labour voters tended to go to the Lib Dems or Green. Or Nationalist parties in Scotland and Wales.

Labour trued very hard to appeal to potential Reform voters in their first 18 months. It hasn't worked. Why vote Labour when you can vote for the real thing?

Spot on! Thinking he needed to appease Reform voters was Starmer's big mistake. The Tories' collapse is as much responsible as anything else.

Well I’m very pleased that Starmer announced the
re- nationalisation of British Steel. It is the only way to save the steel industry in the UK and it’s vital to our future to maintain capacity here rather than relying on other countries, some of which are hostile.

Kandinsky

They say they have to change - but how?
They have to appeal to all the reform voters who took their votes & that’s more or less impossible for them.

From the figures I've seen Reform took most of their votes from the tories, not Labour. Previous Labour voters tended to go to the Lib Dems or Green. Or Nationalist parties in Scotland and Wales.

Labour trued very hard to appeal to potential Reform voters in their first 18 months. It hasn't worked. Why vote Labour when you can vote for the real thing?

If Starmer cares so much about the country I believe he should fall on his sword and let another leader step up.
We have to prevent the billionaires club aka Reform from coming to power and this requires a new leader and a major rethink.

They say they have to change - but how?
They have to appeal to all the reform voters who took their votes & that’s more or less impossible for them.

It’s too late, the writings on the wall, he’s toast now and any other similar sayings.
He will have to go, sooner or later.

What about the ‘22 billion black hole’ they inherited? Is that on there?
Should imagine it’s worse today with all the borrowing.
The one I hate is ‘let’s be clear’, especially when RR borrows that statement, Tv is switched off at that point.

Nick Ferrari’s BS Bingo and it’s pretty much a full house today