He has done it! The toolmakers son has resigned!

Cabowich

Aw, felt a bit sorry for him - his voice was wobbling when he paid tribute to his wife and children.

Yes, I felt sorry for him as well.

Same as when Teresa May resigned.

And Margaret Thatcher crying.

Makes them seem …fallible.

😢

Is Streeting out of the game now?

It was toolmakers (especially in my home city) who put our country on the map, as far back as the early Middle Ages.

I’m not a labour supporter - never have been - but I feel sorry for Kier Starmer. I don’t like the way this leadership change has been orchestrated. It feels grubby. If Burnham does take the poisoned chalice, I shall be watching what his future cabinet’s stance on defence will be, given the parlous state of things at the moment.

Cabowich

nanna8

But he was a toolmaker’s son, wasn’t he ? Why so disparaging about toolmakers ? I don’t see that as an insult but tradies are very much respected in my country.

Quite, nanna8, and Starmer himself mentioned his father's trade ad infinitum, so I can't see what all the fuss is about the OP's heading.

Because it was smutty and an attempt to be funny...

CatsWhiskas

Flippin2

I don't believe Andy Burnham,if he gets the position,will be any better.The people of Makerfield voted to get rid of Kier Starmer,it was already a Labour seat. I'm not a supporter of Starmer but he's a human being with feelings,he had to jump before he was pushed.

Yes, it had a Labour MP (and has had one for ages), but the recent local elections returned Reform councillors. It also voted for Brexit with a huge majority and most areas which voted for Brexit have been ripe for Reform. I suspect Reform would have won, if the Labour candidate had been anybody else.

But there was no need for a by-election, that only occurred so Burnham could be shoe-horned in as the candidate with hopes of ousting Starmer as Labour leader and PM. It all leaves a very nasty taste in the mouth.

So yet another white male Oxbridge graduate to take the helm.

Good one Casdon. That could become a slogan. 👏

Primrose53

MrsQuigley

I have never been or ever will be a Labour voter but I do think Sir Kier Starmer has been very unfairly treated by the media and by many members of the public. Is this going to be the way the Prime Minister (whoever it is) will be treated in future? It was bad enough with all the Boris haters, now there are all the Nigel haters and so on.
I really do not look forward to Andy Burnham as PM, further to the left, or, perish the thought, Angela Rayner.
What have we done?

Blame the media and public if you like but it was his own party who turned on him and led to his resignation.

I do think the public really turned on him when he was foolish enough to take the knee along with his Deputy Angela Rayner for the convicted criminal George Floyd. Many people were outraged.

He took the knee four years before he won the GE.

ViceVersa

I have my doubts. I have serious concerns about his stance on women's rights, for one thing. The way the whole thing has been handled leaves a bad taste in my mouth too.

Well put.✅✅

Going off piste for just a sec, if that's okay. Ignore, if not, but
what sort of people were 'outraged' by Starmer taking the knee for 'Black lives Matter'?

nanna8

But he was a toolmaker’s son, wasn’t he ? Why so disparaging about toolmakers ? I don’t see that as an insult but tradies are very much respected in my country.

Quite, nanna8, and Starmer himself mentioned his father's trade ad infinitum, so I can't see what all the fuss is about the OP's heading.

Yes I also think the title is rather derogatory .
A headline the DM might run with.

nanna8

I hope he becomes a foreign minister or an ambassador because he seems much more comfortable overseas. Maybe back to Europe as a lawyer ? At long last he has done something right. What of Burnham ? Maybe his policies will be just as bad but he will be better at ‘selling’ them. Hope he doesn’t use that silly Ed Millibrand in a position of influence.

"At last he has done something right"! What about these - sorry if the facts offend.

Economic growth returning and greater economic stability.
Wages rising faster than inflation.
Significant public and private investment commitments.
NHS waiting times improving.
Expansion of workers' rights and employment protections.
A reduction in small-boat Channel crossings.
Improving relations with European partners and restoring Britain's international standing.

Cossy

Fallingstar

‘ In Labour's 126-year history, there has never been an official leadership challenge mounted against a sitting prime minister’

I wonder if we can put the full burden of blame on Starmer or do we need to ask ourselves why getting rid of serving PMs has become a trend in the past decade.
I think we have broken all records with the number of PMs we have got through and it obviously isn’t just the Tories.
So when Burnham is handed the poisoned chalice will he manage any better??
Or will we be having another leadership contest in a year/18 months??
There is something very wrong here but am not sure what??
Are PMs today not made of the same stuff as PMs years ago? Have interested parties pulling the government’s strings made it impossible for them to initiate the changes they promise prior to becoming PM? Or are the electorate, spurred on by social media, and dangerous algorithms that influence people’s opinions, now ungovernable??
I think is something that definitely needs to be addressed.

Very well put and I agree.

I agree too.
Starmer aside, the growing trend is chaotic and unwelcome.

I think the title of this Thread should be changed, to reflect the tone of a Gransnet discussion. Robust yes, but not goady.

ronib - it's what he does - all the time.

Rishi Sunak’s General Election Announcement Things Can Only Get Better

Theresa May’s Resignation Speech foghorn cry of "Stop Brexit!"

Prime Minister's Questions anti-Conservative and anti-Brexit parodies to oncoming MPs and Prime Ministers - tracks like The Muppet Show theme, Darth Vader's The Imperial March, and a parody of Yellow Submarine rewritten as ^"We all live in a Brexit tragedy."

As to why he does it he said (during a court appearance regarding noise levels), he intentionally protests audibly and visually at high-turnout political times so that the consequences of Brexit "will not be forgotten."
He said he witnessed first-hand the positive impact of EU funding in his home region of South Wales and felt compelled to fight against what he called the "Brexit mess."

MrsQuigley

I have never been or ever will be a Labour voter but I do think Sir Kier Starmer has been very unfairly treated by the media and by many members of the public. Is this going to be the way the Prime Minister (whoever it is) will be treated in future? It was bad enough with all the Boris haters, now there are all the Nigel haters and so on.
I really do not look forward to Andy Burnham as PM, further to the left, or, perish the thought, Angela Rayner.
What have we done?

Blame the media and public if you like but it was his own party who turned on him and led to his resignation.

I do think the public really turned on him when he was foolish enough to take the knee along with his Deputy Angela Rayner for the convicted criminal George Floyd. Many people were outraged.

Fallingstar

‘ In Labour's 126-year history, there has never been an official leadership challenge mounted against a sitting prime minister’

I wonder if we can put the full burden of blame on Starmer or do we need to ask ourselves why getting rid of serving PMs has become a trend in the past decade.
I think we have broken all records with the number of PMs we have got through and it obviously isn’t just the Tories.
So when Burnham is handed the poisoned chalice will he manage any better??
Or will we be having another leadership contest in a year/18 months??
There is something very wrong here but am not sure what??
Are PMs today not made of the same stuff as PMs years ago? Have interested parties pulling the government’s strings made it impossible for them to initiate the changes they promise prior to becoming PM? Or are the electorate, spurred on by social media, and dangerous algorithms that influence people’s opinions, now ungovernable??
I think is something that definitely needs to be addressed.

Very well put and I agree.

Primrose53

Wyllow3

Primrose you are missing the fact that the title is actually mocking or disparaging a whole group of our population, small people who make good on their artisan skills.
It wasnt necessary, it was goady. We've been asked X times not to be goady, look where it led us!

Just a reminder - I did not start this thread! 😉

Wyllow can you explain, please what you mean by “small people?”

Nandalot

And will the media give Burnham a chance to do it? I see the Mail is already mentioning a Messiah complex because he was wearing sandals in this heat.

How very appalling of him!

I’m sure as PM (if this is where he ends up), he’ll buy some decent suits and wear shoes, however, if he chooses not to then so be it.

As I rarely read the DM, it’s simply what I’d expect from them. Shame really as DM used to have some extremely good investigative journalists back in day. Now it’s all about slating those on benefits who dare wear false eyelashes and get their nails done, what people wear and finding dirt on anyone even slightly left of centre. Sad times!

MaizieD

What a horrible thread title. Starmer's detractors vindictive to the last.

It really is, isn't it?

We face significant global challenges, yet the dominant response in many developed countries appears to be replacing one leader with another.

While accountability is important, meaningful progress requires arguments based on evidence, intellectual rigor, and legal principles - not simply whichever opinions happen to be most popular at the moment.

Wyllow3

Primrose you are missing the fact that the title is actually mocking or disparaging a whole group of our population, small people who make good on their artisan skills.
It wasnt necessary, it was goady. We've been asked X times not to be goady, look where it led us!

Just a reminder - I did not start this thread! 😉

I have never been or ever will be a Labour voter but I do think Sir Kier Starmer has been very unfairly treated by the media and by many members of the public. Is this going to be the way the Prime Minister (whoever it is) will be treated in future? It was bad enough with all the Boris haters, now there are all the Nigel haters and so on.
I really do not look forward to Andy Burnham as PM, further to the left, or, perish the thought, Angela Rayner.
What have we done?

‘ In Labour's 126-year history, there has never been an official leadership challenge mounted against a sitting prime minister’

I wonder if we can put the full burden of blame on Starmer or do we need to ask ourselves why getting rid of serving PMs has become a trend in the past decade.
I think we have broken all records with the number of PMs we have got through and it obviously isn’t just the Tories.
So when Burnham is handed the poisoned chalice will he manage any better??
Or will we be having another leadership contest in a year/18 months??
There is something very wrong here but am not sure what??
Are PMs today not made of the same stuff as PMs years ago? Have interested parties pulling the government’s strings made it impossible for them to initiate the changes they promise prior to becoming PM? Or are the electorate, spurred on by social media, and dangerous algorithms that influence people’s opinions, now ungovernable??
I think is something that definitely needs to be addressed.

David49

MayBee70

And Farage, having won with his Starmer Out campaign is now calling for a general election. No surprise there then...

I don't think Farage wants a GE Burnham has too much momentum - hope for a better future. It will be better for Reform if Burnham fails to improve all the issues that Starmer hadn't

Farage doesn't want to be PM either [too much like hard work]. But he enjoys the way he can manipulate people, aided by the media.

MayBee70

And Farage, having won with his Starmer Out campaign is now calling for a general election. No surprise there then...

He’s such a complete and utter grifter, imagine him as a PM, it’s utterly laughable.

Sorry but the Tories, his first party, who set a precedent. Though I do think, he has a point! (Shock horror)

I’m hoping he’ll get bored with politics soon, he’s got money and several other jobs and he’s a “leader” I’d never ever miss.