First Aspect
Legendary Member
Time will tell but I think he'll be fairly moderate. But he could be decisively moderate rather than ditheringly and weakly moderate.
Makerfield by election
- Thread starter Beebo
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briantrumpet
Timewaster
If you Bluesky, here's one Starmer loyalist who won't hear a wrong word about him, and all her friends who think people are being really mean. I find the lack of acceptance of any culpability on Starmer's part, or the registering of the dire personal polling for Starmer, baffling, especially in the light of the evidence of yesterday's result. An interesting phenomenon.
https://bsky.app/profile/csav55.eurosky.social
https://bsky.app/profile/csav55.eurosky.social
briantrumpet
Timewaster
Yeah, But Not Starmer.
He might be like some of CS thought about Sunak, that being vaguely competent and Not Being Johnson might be enough, but that didn't turn out well, as he was still shit even if he wasn't as shit as Johnson and Truss. Time will tell – all assuming he does replace Starmer.
First Aspect
Legendary Member
Starmer is done. His legacy is decorbynisation. But he's always presented like a classic car enthusiast and it's just not enough.
midlandsgrimpeur
Prostrate Member
He is, but will he go quietly or bunker down for a messy leadership fight? He does seem the defiant type, hopefully he will see sense.
Psamathe
Legendary Member
C4 News this evening reported that apparently he got angry about it all to (some?) cabinet and threatened to also stand down as an MP and kick off another by election. Sounded like a real tantrum.
First Aspect
Legendary Member
Won't there be a contest anyway with Wes Streeting?
briantrumpet
Timewaster
I think he's a dead-man-walking if he (at McSweeney's urging) tries to hang on. If Spitting Image were still about, they'd have McSweeney handling Starmer like Matthew Corbett & Sooty.
briantrumpet
Timewaster
I wonder if that was as scripted as his PMQs.
midlandsgrimpeur
Prostrate Member
Not sure, I think Streeting may stand aside, take a Cabinet post and bide his time for a future bid.
Whatever Burnham is or isn't, prepared to be disappointed. He's the latest in a long line of mediocrities from either side.of the house whose only real credentials are that he isn't Starmer, who himself wasn't Corbyn and then wasn't Sunak. What's his appeal? Being a bit blokey and vaguely more human than Starmer? Whoopee fücking doo.
midlandsgrimpeur
Prostrate Member
And it possibly creates a bigger issue as MP's would then possibly have to oust him and the whole thing becomes a Tory style circus.
He is going, hopefully he sees it is better to announce a date to stand down, do a lap of 'honour' and go with a bit of dignity.
secretsqirrel
spiteful class warrior
Who would you like to see as PM?
briantrumpet
Timewaster
I think if a new cabinet can coalesce around a more hopeful, less Reformy programme, there are some decently nimble minds to draw on, who could articulate a positive vision that could (ironically) focus voters' minds not only on the progressive things that Starmer's Labour has done, but also away from the constant negativity about immigration, and how it's dominated the news (not least as Starmer and Mahmood banged on about it so much).
None of the current likely candidates. Sorry if that's a cop out. I did say at the last General Election that Sunak would probably be the least worst and I still stand by that.
Edited to add, Sunak was also terrible in many ways.
