Starmer's vision quest

[BoldonLad]

It would be rather amusing if Burnham tries for a 'safe' seat and loses.

Beyond amusing 😂

 

[bobzmyunkle]

the most useless, ineffective and unpopular prime minister ever

Well that's today's award for hyperbolic twaddle settled quite early.

 

[icowden]

The way this is playing out is the perfect metaphor for the last 2 years of government. I mean if they can't even manage to get rid of the most useless, ineffective and unpopular prime minister ever then what can they do? Farcical doesn't even come close to describing it.

FFS - Stop trying to steal Liz Truss's glory! Starmer's not even in second place. What about Boris and Sunak?

 

[briantrumpet]

FFS - Stop trying to steal Liz Truss's glory!

And Johnson's (which, I'd argue, is even more extreme, as he's not barking mad).

 

[Dorset Boy]

Well it seems to be a competition between Starmer and truss for the least popular ever, depending on how you try to measure it, or which polling company is used.
From Fullfact.org:
Ipsos polling shows Mr Starmer has the lowest satisfaction level of any PM since it started asking the question in the 1970s, some other polls suggest fewer people approved of or favoured Liz Truss.

 

[Pblakeney]

Well it seems to be a competition between Starmer and truss for the least popular ever, depending on how you try to measure it, or which polling company is used.
From Fullfact.org:
Ipsos polling shows Mr Starmer has the lowest satisfaction level of any PM since it started asking the question in the 1970s, some other polls suggest fewer people approved of or favoured Liz Truss.

Tbf, Truss didn't last long enough to really do as much damage as she would have done.
The last PM to serve a full term was David Cameron. Says a lot.

 

[TailWindHome]

Tbh. I think those popularity polls are fundamentally broken now.
No one wants the other guy to do well.

 

[icowden]

Tbh. I think those popularity polls are fundamentally broken now.
No one wants the other guy to do well.

It's also that fundamentally very few people voted "for" Labour. The majority were voting to keep the Conservatives out. It's therefore hardly surprising that Starmer is unpopular. That said, he hasn't helped himself by seemingly being devoid of any get up and go. I'm completely baffled as to how he ever functioned as a Barrister and QC given his frequently terrible performances in adversarial conditions (e.g. PMQs).

 

[secretsqirrel]

It's also that fundamentally very few people voted "for" Labour. The majority were voting to keep the Conservatives out. It's therefore hardly surprising that Starmer is unpopular. That said, he hasn't helped himself by seemingly being devoid of any get up and go. I'm completely baffled as to how he ever functioned as a Barrister and QC given his frequently terrible performances in adversarial conditions (e.g. PMQs).

I have never heard that opinion before. More lately he has been shaky regarding the Mandelson appointment procedure, but he has been skewering whichever PM and Badenoch consistently. He is usually well prepped, but admittedly has a difficult brief (of his own making).

 

[TailWindHome]

Being a barrister seems, in the cases i've watched, to involve plodding through a lever arch file prepared by someone else.
So....

 

[briantrumpet]

I have never heard that opinion before. More lately he has been shaky regarding the Mandelson appointment procedure, but he has been skewering whichever PM and Badenoch consistently. He is usually well prepped, but admittedly has a difficult brief (of his own making).

I think his performances in the Commons are underwhelming because he doesn't trust his political instincts enough so pretty much everything is scripted in advance (I suspect a habit enforced by McSweeney). There's also the problem that he doesn't seem to hold any political views with any passion, so seems to have little inner conviction. I'd guess that he is actually much more convincing and effective when he's not scripted and is arguing on legal matters.

Badenoch also suffers from having everything scripted too - her delivery is less stilted, but her arrogance of delivery and inability to deviate from her script, even when a question has already been answered, mean she rarely takes full advantage of Starmer's woodenness and wholly scripted contributions.

 

[Psamathe]

Tbf, Truss didn't last long enough to really do as much damage as she would have done.
The last PM to serve a full term was David Cameron. Says a lot.

Which raises the "Is the UK Ungovernable?"
To me it's not a question as it's a balance between capability and challenge. It's more a question of "Is the UK Ungovernable by <person>" and with the lack of capability in our current political classes, they are not up to the job.

 

[Pblakeney]

Which raises the "Is the UK Ungovernable?"
To me it's not a question as it's a balance between capability and challenge. It's more a question of "Is the UK Ungovernable by <person>" and with the lack of capability in our current political classes, they are not up to the job.

Is the country governable? Yes.
Will the electorate get what they want? No.

 

[briantrumpet]

Will the electorate get what they want? No.

Not least as they don't know what they want. Or, at least, if they know what they want (e.g. low immigration but fully-staffed services), they want something that is demonstrably impossible.

 

[Psamathe]

Will the electorate get what they want? No

Not least as they don't know what they want. Or, at least, if they know what they want (e.g. low immigration but fully-staffed services), they want something that is demonstrably impossible.

Maybe the task of capable politicians to find enough in the way forward to keep people happy.
eg. I might want fruit scones but given circumstances (eg shortage of sultanas and raisins) I get given plain scones. I probably wouldn't be calling to the chef to be thrown out as maybe not what I wanted but I'm happy anyway.

Maybe the problem with our current political classes is that they are not even trying to get close and probably don't even realise it. One example I feel strongly about is our rivers having been turned into open sewers and the Government basically rearranges the deckchairs on the Titanic. My solution is to renationalise the Water Companies but an open to alternatives to address the issue but Government steps are at best trivial.