Starmer's vision quest

[Ian H]

I might bet 30p on Lee Anderson rejoining Labour and standing for PM.

 

[briantrumpet]

I might bet 30p on Lee Anderson rejoining Labour and standing for PM.

And the sad thing is I might bet 30p on Starmer-McSweeney welcoming him back.

 

[Psamathe]

I wonder whether John Healey would stand.

I don't think he resigned in preparation but to the electorate he does present a lot of potential positives eg "sensible" (Starmer keeps highlighting himself as "sensible"), acts in the interests of the country rather than party, whilst a loyalist he also predates Starmer so has a track record.

After the Makerfield by-election I don't expect but would not be surprised to be hearing "Colleagues have persuaded me what the country needs now is ... so I've been persuaded to stand for party leader".

Unlike other resignations, Healey didn't start running an "sources within ..." anonymous briefing campaign leading up to his parting which I interpret as him resigning for the reasons he stated.

 

[Psamathe]

Something I'm increasingly noticing is how politicians leap on to and single positive statistic and start declaring "our plan is working" and when statistics not so great they become invisible. Ms Reeves does this a lot, one better indicator in a single statistic and she's in a hard hat visiting some industrial site with reporters in tow. They all do it but either I'm noticing it more or they are getting worse.

Recent example, Government continually declaring how they are getting NHS waiting lists down. But what they are not saying is

Record number of people waiting for NHS diagnostic tests in England
A record number of people are waiting for a diagnostic test on the NHS, triggering fears that delays in accessing CT and MRI scans could endanger patients’ health.

A total of 1.92 million patients in England are waiting to have a test to diagnose their illness such as by an ultrasound scan, assessment of their hearing, bone scan or various tests for cancer.

And if you've not been diagnosed you can't be on the waiting list for operations/treatment/etc.

 

[briantrumpet]

A piece in The Times arguing that the Government should leave X.

https://www.thetimes.com/article/e8...a?shareToken=bf8f42d0244e0429e8879abae95b9e1e

Were the government to choose elsewhere for its posts, thousands of journalists, businesses and politically interested citizens would have to follow. It is also, frankly, a nationally demeaning position for the government of a nuclear-armed permanent member of the UN security council to argue meekly that it has no choice but to create massive revenue generation opportunities for a tycoon actively hostile to its objectives, running a platform it seems to believe is responsible for inciting violence and other ills.

So the next time any government minister moans about the evils of X and its impact on our social fabric, don’t take them seriously. Just ask them why, at the very same time as they’re whinging about its iniquities, somebody, somewhere in government is creating content on X to make money for it.
To govern is to choose. The government should either stop using X, or stop moaning about it.

 

[Psamathe]

Watching excerpts of a Starmer interview and apparently growth is no longer the top priority. Defence is now the top priority.

Wonder if he's told Ms Reeves of the change.

Wonder what the top priority will be tomorrow.

 

[C R]

Watching excerpts of a Starmer interview and apparently growth is no longer the top priority. Defence is now the top priority.

Wonder if he's told Ms Reeves of the change.

Wonder what the top priority will be tomorrow.

Farage will decide.

 

[briantrumpet]

Farage will decide.

...through his press stenographers.

 

[briantrumpet]

As if we couldn't tell... that big reset was actually "Nothing's changed!!"

 

[Psamathe]

From back in 2011 but highlights Starmer's "management skills" and bearing in mind that CPS staff are generally well qualified, generally consider issues and generally consider the organisation important ie not "we want more pay for less hours and longer lunch breaks" type of situation:

CPS staff sent for retraining after saying service is badly managed
The Crown Prosecution Service in London is badly managed and failing, according to a damning survey of its own staff leaked to the Standard.

Only one in 14 believes that planned reforms will improve prosecution rates, while just one in 12 feels that "change is managed well" in the organisation. When senior CPS officials were told the results, it is understood that instead of speaking to staff they ordered "retraining" for them.
...
The sharpest criticism is reserved for CPS bosses. Just 21 per cent of staff believe the actions of Keir Starmer, the Director of Public Prosecutions, and his senior staff "are consistent with the CPS's values". Only 12 per cent believe "the organisation as a whole is managed well".
...

 

[briantrumpet]

WTAF? This is making the Cones Hotline look like the epitome of seriousness and well-thought-out policy. I'd rather they banned UK politicians from X, as that would make a bigger difference to where the UK is heading. This feels like a diversion from actually making hard choices, just making silly choices instead.

 

[BoldonLad]

WTAF? This is making the Cones Hotline look like the epitome of seriousness and well-thought-out policy. I'd rather they banned UK politicians from X, as that would make a bigger difference to where the UK is heading. This feels like a diversion from actually making hard choices, just making silly choices instead.

View attachment 15759

Another unenforceable waste of time.

Unlikely to endear him to his next batch of potential voters?

 

[briantrumpet]

Another unenforceable waste of time.

Unlikely to endear him to his next batch of potential voters?

Quite. "You're old enough to choose the next government, but not old enough to watch Youtube after 10pm." Very much treating the symptoms rather than looking at what's spreading the problem (barely-regulated publishers of illegal content).

 

[Psamathe]

WTAF? This is making the Cones Hotline look like the epitome of seriousness and well-thought-out policy. I'd rather they banned UK politicians from X, as that would make a bigger difference to where the UK is heading. This feels like a diversion from actually making hard choices, just making silly choices instead.

View attachment 15759

Another unenforceable waste of time.

Unlikely to endear him to his next batch of potential voters?

On the radio this morning apparently the Government consultation on online child safety 9 out of 10 parents submitting comments wanted a Social Media ban. But maybe Starmer is too weak to actually enforce one so is sort of trying to make it look like he's doing something without doing something.

Reality is, if Social Media presents a child with pornographic or violent material does it really make a big difference if that's at 10:00 am or 21:00 in the evening. I'd have thought it's the content that's important not the time of day the child sees it.

 

[briantrumpet]

On the radio this morning apparently the Government consultation on online child safety 9 out of 10 parents submitting comments wanted a Social Media ban.

Depends on whether that 'consultation' was with a balanced panel, or requesting input from a Mumsnet WhatsApp group. I suspect the latter.