Sir Keir Starmer - Labour Party Leader

[Fussbudget]

And there go the BFAWU

https://twitter.com/siennamarla/status/1442871517763682313

Good for them. By the way the BFAWU was the union which organised the McDonalds strike asking for a £15ph wage for its workers which Starmer used as a photo op for his leadership campaign at the time (I'm sure most of you will have seen the pictures and videos of it a million times over the last day or so)

https://twitter.com/Keir_Starmer/status/1194204454448500738

[Uncle Ethan]

And there go the BFAWU

https://twitter.com/siennamarla/status/1442871517763682313

That's bad, whichever way you slice it.

[DCI Harry Batt]

So Starmer's "Don't believe a word I say, I only care about winning" interview yesterday - good politics?

[Gas In Name Only]

Bad

[DCI Harry Batt]

See, I was thinking that too, but I'm not a grown-up in the room, so, you know.

[Gas In Name Only]

Well I'm not a professional politician so what do I know, but going on the telly to say "I'm a massive liar but it gets me where I want to be so idc" isn't great optics.

idk, what do the focus groups say?

[Gas In Name Only]

Have we mentioned the crime policy that's basically just whatsapp groups and video doorbells?

[DCI Harry Batt]

Mobilising racist curtain-twitchers could be a vote-winner among the racist curtain-twitcher demographic though, no?

[Evariste Euler Gauss]

whatsapp groups and video doorbells?

WTF are video doorbells?

[DCI Harry Batt]

Oh come on, even I have noticed the Ring doorbell craze.

[Gas In Name Only]

WTF are video doorbells?

Doorbells for Tory curtain-twitchers that video everything that happens outside your front door

[DCI Harry Batt]

Connected to the modern internet, so you can WhatsApp the local racists' group with pictures of suspicious foreigners near your front door and that, even when you're out.

[Gas In Name Only]

It will achieve nothing because of the woke communists in the police force and BBC but it'll make the racists feel more secure of their utter terror of everyone who isn't like them so we'd better talk about it some more

[Patrick Thistle]

Well I'm not a professional politician so what do I know, but going on the telly to say "I'm a massive liar but it gets me where I want to be so idc" isn't great optics.

idk, what do the focus groups say?

That approach works for Boris though. Lie. Get caught lying. Shrug. Tell more lies. Get caught. Laugh it off. And repeat.

[Fussbudget]

Oh come on, even I have noticed the Ring doorbell craze.

I know what they are but I've only every seen one in a super posh bit of Edinburgh. I suspect there isn't a huge overlap between neighbourhoods where loads of people have expensive internet-connected doorbells and neighbourhoods which have a major problem with antisocial behaviour to be honest

[sw2borshch]

I think one of the neighbours has one based on something I overheard the lad next door saying to some kids in the street.

Might not be the Ring brand, if that matters.

[Snake Plissken]

Had to set one up for the father in law last week. I won't be buying one.

[Snake Plissken]

Anyway, with his conference speech, Sir Keith appears to have successfully won over the most important constituency, the Sensible Twitter Blue Ticks.

[delicatemoth]

Posted this on the DWP thread, but I think it's worth putting here too - they're still keen on workfare and punitive (and sometimes murderous) benefit sanctions.

https://mrfrankzola.wordpress.com/20...abourworkfare/

[E10 Rifle]

That approach works for Boris though. Lie. Get caught lying. Shrug. Tell more lies. Get caught. Laugh it off. And repeat.

Lying works for the Tories, as the ruling establishment party, in the way that it doesn't for Labour, which has to constantly apologise for its existence and express appropriate gratitude for said existence being permitted. And Starmer does that side of things very well.

He's been more up front about being a fucking liar this week, mind.

[ursus arctos]

I think that is largely true because it is encouraged and supported by the English media.

Which also seems to be somewhat supportive of Starmer, so I have no doubt that he will get an easier ride with the "strategy" than would other Labour politicians.

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

Posted this on the DWP thread, but I think it's worth putting here too - they're still keen on workfare and punitive (and sometimes murderous) benefit sanctions.

https://mrfrankzola.wordpress.com/20...abourworkfare/

Jesus. This is a long standing blind spot for the Labour Party though. It's a mixture of two things, the methodist/Union roots of the Labour Party, and the slightly related concept in English culture of the "deserving poor". It leapt out of the first two pledges starmer made the other day about 'hard working families'. The last crowd weren't much better as they had to issue an addendum to their 2017 manifesto to reverse some of the welfare cuts brought in by Osborne, because it didn't occur to anyone to include it the first time around.

This really jumps out at me because it is an enormous cultural difference between ireland and England. Both govts operate a similar level of small govt share of the economy, but are at opposite extremes when it comes to the taxation and redistribution of income. This extreme behaviour on our part while positive in many respects, also leads to its own problems but that's for another thread

[delicatemoth]

I suspect it was a big factor in them losing the 2010 election. In 2008-09 lots of people (including me) got made redundant. Many then found that, for the pittance the state doles out, they were expected to go to a shitty office two or three days a week for makework/seminars/bullshit 'job readiness training'. They would find that the DWP could keep them waiting for ages, but if they were a couple of minutes late to an appointment they would have their benefits stopped. That's without getting into enhanced WCAs. I didn't vote for them again until 2017.

[Logan Mountstuart]

I want to join The Barnacle Party.

[Sean of the Shed]