Keir Starmer

[Desert Region]

https://www.theguardian.com/commenti...huffle-cartoon

[local]

Nobody actually cares what Starmer does or says.

Rayner is just a taliswoman for the Labour members who like being unelectable, she goes straight to the requirement for a useful idiot.

[sandGroundZero]

[local]

David Lammy wtf surely not.

There is so much better out there, Yvette Cooper at least has some nous it's as though Boris is playing fantasy shadow cabinet.

I'll bet he/they can't believe their luck.

[sandGroundZero]

'I want Gove to succeed, for the sake of left-behind places'


Lisa Nandy says the reshuffle is about Labour getting out of Westminster and heading north
photo credit: Michael Mayhew/Allstar

“[Keir Starmer] rang and said, ‘You have been doing a fantastic job but we need you out facing the country, telling the story of the country that we can be’,” she tells the Observer.
“His pitch was that we have to hold the Tories to account for their slogans and broken promises but we also have to show we have a story for every part of this country that matches the ambition of the people in it. It was a pretty irresistible offer.”

Like the Conservatives, Labour vaguely conceive of "levelling-up" in terms of improved infrastructure and employment opportunities. But do they have any conception of how this can be achieved?

“This is always where Whitehall and Westminster start,” she says. …The answer is not the same for Dagenham as for Barnsley.”
She insists she is not being evasive …
The challenge on levelling up is …about being sensitive to how people feel in left-behind communities, their struggles and what they have lost, which in many cases is almost everything except their pride and their ambition.
“There is growing anger”, she adds “…and they are, rightly, very angry.”

Are they going to promise to spend more money in the north? In view of Gove's ideas to introduce "governors" (yet more dabbling in regional government) as trailed to The Times, what hope of success?

[sandGroundZero]

Lisa Nandy detected BREXIT sentiment in her Wigan constituency and hedged accordingly. She participated in the founding of the Centre for Towns "…an independent non-partisan organisation dedicated to providing research and analysis of our towns", and consistently argued in and out of parliament for more central government attention being paid to towns like Wigan. Evidently this advocacy has contributed to her being chosen by the Labour leader to shadow Michael Gove's Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

In view of her experience I wonder, will she be able to generate viable policy initatives which are plausible and which will distinguish Labour's offer from that of the Conservatives?

[Hamble]

Lisa Nandy detected BREXIT sentiment in her Wigan constituency and hedged accordingly. She participated in the founding of the Centre for Towns "…an independent non-partisan organisation dedicated to providing research and analysis of our towns", and consistently argued in and out of parliament for more central government attention being paid to towns like Wigan. Evidently this advocacy has contributed to her being chosen by the Labour leader to shadow Michael Gove's Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

In view of her experience I wonder, will she be able to generate viable policy initatives which are plausible and which will distinguish Labour's offer from that of the Conservatives?

Nandy is like a child and a very smug ill informed camera seeking one at that.

[sandGroundZero]

"Nandy is like a child and a very smug ill informed camera seeking one at that."

…I am interested to know the basis of that judgement;

but,

1. will she generate viable policy initiatives which will distinguish Labour's offer from that of the Conservatives?
2. shadowing Gove's Ministry of Levelling-up, Housing and Communites appears to be regarded by pundits as the front line in Labour's endeavours to recover its credibility among the so-called red wall constituencies. Levelling-up appears to be problematic for the government.

Levelling up white paper postponed until 2022

[sandGroundZero]

Dear sandGroundZero, Growing up, I never imagined writing a letter like this. My father was a toolmaker, and my mother was a nurse. Together they taught me about the dignity of work and the value of public service. I come from an ordinary, hardworking family. I found I had a passion for making life better for families like mine. I chose the law as the way to do this, became the first person in my family to go to university, and started working to fight for others. I'm a practical, down to earth person and if I see wrong, I want to put it right. I was lucky enough to rise to the top of my profession, becoming head of the Crown Prosecution Service, where I was responsible for prosecuting terrorists and criminal gangs. So I'm not a career politician. My approach to politics is different. It's based on one thing: getting results. And that has never been more important for our country than now. Britain stands at a crossroads. We have a choice. I know the path I'd want to lead the country along — I thing it's the country we all want to see — where you can expect the bright future you all deserve. The challenges of our time are big — recovery from the pandemic, facing climate change, having the skills and strong economy we need in a changing world. And all this while working people are having to deal with a cost of living crisis caused by a National Insurance tax hike, a cut to Universal Credit and rising prices for fuel, energy and food. The world around us is changing and the current solutions don't go far enough. But that doesn't mean we can't build a better future. I believe in Britain where everyone has the chance to fulfil their ambition, where everyone can contribute to our national success, and where everyone's contribution to a healthy society, safe communities and a strong economy is properly rewarded. Under my leadership Labour will face the challenges of the future head on. A Labour government would put future generations at the centre of our plan, with a focus on education, mental health, and undertaking a national mission for greener homes and lower energy bills. I will never stop fighting for hardworking families. It's what motivated me as a prosecutor when I fought for justice for women and girls who had experienced violent crime. It's why I prosecuted Stephen Lawrence's killers when others said I shouldn't. And it's why I helped to put behind bars the terrorists who tried to bring down planes with liquid bombs. Your safety, this country's safety, will always be my priority. I'm not going to promise the earth. You wouldn't believe me if I did. But I do believe we can make a difference. That starts with the dignity of work and the value of public service. Those are the values my Mum and Dad gave me. They're the values I've tried to pass on to my two kids. And they're what motivates me today. Yours,

[Hamble]

Stuck in the 1960's?

[Hamble]

Dear sandGroundZero, Growing up, I never imagined writing a letter like this. My father was a toolmaker, and my mother was a nurse. Together they taught me about the dignity of work and the value of public service. I come from an ordinary, hardworking family. I found I had a passion for making life better for families like mine. I chose the law as the way to do this, became the first person in my family to go to university, and started working to fight for others. I'm a practical, down to earth person and if I see wrong, I want to put it right. I was lucky enough to rise to the top of my profession, becoming head of the Crown Prosecution Service, where I was responsible for prosecuting terrorists and criminal gangs. So I'm not a career politician. My approach to politics is different. It's based on one thing: getting results. And that has never been more important for our country than now. Britain stands at a crossroads. We have a choice. I know the path I'd want to lead the country along — I thing it's the country we all want to see — where you can expect the bright future you all deserve. The challenges of our time are big — recovery from the pandemic, facing climate change, having the skills and strong economy we need in a changing world. And all this while working people are having to deal with a cost of living crisis caused by a National Insurance tax hike, a cut to Universal Credit and rising prices for fuel, energy and food. The world around us is changing and the current solutions don't go far enough. But that doesn't mean we can't build a better future. I believe in Britain where everyone has the chance to fulfil their ambition, where everyone can contribute to our national success, and where everyone's contribution to a healthy society, safe communities and a strong economy is properly rewarded. Under my leadership Labour will face the challenges of the future head on. A Labour government would put future generations at the centre of our plan, with a focus on education, mental health, and undertaking a national mission for greener homes and lower energy bills. I will never stop fighting for hardworking families. It's what motivated me as a prosecutor when I fought for justice for women and girls who had experienced violent crime. It's why I prosecuted Stephen Lawrence's killers when others said I shouldn't. And it's why I helped to put behind bars the terrorists who tried to bring down planes with liquid bombs. Your safety, this country's safety, will always be my priority. I'm not going to promise the earth. You wouldn't believe me if I did. But I do believe we can make a difference. That starts with the dignity of work and the value of public service. Those are the values my Mum and Dad gave me. They're the values I've tried to pass on to my two kids. And they're what motivates me today. Yours,

Do we have to guess the finest tool his father made?

[bensherman]

Do we have to guess the finest tool his father made?

Wit is not dead, though that post could make you think so.

[Hamble]

Wit is not dead, though that post could make you think so.

I am pretty accurate on honesty though.

[local]

Starmer is playing the only game he can at the moment,
"hope Boris hangs himself"
he knows he is not able to deal with him intellectually and Starmer could have a few Youtube videos of his lies to Parliament played.

Someone will bring back his misogyny at the CPS when "his complete ‘lack of interest in prosecuting horrendous crimes against women" a statement hard to argue with when presented with his record.

Boris's future is in Boris's hands everyone knows he has more faults than San Andreas but still voted him in by a country mile as he never pretended to be perfect.

Starmer on the other hand is pretending and that sets him up for the fall when the knives are out.

Looking across both benches in the house there isn't a perfect replacement available and probably never will be.

Indeed some old Labour dullards are even trotting out John Major was a decent person who didn't lie, which will come as quite a shock to Norma and the ghastly Edwina Currie and the countless other people he conned so he could sneak off and "tickle Edwinas eggs"

[sandGroundZero]

Keir Starmer's letter to voters	take away message
Growing up, I never imagined writing a letter like this. My father was a toolmaker, and my mother was a nurse. Together they taught me about the dignity of work and the value of public service. I come from an ordinary, hardworking family. I found I had a passion for making life better for families like mine. I chose the law as the way to do this, became the first person in my family to go to university, and started working to fight for others. I'm a practical, down to earth person and if I see wrong, I want to put it right. I was lucky enough to rise to the top of my profession, becoming head of the Crown Prosecution Service, where I was responsible for prosecuting terrorists and criminal gangs.	I'm from a hardworking family and I support hardworking families; not criminals, not terrorists!
So I'm not a career politician. My approach to politics is different. It's based on one thing: getting results. And that has never been more important for our country than now. Britain stands at a crossroads. We have a choice. I know the path I'd want to lead the country along — I think it's the country we all want to see — where you can expect the bright future you all deserve.	I'm not your usual politician; I believe in choice !
The challenges of our time are big — recovery from the pandemic, facing climate change, having the skills and strong economy we need in a changing world. And all this while working people are having to deal with a cost of living crisis caused by a National Insurance tax hike, a cut to Universal Credit and rising prices for fuel, energy and food.	See! I have a policy, or a cliché ?
The world around us is changing and the current solutions don't go far enough. But that doesn't mean we can't build a better future. I believe in Britain where everyone has the chance to fulfil their ambition, where everyone can contribute to our national success, and where everyone's contribution to a healthy society, safe communities and a strong economy is properly rewarded.	…anything to get you to like me
I will never stop fighting for hardworking families. It's what motivated me as a prosecutor when I fought for justice for women and girls who had experienced violent crime. It's why I prosecuted Stephen Lawrence's killers when others said I shouldn't. And it's why I helped to put behind bars the terrorists who tried to bring down planes with liquid bombs. Your safety, this country's safety, will always be my priority.	…yes, that was me! [though I had nothing to do with Jimmy Saville]
I'm not going to promise the earth. You wouldn't believe me if I did.	I'm not Jeremy Corbyn
But I do believe we can make a difference. That starts with the dignity of work and the value of public service. Those are the values my Mum and Dad gave me. They're the values I've tried to pass on to my two kids. And they're what motivates me today.	We're a hardworking family; just like you !

________________________________________________________________________

This is disappointing. Are they trying to build a leadership cult? Or offer some policies that differ from the Conservatives and /or the Liberal Democrats? If there is only three choices in Southport (again) at the next election, I may have to spoil my ballot as a demonstration of sheer discontent !