Forum Topic

Sir Keir Stammer as new Labour Leader

I am surprised nobody has mentioned this at all today.  I will!! A toast to him and hopefully he will be an excellent leader of the opposition.  We need this desperately!

Ivonne Holliday ● 2411d34 Comments

I certainly hope so. We need someone to hold the government to account especially in these times.Thank you Andrew Neil and others journalist that have been doing this.I would raise a toast of Blue Nun to Kier, Angela and Andrew if I had any!

Ed Robinson ● 2411d

Good news.

Michael Ixer ● 2411d

And now the show trials begin.

David Ainsworth ● 2411d

The night of the long knives has been a long time coming.

Freddie Francis ● 2411d

Of whom?  By whom?  I don’t think Starmer is a Stalinist.

Jonathan Callaway ● 2411d

It was odds-on that Starmer would win so no real surprise it didn't set the forum alight.So, a millionaire 'Sir' is now Labour leader, who'd ever have thought it?  Not my Labour supporting parents that's for sure. I listened to Starmer's  ever-so-humble acceptance speech which was dripping with faux sincerity and noble platitudes. To my ears it sounded like he was channeling his inner Tony Blair, with the obsequiousness of Uriah Heep thrown in for good measure. Tony Blair for all his faults at least had charisma, this man has none.

Sue Hammond ● 2411d

A bit strong "the obsequiousness of Uriah Heep" - what about the speech made by the wicked witch when she said now we must do something about the inner cities, and instead turned the police into an arm of her party and turned them onto the coal miners at Orgrieve.

Clifford Cowell ● 2411d

I don’t think we should judge a man by his net worth. Is he worth more or less than Farage, for example, and who cares either way?And I think we may have had our fill of politicians offering charisma but little else. He’s setting out his stall and once he’s got his shadow cabinet in position we’ll see whether we have once again a credible opposition that could one day form the next government. Clearly his predecessor never offered that and the electorate made that abundantly clear in December.  If the Labour Party’s refusal to “reach any compromise with the electorate” (and I quote from Broadcasting House on R4 this morning) disappears and they become more like the social democrats of the past, they may have a fighting chance of returning to national rather than factional relevance.

Jonathan Callaway ● 2411d

Agree with it or not, charisma is an important part of the package in modern politics.  Apart from that Jonathan, do you think he will keep Abbott in his cabinet?

Sue Hammond ● 2411d

No I don’t. At least I sincerely hope not!

Jonathan Callaway ● 2411d

I believe she said some time ago that she wouldn't want to stay in the cabinet if Corbyn lost the leadership.  Delusional woman.

Sue Hammond ● 2411d

It was a Nazi clear-out of the unwanted. Where does Stalin come into it?

Freddie Francis ● 2411d

And the buy and if whom is to Starmer of the hard left. I think the comparison is valid. It’s been in the papers in case you missed it.

Freddie Francis ● 2411d

I think were looking at who was the best, most experienced candidate for leader of the Labour party and, potentially even though it looks unlikely at present, a future PM; we weren't expecting the perfect person. His motivations have always been good, I'm sure he has a big ego but I don't think one would put oneself up for scrutiny and competition without that - although that could have been Corbyn's downside, he was sort of thrust into the leadership and followed his own rules? Comparing Starmer's record with his Tory counterpart, Johnson's, they've both made mistakes but I'd say Starmer's have been made with the best intentions, Johnson's have been as a result of a self entitlement to grab power, money and sex. Starmer's acceptance speech was a bit over the top but basically I'd believe he belives it; when I hear Johnson speak it sound like a PR exercise and he could be saying the opposite next week: think, track record and consistency. Let's get things in perspective: Johnson's a jumped up journalist, Sir Keith had a real job as DPP.

Michael Ixer ● 2411d

Yes I get that a clear out is desirable but equating it to the methods of Stalin and his ilk is somewhat unfair.

Jonathan Callaway ● 2411d

You mean now the anti semites  will be routed out of the party, finally, David.

Lucille Grant ● 2411d

Starmer has a delicate path to tread in the Party. He was supported by a substantial number of 'left wing' members on the promise and expectation that the existing manifesto policies will broadly survive. Equally, 'right wing' groups like 'Labout First' and 'Progress' have welcomed Starmer in the expectation that he'll move the Party back to its 'traditional' ground. Someone's going to be disappointed.Starmer's lucky that, in these serious times, the public no longer appreciates the kind of jokey, blokey, 'who needs experts' characters they voted for back in December, and Starmer's serious, some might say uncharismatic style, might just be what's wanted. Even Johnson wants him inside the tent, either to share the blame when the time comes, or to bring him down with the virus!

Peter Evans ● 2411d

Peter. Not an easy job but I think the far left have fewer places to go than the right of Labour who can always jump to or link with Liberals, leftish Tories, etc? So the left might quieten down, that might also quash the anti-semetic ones? (I may he wrong, Lucille, it's not something I've experienced although it's obviously a problem - as is islamaphobia in the Tory party - and definitely helped Labour to lose the last election.)You're probably right; Johnson knows he's out of his depth and needs Starmer's help to, as you say, in the worst case share the blame. I doubt whether they'll be having face to face meetings, and if Johnson insists on using Zoom for meetings at least the Chinese should be able to watch and tell them what they're doing wrong. They'll dispatched the next lot of masks and ventilators from Shanghai before Hancock has even placed the order🙂

Michael Ixer ● 2411d

Apparently the "litmus test" will be the Labour Party under Starmer taking disciplinary action against Corbyn.

David Ainsworth ● 2411d

Michael, you know very well why Boris is using Zoom. 🙄

Sue Hammond ● 2411d

"Michael, you know very well why Boris is using Zoom"Is porn accessible on Zoom?

David Ainsworth ● 2411d

"Yes I get that a clear out is desirable but equating it to the methods of Stalin and his ilk is somewhat unfair."Indeed. A new leader elected by an overwhelming majority in a party election by a party which it has been claimed is "institutionally racist" should much more likely be compared to Adolf Hitler, surely.

David Ainsworth ● 2411d

By the way, "Keir Stammer" gets 389,000 hits on Google."Keir Starmer" gets 20,200,000, of course.

David Ainsworth ● 2411d

Sue. I'm very surprised (and concerned) that the government is using Zoom rather than a secure private service provided by GCHQ, which is why I wonder if the photo is a PR stunt. Zoom doesn't provide end to end encryption and does apparently have some vulnerabilities: technically Zoom technicians could eveasdrop or record any communications passing through their systems although I'm sure Zoom have some controls to monitor and mitigate that, but as a US company if the DHS tell them to tap someone's communications they have to and can't tell that person. I'll be honest, I never evaluated Zoom so im going on the comments of others that have.I'm not saying Zoom shouldn't be used, just didn't expect to see the cabinet using it. I use it for social meetings and have participated some BAA and business meetings using it. Just be aware of the potential risks and balance that with the benefits from using it and follow basic security rules and guidance and be sensible. Johnson's use of it may have been a PR exercise although his screen grab broke some basic rules - see CW article below which has some comments in it that I'm not going to repeat. I'm sure GCHQ keeps an eye on government communications ... https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252481051/Coronavirus-Is-Zoom-safe-and-should-security-teams-ban-it And some guidance on its use: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kateoflahertyuk/2020/04/03/use-zoom-here-are-7-essential-steps-you-can-take-to-secure-it/

Michael Ixer ● 2411d

David, I think that depends on who he was conferencing with: the screen grabs apparently showed Gove and Cummings were a couple of people who'd been on conferences ... I'll leave that for you to determine 😺

Michael Ixer ● 2411d

I’m equally surprised, Michael.  My workplace doesn’t allow us to use Zoom, because of it’s flawed security - there are countless examples of it being hacked.  Very worrying, therefore, to see our government using it for official business!

Craig Fordham ● 2411d

But only if the whole party membership is as racist as the institution itself which clearly isn’t the case. Maybe when the Equality & Human Rights Commission finally report they will make a distinction between the membership and those until now holding the levers of power in the party.  You know, the ones who presided over this shameful debacle.

Jonathan Callaway ● 2411d

So the membership is not to blame, just "the institution"? Somehow the institution does not include the members in any meaningful way? So Corbyn took over and totally changed the Labour Party?Well, I think that the Campaign Against Antisemitism would disagree:-"This problem is not confined to the House of Commons: one post-election poll showed that nearly three quarters of Labour members said that the issue of antisemitism in the Party was “invented or wildly exaggerated”, with that denial rising to over 90% among members of the pro-Corbyn Momentum group. Only one in five Labour members agreed that “antisemitism was a real problem” in Labour." (CAA 2/4/20)The purge is coming."those until now holding the levers of power in the party. You know, the ones who presided over this shameful debacle."Still, you may be right. Sir Keir is now getting the blame too:-"Sir Keir and a question of cowardice: He seldom talked of his family's Jewish links while anti-semitism raged in Labour"https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8186219/Sir-Keir-question-cowardice.htmlSo it goes.

David Ainsworth ● 2410d

Left, right, left....While us southerners argue about what is the correct hand to hold our favourite sparkly wine, a whole section of the country that was Labour has moved on. They have long memories too, they still haven't forgotten the last civil war!It is these people that Kier must win back.The ghost of Brexit past may still make an appearance!

Ed Robinson ● 2410d

"hold our favourite sparkly wine".There is no such animal.

David Ainsworth ● 2410d

Despite all the woke from within the current Labour Party and the pressure from within to elect a woman for the first time, Labour have elected another white male millionaire, albeit this one is somewhat posher than the last!

Mike Essam ● 2410d

“Us southerners”. We’re not all southerners!  Some of us are expats if not exiles from well north of Watford.

Jonathan Callaway ● 2410d

"Despite all the woke from within the current Labour Party and the pressure from within to elect a woman for the first time, Labour have elected another white male millionaire, albeit this one is somewhat posher than the last!"So, on the whole, you approve of the choice.

David Ainsworth ● 2410d

I somehow disagree.  However relevant having a female leader, for me, the most important thing, is to have somebody that is the best qualified and able to be a leader, in this case. The bet qualified person for a particular job any time.

Ivonne Holliday ● 2410d