I think he has already won mate. He would need to be probably the worst political leader ever to lose a 20 point lead from this position. He is far from that I am sure. Against that backdrop it is entirely reasonable to expect a semblance of a plan from him in my opinion. At some point he is going to have to talk policy and show a workable plan before the polls open. He wont be allowed to keep his cards close to he chest until he walks into number 10 and nor should he. In my opinion he needs to treat the next 12 months like a job interview because if he can consolidate a 20 point lead and build on it then he can carry any change and policy he wants. The prize he is playing for is the size of his majority now, he needs to step up in my opinion.
I think it is fair to say that Starmer is best served to stay schtumm. Let the present shower mis-rule. The time to lay out your stall is patently not now. As soon as the date is announced for the general election then and only then can and will a detailed and costed plan/manifesto be layed out for the voters and pundits. To expect and some even demand a deep and detailed plan now is imho unrealistic and some might say stupid. And to constantly use this as a stick to beat the labour party (but neglect bashing others i.e. LibDems) suggest a subconcious bias/prejudice at best.
There's virtually no defence of the current government ... ... just criticism of Labour governments from decades ago or any future one. A little pathetic tbh.
1-0 Donald. The former porn star at the heart of Donald Trump's historic indictment in New York has been ordered to pay him more than $121,000 (£96,965) towards legal fees in an unrelated case. Stormy Daniels, alleged to have had an affair with Mr Trump in 2006, lost her defamation case over a 2018 tweet written by the former US president. An appeals court judge in California dismissed Ms Daniels' case, and awarded Mr Trump a payment for legal fees.
I think it's a unique opportunity to test policy decisions without the worry of it significantly harming your chances of winning. It should be a case of 'this is what we're thinking - go on, pick holes in it and we'll fix them before we get in'. Public consultation without the pressure to produce immediate results. And if the Tories pinch a good policy or two - great. 'think how much faster these good policies can be implemented when we don't have to wait for them to be pinched' It's a complete win-win here for Labour if they have the bottle to grasp it. Or they can produce their policies with six weeks to go to the election and any glaring errors with them will be multiplied ten-fold.
Well it is all about opinions. I dont agree, as you can imagine, but respect your stance. As I say they have won the race already for me. If they had an effective plan, in my opinion, they could turn a 20 point lead into one of the biggest majorities ever and that would give the Labour party amazing authority to execute on that plan. For the avoidance of doubt my bias is quite conscious, not subconscious. My distrust of the current Labour party is based on my own assessment of their behaviour as an opposition party since their last time in government. And if you think they are best to keep quiet and let the tories misrule I am not sure that equates to doing their job as the opposition party, which we all partly pay for. Their last time in government was flawed, again only in my opinion, and I was pleased to see them gone. I have read that some of those key players from the last Labour govt are playing some role in advising the current team, which gives me cause for pause. Now I cant wait to see this current government gone. They are abject and have made some horrendous decisions. But I cant just wave the next cab off the rank in without any sense of what they will do differently. I am not interested in blind hope. I want and expect more. So I am expecting Labour to show up and offer more. At the moment they are not. Maybe the FT is right and they have been caught out by the tory implosion. Maybe they thought they would have another 4 years to get themselves ready to govern. Maybe they appear vague because they are having to rush. In my opinion, to hammer a current government endlessly is ok when they are as bad as this lot, but to be critical of those who challenge the opposition to that govt is a bit unbalanced, 1 year out from a change. I wont use the phrase pathetic, like some, because that seems somewhat disrespectful. In a two party political system, which sadly is what we have ended up with, to fail to scrutinise both seems to miss an opportunity we have as voters to make a difference to what comes next. As it stands I will vote Lib Dem. As said previously it is a vote aimed at bringing hopefully a greater balance to the british political system. I know I am not alone in that stance. I fully expect a big Labour majority of course. I plan to keep scrutinising, and criticising, them as the govt in waiting because they need to be the best they can be from the moment they walk through the door. If they want to be that then now is the time to lay out some further detail to help bolster their power base to act quickly, or to allow a level of refinement of the plans to optimise them before they implement. Whatever my opinions are, and in the grand scheme if things they are irrelevant, I only really ask for a competent government that can do the fundamentals right, for the sake of the next generation and my kids.
Starmer is a gift to the Tories, but if he stays we could end up with the middle ground holding sway and that might not be a bad outcome. We could really do with some responsible behavior from Government, and we wont get this with landslide victories, they have proven to be disastrous.
Not sure if he is a 'gift' (Corbyn, was a gift) the worst thing about him is he is boring, but so was Angels Merkel. IF Starmer becomes PM, his boringingness will like Merkel, be perceived as calmness and competency., in opposition he has been ruthless but his speeches are mogadon . It is hardly surprising that he is shadow boxing at the moment, cos anything he says could be used in evidence against him. Nearer the election I expect some noises about the power and water companies, council houses etc. Atm nobody can do anything about boats across the channel, or the minefield that is labelled 'trans'
Exposed: How Tory MP offered to lobby for gambling investors exclusive Scott Benton was prepared to help an investment fund influence policymakers who says politicians are corrupt everyone
Nicola Sturgeon to 'fully cooperate with police' over SNP probe The former first minister's spokesperson said Ms Sturgeon had "no prior knowledge" of Police Scotland's investigation into the SNP's finances. Who says politicians are corrupt.... everyone Presumably the scotch police laid off the arrest until Sturgeon's stooge was installed as SNP leader?
On an optimistic note more signs of economic upturns. Construction sector reporting good news, although house building slowing. Not surprising given interest rates I suppose, although there are some conflicting reports emerging that house prices increased in Feb. Easter Holiday bookings at near pre covid highs. The spectre of recession seems to getting further and further away. Small chinks of light. Long may it continue.
Tories have money scandals and Labour have sex scandals, or is it the other way round or do they both have both?! SNP, sort of tory lite? Mrs and Mr Crankie may have been flying under false flags?
It used to be the case that Tories had sex scandals, as they were already rich, and Labour money. This version of Tories are so greedy and grasping for anything (be that sex, money or power) that they have cornered the market in sleaze. Labour, Lib Dems or whoever couldn't get a look in even if they tried
Massive queues building up at Dover again as people try to get away to Europe for Easter ... ... Corbyn and Starmer have a lot to answer for
Let's hope there isn't a sudden unexpected heatwave or else those people sitting in their vehicles could be "oven ready" by the time the traffic starts to move.
