Keir’s issue is going to be how woke his broader government will be.
The Labour movement is filled with wokey types fighting the culture wars of the mid 2010s, and - with the absence of much money - they’ll be sorely tempted to push their agenda onto the public services in favour of actual reform.
I’m not sure how alert Keir is to this. He needs an Alan Johnson or some such to act as a kind of internal woke watchdog.
That, and sleaze.
Sleaze has hugely damaged the Conservatives, and it has the potential to damage Labour in government.
Perhaps the Tories will reuse the devastating "Captain Hindsight".
Very accurate, though. And resonates with voters.
He will flip-flop a lot in office.
It doesn’t resonate. Not with anyone sentient (which admittedly does not include current Tory supporters).
It’s up there with the pathetic attacks on Cameron by the dying Brown administration.
Oh, it does.
It absolutely does.
It does with you, because you’re a loon. But it doesn’t do anything electorally, because the Tories already have the loon vote, with the very loon vote now flaming off to Reform.
"Because you're a loon".
You can be such a twat at times. But, being generous to you, it's normally a sign you're unsure of your ground.
Coming from a working class home, I never thought I'd end up studying law at university.
No he doesn’t. Take a look at his childhood home.
The main people pushing this one are the Labour far-left.
It also highlights his age. He's from a generation when going to university was still seen as a big thing in itself. The "first person in my family to go to university" line just doesn't resonate in the same way now.
Keir’s issue is going to be how woke his broader government will be.
The Labour movement is filled with wokey types fighting the culture wars of the mid 2010s, and - with the absence of much money - they’ll be sorely tempted to push their agenda onto the public services in favour of actual reform.
I’m not sure how alert Keir is to this. He needs an Alan Johnson or some such to act as a kind of internal woke watchdog.
That, and sleaze.
Sleaze has hugely damaged the Conservatives, and it has the potential to damage Labour in government.
Keir’s issue is going to be how woke his broader government will be.
The Labour movement is filled with wokey types fighting the culture wars of the mid 2010s, and - with the absence of much money - they’ll be sorely tempted to push their agenda onto the public services in favour of actual reform.
I’m not sure how alert Keir is to this. He needs an Alan Johnson or some such to act as a kind of internal woke watchdog.
That, and sleaze.
Sleaze has hugely damaged the Conservatives, and it has the potential to damage Labour in government.
Not convinced. Keir is very anti-sleazy. All parties have sleaze, the question is the tone set by leadership. At worst (Boris) it actively licenses sleaze. Don’t really see this issue for Keir.
Keir’s issue is going to be how woke his broader government will be.
The Labour movement is filled with wokey types fighting the culture wars of the mid 2010s, and - with the absence of much money - they’ll be sorely tempted to push their agenda onto the public services in favour of actual reform.
I’m not sure how alert Keir is to this. He needs an Alan Johnson or some such to act as a kind of internal woke watchdog.
That, and sleaze.
Sleaze has hugely damaged the Conservatives, and it has the potential to damage Labour in government.
The last Labour government was rife with it.
To some extent, though, Blair was moderately tolerant of sleaze. Ecclestone anyone?
Coming from a working class home, I never thought I'd end up studying law at university.
I grew up in a working class family. My mother was a butcher and my dad a welder. I went to university, got a PhD, now I am a senior lecturer (in the #1 programme in my field) and assiciate dean at a major business school. Not a day goes by where I don't remember that things could have been very very different for me. I really value social mobility, but sadly I don't owe it to the UK. I am half Danish and did my BSc MSc and PhD there....then came back here for tenure. I totally get where Starmer is coming from. Get this: if you are born into poverty in the UK, on average it takes your family 5 generations to make it up to median income... FIVE. In Denmark that takes two generations. 🤷 That difference is no coincidence... it is class society.
Keir’s issue is going to be how woke his broader government will be.
The Labour movement is filled with wokey types fighting the culture wars of the mid 2010s, and - with the absence of much money - they’ll be sorely tempted to push their agenda onto the public services in favour of actual reform.
I’m not sure how alert Keir is to this. He needs an Alan Johnson or some such to act as a kind of internal woke watchdog.
That, and sleaze.
Sleaze has hugely damaged the Conservatives, and it has the potential to damage Labour in government.
The last Labour government was rife with it.
Not to the same level or standard as the last 13 years of Tory Governments.
Keir’s issue is going to be how woke his broader government will be.
The Labour movement is filled with wokey types fighting the culture wars of the mid 2010s, and - with the absence of much money - they’ll be sorely tempted to push their agenda onto the public services in favour of actual reform.
I’m not sure how alert Keir is to this. He needs an Alan Johnson or some such to act as a kind of internal woke watchdog.
That, and sleaze.
Sleaze has hugely damaged the Conservatives, and it has the potential to damage Labour in government.
Coming from a working class home, I never thought I'd end up studying law at university.
I grew up in a working class family. My mother was a butcher and my dad a welder. I went to university, got a PhD, now I am a senior lecturer (in the #1 programme in my field) and assiciate dean at a major business school. Not a day goes by where I don't remember that things could have been very very different for me. I really value social mobility, but sadly I don't owe it to the UK. I am half Danish and did my BSc MSc and PhD there....then came back here for tenure. I totally get where Starmer is coming from. Get this: if you are born into poverty in the UK, on average it takes your family 5 generations to make it up to median income... FIVE. In Denmark that takes two generations. 🤷 That difference is no coincidence... it is class society.
I got out in one. I read law at University (Durham at that).
My mother brought my sister and I up on £4 a week maintenance.
Coming from a working class home, I never thought I'd end up studying law at university.
No he doesn’t. Take a look at his childhood home.
The main people pushing this one are the Labour far-left.
SKS is the best example of the British dream of greatness that can come from anywhere, a genuine working class kid who worked hard to probably become the PM. The fact Tories sneer at that shows just how far they have fallen. What a shame.
Keir’s issue is going to be how woke his broader government will be.
The Labour movement is filled with wokey types fighting the culture wars of the mid 2010s, and - with the absence of much money - they’ll be sorely tempted to push their agenda onto the public services in favour of actual reform.
I’m not sure how alert Keir is to this. He needs an Alan Johnson or some such to act as a kind of internal woke watchdog.
That, and sleaze.
Sleaze has hugely damaged the Conservatives, and it has the potential to damage Labour in government.
Not convinced. Keir is very anti-sleazy. All parties have sleaze, the question is the tone set by leadership. At worst (Boris) it actively licenses sleaze. Don’t really see this issue for Keir.
Keir’s issue is going to be how woke his broader government will be.
The Labour movement is filled with wokey types fighting the culture wars of the mid 2010s, and - with the absence of much money - they’ll be sorely tempted to push their agenda onto the public services in favour of actual reform.
I’m not sure how alert Keir is to this. He needs an Alan Johnson or some such to act as a kind of internal woke watchdog.
That, and sleaze.
Sleaze has hugely damaged the Conservatives, and it has the potential to damage Labour in government.
Not convinced. Keir is very anti-sleazy. All parties have sleaze, the question is the tone set by leadership. At worst (Boris) it actively licenses sleaze. Don’t really see this issue for Keir.
There are none so blind as those who can't see.
Sir Keir's a lawyer, they are a byword for integrity and ethics.
Coming from a working class home, I never thought I'd end up studying law at university.
I grew up in a working class family. My mother was a butcher and my dad a welder. I went to university, got a PhD, now I am a senior lecturer (in the #1 programme in my field) and assiciate dean at a major business school. Not a day goes by where I don't remember that things could have been very very different for me. I really value social mobility, but sadly I don't owe it to the UK. I am half Danish and did my BSc MSc and PhD there....then came back here for tenure. I totally get where Starmer is coming from. Get this: if you are born into poverty in the UK, on average it takes your family 5 generations to make it up to median income... FIVE. In Denmark that takes two generations. 🤷 That difference is no coincidence... it is class society.
I got out in one. I read law at University (Durham at that).
My mother brought my sister and I up on £4 a week maintenance.
Good work breaking the pattern...that is no mean feat as the stats show
Coming from a working class home, I never thought I'd end up studying law at university.
No he doesn’t. Take a look at his childhood home.
The main people pushing this one are the Labour far-left.
SKS is the best example of the British dream of greatness that can come from anywhere, a genuine working class kid who worked hard to probably become the PM. The fact Tories sneer at that shows just how far they have fallen. What a shame.
Pass the sick bag.
It's like @Heathener has changed "her" userhandle.
Keir’s issue is going to be how woke his broader government will be.
The Labour movement is filled with wokey types fighting the culture wars of the mid 2010s, and - with the absence of much money - they’ll be sorely tempted to push their agenda onto the public services in favour of actual reform.
I’m not sure how alert Keir is to this. He needs an Alan Johnson or some such to act as a kind of internal woke watchdog.
That, and sleaze.
Sleaze has hugely damaged the Conservatives, and it has the potential to damage Labour in government.
Of course there'll be sleaze in a future Labour government. But I'd be astonished if it a) involved Starmer himself, or b) was tolerated by Starmer.
I reckon he's as clean as a whistle, and will quickly get shot of anybody who isn't.
Keir’s issue is going to be how woke his broader government will be.
The Labour movement is filled with wokey types fighting the culture wars of the mid 2010s, and - with the absence of much money - they’ll be sorely tempted to push their agenda onto the public services in favour of actual reform.
I’m not sure how alert Keir is to this. He needs an Alan Johnson or some such to act as a kind of internal woke watchdog.
That, and sleaze.
Sleaze has hugely damaged the Conservatives, and it has the potential to damage Labour in government.
The last Labour government was rife with it.
Not to the same level or standard as the last 13 years of Tory Governments.
Rubbish. Look how many Labour MPs were arrested or charged over expenses fraud.
It's amazing how selective people's memories can be when it's politically inconvenient.
Coming from a working class home, I never thought I'd end up studying law at university.
No he doesn’t. Take a look at his childhood home.
The main people pushing this one are the Labour far-left.
SKS is the best example of the British dream of greatness that can come from anywhere, a genuine working class kid who worked hard to probably become the PM. The fact Tories sneer at that shows just how far they have fallen. What a shame.
Pass the sick bag.
It's like @Heathener has changed "her" userhandle.
No I'm not @Heathener but I am back from a long absence and I am sure you can guess who I used to be. But I'd rather start afresh if it's all the same to you. Hope you are keeping well.
Coming from a working class home, I never thought I'd end up studying law at university.
No he doesn’t. Take a look at his childhood home.
The main people pushing this one are the Labour far-left.
SKS is the best example of the British dream of greatness that can come from anywhere, a genuine working class kid who worked hard to probably become the PM. The fact Tories sneer at that shows just how far they have fallen. What a shame.
Isn’t Sunak a better example of “the British dream of greatness”? Son of immigrants who worked hard, got him into a good school where he would have been socially down the order, launched himself through hard work into fantastic further education opportunities, a very successful career, married well by attracting the daughter of a billionaire most likely through his intelligence and character being the attraction to her and ended up being a young Chancellor and then PM. Pretty hefty rise through the ranks.
Coming from a working class home, I never thought I'd end up studying law at university.
No he doesn’t. Take a look at his childhood home.
The main people pushing this one are the Labour far-left.
SKS is the best example of the British dream of greatness that can come from anywhere, a genuine working class kid who worked hard to probably become the PM. The fact Tories sneer at that shows just how far they have fallen. What a shame.
Isn’t Sunak a better example of “the British dream of greatness”? Son of immigrants who worked hard, got him into a good school where he would have been socially down the order, launched himself through hard work into fantastic further education opportunities, a very successful career, married well by attracting the daughter of a billionaire most likely through his intelligence and character being the attraction to her and ended up being a young Chancellor and then PM. Pretty hefty rise through the ranks.
I commend Sunak's drive and ambition and would myself never sneer at it.
Keir’s issue is going to be how woke his broader government will be.
The Labour movement is filled with wokey types fighting the culture wars of the mid 2010s, and - with the absence of much money - they’ll be sorely tempted to push their agenda onto the public services in favour of actual reform.
I’m not sure how alert Keir is to this. He needs an Alan Johnson or some such to act as a kind of internal woke watchdog.
That, and sleaze.
Sleaze has hugely damaged the Conservatives, and it has the potential to damage Labour in government.
Sir Keir- Savile is a winner. One the genius campaigner Boris squeezed out several years ago.
You want to mention Savile with Starmer?
Brave.
I was simply referencing a Parliamentary defence used by Boris Johnson.The inaccuracy is understood by the political class, but if the Tories were to weaponised Johnson's narrative, would it gel with Johnny Voter. I suspect it would.
Coming from a working class home, I never thought I'd end up studying law at university.
I grew up in a working class family. My mother was a butcher and my dad a welder. I went to university, got a PhD, now I am a senior lecturer (in the #1 programme in my field) and assiciate dean at a major business school. Not a day goes by where I don't remember that things could have been very very different for me. I really value social mobility, but sadly I don't owe it to the UK. I am half Danish and did my BSc MSc and PhD there....then came back here for tenure. I totally get where Starmer is coming from. Get this: if you are born into poverty in the UK, on average it takes your family 5 generations to make it up to median income... FIVE. In Denmark that takes two generations. 🤷 That difference is no coincidence... it is class society.
I got out in one. I read law at University (Durham at that).
My mother brought my sister and I up on £4 a week maintenance.
Hats off to you
But without Beveridge (a Liberal) and the post war Labour Government your mum would have been short by £4 a week.
Supporting an iteration of the Conservative Party that would dismantle the welfare state in a heartbeat given the chance, are you being fair on a future aspirational @MarqueeMark ?
Coming from a working class home, I never thought I'd end up studying law at university.
No he doesn’t. Take a look at his childhood home.
The main people pushing this one are the Labour far-left.
SKS is the best example of the British dream of greatness that can come from anywhere, a genuine working class kid who worked hard to probably become the PM. The fact Tories sneer at that shows just how far they have fallen. What a shame.
Pass the sick bag.
It's like @Heathener has changed "her" userhandle.
No I'm not @Heathener but I am back from a long absence and I am sure you can guess who I used to be. But I'd rather start afresh if it's all the same to you. Hope you are keeping well.
Coming from a working class home, I never thought I'd end up studying law at university.
I grew up in a working class family. My mother was a butcher and my dad a welder. I went to university, got a PhD, now I am a senior lecturer (in the #1 programme in my field) and assiciate dean at a major business school. Not a day goes by where I don't remember that things could have been very very different for me. I really value social mobility, but sadly I don't owe it to the UK. I am half Danish and did my BSc MSc and PhD there....then came back here for tenure. I totally get where Starmer is coming from. Get this: if you are born into poverty in the UK, on average it takes your family 5 generations to make it up to median income... FIVE. In Denmark that takes two generations. 🤷 That difference is no coincidence... it is class society.
I got out in one. I read law at University (Durham at that).
My mother brought my sister and I up on £4 a week maintenance.
I love the British class system.
My grandparents moved here from Pakistand within two generations their grandson is regularly described as a toff.
Coming from a working class home, I never thought I'd end up studying law at university.
No he doesn’t. Take a look at his childhood home.
The main people pushing this one are the Labour far-left.
SKS is the best example of the British dream of greatness that can come from anywhere, a genuine working class kid who worked hard to probably become the PM. The fact Tories sneer at that shows just how far they have fallen. What a shame.
Pass the sick bag.
It's like @Heathener has changed "her" userhandle.
No I'm not @Heathener but I am back from a long absence and I am sure you can guess who I used to be. But I'd rather start afresh if it's all the same to you. Hope you are keeping well.
Ah.
I was just thinking earlier we haven't seen Bartholomew Roberts for some time. But I don't think Average Ninja is Bart.
Coming from a working class home, I never thought I'd end up studying law at university.
No he doesn’t. Take a look at his childhood home.
The main people pushing this one are the Labour far-left.
SKS is the best example of the British dream of greatness that can come from anywhere, a genuine working class kid who worked hard to probably become the PM. The fact Tories sneer at that shows just how far they have fallen. What a shame.
Pass the sick bag.
It's like @Heathener has changed "her" userhandle.
No I'm not @Heathener but I am back from a long absence and I am sure you can guess who I used to be. But I'd rather start afresh if it's all the same to you. Hope you are keeping well.
Ah.
Stop horsing about with our new poster. It's not fair or correct behaviour!
Coming from a working class home, I never thought I'd end up studying law at university.
No he doesn’t. Take a look at his childhood home.
The main people pushing this one are the Labour far-left.
SKS is the best example of the British dream of greatness that can come from anywhere, a genuine working class kid who worked hard to probably become the PM. The fact Tories sneer at that shows just how far they have fallen. What a shame.
Pass the sick bag.
It's like @Heathener has changed "her" userhandle.
No I'm not @Heathener but I am back from a long absence and I am sure you can guess who I used to be. But I'd rather start afresh if it's all the same to you. Hope you are keeping well.
Ah.
I was just thinking earlier we haven't seen Bartholomew Roberts for some time. But I don't think Average Ninja is Bart.
Coming from a working class home, I never thought I'd end up studying law at university.
No he doesn’t. Take a look at his childhood home.
The main people pushing this one are the Labour far-left.
SKS is the best example of the British dream of greatness that can come from anywhere, a genuine working class kid who worked hard to probably become the PM. The fact Tories sneer at that shows just how far they have fallen. What a shame.
Pass the sick bag.
It's like @Heathener has changed "her" userhandle.
No I'm not @Heathener but I am back from a long absence and I am sure you can guess who I used to be. But I'd rather start afresh if it's all the same to you. Hope you are keeping well.
Ah.
Stop horsing about with our new poster. It's not fair or correct behaviour!
Coming from a working class home, I never thought I'd end up studying law at university.
No he doesn’t. Take a look at his childhood home.
The main people pushing this one are the Labour far-left.
SKS is the best example of the British dream of greatness that can come from anywhere, a genuine working class kid who worked hard to probably become the PM. The fact Tories sneer at that shows just how far they have fallen. What a shame.
Pass the sick bag.
It's like @Heathener has changed "her" userhandle.
No I'm not @Heathener but I am back from a long absence and I am sure you can guess who I used to be. But I'd rather start afresh if it's all the same to you. Hope you are keeping well.
Ah.
I was just thinking earlier we haven't seen Bartholomew Roberts for some time. But I don't think Average Ninja is Bart.
Captain Roberts was briefly in a week or so ago, I seem to recall.
Dave is wise, we are lucky to have him back in government.
Lord Cameron has joined forces with his German counterpart to call for a “sustainable ceasefire” in the Middle East and warn that “too many civilians have been killed” in the Hamas-Israel conflict.
In a marked change of tone by the government which piles pressure on the Israeli government to end the bloodshed, the foreign secretary has united with Annalena Baerbock, the German foreign minister, to demand “a sustainable ceasefire, leading to a sustainable peace”.
In a joint article, they write: “The sooner it comes, the better. The need is urgent.”
Separately, the defence secretary Grant Shapps in an interview with The Sunday Times gave his backing to the approach, which he said would lead to “hostages released, rockets stop flowing and there’s actually a political process in place to make sure that we get to the day after”.
In a sign of the increasing anxiety within the government about the number of civilian casualties, Shapps added: “I’m very concerned about potentially more people dying through illness and sickness than die through even the effects of the kinetic action of the war.”
The comments signal a shift in approach to the Hamas-Israel conflict by the government, which has previously only given its support for a “humanitarian pause” to allow for the release of Hamas-held hostages and for aid to enter Gaza.
No because the Tories are going to try and portray Starmer as a lefty lawyer but the country loves a lawyer.
It'll be as successful as this.
Some lawyers are great. But there are many - more than the good lawyers often care to admit - who are really pretty second or third rate and some who are frankly bloody awful, as even a cursory look at the Post Office Inquiry will show you.
Lawyers are not necessarily great politicians either.
But Starmer has been pretty good at managing the Labour Party and presenting an alternative which is not as all over the place as the Tories have been during the last few years. So he will win. I would not be surprised if he wins big because the Tories seem intent on a suicide mission. What he will do then who knows. A period of boring dull and even vaguely competent government would be a relief at this point.
Coming from a working class home, I never thought I'd end up studying law at university.
No he doesn’t. Take a look at his childhood home.
The main people pushing this one are the Labour far-left.
SKS is the best example of the British dream of greatness that can come from anywhere, a genuine working class kid who worked hard to probably become the PM. The fact Tories sneer at that shows just how far they have fallen. What a shame.
Echoes of John Major.
A fair bit of the sneerage towards him came from the patrician right.
The Tories will try and find a way to make labour look dangerous in the election campaign. The problem is that the tories themselves have proven to be pretty dangerous and reckless over the past 5+ years, so this strategy may not work as well as they think it will.
Experts ‘duped’ into starring in Michelle Mone’s PPE documentary
‘I would have refused to be interviewed if I’d known it was a platform for Mone’
It was billed as Baroness Mone’s big “fight back”. After two years of public silence, the Conservative peer and lingerie tycoon had given an interview explaining her involvement in a company that was awarded more than £200 million of government PPE contracts after she had lobbied ministers during the pandemic.
Close to tears, Mone admitted to film-makers that people probably see her as “a horrible person, a liar, a cheat, a thief” following media reports she secretly made a fortune from the firm, PPE Medpro, which is now under investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA).
Only the sharpest-eyed viewers would have noticed in the end credits that the documentary had been paid for by the company at the centre of the scandal, which is led by Mone’s husband, Douglas Barrowman.
This weekend, two experts who appear in it said they had not been told in advance of the focus of the film, or its funding. One leading doctor suggested he had been deliberately duped and would never have agreed to take part had he known it was “a platform for [Mone’s] self-defence”.
A senior social care expert said she was not told of Mone’s involvement until a fortnight ago and was never told of the PPE Medpro funding. She said she felt “disturbed” and would not have taken part if she had known. The documentary was broadcast online last Sunday and has been viewed more than 36,000 times.
Experts ‘duped’ into starring in Michelle Mone’s PPE documentary
‘I would have refused to be interviewed if I’d known it was a platform for Mone’
It was billed as Baroness Mone’s big “fight back”. After two years of public silence, the Conservative peer and lingerie tycoon had given an interview explaining her involvement in a company that was awarded more than £200 million of government PPE contracts after she had lobbied ministers during the pandemic.
Close to tears, Mone admitted to film-makers that people probably see her as “a horrible person, a liar, a cheat, a thief” following media reports she secretly made a fortune from the firm, PPE Medpro, which is now under investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA).
Only the sharpest-eyed viewers would have noticed in the end credits that the documentary had been paid for by the company at the centre of the scandal, which is led by Mone’s husband, Douglas Barrowman.
This weekend, two experts who appear in it said they had not been told in advance of the focus of the film, or its funding. One leading doctor suggested he had been deliberately duped and would never have agreed to take part had he known it was “a platform for [Mone’s] self-defence”.
A senior social care expert said she was not told of Mone’s involvement until a fortnight ago and was never told of the PPE Medpro funding. She said she felt “disturbed” and would not have taken part if she had known. The documentary was broadcast online last Sunday and has been viewed more than 36,000 times.
As I said in the previous thread - if you think she is bad look into her Husband, Doug has been selling tax avoidance schemes (that don't work) to unwary people for 20 odd years....
Dave is wise, we are lucky to have him back in government.
Lord Cameron has joined forces with his German counterpart to call for a “sustainable ceasefire” in the Middle East and warn that “too many civilians have been killed” in the Hamas-Israel conflict.
In a marked change of tone by the government which piles pressure on the Israeli government to end the bloodshed, the foreign secretary has united with Annalena Baerbock, the German foreign minister, to demand “a sustainable ceasefire, leading to a sustainable peace”.
In a joint article, they write: “The sooner it comes, the better. The need is urgent.”
Separately, the defence secretary Grant Shapps in an interview with The Sunday Times gave his backing to the approach, which he said would lead to “hostages released, rockets stop flowing and there’s actually a political process in place to make sure that we get to the day after”.
In a sign of the increasing anxiety within the government about the number of civilian casualties, Shapps added: “I’m very concerned about potentially more people dying through illness and sickness than die through even the effects of the kinetic action of the war.”
The comments signal a shift in approach to the Hamas-Israel conflict by the government, which has previously only given its support for a “humanitarian pause” to allow for the release of Hamas-held hostages and for aid to enter Gaza.
Coming from a working class home, I never thought I'd end up studying law at university.
I grew up in a working class family. My mother was a butcher and my dad a welder. I went to university, got a PhD, now I am a senior lecturer (in the #1 programme in my field) and assiciate dean at a major business school. Not a day goes by where I don't remember that things could have been very very different for me. I really value social mobility, but sadly I don't owe it to the UK. I am half Danish and did my BSc MSc and PhD there....then came back here for tenure. I totally get where Starmer is coming from. Get this: if you are born into poverty in the UK, on average it takes your family 5 generations to make it up to median income... FIVE. In Denmark that takes two generations. 🤷 That difference is no coincidence... it is class society.
Abolishing grammar schools kicked away the ladder for many working class children in Britain.
Coming from a working class home, I never thought I'd end up studying law at university.
I grew up in a working class family. My mother was a butcher and my dad a welder. I went to university, got a PhD, now I am a senior lecturer (in the #1 programme in my field) and assiciate dean at a major business school. Not a day goes by where I don't remember that things could have been very very different for me. I really value social mobility, but sadly I don't owe it to the UK. I am half Danish and did my BSc MSc and PhD there....then came back here for tenure. I totally get where Starmer is coming from. Get this: if you are born into poverty in the UK, on average it takes your family 5 generations to make it up to median income... FIVE. In Denmark that takes two generations. 🤷 That difference is no coincidence... it is class society.
Abolishing grammar schools kicked away the ladder for many working class children in Britain.
One of Mrs Thatcher's finest achievements that she closed so many grammar schools.
Coming from a working class home, I never thought I'd end up studying law at university.
I grew up in a working class family. My mother was a butcher and my dad a welder. I went to university, got a PhD, now I am a senior lecturer (in the #1 programme in my field) and assiciate dean at a major business school. Not a day goes by where I don't remember that things could have been very very different for me. I really value social mobility, but sadly I don't owe it to the UK. I am half Danish and did my BSc MSc and PhD there....then came back here for tenure. I totally get where Starmer is coming from. Get this: if you are born into poverty in the UK, on average it takes your family 5 generations to make it up to median income... FIVE. In Denmark that takes two generations. 🤷 That difference is no coincidence... it is class society.
Abolishing grammar schools kicked away the ladder for many working class children in Britain.
Only for the ones which the grammar school system didn't exclude in the first place.
Abolishing student grants and imposing tuition fees was much, much worse.
Coming from a working class home, I never thought I'd end up studying law at university.
I grew up in a working class family. My mother was a butcher and my dad a welder. I went to university, got a PhD, now I am a senior lecturer (in the #1 programme in my field) and assiciate dean at a major business school. Not a day goes by where I don't remember that things could have been very very different for me. I really value social mobility, but sadly I don't owe it to the UK. I am half Danish and did my BSc MSc and PhD there....then came back here for tenure. I totally get where Starmer is coming from. Get this: if you are born into poverty in the UK, on average it takes your family 5 generations to make it up to median income... FIVE. In Denmark that takes two generations. 🤷 That difference is no coincidence... it is class society.
Abolishing grammar schools kicked away the ladder for many working class children in Britain.
Only for the ones which the grammar school system didn't exclude in the first place.
Abolishing student grants and imposing tuition fees was much, much worse.
The grammar school system might have been lacking when it came to providing equal opportunities to everyone because of the brutal cutoff with the 11-plus, but it undoubtedly did elevate a lot of people from genuinely humble backgrounds into genuinely elite career paths, so it was arguably better at creating an elite with diverse backgrounds.
Keir’s issue is going to be how woke his broader government will be.
The Labour movement is filled with wokey types fighting the culture wars of the mid 2010s, and - with the absence of much money - they’ll be sorely tempted to push their agenda onto the public services in favour of actual reform.
I’m not sure how alert Keir is to this. He needs an Alan Johnson or some such to act as a kind of internal woke watchdog.
That, and sleaze.
Sleaze has hugely damaged the Conservatives, and it has the potential to damage Labour in government.
Of course there'll be sleaze in a future Labour government. But I'd be astonished if it a) involved Starmer himself, or b) was tolerated by Starmer.
I reckon he's as clean as a whistle, and will quickly get shot of anybody who isn't.
OTOH he has been remarkably silent about why Nick Brown was suspended a year ago. Will we ever be told?
Coming from a working class home, I never thought I'd end up studying law at university.
I grew up in a working class family. My mother was a butcher and my dad a welder. I went to university, got a PhD, now I am a senior lecturer (in the #1 programme in my field) and assiciate dean at a major business school. Not a day goes by where I don't remember that things could have been very very different for me. I really value social mobility, but sadly I don't owe it to the UK. I am half Danish and did my BSc MSc and PhD there....then came back here for tenure. I totally get where Starmer is coming from. Get this: if you are born into poverty in the UK, on average it takes your family 5 generations to make it up to median income... FIVE. In Denmark that takes two generations. 🤷 That difference is no coincidence... it is class society.
Abolishing grammar schools kicked away the ladder for many working class children in Britain.
Only for the ones which the grammar school system didn't exclude in the first place.
Abolishing student grants and imposing tuition fees was much, much worse.
The grammar school system might have been lacking when it came to providing equal opportunities to everyone because of the brutal cutoff with the 11-plus, but it undoubtedly did elevate a lot of people from genuinely humble backgrounds into genuinely elite career paths, so it was arguably better at creating an elite with diverse backgrounds.
Properly funded and streamed Comprehensive education such as in the 1970s was the way forward. Underfunded state education is not, particularly when Counties like Kent and Warwickshire pump money into Grammars at the detriment of the rest.
And I really don't want you to search the internet on my behalf for spurious statistics to prove me wrong. I speak from personal experience.
Keir’s issue is going to be how woke his broader government will be.
The Labour movement is filled with wokey types fighting the culture wars of the mid 2010s, and - with the absence of much money - they’ll be sorely tempted to push their agenda onto the public services in favour of actual reform.
I’m not sure how alert Keir is to this. He needs an Alan Johnson or some such to act as a kind of internal woke watchdog.
That, and sleaze.
Sleaze has hugely damaged the Conservatives, and it has the potential to damage Labour in government.
Not convinced. Keir is very anti-sleazy. All parties have sleaze, the question is the tone set by leadership. At worst (Boris) it actively licenses sleaze. Don’t really see this issue for Keir.
The problem goes beyond any one leader. As PM, SKS will know that there are ministers and MP’s who like to stick their fingers in places where they shouldn’t be, but who are too important to sack.
The problem is institutional. Labour, Conservatives, SNP, and Lib Dem’s have lots of rotten people in their ranks. Every big scandal is bipartisan.
The Tories can point out Sir Keir’s multiple inconsistent statements, his u-turns on things he calls ‘principles’, his support for people he then expels, etc etc but I don’t think it will work.
No one likes the Tories, neither the party or the leader. They’ve ripped themselves to shreds and have nothing to offer; they’re not radical or Conservative, sensible or charismatic. They don’t seem to like each other so why should anyone like them?
I have no doubt the Cons will try to fight a hard anti-Starmer campaign. A big (but not the only) problem with that is the fact that Mr Sunak tends to come across as petulant at best and whiny at worst when he tries it.
The biggest problem is the fact that the vast majority of the electorate just are not listening any more. The current 'populist' incarnation of the Cons had its chance - and then another - and then another. They have failed badly, then laughably and now rather pathetically. Saying the other lot would fail too doesn't get you very far in that situation.
I have no doubt the Cons will try to fight a hard anti-Starmer campaign. A big (but not the only) problem with that is the fact that Mr Sunak tends to come across as petulant at best and whiny at worst when he tries it.
The biggest problem is the fact that the vast majority of the electorate just are not listening any more. The current 'populist' incarnation of the Cons had its chance - and then another - and then another. They have failed badly, then laughably and now rather pathetically. Saying the other lot would fail too doesn't get you very far in that situation.
The collapse of sense in the BBC and the trivialisation and collapse in sales of the newspapers augers our demise,
From header; "In my view Sunak is not even a second-rater"
Times change, and it's interesting that you are now quite against him. I think we were all rooting for you when you had him on a big bet.
Happy? to admit I was badly wrong about him. Maybe its a lot easier being Chancellor than PM? And I guess in the divided Tory party, as an individual cabinet minister you can add your own stamp on things, but as PM you are responsible for trying to make them all work together.
The approach the Tories and their Press outriders use at almost every election is essentially to scare the electorate into voting for them. I can barely remember a positive Tory election campaign.
It won’t work this time, but it won’t stop them trying. They have nothing else.
It all reminds me of the Tory efforts ahead of GE1997 by trying to go negative against Tony Blair. Those who are old enough might recall the Tory ad that focussed on Blair’s eyes and tried to suggest there was something sinister about the then LAB leader.
The irony, of course, is that that poster did have a point...
Keir’s issue is going to be how woke his broader government will be.
The Labour movement is filled with wokey types fighting the culture wars of the mid 2010s, and - with the absence of much money - they’ll be sorely tempted to push their agenda onto the public services in favour of actual reform.
I’m not sure how alert Keir is to this. He needs an Alan Johnson or some such to act as a kind of internal woke watchdog.
That, and sleaze.
Sleaze has hugely damaged the Conservatives, and it has the potential to damage Labour in government.
Not convinced. Keir is very anti-sleazy. All parties have sleaze, the question is the tone set by leadership. At worst (Boris) it actively licenses sleaze. Don’t really see this issue for Keir.
The problem goes beyond any one leader. As PM, SKS will know that there are ministers and MP’s who like to stick their fingers in places where they shouldn’t be, but who are too important to sack.
The problem is institutional. Labour, Conservatives, SNP, and Lib Dem’s have lots of rotten people in their ranks. Every big scandal is bipartisan.
The expenses scandal was an interesting empirical test of relative corruption though. All 3 main parties were affected (the SNP didn’t have enough MPs back then for statistical significance), but proportionally the conservatives had the most wronguns and Lib Dems the fewest. Though they did of course have David Law’s rental cheating and Huhne’s speeding points.
I recall there wasn’t much difference between the various wings of the parties - the one nation Tories and Eurosceptics equally up to their necks in it.
Interesting article, thanks. One oddity from Kellner though:
"Ipsos’s latest poll has Reform on just 4 per cent. At no point this year has it reported a higher figure; for most of the year it has been just 2 or 3 per cent. If Ipsos is right, then the Tories still have a problem, but no need to panic.
...except Ipsos have the Cons on 25% in that poll losing 270 seats according to Electoral Calculus.
Interesting article, thanks. One oddity from Kellner though:
"Ipsos’s latest poll has Reform on just 4 per cent. At no point this year has it reported a higher figure; for most of the year it has been just 2 or 3 per cent. If Ipsos is right, then the Tories still have a problem, but no need to panic.
...except Ipsos have the Cons on 24% losing 228 according to Electoral Calculus.
Ref have now gone up in Ipsos too of course. I think 7 of 8%? So there is a real rise.
Interesting article, thanks. One oddity from Kellner though:
"Ipsos’s latest poll has Reform on just 4 per cent. At no point this year has it reported a higher figure; for most of the year it has been just 2 or 3 per cent. If Ipsos is right, then the Tories still have a problem, but no need to panic.
...except Ipsos have the Cons on 24% losing 228 according to Electoral Calculus.
Ref have now gone up in Ipsos too of course. I think 7 of 8%? So there is a real rise.
Well maybe, still MoE stuff unless Ipsos show this in a few polls on the trot.
I think Kellner makes a really incisive point about Reform. Are they going to stand in every seat? If so, maybe they will get 7-9% if not, all bets are (or should be) off.
I have no doubt the Cons will try to fight a hard anti-Starmer campaign. A big (but not the only) problem with that is the fact that Mr Sunak tends to come across as petulant at best and whiny at worst when he tries it.
The biggest problem is the fact that the vast majority of the electorate just are not listening any more. The current 'populist' incarnation of the Cons had its chance - and then another - and then another. They have failed badly, then laughably and now rather pathetically. Saying the other lot would fail too doesn't get you very far in that situation.
The collapse of sense in the BBC and the trivialisation and collapse in sales of the newspapers augers our demise,
Absolutely. It’s a cliche, but the internet and latterly social media corrodes the foundations of our democracy. AI is around the corner.
Coming from a working class home, I never thought I'd end up studying law at university.
No he doesn’t. Take a look at his childhood home.
The main people pushing this one are the Labour far-left.
It also highlights his age. He's from a generation when going to university was still seen as a big thing in itself. The "first person in my family to go to university" line just doesn't resonate in the same way now.
The electorate is older than God. It still resonates.
Rishi Sunak diverted RAF jet to pick him up after political event and take him to Rome The Prime Minister travelled to a political event in Teesside by train yesterday - meanwhile a taxpayer-funded RAF jet was flown up to wait overnight for him, before flying him to a far-right political conference in Rome, in apparent breach of the ministerial code https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/rishi-sunak-diverted-raf-jet-31688759
The amazing thing about these people who is that they were, and are, more than happy to call politicians they disagree with all kinds of childish names, poke fun at their looks, weight, spouses, illnesses, private lives & so on yet can’t stand to read any pointing out of broken pledges, dissolving ‘points of principle’, or u-turns and so on from Sir Keir, who I never attack on anything other than political terms. I said he lacked charisma on a thread I wrote here, and now it is commonplace for MSM to criticise him on those terms
They’re people who have spent years denying the link between high immigration and low pay, and that Brexit was motivated by immigration. Sir Keir is saying exactly that now… and I don’t hear any disagreement from them
Rishi Sunak diverted RAF jet to pick him up after political event and take him to Rome The Prime Minister travelled to a political event in Teesside by train yesterday - meanwhile a taxpayer-funded RAF jet was flown up to wait overnight for him, before flying him to a far-right political conference in Rome, in apparent breach of the ministerial code https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/rishi-sunak-diverted-raf-jet-31688759
Comments
Why ain’t there a plaque?
Sleaze has hugely damaged the Conservatives, and it has the potential to damage Labour in government.
The main people pushing this one are the Labour far-left.
You can be such a twat at times. But, being generous to you, it's normally a sign you're unsure of your ground.
I am fairly certain you lost your virginity at King's Cross or Soho.
All parties have sleaze, the question is the tone set by leadership. At worst (Boris) it actively licenses sleaze.
Don’t really see this issue for Keir.
https://twitter.com/Edwina_Currie/status/1339155190092607489?lang=en
My mother brought my sister and I up on £4 a week maintenance.
https://twitter.com/cjayanetti/status/1736086069248929846/photo/1
It's like @Heathener has changed "her" userhandle.
I reckon he's as clean as a whistle, and will quickly get shot of anybody who isn't.
It's amazing how selective people's memories can be when it's politically inconvenient.
She’s been explaining the situation with family sheltering in a church in Gaza City . The IDF now executing Christians in the church complex .
They’re completely out of control.
But without Beveridge (a Liberal) and the post war Labour Government your mum would have been short by £4 a week.
Supporting an iteration of the Conservative Party that would dismantle the welfare state in a heartbeat given the chance, are you being fair on a future aspirational @MarqueeMark ?
My grandparents moved here from Pakistand within two generations their grandson is regularly described as a toff.
Battery is never appropriate.
Lord Cameron has joined forces with his German counterpart to call for a “sustainable ceasefire” in the Middle East and warn that “too many civilians have been killed” in the Hamas-Israel conflict.
In a marked change of tone by the government which piles pressure on the Israeli government to end the bloodshed, the foreign secretary has united with Annalena Baerbock, the German foreign minister, to demand “a sustainable ceasefire, leading to a sustainable peace”.
In a joint article, they write: “The sooner it comes, the better. The need is urgent.”
Separately, the defence secretary Grant Shapps in an interview with The Sunday Times gave his backing to the approach, which he said would lead to “hostages released, rockets stop flowing and there’s actually a political process in place to make sure that we get to the day after”.
In a sign of the increasing anxiety within the government about the number of civilian casualties, Shapps added: “I’m very concerned about potentially more people dying through illness and sickness than die through even the effects of the kinetic action of the war.”
The comments signal a shift in approach to the Hamas-Israel conflict by the government, which has previously only given its support for a “humanitarian pause” to allow for the release of Hamas-held hostages and for aid to enter Gaza.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/we-need-a-sustainable-ceasefire-in-gaza-says-david-cameron-fxbt3s7kp
Lawyers are not necessarily great politicians either.
But Starmer has been pretty good at managing the Labour Party and presenting an alternative which is not as all over the place as the Tories have been during the last few years. So he will win. I would not be surprised if he wins big because the Tories seem intent on a suicide mission. What he will do then who knows. A period of boring dull and even vaguely competent government would be a relief at this point.
A fair bit of the sneerage towards him came from the patrician right.
‘I would have refused to be interviewed if I’d known it was a platform for Mone’
It was billed as Baroness Mone’s big “fight back”. After two years of public silence, the Conservative peer and lingerie tycoon had given an interview explaining her involvement in a company that was awarded more than £200 million of government PPE contracts after she had lobbied ministers during the pandemic.
Close to tears, Mone admitted to film-makers that people probably see her as “a horrible person, a liar, a cheat, a thief” following media reports she secretly made a fortune from the firm, PPE Medpro, which is now under investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA).
Only the sharpest-eyed viewers would have noticed in the end credits that the documentary had been paid for by the company at the centre of the scandal, which is led by Mone’s husband, Douglas Barrowman.
This weekend, two experts who appear in it said they had not been told in advance of the focus of the film, or its funding. One leading doctor suggested he had been deliberately duped and would never have agreed to take part had he known it was “a platform for [Mone’s] self-defence”.
A senior social care expert said she was not told of Mone’s involvement until a fortnight ago and was never told of the PPE Medpro funding. She said she felt “disturbed” and would not have taken part if she had known. The documentary was broadcast online last Sunday and has been viewed more than 36,000 times.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/experts-duped-into-starring-in-michelle-mones-ppe-documentary-mqq37bf3d
* that must grate, on you, him and the nation.
Abolishing student grants and imposing tuition fees was much, much worse.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/5SvAxw5TDSY
And I really don't want you to search the internet on my behalf for spurious statistics to prove me wrong. I speak from personal experience.
The problem is institutional. Labour, Conservatives, SNP, and Lib Dem’s have lots of rotten people in their ranks. Every big scandal is bipartisan.
Times change, and it's interesting that you are now quite against him. I think we were all rooting for you when you had him on a big bet.
The biggest problem is the fact that the vast majority of the electorate just are not listening any more. The current 'populist' incarnation of the Cons had its chance - and then another - and then another. They have failed badly, then laughably and now rather pathetically. Saying the other lot would fail too doesn't get you very far in that situation.
Which is a bit like saying somebody is less of a threat to world peace than Putin.
Starmer will probably surprise on the downside too. However, it's hard to imagine he will surprise on so great a downside.
It won’t work this time, but it won’t stop them trying. They have nothing else.
The irony, of course, is that that poster did have a point...
I recall there wasn’t much difference between the various wings of the parties - the one nation Tories and Eurosceptics equally up to their necks in it.
"Ipsos’s latest poll has Reform on just 4 per cent. At no point this year has it reported a higher figure; for most of the year it has been just 2 or 3 per cent. If Ipsos is right, then the Tories still have a problem, but no need to panic.
...except Ipsos have the Cons on 25% in that poll losing 270 seats according to Electoral Calculus.
Now calling for bans, beautiful!
I think Kellner makes a really incisive point about Reform. Are they going to stand in every seat? If so, maybe they will get 7-9% if not, all bets are (or should be) off.
The Prime Minister travelled to a political event in Teesside by train yesterday - meanwhile a taxpayer-funded RAF jet was flown up to wait overnight for him, before flying him to a far-right political conference in Rome, in apparent breach of the ministerial code
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/rishi-sunak-diverted-raf-jet-31688759
They’re people who have spent years denying the link between high immigration and low pay, and that Brexit was motivated by immigration. Sir Keir is saying exactly that now… and I don’t hear any disagreement from them