They're the ones with all the power here, and I think that suits these Labour frontbenchers fine as long as they get to play around in the big jobs.
It's only been about a week or so since they ditched their £28bn green investment pledge, saying it would give the Tories a stick to beat them with in terms of managing the economy. No one was using this attack line, and then just days later it came out that Rachel Reeves had taken a donation from a member of a climate sceptic think tank https://news.sky.com/story/rachel-reeves-accepted-donation-from-lord-donoughue-linked-to-climate-sceptic-group-gwpf-13072147
It couldn't be clearer by now who they are, whether it be Wes Streeting constantly trumpeting more private sector involvement in the NHS while taking a six-figure sum from companies with investments in private healthcare, Starmer pushing the utterly useless carbon capture as his primary green initiative (presumably some other donors have been promised contracts there) or conspiring with Severn Trent to keep water in private hands https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/secret-email-severn-trent-boss-070627641.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=tw&tsrc=twtr
I just don't see where this idea of Starmer as essentially decent comes from. Is it just a 'vibes' thing? We're talking about someone who earned their knighthood by looking the other way on state crimes and setting up all-night courts to jail disaffected, mostly black youngsters in the aftermath of the 2011 riots.
If we look at what he said when he won the leadership compared to what he is saying now, he is clearly happy to go back on his word. But that can also play the other way, in that he will say anything to get elected, but may be do something different in office.
Im not suggesting he will get in and enact the 2019 manifesto in full but I would expect more to be spent on public services than they are claiming now.
I accept their is evidence to the contrary but I still think he is decent fella who is mostly motivated to make things better. I think he if much more cautious than I would like from a leader but then again we saw what happened when Truss to make dramatic changes, the economy is like a house cards, well intended changes (Im not calling Truss's changes well intended!) can have nasty consequences. Its pretty unpalatable to think we cant change neoliberal policy because it could do more than good, but it might be true. or have they made me think that?
...but I'm still profoundly distrustful of Labour and what they'll be like in government if they're happy to blackmail the Speaker to break convention (and brag about doing so to prominent journalists!), purge the party of left-wing voices and take donations from private healthcare/utility interests and climate sceptics while ditching each and every pledge that got Starmer elected leader in the first place.
Would they be worse than the Tories in the short term? Probably not, owing to the lower levels of overt, slapstick fascism, but I'm coming round to the idea that long-term it would only serve to firm up the permitted parameters of What You're Allowed to Vote For.
It feels a lot like a spell in government is Labour's reward from business leaders and newspaper proprietors for helping to thwart the left, to be honest. Just a large-scale version of Ian Austin, John Woodcock and John Mann being made Tory peers for attacking their own party during Corbyn's tenure.
The Tories and I think the SNP to a lesser extent are looking a bit bleak election wise and damage to labour is good.
Support for the people of Gaza is being framed in areas (not just media, but on the street) as antisemitism, just as support for Israel is being framed as Islamophobia / racism
The killing of innocent civilians is clearly unacceptable, but in this country the situation has been used almost since day 1, as a political ball. Enabling people from either 'side' to label others in such a way that creates division.
We've seen it in a small way on here, though thankfully not massively
Honestly I dont know enough about what constitutes a war crime. But from what I read labours amendment seemed reasonable.
I would imagine we'd all agree the initial attack by Hamas was appalling. And the response by Israel has been both predictable and disproportionate, and needs to stop as its gone too far.
but in terms of uk politics, I'm not sure many of the mps really care beyond retaining their own seat
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