(Not that it matters, I live in a LAB safe seat. Look at my flair!)
> Labour MPs should not be engaging in Labour activities if they want to be in Labour
That about the long and short of it?
Just how many times does he need to kick the ball into his own net whilst the Tories all off the pitch getting hammered and doing lines?
activating Tory Lite mode ready for the next GE
I’m trying to be generous and hoping he’s just trying to remove a line of attack against the party. “Oh look, you can’t get to work because of a train strike. It’s Labours fault, not ours for under paying them”.
>”The single most important thing, effective thing, that we can do for the working people who are really struggling, which I completely understand, is to have a Labour government and the role of government, the role of the prime minister is to resolve issues, whether issues in whatever sector they are, and you can’t sit around the cabinet table and then go to a picket line.”
>He added: “But my point is the single most effective thing that I can do is to win an election and have a Labour government so that we can actually tackle some of these issues at source, because the 10 years of low wages, a result of the failure of this government economically, a profound failure because it’s not just this year that wages have been stagnant, it’s 10 years or more.”
Not exactly what the headline says, but I didn’t honestly expect the people frothing at the mouth in the comments to actually read the article.
If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck…
…then it is probably not going to stand up for the little guy when it is in government.
He is correct.
I’ve got a problem with this, but see the reasoning. It’s a bit like Tories going on fox hunts. It’s bad optics. While I’d rather we were on picket lines, I’ll accept the argument that we shouldn’t because it removes a line of attack.
So much of Labour getting into power involves us gritting our teeth. 😞
Agreed. What they going to do when they are in government and on the picket line picketing themselves
He’s correct – the Labour party a lot of us want, is not one that’s going to win power.
This is beyond self sabotage now. He’s actively trying to hand the tories another GE win.
And in one fell swoop you make Labour throw away another election, you damn turnip.
Tory lite… Yuck
Maybe he should try reading the mood of the nation
They don’t deserve to be in government unless they do. Not every one though. I’m sure eventually one will be put together for the express purpose of discrediting the movement for instance by demanding ridiculous things. In all honesty I had expected him to be the architect of such a thing.
But currently all the pickets have been about quite reasonable things. Avoiding a reduction in pay, or an increase in hours without remuneration. It isn’t really a situation where there are two equally valid points of view, because business owners have been taking record profits for years. Letting the shareholders finance wage equivalence with inflation during the bad years, even if it means going into debt, is the other half of earning profits on good years. That balance is still vastly in their favour because wages haven’t kept pace with inflation for decades.
We are owed a lot more than what the picketers are asking. Keir is simply wrong.
If some of you are not aware, there is a new political party that is split away from labour. Check out their values and see if they align with your own. If so spread the word.
If you bother to read the article he’s saying that if you actually want to help workers who are striking they should be working their arses off instead of standing around for photo opportunities and wasting time acting leftier than thou
Why do Labour MPs need to be on picket lines? This is the job of the unions.
The job of Labour MPs is to get elected into power so they can bring about changes that can’t be achieved by strikes and direct action.
This is the whole reason the Labour Party exists – because it became apparent in the 1920s that protest and industrial action was not enough.
Somehow 100 years on people still don’t get that.
@Keir_Starmer says Labour Party set up to help/support working people should not help/support working people! Twp!!!
He seems more right wing than anyone in Thatcher’s Cabinet!
Why can’t he just be *honest* and come out and say “I don’t think a left-wing party can be electable”? That is *obviously* what he thinks and he would at least get *some* credit for being honest about it rather than trying to trick everyone.
What we need is less political performance and more legislative rights guaranteed for the workers.
It’s abhorrent what business can still get away with. Business who break these laws need to be punished severely.
Blue Labour. What’s the point?
Ok whatever Keith.
Its interesting he framed it on the context of acquiring power than the pursuit of what’s best for the country.
I kinda agree with this position. As a government in waiting you should support workers but understand that you will be at the negotiating table in the future. I presume that even Labour will negotiate with Unions and not just greenlight every demand.
You don’t need to picket to show general support for the right to strike.
It’s interesting that you never ever hear of any orders from the Conservative party for their MP’s not to have dinner with potential donors. In fact the are very open about their fund raising gal’s and dinners or indeed games of tennis with the Big Dog !
But then that’s ok because donors to the tory party do so out of pure charity and want absolutely nothing in return for their cold hard cash.
Imagine if Kier went to dinner with say the head of Unite who are their biggest donor ? The press would be all over it and very quickly paint it as shady deals taking place.
I personally want the people who want money from “us” to fund their party to bloody well work for their money and stand firmly behind what is a good cause.
Labour should be proud to stand up for those who fund them and respond to any bad press by simply referring to the fact that they are the party of the people and the labour market is made up of ordinary working people some of whom are funding them through union membership. This is in contrast to the Conservative party who get their funding from wealthy individuals including some people of dubious means.
Labour is deader then dead to me now.
Firstly labour needs to drop the American inspired race and sex baiting and dividing before any progress can be made.
Bold of him to say that but the trouble is many of them will do just that and he won’t be able to discipline them for fear of further rebellion.
Sir Keir starner is a useless waste of fucking skin. The long and short of his every appearance
I’ve heard of this party leader in some other country. Apparently he incited a conspiracy to have the bloke removed, undemocratically purged the party of the old bloke’s supporters and branded him as an anti Semite. Thank goodness that sort of treachery doesn’t happen in the UK and good on Keir for calling it out.
31 comments
Red Tory.
Won’t be voting Labour next time on this alone.
(Not that it matters, I live in a LAB safe seat. Look at my flair!)
> Labour MPs should not be engaging in Labour activities if they want to be in Labour
That about the long and short of it?
Just how many times does he need to kick the ball into his own net whilst the Tories all off the pitch getting hammered and doing lines?
activating Tory Lite mode ready for the next GE
I’m trying to be generous and hoping he’s just trying to remove a line of attack against the party. “Oh look, you can’t get to work because of a train strike. It’s Labours fault, not ours for under paying them”.
>”The single most important thing, effective thing, that we can do for the working people who are really struggling, which I completely understand, is to have a Labour government and the role of government, the role of the prime minister is to resolve issues, whether issues in whatever sector they are, and you can’t sit around the cabinet table and then go to a picket line.”
>He added: “But my point is the single most effective thing that I can do is to win an election and have a Labour government so that we can actually tackle some of these issues at source, because the 10 years of low wages, a result of the failure of this government economically, a profound failure because it’s not just this year that wages have been stagnant, it’s 10 years or more.”
Not exactly what the headline says, but I didn’t honestly expect the people frothing at the mouth in the comments to actually read the article.
If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck…
…then it is probably not going to stand up for the little guy when it is in government.
He is correct.
I’ve got a problem with this, but see the reasoning. It’s a bit like Tories going on fox hunts. It’s bad optics. While I’d rather we were on picket lines, I’ll accept the argument that we shouldn’t because it removes a line of attack.
So much of Labour getting into power involves us gritting our teeth. 😞
Agreed. What they going to do when they are in government and on the picket line picketing themselves
He’s correct – the Labour party a lot of us want, is not one that’s going to win power.
This is beyond self sabotage now. He’s actively trying to hand the tories another GE win.
And in one fell swoop you make Labour throw away another election, you damn turnip.
Tory lite… Yuck
Maybe he should try reading the mood of the nation
They don’t deserve to be in government unless they do. Not every one though. I’m sure eventually one will be put together for the express purpose of discrediting the movement for instance by demanding ridiculous things. In all honesty I had expected him to be the architect of such a thing.
But currently all the pickets have been about quite reasonable things. Avoiding a reduction in pay, or an increase in hours without remuneration. It isn’t really a situation where there are two equally valid points of view, because business owners have been taking record profits for years. Letting the shareholders finance wage equivalence with inflation during the bad years, even if it means going into debt, is the other half of earning profits on good years. That balance is still vastly in their favour because wages haven’t kept pace with inflation for decades.
We are owed a lot more than what the picketers are asking. Keir is simply wrong.
If some of you are not aware, there is a new political party that is split away from labour. Check out their values and see if they align with your own. If so spread the word.
https://breakthroughparty.org.uk/minifesto/
If you bother to read the article he’s saying that if you actually want to help workers who are striking they should be working their arses off instead of standing around for photo opportunities and wasting time acting leftier than thou
Why do Labour MPs need to be on picket lines? This is the job of the unions.
The job of Labour MPs is to get elected into power so they can bring about changes that can’t be achieved by strikes and direct action.
This is the whole reason the Labour Party exists – because it became apparent in the 1920s that protest and industrial action was not enough.
Somehow 100 years on people still don’t get that.
@Keir_Starmer says Labour Party set up to help/support working people should not help/support working people! Twp!!!
He seems more right wing than anyone in Thatcher’s Cabinet!
Why can’t he just be *honest* and come out and say “I don’t think a left-wing party can be electable”? That is *obviously* what he thinks and he would at least get *some* credit for being honest about it rather than trying to trick everyone.
What we need is less political performance and more legislative rights guaranteed for the workers.
It’s abhorrent what business can still get away with. Business who break these laws need to be punished severely.
Blue Labour. What’s the point?
Ok whatever Keith.
Its interesting he framed it on the context of acquiring power than the pursuit of what’s best for the country.
I kinda agree with this position. As a government in waiting you should support workers but understand that you will be at the negotiating table in the future. I presume that even Labour will negotiate with Unions and not just greenlight every demand.
You don’t need to picket to show general support for the right to strike.
It’s interesting that you never ever hear of any orders from the Conservative party for their MP’s not to have dinner with potential donors. In fact the are very open about their fund raising gal’s and dinners or indeed games of tennis with the Big Dog !
But then that’s ok because donors to the tory party do so out of pure charity and want absolutely nothing in return for their cold hard cash.
Imagine if Kier went to dinner with say the head of Unite who are their biggest donor ? The press would be all over it and very quickly paint it as shady deals taking place.
I personally want the people who want money from “us” to fund their party to bloody well work for their money and stand firmly behind what is a good cause.
Labour should be proud to stand up for those who fund them and respond to any bad press by simply referring to the fact that they are the party of the people and the labour market is made up of ordinary working people some of whom are funding them through union membership. This is in contrast to the Conservative party who get their funding from wealthy individuals including some people of dubious means.
Labour is deader then dead to me now.
Firstly labour needs to drop the American inspired race and sex baiting and dividing before any progress can be made.
Bold of him to say that but the trouble is many of them will do just that and he won’t be able to discipline them for fear of further rebellion.
Sir Keir starner is a useless waste of fucking skin. The long and short of his every appearance
I’ve heard of this party leader in some other country. Apparently he incited a conspiracy to have the bloke removed, undemocratically purged the party of the old bloke’s supporters and branded him as an anti Semite. Thank goodness that sort of treachery doesn’t happen in the UK and good on Keir for calling it out.