this post was submitted on 28 Sep 2025
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Maybe things can't only get better for Keir Starmer, as he is shamed with the latest polling just as the Labour conference begins

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[–] TheGrandNagus@lemmy.world 15 points 6 days ago (5 children)

Absolutely mental.

Kier is boring, has floated some things that the electorate doesn't like (e.g. taking WFA away from the wealthy), and has done a very poor job highlighting the good that this government is doing, but is he fuck worse than Boris, Truss, or even Sunak.

People need to get some damn perspective.

[–] eldebryn@lemmy.world 28 points 6 days ago (2 children)

His supposedly labour government has also doubled down on censoring wikipedia, calling people pedo-sympathizers for resisting absurd internet control laws that literally affect every digital facing international company, and is now promoting a digital ID straight out every digital era authoritatians or fascist's wet dreams.

Is he better than sunak? Probably? Kinda? That's a very low bar though and the fact that we even talk about it is sad. Their actions have been so much unlike what people think about when voting labour parties that it's surreal.

People reasonably feel cheated on given the party's supposed focus.

[–] Hansae@lemmy.dbzer0.com -2 points 5 days ago (2 children)

Honestly on Sunak, I didnt particularly like him nor his party nor the policies pushed but the guy did give off the impression that he was genuinely trying to improve things and was giving it his all despite his party being a unruly shitshow.

I get the feeling history will wind up treating him as it did May, a kneecapped PM who did genuinely want to do some good in a political enviroment that didnt exactly allow for it.

[–] phutatorius@lemmy.zip 1 points 4 days ago

the guy did give off the impression that he was genuinely trying to improve things and was giving it his all despite his party being a unruly shitshow

Funny, all I saw was a smug time-server who didn't give a toss about British people who aren't rich.

[–] Flax_vert@feddit.uk 0 points 5 days ago

Some say that he would have been good if he started when boris started.

I don't even think boris was the worse policy-wise. It's just he couldn't keep his MPs in line.

[–] danielquinn@lemmy.ca 20 points 6 days ago (1 children)

It's the expectation.

Boris and Truss were abject morons and Sunak was an insulated, rich Tory. They were expected to be terrible and so we weren't surprised.

Starmer won in a landslide victory for Labour and went about screwing the poor, arresting old ladies, and presiding over genocide. Conservatives hate him because he's on the Red Team, and the Left hate him because he acts like a Tory.

If he'd run as a Tory, he'd be scoring higher than everyone since Cameron, but he was supposed to fix the mess, not make it worse.

[–] TheGrandNagus@lemmy.world -5 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (2 children)

How has he screwed the poor?

  • nationalising trains
  • nationalising steel
  • nationalising a part of our energy sector
  • bringing the NHS back under direct public control
  • ending various tax-dodging loopholes, such as the IHT for farmers
  • windfall tax on energy companies
  • charging VAT on private schooling
  • expanding free childcare
  • restarting SureStart (albeit under a different name)
  • expanding free school meals
  • expanding school breakfast clubs
  • guaranteeing jobs for young people (announced this morning)
  • big increases to the minimum wage, especially for the youngest
  • expansion of workers rights
  • expansion of renters rights
  • big increase in infrastructure investment, particularly for renewables

Is any of that screwing the poor?

arresting old ladies

I didn't realise that when you're a certain gender or past a certain age the law should no longer apply?

and presiding over genocide

Huh? He banned weapons exports to Israel, publicly condemned Israel for war crimes, sanctioned a bunch of members of their parliament, ramped up aid for Palestine, committed to arresting Netanyahu if he ever steps foot on British soil, resisted joining the US and Israel with their attacks in Iran, and has recognised Palestine.

He can't do much more than that. Would you like him to invade Israel? I don't think that's realistic.

If he'd run as a Tory, he'd be scoring higher than everyone since Cameron, but he was supposed to fix the mess, not make it worse.

How is he making things worse?

E: sure, just downvote when you see some inconvenient facts. You clearly hate all of the bullet points I've just outlined, in which case I'm not sure why you ever supported Labour in the first place. They've been a centre-left party for half a century now.

[–] yeather@lemmy.ca 3 points 4 days ago

The trains were nationalised by the Tory government in 2020, and they also abolished franchising later that year. They also began to set up Great British Railways in 2021. All that’s happening now is the contracts are being withdrawn as they reach their break points.Steel has not been nationalised. The government has taken over the funding of redundancy payments and retraining for the shut down private sector Tata furnaces in Port Talbot, and has taken steps to force the owners of British Steel to keep the idle furnaces in Scunthorpe burning.There has also been no nationalisation in the energy sector. Great British Energy is set up as a way to subsidise projects created and run by the private sector and other public bodies. It will not generate, distribute or retail energy.

[–] phutatorius@lemmy.zip 1 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Huh? He banned weapons exports to Israel, publicly condemned Israel for war crimes, sanctioned a bunch of members of their parliament, ramped up aid for Palestine, committed to arresting Netanyahu if he ever steps foot on British soil, resisted joining the US and Israel with their attacks in Iran, and has recognised Palestine.

And still has contracts for the Israeli military to train British troops, and still criminalises the expression of support for Palestinian rights. At best, we're seeing some mixed messaging here.

They’ve been a centre-left party for half a century now.

Sure, because there's no difference between Labour under Michael Foot or Corbyn and Labour under Blair or Starmer. /s

[–] TheGrandNagus@lemmy.world 1 points 3 days ago

FFS, why are you lying? Supporting Palestine is not illegal. The government supports Palestine. Stop the lies.

The only thing that's illegal is supporting a proscribed violent group.

Sure, because there's no difference between Labour under Michael Foot or Corbyn and Labour under Blair or Starmer. /s

Obviously they're different under every leader. They're still centre left and I just proved it to you. You being too stupid to accept it doesn't change reality. Go look at my list again.

At least he's not a supporter of Putin like Corbyn, and could actually win an election unlike Corbyn.

[–] Digit@lemmy.wtf 3 points 5 days ago

Kier is boring

You'd think he'd at least be a bit more lively, with all that powder up his nose.

Remember the 107th rule of acquisition: Win or lose, there's always Huyperian Beetle Snuff

[–] Flax_vert@feddit.uk -1 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Boris's policies weren't the worse. He was just absolutely incompetent at actually leading the party/government on a personal level and was prone to slight corruption

[–] TheGrandNagus@lemmy.world 5 points 5 days ago (1 children)
[–] Flax_vert@feddit.uk -2 points 5 days ago (1 children)

He had better immigration attitudes than sunak and kier

[–] TheGrandNagus@lemmy.world 1 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

Huh? How the fuck did you work that one out? He imported 1 million people per year, most of them non-workers who will need government subsidy their entire lives, mostly from areas of extreme religious fundamentalism.

Is that what you want?

And there's a lot more to governance than immigration. This is the man with the "oven ready" Brexit deal, thousands of extra unnecessary covid deaths, rampant corruption, shutting down parliament when they were going to vote against him, etc.

[–] Flax_vert@feddit.uk 1 points 3 days ago

My girlfriend got here thanks to his policies

[–] njm1314@lemmy.world 0 points 6 days ago

Sunak and Kier seem like a wash almost.