The clue is in the job title, Keir. People are still dying, for God’s sake oppose
Labour leader Keir Starmer responded to Boris Johnson’s declaration that the coronavirus pandemic is basically over – with a well-done for trying his best and a promise of support.
Starmer didn’t hold Johnson to account for the 65,000 or more people who have died.
He didn’t point out the incidence of the virus that is still far higher than other countries that have lifted their lockdowns.
He didn’t mention the increasing numbers of scientists warning of the dangers of a huge second wave – or the sudden spikes and high ‘R’ rate in Germany, a country that has handled the pandemic far better than Johnson.
Instead, he said he believed Johnson and co are doing their best – and offered support to the man scientists believe is responsible for tens of thousands of needless deaths, along with yet another ‘get out of jail free’ card that ‘there are no easy decisions to be made:
Yet again it was left to the Labour back bench to state the obvious, with former leadership tip Ian Lavery foremost:
Mr Starmer needs to start actually opposing – and standing up for the families of the tens of thousands of people – predominantly black, Asian and from other ethnic minorities – killed by Johnson’s recklessness, wilful negligence and mad eugenics and the more that will follow if Johnson botches the lifting like he has botched everything else in this pandemic.
Right the hell now.
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Wholeheartedly agree, but please permit me one quibble. Why “Mr Starmer”? He accepted a knighthood. Thereforeh e should be “Sir Keir Starmer” on first occurrence, and then “Sir Keir” or simply “Starmer”, depending on how deferential you’re feeling. At my age, I’m lucky to retain a forelock , so I won’t risk tugging it!
Don’t believe in knighthoods – and certainly not that a Labour leader should be sporting one.
That’ll teach me to skim comments – I thought he was being ironic.
Agree Squawk box,but it says more about the Labour party than the joke of a titled knight of the realm leading it doesn’t it?
@Alan Harrison
Bastard’s lucky he gets a mere ‘stammer’ outta me, the greasy shithouse…Seriously, I would rather ed ‘weird f***er’ balls was leader, rather than this bucketful.
Being as disposed to favour the economic interests of the wealthy over the lives of the many is something they share.
Starmer will have every sympathy with Johnson, having not the least idea himself of how to manage the crisis any better.
Starmer is a Zionist Tory part of the system . Labor as it was born to be is dead ,, its a kosher party owned by the fiends of Israel now
Terry Alderman, your very tiresome constant obsession with Israel and your use of the completely non-defined term , ‘Zionism’, and inclusion of the irrelevant Jewish dietary term ‘kosher’, strongly suggests you should seek medical help or perhaps simply post less on Skwawkbox, and more on the usual alt-right sites more suited to obsessions about Jews .
The very historically complex term ‘Zionism’ is saturated with sundry alternative meanings, often with deeply racist , anti-Semitic ‘dog-whistle’ toxic memes and tropes attached. Starmer may indeed be a hard-line , full-cream, ‘Zionist’ in terms of offering a totally unconditional support to each and every action of the Israeli state under all its governments . But is this actually the ghastly Starmer’s position ? Whatever Starmer thinks, the Labour Party’s official position is simply to recognise the right of Israel to exist as a state, but within internationally recognised boundaries, and to support a ‘Two States’ negotiated solution with the Palestinians. This is also the position of the PLO, Jeremy Corbyn, and most world governments. Are they, in your personal (unknown) definition of ‘Zionism’ , ‘Zionists’ too ? Only a few nutty ultralefts, open fascists, and the clerico-fascists of Daesh and Hamas and Hezbollah , want Israel in any form to be simply wiped from the face of the earth.
Your constant throwing about of the, deliberately non-defined, very loaded ambiguous, term , ‘Zionism’, as you regularly do, I’m afraid marks you down as either deeply ignorant, or an anti-Semite , who needs medical help for an unhealthy obsession. Along with a number of your co-posters on this issue like Jack T. Or of course, like many Right Wing paid trolls on here, constantly harping on about ‘Zionism’ on a Left discussion forum is a sure fire way to both discredit the Left, and distract the Left from the wider toxic political background to the utter defeat of ‘Corbynism’ and the now total victory of the Labour neoliberal Right.
The 2 state solution was buried the moment Rabin signed his own death sentence by agreeing to the agreement with Egypt all those decades ago.Look at the West Bank map in 1991 and look at it today how much of the occupied territories have the Zionists continued to steal off the Palestinians, look at the way the Zionists treat the people in Gaza( the largest prison camp in the world) and murdered 169 men women and children and they continue to be murdered plus evicted illegally from their homes by the Zionists whilst the Western politicians wring their hands like Pointus Pilate and keep churning out the excuses for the apartheid state.
Exactly right. To say Zionism is ill defined etc etc is rubbish. It’s a political ideology not religious and promotes Israeli Nationalism.
Oh fuck off
Jpenney “The very historically complex term ‘Zionism’ ” Please explain how Zionism is complicated? This is the usual myth and smokescreen which Zionists use to try and mask the truth that Zionism is racism. You are up to normal tricks of Zionists in trying to conflate Zionism with anti-Semitism, you are a disgrace.
Nathan Birnbaum who coined the term ‘Zionism’ was very clear about its meaning i.e that Jews are a separate nation and that they were destined to reclaim Palestine, with which even many Jews disagree. For their pains, they get suspended or expelled from the LP under the orders of the Zionist BoD.
By the way, thanks for the name drop.
Seems to me the problem with the word is its misuse by the far right as cover for the breeding of antisemitism among the hard of thinking.
When the left insist upon using it, despite using it in its correct meaning, they open the door to the far right, the fucking idiots.
“All lives matter” is a slightly more subtle such ploy, in this case intended to create a false equivalence between racism and anti-racism.
Now… was “the fucking idiots” clear, or would it be read differently by different audiences?
David, Zionism is racism, it’s as simple as that. If we fail to keep pointing it out, we are giving in to those who want to cloak it in some sort of religious connotation. If a debate needs to be had, let’s have it but don’t be cowed by accepting the terms or restrictions of the far right/racists.
People are losing their land, homes and often their lives because of Zionism (not to say political leaders) we must not be afraid to highlight it for fear of upsetting someone’s feelings.
I never hold back on matters of principle for fear of upsetting anyone’s feelings Jack T.
This is about refusing to give comfort to the far right.
Sir Keir asked about the additional funding for local councils, but didn’t ask if Labour councils were going to get the same amount as Tory Councils – or be given a lot less, as usual! https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/jun/21/exclusive-labour-councils-in-england-hit-harder-by-austerity-than-tory-areas?fbclid=IwAR2tqxcLf7hpSRvyb_hMrCTr0zDEyAjzlYtsFV05X7TxRGBTdBiSt8aiNy4
Having grown up in a Republic I find a this royalty and title malarkey somewhat outdated for the 21st century. I know that many people like their royals, but I find that difficult to comprehend. In my view it is not only regrettable and totally unexcusable that the so-called opposition under Mr Starmer is deadly silent. I think that my favourite Party Leader would have given him hell in the nicest possible way.
Sabine Ebert Forbes……Spot on.and I cannot imagine how anyone could vote for the titled knight.ITs embarrassing for all of us in the 21st century to vote for pomp privalage and Royalty….Makes me wonder how we ever got out of the caves with that type of intellect..!
Do you not remember Kinnock and others said how they would never take ermine? Touch before my time, but they didn’t hold themselves to it, did they?
As I read elsewhere today “Labour is the party of capitalism. And if it didn’t exist, capitalists would invent it”
Starmer aims to get more support from the right wing press who praise his ‘forensic skills’ in cross examining Johnson. He was never any good at cross examining anybody – ask those who saw him in action. Dull and very boring was his style as an advocate and he retains it because he’s incapable of anything else. He’s thick enough to believe that the right wing press might not turn on him at any time they want and he won’t have a leg to stand on. Hopeless.
Yeah, but then why would he oppose his own party!
Starmer’s woeful performance today reminded me of Labour’s 2015 abstention on the Welfare Bill.
More tosh.
You have to be simple-minded or blind not to be able to read the simple to understand graphs showing the virus following Farr’s law in the usual way and that the imaginary ‘high virus incidence’ is well below levels that are described as ‘epidemic’.
As to ‘second waves’ – anyone with a bit of nous would recognize that this is an addition to the ‘scary movie’ narrative, now that the original fraudulent predictions have been totally blown out of the water, and the contrary science and decent modelling has proved accurate.
Anyway – good luck with the continuing alliance with the Tory incompetents. But it isn’t ‘lest’ – just ‘left behind’.
I’m buying some burglars’ eye-wear in case of needing to wear a mask – it might have *some* use raising a smile.
I drew on one of my dust masks to make it look like Hannibal Lecter’s with bars on the drawn-on ‘mouth opening’ just for fun.
People in the supermarket kept their distance… took it for aggression or me for a nutter rather than a joker I think 🙁
Thought about going shopping in the wetsuit, mask and snorkel just for a laugh, but it’s a lot of discomfort for the amusement of others and I’m not that altruistic.
And before anyone says different, it’s a WETSUIT.
It’s NOT a gimp suit.
RH,
I note you are issuing support to both Starmer (Squatter & Establishment Stooge) and the clown of a PM the UK has – you then throw in some scientific crap, which, I’m afraid to say is absolute bollocks – come down to Asia, maybe Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, South Korea or Vietnam and lets discuss your ignorance.
Now, being the historian that I am, I’ve read some highly scientific books on Pandemics of late, with much emphasis on the Spanish Influenza outbreak, which, came in three waves. So, do tell me, given neither the UK or the USA have actually had ‘lockdowns’, why are you suggesting no ‘Second Wave’, when this is exactly what’s happening in Germany and North Wales and which, many scientific advisors expect here in Asia, or does Asian opinion not count in our racist Labour Party?
Anyhow, if any bugger supports Starmer & BoJo’s policy on Covid-19 I just hope they catch it themselves – Mean ain’t I?
Its interesting neither the Knight of the realm nor the buffon had a word to say concerning the dire state of the economy because of the totally unnecessary restrictions imposed due to Covid-19.
Moreover, it’s also very pointed that neither of the two sides of the same coin mentioned : the 1 in 6 jobs that will be lost in the vital automobile industry, the shrinking of the economy by approximately 25%, the dramatic rise in unemployment, the prospect of many small to medium businesses and the effects it will have on the rates of homelessness, poverty, foodbanks plus the unbearable strain on the already cash starved social services.
I don’t know about them wearing masks while out amongst the public they ought to have bags over their heads!
stammer is to politics what that morbidly obese blonde southern bint** who’s never off the Tv, is to entertainment & talent.
Nobody I know has a f***ing clue why either of them are there, or what they actually do.
**I don’t even know her name – and I don’t want to. The world’d be better off without them as neither are use nor ornament.
And yet they get paid megabucks for being untalented nonentities. FML – Where’s mine?
Even hugh pym is harder on the toerags than stammer. And I’ve seen more teeth at the methadone queue in the birkenhead branch of boots than either of them ponces.
Anyone paying to subsidise that stammer and his cronies must have rocks in their heads.
What IS the bleedin’ point?
Our knight of the realm is a liar and a devious criminal….But thats popular amongst the voters of the Labour party and the country who enjoy a crook as Opposition leader or PM….doesn’t matter when choosing the cheek of the same backside..One liked to dress up as a clown and bullingdon boy ,and the other deviant dressef up and wore a wig and gown to make a good living.and lie through his back teeth.For those who voted for the knight .Do you realise that you voted to destroy the Labour party and send the country back in time to an age of cruel and mindless poverty equal to any Dickension horror story…Shameless fools?
Fools indeed but maybe some are growing ashamed of what they did? They ought to be!
Well, I can think of one on this site who will never feel that emotion about the bought and paid for lackey of the establishment plus his US oligarch handlers.
We have the same people promoting him claiming that he is carrying on with Jeremy Corbyn’s agenda, so we should all just sit back and go with the mood music.
If Starmer really was carrying out Labour’s real agenda he would never have joined the coup, got behind the recognition of the actual referendum, and never agree with a pathological liar like Johnson.
It was no surprise that Johnson so warmly welcomed Starmer’s response to his statement. What on earth does Starmer think he’s doing? It was totally bizarre given the death rate and the potential lethality of the Tory statement.
Did Suckup Starmer even mention the SAGE recommendation not to go to 1 metre or was that missing in his fawning sycophancy rush up Johnsons arse !
Tory policy –
– left to die the old in care homes,
– ignored 7.8m people aged between 60 and 70 equally at highest risk of Covid19 by age group alone (also discriminated against for postcode lottery for NHS hospital Covid19 treatment, by age alone),
– the high death rate of men and women between 60 and 66 from January to June 2020 (ONS), denied state pension and pension credit, so could not self isolate as pensioners.
– Ignored the Covid19 baby / child deaths and the following diseases that killed Covid19 recovered babes and kids.
– The high disabled people death rate from Covid19, made worse by Tory policy.
Starmer knew Covid19 was coming, as it was in Europe (Holland) from November, and anyway it is an airborne novel virus, never before in humans, with no vaccine, so would have had a high fatality rate without lockdown / 100 per cent testing from January 2020 when it first entered UK. Yet he still helped to throw the 2019 election against Labour.
Perhaps now is the to time to demand 100 per cent postal election, and vote out of MP job Starmer and his front bench and right wing Labour MPs, as well as Tories and Lib Dems, and only vote NATIONAL HEALTH ACTION party, to get policies from NHS doctors as government, that actually care about public health.
Might Skwawkbox care to sign, please, and widely share on your Blog, my petition for just that:
https://www.change.org/Demand-2020-General-Election-and-Only-Vote-NHA-party-NHS-doctors-to-run-government
Grey Swans, the postal vote may have been counted by a company with ties to the Tories – even if not, capitalists will naturally do what they can to keep capitalists in government, so having postal votes counted without supervision by representatives of all parties is unacceptable.
Given that Labour’s right wing handed the last two elections to the Tories to keep Corbyn out of Downing Street – why would they stop at cheating on the counting of postal votes?
Instead of “counted without supervision” I should have written “under constant supervision.”
Doug, if ‘Larry Lemming’ said to his mates “hey, better not jump off that cliff, it’s suicide” would he be undemocratic?
The attacks on Keir Starmer are pointless and I’m no fan
Starmer and McDonnell will take to their graves the knowledge they called it wrong on Brexit
Starmer is a prisoner of Leave and Labour members, he is left stranded in an alligator infested swamp surrounded by sharks, he has no choice but to try and bring party together
Deal with the realities, such as non members have no skin in the game particularly on here
It was the electorate that “called it wrong” – on Brexit and the last two general elections.
Or do you think those who voted Tory “called it right?”
Perhaps you think the electorate is by definition always right?
Perhaps you believe referenda should always be “respected” however narrow the majority and however far-reaching the consequences?
You do know that a majority would vote for the return of capital punishment if a referendum was held in the aftermath of any major atrocity, right?
As an ex-member I have no skin in THIS particular iteration of the party – but “the game” is far bigger than the bunch of Tory rejects and misfits that currently has a knife at the party’s throat.
David
My argument is you have no skin in the democratic process the moment you fail to honour the referendum
– My argument is you have no skin in the democratic process the moment you fail to honour the referendum –
Which would be a perfectly valid argument if everything was above board without the stench of corruption about the leave campaigns.
If the democratic process is manipulated by unseen actors with their own agenda then it ceases to be a democratic process and doesn’t deserve to be honoured by anyone.
And no, I didn’t support the People’s Vote Campaign, nor would I without first getting to the bottom of what went on behind the scenes and which now appears to have been conveniently swept under the carpet.
Perhaps you should read Christopher Wylie’s “Mindf*ck” which might help open your eyes to the ‘realities’ of the referendum and how the ‘democratic process’ was, is and will be manipulated now and in the future without proper oversight.
PW
Brexit and Covid19 are not left right issues, we know there is a bias 8n the system, we start from behind but it’s the only game in town and it’s up to us to win it and then fix it
Simple question for those outside the tent what is your cunning plan because I’m fucked if I can see anything credible
Paul
Are you one of them mentioned in the report
“No skin in the democratic process?”
“Fail to honour the referendum?”
Even non-voters have as much right as you or anyone to speak on democracy, politics or anything else. Everyone has that right.
Doug, I would continue to speak against capital punishment long after a referendum if the electorate were misguided enough to pass it into law.
Would you decry my “failing to honour” that referendum too?
If the electorate couldn’t be misguided – Johnson would be unemployed – correct?
– Deal with the realities, such as non members have no skin in the game particularly on here –
The ‘realities’ are that:
1) this is not an exclusively Labour member’s site.
2) anyone who has a vote in the UK most definitely does have ‘skin in the game’, regardless of whether or not they are a Labour member
3) by continually telling non-members they have no place on here how does that further the cause of the Labour Party? It’s being no less divisive than those you accuse and certainly doesn’t encourage any new-comers who might be thinking of joining.
4) regardless of whether they’re Labour members or not, anyone who might be helping to fund this site has an automatic right to comment, whether you agree with them or not
5) and most importantly, who on Earth appointed you as ‘gatekeeper’? That’s right – nobody.
For once I can agree with your comment! Friend ‘Doug’ is being silly and must know it. Ignore him. Point 4 is a good one; if only LP members were allowed I guess the site might collapse? after all there are now fewer Party Members on the site since the coup.
”Starmer is a prisoner of Leave and Labour members,”
A ‘prisoner of leave’? You pissed or summit? And he’s definitely NOT a prisoner of labour members (see below)
he is left stranded in an alligator infested swamp surrounded by sharks,
Surrounded by flunkeys more like. He’s poisoned the water so that only him and his other creatures can survive in it.
he has no choice but to try and bring party together
Which he IS doing by purging all the left-leaning members he can get away with. That’s those who couldn’t stand the stench of his corruption and jumped before they were pushed.
Deal with the realities, such as non members have no skin in the game particularly on here
Ah, the steve h attitude. The one that seen the electorate desert labour in droves last December… Well you’re quite welcome to YOUR party. Just don’t even attempt to convince me stammer and that shower of shite are – or ever will be – worthy of my vote, nevermind any subscription they’re NEVER getting outta me.
Toffee
Never ever desert your team
Not even if half the team can be bribed into kicking the wrong way with the promise of ermine?
If you dont have a clear cut plan to remedy the situation then it just looks like you are spitting your dummies out
JC legacy is the membership and manifesto, to waste that is criminal
Under current party system we need to regain control of NEC, Unions and prepare to challenge leadership if they let us down, so who is our leader in waiting
That way worst case scenario we lose 12 months which at the moment is an academic exercise
Rejoin and recruit
“…to waste that is criminal” – no, to cheat the members and the electorate by working for a Tory victory is criminal.
Hijacking the Labour Party by undemocratic and possibly illegal means is criminal.
Corbyn won the leadership – twice – and a huge increase in membership on his virtues.
And a popularity bordering on universal acclaim.
Starmer on the other hand won by subterfuge, concealment, political shenanigans and rich donors – coupled with the dismal ineptitude and immeasurable dullness of the rest of the PLP.
I mean… Starmer’s dull, but just look at the rest.
HeHe. Well I havent seen my name there, have you? It’s a pretty weak riposte to my criticism of your idea of restricting this web site to Members Only which is plain daft.