How is he going to win back the lost northern Labour support?

In the north, being a heterosexual white male who has had a successful career before politics isn't seen as the crime that it might be to some media types.

I've got to ask what these new blue, Northern, Labour supporters saw in millionaire, old Etonian, bon vivant, Boris Johnson, or millionaire, old Etonian, investment manager, Jacob Rees-Mogg. You can paint Starmer as an establishment figure all you want, but Johnson and JRM are the establishment's establishment!

You mean SIR Starmer.... surely?

QC, DPP,CPS, Hooman Rights lawyer.

Seems a pretty decent and sensible bloke, reading his wiki you'd say as blue as the pacific. Be nice to have a sensible opposition, hopefully he will crush momentum and rid the party of anti-semites.

My guess is you won't read another word in the press about Antisemitism or Venezuela.

I certainly think Keir will be a bit more "statesman" like than Corbyn, he is comparatively new to Parliament and, initial impression, more open to partnership, at least in these strange times.

Labour needs to reinvent itself pretty thoroughly to become relevant to modern Britain. What were once the northern labour heartlands are now in electoral play and so important to both major parties. If you’re under ~40 in those regions, being of political importance will be a novel experience after a long period of Conservatives knowing they couldn’t win there and Blair taking those seats for granted while wooing Worcester woman.

Labour have got a few years to work it out. Sulking Momentum, can eff right off with their promise to hold Starmer to account. They sound like the sodding ERG (before the ERG took over - they’ll be less keen on accountability now).

The post-Brexit Conservative Government has to work out what it is now, while simultaneously trying to run the country during and in the aftermath of the coronavirus crisis. There was a bleak humour in seeing Laura Kuenssberg stressing the scale of the task facing Starmer, when comedy charlatan Johnson is laid up sick, during a crisis that could easily overwhelm somebody fighting fit and competent, and with another kid on the way at 55.

I dope you spat on the floor when you typed that womans name, she is awful.

They will be raking over his old cases to see what dirt or with a bit of a stretch unproven dirt. He is a Sir something Johnson is yet to receive which I am sure will be a cause of great grief to him.
At least Sir Keir Starmer does not have to live with a name like Boris de Pfeffel and unlike Johnson he was born in the U.K and appears better at his personal life. In addition I am sure he is more honest than Johnson but that is not a very high bar to reach

and there we were, having a sensible conversation.....

Jimmy Saville was also a sir so I wouldn’t use that as a bench mark LMAO.

Boris Johnson is also the prime minister. Something that Starmer is unlikely, sorry, has no chance of achieving

I think the right-wing media attack strategy on Starmer will be like this:

1) They know it is unlikely to stick if they try to make out that Starmer himself is a Britain-hating, terrorist-supporting antisemite. But they can probably find others in the Labour party (especially councillors) who have questionable stuff on their social media feeds, so will continue to research these so there can be a drip feed of them coming through. After 2 years or so, when they are still unearthing cases of "prospective Labour councillor in Barnsley said in a facebook group in 2013 that Palestine should be free from the river to the sea" they will have an argument to undermine Starmer's claims that he has got rid of antisemitism.

2) They will simultaneously try to undermine Starmer's support on the left by making him out to be not woke enough, attacking him for failing to do enough on transgender rights, bringing up things from his time as DPP when he "failed women who suffered from violence". The audience here isn't the core Tory voter who doesn't care, it's the disillusioned former Corbyn supporter who will say "Labour won't get my vote until they elect a proper leader again".

I have no doubt that Starmer will come under a lot of attack and also he is hardly a charismatic or media friendly performer. He comes across as dull and wooden.

However he does have some advantages that will make him a more difficult opponent for the Tories than Ed Miliband or Corbyn. He is very good on detail and will be better at forensically holding Johnson to account, and will expose the Tories when they are trying to blag things. He also will have a natural appeal to a broad spectrum of ex Blairites/Lib Dems and pro-EU Tories that are disillusioned with the current party, and if the Tories really mess things up with Brexit and effectively become an anti-business party (well anti small-business, they may well give favours to big business backers) then Starmer will have default appeal to the middle Englanders who voted for Blair. Corbyn was toxic to a large proportion of these groups because of antisemitism and also his Brexit policy. Starmer won't be.

There is a risk for the Tories that they focus on the ex Labour "red wall" heartlands and leach London, cities and middle England to Starmer. The red wall is most exposed to negative impacts from Brexit and from the coronavirus recession so there could be a lot of angry people there whose lives have got worse since Johnson came in, and that would put the Tories in trouble if their grip loosened there and they realised they'd been undermined in metropolitan areas and shires.

At the moment the Conservatives are still confident and crowing "Labour will never win again" but things can turn quickly in politics. I remember at the time when Cameron took the Tory leadership in 2005, people were writing the obituaries of the Conservative party saying after three election defeats the traditional Tory party could never find a route back to power unless it fundamentally reformed itself. Five years (and the aftermath of a recession) later Cameron was PM. There's a bigger recession coming this time.

A good choice Sir Kier,

Should attract a few dissenters from this Tory socialist government

The initial attack on Starmer will be his perceived failure as DPP on child abuse; it started this weekend with his decision not to pursue charges against Jimmy Saville, and if it follows the now established playbook they used on Corbyn, the logical extension will be that all Labour members who oppose the motion, are paedophile apologists. I see it's started this weekend - and the BBC will repeat it with glee, as it gets them off the hook for their culpability in allowing Saville to hide in plain sight for many years. Thin line for the Tories to walk mind you, given that Mr Saville was Margaret Thatcher's favourite New Year's dinner guest for several years, and she lobbied on numerous occasions for him to be knighted.

As an aside, I worked with Keir Starmer a bit many years ago - nice enough man, but exceptionally dull and uninspiring, even then; if as I suspect we've got Tony Blair v2.0 (minus the charisma) I don't have much hope for the supposed rebirth of the party.

Using the Savile thing is pretty desperate. It's like blaming the number 11 batsman for not getting all the runs, when the openers have got ducks, and the middle order haven't reached double figures. Still, it'll be fleshed out and will probably work with a good section of the British public. I'd imagine come the next election, there will be BBC vox pops of numpties saying "I'm not voting for a peadophile apologist party".

The "re birth" of Labour ala Corbyn is dead and having suffered such a huge GE defeat, it's critical that Labour moves on and quick.
The Tories have managed to do the unthinkable and encourage dyed in the wool Labour supporters to vote Tory.
Labour now have to not only win back their traditional supporters but, to ever regain power, they need to encourage some idle of the road and those on the left of the Tory party to also vote for them.
Corbyn was great at preaching to the converted and at generating support among the younger generation but, he moved so far away from the centre ground that, he never had a chance of gaining power and this was against a fractured and broken Tory party.
Starmer looks like the proverbial "safe pair of hands" and lets all hope that he can start convincing people that Labour are a better option than the greedy self serving b'stards that we have in charge at the moment

What Starmer needs to do very quickly is learn something from Tony Blair

Find yourself a nice house pet to give you some W/C cred, to win the northern voters back and be something of a Rottweiler in attacking the Tories

Step forward Prescott V2

I think that Angela Raynor is a Rottweiler in women's clothing and this is meant as a compliment to her.

Unless I have missed it I can’t see Yvette Cooper assigned any senior position. Surprising as she is an experienced and capable politician.

I think you have answered your own question.

The difference being they don't hide it. What a joke the labour leadership campaign was listening to each and every one of the telling us how they were brought up in council house and attended state schools.

They may not hide their upbringing but, FFS, Boris is self proclaimed "man of the people"
Never has been and never will be



Lets be honest here, its impossible for anyone from an "estate", with a regional accent to become Prime Minister, those that may begin their political life with a regional accent soon dispense with it as they climb the political ladder, as do most (not all) successful business leaders.

He did seem extremely silent during the Labour anti-Semitism arguments,despite the fact that his wife and 2 children are of the Jewish faith.

Seems strange.

He has got round to mentioning it this morning.

Perhaps he knew that the former leader was a busted flush,as far back as the rest of the right-thinking people in this country.

Quote ="Backwoodsman"Unless I have missed it I can’t see Yvette Cooper assigned any senior position. Surprising as she is an experienced and capable politician.'" It's because she got the job of Chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee which is one of the most high profile. Similarly Hilary Benn got the Chair of Exiting the EU Select Committee. https://www.parliament.uk/business/news ... ions-2020/ Only backbenchers are allowed to chair a Select Committee, if you're in the Shadow Cabinet you have to resign the post. A Select Committee chair has more real power to hold the government to account through Parliament, cross-examining Ministers and civil servants, requesting the publication of documents, than a Shadow spokesperson which is more about being a spokesperson in the media. So it was unlikely that Cooper or Benn would relinquish those roles. Also Select Committee chairs get about £15k pay increment on their MP salary, I don't think there's a pay award attached to being in the Shadow Cabinet so that would involve a pay cut too! If Labour were to win the next election I would expect Cooper and Benn to go in the actual Cabinet.

Quote ="Backwoodsman"Unless I have missed it I can’t see Yvette Cooper assigned any senior position. Surprising as she is an experienced and capable politician.'" It's because she got the job of Chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee which is one of the most high profile. Similarly Hilary Benn got the Chair of Exiting the EU Select Committee. https://www.parliament.uk/business/news ... ions-2020/ Only backbenchers are allowed to chair a Select Committee, if you're in the Shadow Cabinet you have to resign the post. A Select Committee chair has more real power to hold the government to account through Parliament, cross-examining Ministers and civil servants, requesting the publication of documents, than a Shadow spokesperson which is more about being a spokesperson in the media. So it was unlikely that Cooper or Benn would relinquish those roles. Also Select Committee chairs get about £15k pay increment on their MP salary, I don't think there's a pay award attached to being in the Shadow Cabinet so that would involve a pay cut too! If Labour were to win the next election I would expect Cooper and Benn to go in the actual Cabinet.

Naughty bigoted Southerners hey.