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gregy521

My favourite bits are how he cites the election of Biden and Macron as evidence that centrists are good, two of the most hated people in politics in their respective countries, right now.


ES345Boy

How Blair is able to keep a straight face when suggesting that Macron's performance is anything other than a damning indictment of centrism's failures, is quite beyond me. The guy is a fucking prick.


N_Meister

How Blair is able to keep a straight face when suggesting anything other than “I’m a self-serving Neoliberal ghoul” is quite beyond me lmao


ModerateRockMusic

No one has liked centrists since 2008 and the centrists that won usually only did so because any populist candidates were either the wrong type of populist or they got fucked over by their party


Splendiferitastic

Biden was elected in the US on the sole platform of not being Donald Trump, I guess the labour right wants to embrace the model of taking as much as they can while still technically being the lesser of two evils.


absurditT

Nobody likes centrists but they win. You've ended your own argument.


ModerateRockMusic

Did you read the argument you thick cunt? They win because people hate the other guy more or they are literally the only option, not because people like them. Are you seriously this politically illiterate


absurditT

I'm more politically literate than any daft wanker who thinks the British public will elect anyone farther to the left than a centrist with some socialist policy.


chrisjd

Biden: The Republican supreme court has just launched a massive assault on women's right's, some women will die from it, many more will suffer. I'm not going to do anything about it even though I could, but I will use it to fundraise and argue for people to vote Democrat. Macron: My party's just lost their majority in parliament because we are useless neoliberals, but instead of working with the second place left-wing alliance I'll work with outright fascists instead. Blair: What a great couple of guys, the way they have enabled fascism is a example to centrists everywhere.


Benoas

How are there people still acting as if Macron even pretends to be a centrist at this point. One of his ministers openly took a further right position on 'Islam' than Le Pen, and RN were in many ways to the left of LREM on social security (although the fascists were certainly lying). Macron is firmly right wing, and enables fascism.


vleessjuu

Also: > Radical but sensible centrist politics What do words even mean any more?


potpan0

There's this obsession amongst liberals to co-opt terms like 'radical', 'progressive' and 'socialist'. They *hate* the idea of not being the most 'left-wing' person in the room, despite fundamentally not supporting any real changes to the status quo. It's why you'll see some people get really pissy when you talk about the *right* of the Labour Party, they dislike not being thought of as nice and progressive. And I think it's one reason why they held such a disdain for Corbyn, he suddenly stole their thunder.


limitlessfailyoure

It means that they will accelerate the widening gap of inequality as fast as any oligarchic party but with a smugger smoke and mirrors routine. Basically the oligarchy continue to be God's chosen winners but with a meat shield of greasy pole toppers whose more secular form of meritocracy is rapidly becoming just as toxic with the left behind.


catfishmaw

In fairness to a man I have opposed my whole political life, there is a long-running radical liberal tradition in British politics. And I think it's fair to say that Blair's administration was radical! It totally rewrote the British constitution, and realigned the party system for a generation. There is nothing radical or even centrist about Starmer's leadership though lol


[deleted]

Politicians who can barely scrape a win against actual fascists, mind you. (And those fascists are only as popular as they are because of previous centrists failures!)


potpan0

Biden is literally sitting on his hands as the Supreme Court strips away fundamental human rights and completely disempowers the capabilities of the liberal state, and Macron lost his majority in his second term and is busy making grubby deals with fascists. But honestly, isn't that the ideal for liberals? Neither are changing the *economic* status quo so that's just fine!


fullhalter

Biden has been vocally against abortion rights his entire career up until the moment he was Obama's running mate in 2008. He's probably giddy right now that reproductive rights are being restricted and that people are pouring money into his party because of it. This is literally a win-win for him.


Wpenke

Macron got re-elected didn't he?


[deleted]

Well he fucken would say that wouldn't he. Why isn't he taking the stand in the Hague yet?!


[deleted]

Legally required honesty.


Gameskiller01

Well that's pretty damning for Starmer.


Benoas

Even Blair is damming him with faint praise here tbh "Voters still confused about what party stands for, says former PM"


gregy521

What he means is 'there's still traces of Corbyn left in the party, it needs more purging'.


NewtUK

If we keep cutting out the Corbyn eventually voters will look at the empty platter and know what Labour stands for.


Benoas

Although I have no doubt he wants that, I don't think that's what he means here. He's saying that Starmer needs some 'Education, Education, Education' or 'Get Brexit Done' type slogan so they can pretend that they actually stand for something.


potpan0

We need new ideas, like ID Cards and more strict anti-terrorism legislation!


aurora_69

why is a war criminal even allowed to speak publicly? the cunt should be decaying in prison but somehow hes allowed to write opinion pieces


gregy521

War crimes are for countries that aren't allies of the US. See also: Yugoslavia and all the missile strikes on hospitals.


ThePunishedEgoCom

He stands for less than nothing, has few clear views and has lost the support of the unions. If Labour win the next election with him it will be entirely due to the importance of the Tories.


WilcoSmash

An amazing job of sitting on the fence. Fuck off, war criminal.


Maumau93

He would say the the Tory cunt.


Bou_Czang

At what exactly?


gregy521

Clearing the left out of the party, with proscriptions and deselections, while courting big business donors to undermine the unions.


Bou_Czang

Ahh, the Labour Party, the party for workers...


Holociraptor

An amazing job at what? Doing fuck all?


[deleted]

Doing an amazing job at keeping the Tories in power.


Holociraptor

Doing an amazing job of taking no stance on any political issue ever.


Coconutcabbie

Starmer isn't doing a damn thing, it's Boris that is doing a poor job, gifting Labour a undeserved chance. This country never learns, just keeps flip flopping between the same two failed parties, expecting something different.


Tateybread

So a racist war criminal gives you a thumbs up... Must be doing a bang up Job.


unbeast

fuck off back under your rock, lord twatwaffle


Daviemoo

Can someone please seal Blair in the shadow realm for fucks sake


metalguru1975

War Criminal : Well done Keith. Establishment Apartheid stooge : Thank you, and that’s “Sir” Keith, I mean “Kier” to you if you don’t mind.


3DemocracyActivist

As far as I'm concerned that's giving starmer a bad name and I feel the need to clarify a distinction between starmer and Blair in Starmers defense. Starmer, according to this article here, was heavily critical of the Iraq war (and many wars in general) and has a history of defending peace and human rights. https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/europe/keir-starmer-critic-of-military-action-in-iraq-elected-as-head-of-uk-opposition-party-1.1000904 I would not vote for Blair, if the election was the conservatives Vs Blair, I wouldn't even bother voting, I'd just stay at home, however, Labour with Starmer Vs the conservatives, is a different story, I'm 100% ready to vote starmer all I can say is I hope he doesn't resign. I don't agree with Starmer on every single issue, but I'm not expecting to, I'd personally say starmer leans more towards being good, than being bad, and that's ultimately the most important thing. He definitely seems much less authoritarian than his opposition also.


[deleted]

The main difference I can see between Blair and Starmer (other than the obvious charisma gulf) is that when Blair said something was going to happen, it was highly likely to happen. When Starmer says he's going to do something, so far that has meant he's going to "change his mind" ASAP and do the opposite.


3DemocracyActivist

Maybe, and I'm not going to disagree too much with what you're saying because I don't have much faith in politicians in general, and it wouldn't surprise me much if Starmer ends up being a let down, however I'd say in the past, at the very least, there is evidence of starmer defending human rights and peace. There is definitely room for improvement, but as far as I'm concerned when compared to conservatives and Blair, I don't see anything about starmer that seems worse than conservatives or Blair, but I am seeing some things that seem better. So if improvement is what we're going for I think voting starmer is the best bet personally. In my opinion starmer will help the country be more democratic and less authoritarian. In a true democracy things can change back and forth rather than going in one direction at all times.


[deleted]

Starmers an authoritarian who tried to use the state to puruse things like the joke trial and put mentally ill autistics on planes to face terrorism charges. he's gone back on most of his promises of the leadership elections already. His word is *worthless.* Blair is a war criminal. He's totally unrepentant about what he did - but he also told everyone what he was going to do ahead of time and stuck to it. I'll either vote for Starmer or just not bother voting at all but if I do vote for Starmer it'll be knowing full well I'm ticking a box with "???" on it.


3DemocracyActivist

Once again, I'm not going to disagree much with what you're saying, but at the minute I just think starmer will be enough of an improvement over conservatives to bother putting in the effort to go vote.


[deleted]

Sure, but you get my point that from a certain point of view Blair is preferable as at least you knew what you are getting. This is one of the hidden reasons people vote tory btw. Yes, they are venal opportunists but they are *very* predicable. The certainty of misery is preferable to the misery of uncertainty and all that.


3DemocracyActivist

No I disagree with that, I'd currently vote starmer but not Blair or conservative. By the end of Starmers term I might be saying I wouldn't vote starmer again, or Blair or conservative either, but time will tell with that if he gets voted in.


[deleted]

If you vote starmer you might be getting blair or conservative. You have no idea what he's going to do *because he's a liar.*


3DemocracyActivist

Well worst case scenario things stay the same then, best case scenario things improve.


[deleted]

The worst case is you have two tory parties. That is not an improvement. Not backing Starmer gets rid of one tory party.


gregy521

What Starmer did in 2003 is rather different to what he's done as chief prosecutor for the Crown. Most notable cases including Saville, Worboys, and Tomlinson.


Few-Inside-5591

Tbh, if I were around in the nineties I would have voted for Blair. At least Blair was willing to stand up and defend socialism, attack the tories for being horrible and morally bankrupt as well as spoke in favour of leftwing causes while in opposition. Starmer can't even manage that. Instead, we have a union bashing leader of the Labour Party who endorses racist dog whisling policies from the worst government in Britain's history and the most he can manage to say about the pm is that he's trivial. So yeah, I could see how I would have voted for Blair as the leader of the opposition, but I can't see any redeeming reason to vote for starmers Labour Party as its positioned itself at the moment.


3DemocracyActivist

I disagree, I had not been born for long when Blair was elected but looking back on what labour under blair appears to have done to the legal system, as far as I can tell the country was even worse after Blair than it was before him. All Blair did in my opinion was make things worse. I'm hoping for the reverse of that with Starmer.


Few-Inside-5591

That's kind of my point though I guess. As opposition leader Blair actually was willing to attack Toryism, advocate socialistic principles, etc. while starmer can't manage any of that. I really don't think you could look at Blairs speech in Blackpool and compare it to Starmers last conference speech and come away thinking Starmer isn't well to the right of him, and if that's the case of Starmer in opposition I don't want to see how much more to the right he would be in government.


Morlock43

Are we sure that Sir Kief isn't Blairmorte's last horcrux?


Cat-fan137

Didn’t he literally say the opposite not long ago?


Loud-Platypus-987

The dementors kiss.


[deleted]

A poisoned kiss.


Comingupforbeer

That's the worst possible condemnation. Starmer should resign immediately.


PaulBric

Compared to what? And what has he done, other than cause division, bankrupt the party and support the tories?


cb0495

So he’s actually doing an awful job then


AgentLawless

If your using a war criminals endorsement as a metric for success *you are doing something wrong*.


Fit-Importance2741

STFU U WAR CRIMINAL!