I started the politics thread on Gasroom2 and that went VERY well.
Fool me twice…
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Could start with a soft question.
Prime Minister next month will be…?
Keir Starmer. But the month after that who can say. I’m rather hoping it’s Andy Burnham
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He’s got to become an mp first so doubt it .
What happens on this thread if I discuss football?
… and to do so, he would have to find a “safe” seat, where the sitting MP would have to agree to stand down. That’s if there is such a thing for Labour any more.
But even if Starmer is replaced by Burnham, or any other of the prospective leadership candidates, I can’t see it making any difference to their polling numbers, which could get even worse if they lurch further left with a high tax and spend agenda. The majority of voters don’t want that.
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You missed out the part where he has to get approval from the Labour NEC to stand
Burnham is the most popular politician in the country, I believe he is the only major politician with a positive favourability rating. Starmer’s is -45, Burnham’s is +9
True, but all of the main party leaders have a net negative approval rating according to YouGov.
Burnham isn’t an MP or party leader, so can’t be blamed for any of the shitshows going on in Parliament. That would soon change if he got into the hot seat.
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Maybe, maybe not
If there was one thing I think UK politics could learn from the United States, it’s the normalisation that once a side has picked a person to run the party and that party then wins the election- other than death in office (and conviction/corruption hmm maybe the US isn’t a great example) then it should be very very hard to remove the person as prime minister mid election cycle.
This isn’t really about kier Starmer because we saw it with the Tories also.
I feel one of the big problems with any elected governments is they are preoccupied with getting elected again the next time - from at least midway through there term if not day one - then it makes there manifesto pledges almost worthless.
You add in the fact that if a number (even a large number) start not liking the person they put forward to run the party isn’t a good as they hoped then they are even more preoccupied covering there own arse from both the party and the electorate.
There should be a certain amount of “well, you made your bed for this electoral cycle, now you have to live with it” we the people voted for the MP’s with a specific person leading that party, they get the full term - and we decide at the end of it.
Sick and tired of all parties just turning on themselves when it starts getting difficult rather than do the fucking job of running the country.
The way things are, I would be very surprised if we the same person as PM at the start of there term and the end of the term in my life time. And even more surprised if one person managed to have more than one full term in office.
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Post about short-termism and being reactive is short-termist and reactive. Of course we will see another five year PM in the future. It’s been less than ten years since Cameron was PM (even if it doesn’t feel like it)
I think politics has had a monumental shift since Cameron. And if anything him going the way he did, followed by the Buffoon that was boris, openned the flood gates to chop and change whenever the wind blows a different direction
Most probably coinciding with the raise of social media and the ability to make it seem more people are angry about a thing.
I think things like Twitter (but probably started with things like rolling 24 hour news channels looking for stories to fill the air) and other social media platforms make it sound like the majority or really really angry about things - when it’s just a few accounts with lots of followers - who themselves are single people with many accounts.
I think, no, I hope, the majority of people just want to get on with their jobs and their lives. And let those that we voted in to get in with their jobs and lives
People always think the era they are living through is special
I just remember the days when people stated that change was coming and that they were so happy that Labour had finally rid us of the Tories…
And then they realised that they were just as big a bunch of numpties…
If Starmer falls, we will have the seventh PM in a tad over ten years, Chris. The previous seven spanned over 40 years.
Yes. Unfortunately I believe the next PM but one (Nigel Farage) will serve a full term.
I was talking more about the spurious social commentary.