We Need To Talk About Sir Keir Starmer

Sunday has arrived. The mainstream political shows have returned, which is fantastic if you enjoy watching Andrew Marr blow smoke up politicians' backsides, but it’s not for me. 

So today, we need to talk about Sir Keir Starmer. Now my opinions of blue Keir are already out there for all to see. But you might not look at Twitter very often (Hi Facebook readers!) - so I’ll give you a quick rundown. 

In a matter of just a few short months, Keir Starmer has returned ownership of the Labour Party to the richest donors, and the large corporations. Labour is well and truly back in the pockets of the Establishment. 

Starmer presented himself to the Labour membership as a ‘soft-left’ option during the never ending leadership contest. Long-Bailey was sold to you as the far-left option, and Nandy (not sure if Trump is a racist) was the choice for the centre-right. Starmer went on to win with 56% of the vote. 

It didn’t start well for the knight of the realm. It must be said, national emergencies, such as the Coronavirus crisis are usually very awkward times for the opposition. Being seen as overly critical can appear to be petty and counterproductive, but being overly supportive of the government can eliminate important scrutiny. 

Starmer went for the latter option, offering his support to Boris Johnson. In fact, he went as far as saying now is not the time to ask difficult questions of the government’s failures. 

This was as more than 1,000 loved ones were dying every day. As Covid hit its peak, Starmer was weak. Starmer himself said - 

“I want the government to get this right. I want to support the government to get this right.”

We all wanted them to get it right, Keith, nobody wanted us to have the highest death toll in Europe. Nobody wanted to be shut away from their friends and families for months on end. We all wanted the Conservative government to get it right, because our lives depend on it. It’s not difficult to understand this. 

This wasn’t about left or right, remain or leave, Yes or No, and it wasn’t about them and us. It was simply about dead or alive. 

That WAS the time to ask the difficult questions, but Sir Keir Starmer and his SHALLOW cabinet sided with the failed Conservative government over the immediate wellbeing of me, you, and 67 million others. That to me, my friends, is utterly unforgivable. 

The early signs aren’t good. 

Starmer’s Labour offered feeble opposition while students were being dragged through an entirely avoidable catastrophe with their A-level and GCSE grades. Students, teachers, parents and unions did the hard work and forced the government into yet another humiliating u-turn. It goes without saying, Labour tried to take credit for the u-turn, and after much online ridicule, they stopped taking credit for it. 

The refugee crisis also exposed Starmer’s inability to act with compassion. The Labour Party that I know would immediately offer the hand of friendship to people who feel safer crossing the English Channel in a rubber dinghy than they do in the place they have fled. The only difference between Starmer and the humans seeking refuge in our rich country, is luck. This Labour Party failed miserably.

How long will it be before we see those awful red mugs? We have enough red mugs in opposition already. 

I could also go on about Labour’s point-blank refusal to push for a hike in corporation tax in the autumn budget, to help pay the Coronavirus bill. If the rich aren’t going to carry the burden, who is? It will be the nurse, the bus driver, the receptionist, the pensioners that survived the Tory cull, the poorest and most vulnerable. 

The very people Labour were created to represent. 

The recent silence from the Labour leadership while the British-made Israeli bombs rained down on the children of Gaza, as they slept in their beds, was utterly sickening and a disturbing glimpse of what to expect in the future from the establishment-favourite Starmer. Labour should stand against oppression, wherever we may find it, no matter how uncomfortable the truth may be. 

So that gives you an idea of where I stand. But what about other former and current Labour Party members? What do they think about Sir Keir Starmer’s first 5 months in charge? 

Before we move on, I have to share this tweet from Lowkey with you. He manages to sum up the mood in just one tweet, quite simply, and with devastating accuracy.

This seemed like a good opportunity to ask a few folk for their own take on what’s going on, so I did. 

First up is popular social media activist, Dev Raval - @devutopia - He rejoined the Labour Party in 2015. Dev said:

“So far I’m very disappointed with Starmer. I didn’t vote for him but would have been prepared to back him if he did what he said during the leadership campaign; his 10 pledges and a commitment to unite the party. 

He’s gone against each of his pledges, for instance on increasing tax on the richest. That looks dumb after the Tories are now looking at exactly that sort of a tax increase. On unity, he’s been more factional than either Kinnock or Blair. Worst of all on values, his weak stance on racism is shocking anyway, but with “Black Lives Matter” being so prominent is just plain silly. 

By following the Tories on big issues like Covid, what Labour would do instead isn’t clear at all. So, like many, I’m left having no idea what he believes in or would do if he was running the country. Not a good place to be for someone who wants to be Prime Minister.” 

Dev is absolutely right to call out his weak stance on racism. We’ve all seen it for ourselves. In my opinion, Starmer’s anti-racist credentials are non-existant, unless it’s a particular type of racism. The Labour Party must oppose all forms of racism. That’s who we are. No Pasarán. 

Next up is fab activist and blogger, Elisha from Leicester - @elishaleann87- she has recently left the Labour Party. Elisha said: 

“I joined the Labour Party in 2019 because I believed in Jeremy Corbyn’s policies. I was hoping these policies would be carried forward by Rebecca Long-Bailey, Dawn Butler and Richard Burgon. I was sad when Keir won the leadership election, but I thought he would hold it for socialism, based on his 10 pledges, and what with him being a former barrister. I was wrong. 

His interviews and attempts at Prime Ministers Questions included no real substance - and it took him no time to ditch a couple of his pledges. 

The final straw in me leaving the Labour Party was including Jess Phillips in his cabinet after her awful violent comments aimed at Jeremy Corbyn. She is supposed to be an advocate against domestic and sexual violence, so her remarks towards Jeremy Corbyn were a complete embarrassment for what she ‘stands’ for in my opinion.” 

Elisha makes a strong point about substance. While the media luvvies laud his “forensic” stuff, nobody has got a bloody clue what he, and the Labour Party actually stands for these days. 

Next to give me their thoughts on the first five months of Starmer’s leadership is much loved Vlogger and Blogger - and potential

Labour candidate Cornish Damo - @Cornish_Damo - and he is still a member of the Labour Party. He said: 

“Keir Starmer’s leadership after 150 days now remains one in my opinion of acquiescence. His method of opposition seems to concern making a mockery of Johnson, quite easily at PMQ’s each week, an arena you would expect Starmer to do well in and he does indeed do it well, but the rest of the time he’s basically supporting the government position. 

Take schools for example. Johnson says it’s a moral duty to send kids back and Starmer says he expects it. There’s no opposition here. It’s emerged that he’d sent a private letter to Johnson offering him support over schools five weeks before he sacked Rebecca Long-Bailey, who was clearly opposing him by siding with the unions who were warning months ago that a return to school while the pandemic was ongoing would be irresponsible. 

She appears to have been dismissed over a tweet because it was convenient. He’s been far more lenient with others. We’re seeing it unfold before our eyes now, with outbreaks in schools across Scotland, Northern Ireland and now England too. So far there’s been no admission of fault. If he’d opposed Johnson’s move, if he’d backed the teaching unions, he’d be enjoying an ‘I told you so’ moment now. Instead, he’s made Labour, my Party, complicit in the fault. 

There are trust issues with Starmer, there’s a competence issue too – a good orator doesn’t necessarily make a good leader. He’s trailed in the polls since he took over, polling behind the worst, most dangerous, most incompetent government I’ve ever known. He’s not catching up, the Tory lead has dropped. If he wants to turn things around, he needs to turn dissatisfaction with the Tories into votes for Labour, but sitting back and hoping it happens on its own won’t cut it. 

If he doesn’t improve soon, I believe there will almost certainly be a leadership challenge before much longer. With local elections happening in May, it would be terrible to leave it beyond the end of the year as it will damage our standings in an already difficult atmosphere, with boundary changes having been made to favour the Tories. If it is going to come it will have to be done soon or we risk doing more harm than good. 

I plan on standing for Labour myself in May, I stand for the ideals of my party, but that does not equate in my book, to slavish loyalty to a leader who continues to fail to inspire. He has to improve or I will have to cast my lot in with a replacement candidate.” 

Damo is absolutely right. The case of Rebecca Long-Bailey goes so much further than calling Maxine Peake a diamond. Are we seriously meant to believe her supposed crime was any worse than praising Nancy Astor? Pull the other one. This was a factional decision. No more, no less. 

Another ex-member deeply dissatisfied with Keir Starmer’s leadership is the popular socialist activist, Teri - @MettlesomeTeri - she is a consistent campaigner for human rights, and exactly the sort of passionate activist the Labour Party simply cannot afford to lose. Teri said:

“Jeremy Corbyn stepping down as Labour leader was a huge loss to socialists members of the Party. My decision to leave the party was down to Keir Starmer. It wasn’t an easy instantaneous decision after leadership elections. I still couldn’t bring myself to sever ties, even though I know he’d been part of the coup to remove Corbyn. 

My pivotal moment came with Starmer’s non action on Labour leaks. Starmer was more concerned with data protection than the corruption of staff within the party. Who had plotted to throw GE2017, smeared and suspended members on false accusations, misappropriated members fees and made abusive racist remarks towards BAME MPs in the party. A celebrated former Human rights Lawyer seeks to hide the truth? Shameful. I left the party the same day. 

It felt justified when Starmer then refused to back the Brexit extension. Whilst Corbyn set out a viable Brexit plan, Sir Starmer broke with the leadership, refused to formulate a leave programme, in as much as implementing an unworkable six tests plan and then steered the party towards a ‘People’s Vote’ which was the single biggest reason for the 2019 election result and losing much of the traditional heartlands. Yet suddenly he opposes a Brexit extension? The duplicity is staggeringly obvious to all. 

I’m not sorry I left. I can’t support a party that supports a hierarchy of racism. Who’s Leader described Black Lives Matter Movement as a ‘moment’, in a dismissive stance. 

I am sorry that I’m now politically homeless.”

If only I had a pound for every time I have heard and seen the words “politically homeless” over the last few months. I could probably afford several £500 dinner dates with leading members of Starmer’s Shallow Cabinet, and if we get enough cash together, we can have a go at influencing Starmer’s opinions on various issues that are important to anyone identifying as a socialist. I think you can see where this is going. 

Finally, let’s ask a former Labour MP how they think Sir Keir is getting on. Chris Williamson is now part of The Resistance Movement - they’re a grassroots movement promoting 21st Century Socialism. Mr Williamson also had some rather pertinent questions for Sir Keir, so I was more than happy to offer the platform to ask those questions, and if Sir Keir has a spare 5 minutes, he can let Chris know the answers by dropping him a DM, any time. Here’s what the former Member of Parliament for Derby North had to say: 

“The Labour Party took a huge step in the wrong direction by putting Sir Keir Starmer, who is a pillar of the establishment at the helm. His lacklustre performances in the media and at PMQs have been embarrassing. The boasts about “constructive opposition” cannot conceal what would more accurately be described as cack-handed opposition. The truth is there is now no meaningful opposition and parliament has virtually no voices speaking up for the interests of working class communities. 

 

But the establishment is delighted that Keir Starmer now leads the Labour Party. To rework Neil Armstrong’s most famous quote, Starmer’s elevation to the leadership was just one small step for a man, one giant leap for the neoliberal establishment. Every dirty trick in the book had been deployed to destroy the Corbyn project inside the Labour Party to achieve their objective.  

 

The prospects for socialism inside the Labour Party have been well and truly buried and so it’s hardly surprising that Labour still languishes in the opinion polls, because like Miliband’s disastrous tenure, the party isn’t offering anything particularly different from the Tories. But the establishment will be delighted that the Labour Party no longer poses a threat to the neoliberal status quo. And the prospects of the Shadow Cabinet or Parliamentary Labour Party continuing to develop an ethical foreign policy have disappeared into the ether. 

Furthermore, Sir Keir has some very serious questions to answer. Shortly after he was made leader, he received a letter from investigative journalist, Matt Kennard, who posed five very pertinent questions, which remain unanswered.  He was asked:

1. Why he met the head of MI5 for informal social drinks in April 2013, the year after he decided not to prosecute MI5 for its role in torture?

2. When and why did he join the Trilateral Commission and what does his membership of this intelligence-linked network entail?

3. What did he discuss with then US Attorney General Eric Holder when he met him on 9 November 2011 in Washington DC, at a time Sir Keir was handling the Julian Assange case as the public prosecutor?

4. What role did he play in the Crown Prosecution Service’s irregular handling of the Julian Assange case during his period as DPP?

5. Why did he develop such a close relationship with the Times newspaper while he was the DPP and does this relationship still exist?

These are all pertinent questions, which are in the public interest. I would therefore urge anyone who hasn’t already left the Labour Party to propose motions at local party meetings demanding answers from the leader.” 

Despite no longer being a member of the Labour Party it’s clear to see Chris has a passion for what happens within the Labour Party. This may well be a familiar story to many of you that have left the party under the leadership of Sir Keir Starmer. I genuinely understand how hard it must’ve been for some of you.

Now I fully understand the unity argument. It’s an argument we had for several years, but instead of unity, we got sabotage, smears, abuse, racism and constant demands for the resignation of the twice-elected leader. 

I’m saying the Labour Party, in its current state , offer little more than a slightly gentler version of Conservatism. The Labour Party I campaigned for was a democratic socialist Labour Party. 

Tinkering around the edges may well win Sir Keir many new voters, but power is absolutely worthless unless you have a socialist vision for the future. 

It may well be establishment-pleasing, but it does nothing for the nurses in need of a pay rise. It does nothing for the rough sleeper freezing to death on the streets. It does nothing for the low-paid worker, trying to feed a family every week for less than what someone like Lord Alan Sugar would pocket for turning up at the House of Lords for a snooze, or a Tory stooge such as Andrew Lloyd-Webber flying in by private jet to vote for cuts to tax credits. You even paid for the flipping flight! It does nothing for the children of Gaza, Yemen, and what about the Uyghur Muslim genocide in China? 

It does nothing for anyone that needs a real Labour government, someone like me. 

Until next time. 

Rachael

A big thank you to everyone who helped put this monster together, including Dev Raval, Elisha, Teri, Cornish Damo, and Chris Williamson.

Thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts, if you want to chip in towards improving my ongoing campaign, and it causes you *no hardship*, you can do so here