Starmer is essentially a lawyer (a very competent one) and not a politician (a not particularly competent one). I think that he sees things in transactional terms, as a lawyer would, and not in the more philosophical terms that the ablest politicians do. I think that his statements and public position on EU/SM/CU are an expression of his lawyer's "Weltanschauung" and were a terrible mistake, because he is alienating people whose support he needs, whilst not really scooping up the Brexie vote. And moreover the fact that we see, with accelerating remorselessness, that the hard Brexit the Tories sicked up on us is an economic, social and political disaster means that the longer UK politicians are unwilling to address the truth the worse things will get.
From here in the US that silly smoking outside pubs ban looks an awful lot like a political debt being repaid. Is there a more plausible explanation, other than he and his advisors have absolutely no political sense? Which wouldn't bode well for the future.
The British people are in an incredibly volatile mood, but the reasons for throwing out the incompetent, corrupt bunch of hooray henry public school boys associated with austerity and right wing extremism would remain. Memories are short and the right wing press takes no prisoners, but they are not that short. The 72 LibDems and 4 Greens will be building themselves into the local areas that elected them and Ed Davey believes he can take more Tory seats, with 20 odd vulnerable. Four hundred Labour MP's might be reduced in number but they can afford to lose some and continue. There is a possibility that the eviscerated Tory Party will continue to decline sufficiently in opposition that they fall into 3rd place behind the LibDems, who are offering a more constructive opposition.
Starmer is essentially a lawyer (a very competent one) and not a politician (a not particularly competent one). I think that he sees things in transactional terms, as a lawyer would, and not in the more philosophical terms that the ablest politicians do. I think that his statements and public position on EU/SM/CU are an expression of his lawyer's "Weltanschauung" and were a terrible mistake, because he is alienating people whose support he needs, whilst not really scooping up the Brexie vote. And moreover the fact that we see, with accelerating remorselessness, that the hard Brexit the Tories sicked up on us is an economic, social and political disaster means that the longer UK politicians are unwilling to address the truth the worse things will get.
From here in the US that silly smoking outside pubs ban looks an awful lot like a political debt being repaid. Is there a more plausible explanation, other than he and his advisors have absolutely no political sense? Which wouldn't bode well for the future.
The British people are in an incredibly volatile mood, but the reasons for throwing out the incompetent, corrupt bunch of hooray henry public school boys associated with austerity and right wing extremism would remain. Memories are short and the right wing press takes no prisoners, but they are not that short. The 72 LibDems and 4 Greens will be building themselves into the local areas that elected them and Ed Davey believes he can take more Tory seats, with 20 odd vulnerable. Four hundred Labour MP's might be reduced in number but they can afford to lose some and continue. There is a possibility that the eviscerated Tory Party will continue to decline sufficiently in opposition that they fall into 3rd place behind the LibDems, who are offering a more constructive opposition.