[Oblomov]

I have to admit I think Starmer could do with a bit more oomph. I understand the not bringing up Brexit, and the caution about attacking Johnson too much while the vaccine rollout is happening, but there are plenty of entirely safe lines of attack - the dodgy contracts being the most obvious - and cases to be made about how the success of vaccination is because the NHS did it and not Serco.

His team are great and making a good impact, and he regularly riles Johnson at PMQs so can clearly get under his skin. But the rest of the time it's like he's waiting for something before really getting going, but I don't know what that is. He's not bad - we've seen bad all too recently for any sensible person to think another Corbyn wouldn't be dramatically worse. He's made huge strides in repairing the damage, and is out doing an awful lot of groundwork. But he needs to be more visibly scoring goals, and more visibly *less* reasonable when the opportunity arises to be justifiably angry, or it won't be him who ultimately benefits from the foundations he's shoring up.

Agreed, John Crace has declared PMQs a bore draw for the last few months now because Johnson has stumbled upon the trick of just simply not answering the question and grandstanding for the highlights that make it onto the news/the Youtube. Aside from at the start when he used Johnson's own statistics to make him look like an imbecile, I can't recall any "zingers" that Starmer has landed because Johnson doesn't care, he waffles on about his own fantasy reality and runs the clock down.

At least Starmer is trying to be persistent in snaring him though, rather than moving onto the bus pass of Elderley Doreen in Norwich.

[Boiler]

His team are great and making a good impact, and he regularly riles Johnson at PMQs so can clearly get under his skin.

However... Johnson's now just learned to ignore this, grandstand and then ignore a feeble speaker who ticks him off for asking Starmer questions. As a result, KS looks ineffective.

Six questions, ignore them or lie as appropriate, panto over for the next week.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

Spineless Speaker...

[Boiler]

Spineless Speaker...

He's just what the Tories wanted.

[Arrowhead]

He's made huge strides in repairing the damage, and is out doing an awful lot of groundwork. But he needs to be more visibly scoring goals, and more visibly *less* reasonable when the opportunity arises to be justifiably angry, or it won't be him who ultimately benefits from the foundations he's shoring up.

..........which is why I'm already worried that Starmer will end up being remembered as a sort of modern-day Neil Kinnock for the post-Brexit Labour Party i.e. somebody who spends most of his time cleaning the jelly and ice cream from the walls, professionalises the party machine and gets Labour back into the 250-280 range in terms of seats but who ultimately falls short of winning power during his stint as leader.

On another forum I was asked last year who I thought the next Labour Prime Minster would be. I'd love to be proven wrong, but Starmer wasn't the answer I replied with (I cheated and gave two answers: Angela Rayner if Brexit slowly fades away as an issue as the decade progresses, or Rosena Allin-Khan if public support for Brexit eventually collapses).

[bluebellnutter]

This is what proper opposition looks like, or something.

If Trickett's ever a minister and his department lose a judicial review on something, we know what to do with him.

With a grasp of the criminal justice system like that, Jon could make Home Secretary. After all, if I found someone being mugged, I'd merely grab the assailant and march them to a court for sentencing. There's nothing between those two moments.

[The Red Arrow]

[Tubby Isaacs]

Blair unthinkably lost London to Ken Livingstone, but seemed to get over it.

Joe Anderson's been arrested for fraud. Might be some sensible risk management around that going on, hard to tell. (Not accusing anybody of anything, but that's not how political risk works.)

[The Red Arrow]

[Tubby Isaacs]

reculer pour mieux reculer, the way it's going at the moment.

[youngian]

..........which is why I'm already worried that Starmer will end up being remembered as a sort of modern-day Neil Kinnock for the post-Brexit Labour Party i.e. somebody who spends most of his time cleaning the jelly and ice cream from the walls, professionalises the party machine and gets Labour back into the 250-280 range in terms of seats but who ultimately falls short of winning power during his stint as leader.

On another forum I was asked last year who I thought the next Labour Prime Minster would be. I'd love to be proven wrong, but Starmer wasn't the answer I replied with (I cheated and gave two answers: Angela Rayner if Brexit slowly fades away as an issue as the decade progresses, or Rosena Allin-Khan if public support for Brexit eventually collapses).

A lot of furniture to move to start predicting 2024 but the swings Labour has to achieve in key seats aren’t as large as the mid 80s. A lot of people never took to Kinnock as a personality or trusted his competence.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Burnham (now he's got more executive experience) could be a good choice, though he can be a showboater. That could work.

Starmer at least has some options outside politics, so he'll not stick around if he's doing badly.

[youngian]

Jess Phillips is a bit of a laugh. That’s now an important qualification for becoming PM according to the voters of a failing joke state.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

Burnham (now he's got more executive experience) could be a good choice, though he can be a showboater. That could work.

Starmer at least has some options outside politics, so he'll not stick around if he's doing badly.

I don't think Burnham's got the intellectual depth. He would also have to get the carefully crafted chip off his shoulder...

[Tubby Isaacs]

I've been unimpressed with some of his rail talk, where he talked like Northern had far more power over the franchise than they do, and when challenged by rail journalists he said he was just raising concerns or soemthing. Couldn't tell whether he didn't understand or was bandwagoning.

Maybe that's the sort of stuff you have to talk.