What is the point of labour ?

[Saltire]

Ian Murray just said Anas Sarwar won as leader!!!!!!!

[NotThePars]

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/shaken-keir-starmer-wields-knife-sacking-angela-rayner-as-labour-party-chairwoman-0zbls9dm0

Some absolutely top tier stuff in here

 

[G51]

41 minutes ago, NotThePars said:

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/shaken-keir-starmer-wields-knife-sacking-angela-rayner-as-labour-party-chairwoman-0zbls9dm0

Some absolutely top tier stuff in here

 

This is even more incredible given that Shippers just put up, and then deleted, a tweet saying that Jenny Chapman is banned from Starmers house on the orders of Starmers wife.

I just cannot believe for a single second that Keir Starmer fucks. It is simply impossible.

[Binos]

Can the lib dems stop being allowed on telly now

They are utterly pointless as well

[G51]

 

 

[Miguel Sanchez]

I have it on good authority that Keith's nether regions resemble a Ken doll. 

[invergowrie arab]

Radio Scotland today were peddling the narrative that for Anas Sarwars job was to stop the rot and he achieved that.

He lost two seats.

Baillie and Johnson are hardly a ringing endorsement of the Labour project either.

Danielle Rowley,  who always struck me as not awful,  was also on the programme and seemed to suggest Labour are going to have to revisit the constitutional position, at the very least in terms of whether their should be a referendum or not.

 

[DeeTillEhDeh]

Radio Scotland today were peddling the narrative that for Anas Sarwars job was to stop the rot and he achieved that.
He lost two seats.
Baillie and Johnson are hardly a ringing endorsement of the Labour project either.
Danielle Rowley,  who always struck me as not awful,  was also on the programme and seemed to suggest Labour are going to have to revisit the constitutional position, at the very least in terms of whether their should be a referendum or not.
 

Do you think they'll ever understand that they lose seats when they cosy up to the Tories?

[NotThePars]

We've had Keir throwing senior allies under the bus, Andy Burnham unsubtly announcing he'll run if they want him to, Nuke Akehurst losing his seat I think, dorlo melting down yesterday after his boys take their first major L (two may be related come to think of it) and now Starmer's allegedly sleeping in the car???

[G51]

I mean, if there's any kind of truth in this, then it makes the decision to attack the Tories solely on "sleaze" even more baffling.

It can't be true though can it. There's no way Keir Starmer ever gets horny.

[Jim McLean's Ghost]

chuckled at this

[Wee-Bey]

[Jim McLean's Ghost]

That look when you have totally fucked it.

[Bully Wee Villa]

Sick of this p***k. Hoping for a leadership election this month or I'll be leaving the party.

[vikingTON]

2 hours ago, invergowrie arab said:

Radio Scotland today were peddling the narrative that for Anas Sarwars job was to stop the rot and he achieved that.

He lost two seats.

Baillie and Johnson are hardly a ringing endorsement of the Labour project either.

Danielle Rowley,  who always struck me as not awful,  was also on the programme and seemed to suggest Labour are going to have to revisit the constitutional position, at the very least in terms of whether their should be a referendum or not.

I'm no fan of Sarwar but he has done okay on the grounds that: i) the Labour vote didn't completely collapse and ii) he has at least tried to detoxify the Labour/Unionist link. This attempt had a reasonable degree of success if the verdict of the (heavily pro-independence) forum on here is anything to go by; his debate performances were not viewed unfavourably. As someone who was watching the Champions League instead like a normal person, I kept to my well-established knowledge of his Yoon position and so wasn't influenced either way, but a surprising number of people were willing to hear Labour out this time if nothing else. 

The issue that no Scottish Labour leader can overcome is demographics: their rump Central Belt vote are all boomers, who are living in some of the lowest life expectancy areas in the whole of Europe. Almost nobody under 40 is voting for them in Greenock or the rest of their former heartlands, so simply reducing the pace of their natural decline is a decent enough job. 

You could put an all-time political colossus in charge of Scottish Labour now and it wouldn't stop that inevitable downward trend. They're as dead as Rangers.

Edited May 9, 2021 by vikingTON

[GordonS]

6 hours ago, Michael W said:

Dodds is tragic so that one's been a long time coming. Completely ineffectual and just lacks any sort of profile. 

So impressive is Dodds' ability to remain completely inconspicuous despite holding the second most important job in the opposition, at a time of massive focus on government and parliament, that she should consider a career in subterfuge after she leaves politics. She's perfected hiding in plain sight.

2 hours ago, invergowrie arab said:

Radio Scotland today were peddling the narrative that for Anas Sarwars job was to stop the rot and he achieved that.

He lost two seats.

Arguably he at least had a coherent strategy that didn't involve telling his own supporters who support independence that they're terrible people. Labour were at risk of a serious further collapse under Leonard, they were polling below 15% at times, so he's steadied the ship. But until the constitutional question is resolved one way or another Labour are just caught in the crossfire.

[bendan]

6 hours ago, virginton said:

 

The issue that no Scottish Labour leader can overcome is demographics: their rump Central Belt vote are all boomers, who are living in some of the lowest life expectancy areas in the whole of Europe. Almost nobody under 40 is voting for them in Greenock or the rest of their former heartlands, so simply reducing the pace of their natural decline is a decent enough job. 

I don't think the life expectancy in posh bits of Edinburgh is close to the lowest in Europe. Morningside and The Grange are the Labour heartlands now.

[btb]

The impression I get is that the younger generation of Labour politicians like Monica Lennon are far removed from Oldskool ones like Baillie on the IndyRef2 issue and see the damage circling the wagons with the Tories (& Lib-Dems) in 2014 has done to the party up here.

Sarwar kicked the can down the road during the campaign by stating no IndyRef2 in this (Holyrood) parliament but I think it's a question of whether he can hold his MSP together when the debate comes up - as it will do.

 

Edited May 9, 2021 by btb

[tamthebam]

It looked as if the SNP would form the next Government so Labour Unionists could hold their nose and tactically vote Tory where it counted knowing they wouldn't be able to enact any policies.

The question I have is that if it looked like there was any danger that the Tories could have formed the next Scottish government would Labour Unionists have still voted for them?

[jakedee]

It looked as if the SNP would form the next Government so Labour Unionists could hold their nose and tactically vote Tory where it counted knowing they wouldn't be able to enact any policies.
The question I have is that if it looked like there was any danger that the Tories could have formed the next Scottish government would Labour Unionists have still voted for them?

Yes, the Union appears to have more importance than any principles they once held.