The Labour Party leadership question is very hard to avoid. The news is dominated by it. The government is being incapacitated by it. We have the farce of the King's Speech being presented today by a government that may not exist by the end of the week. And all the while, Starmer clings on, like a limpet desperate for its own survival, whatever the cost to anyone else.
I will speculate on the reasons for that in another post to be published this morning, but at this moment I am genuinely interested in your opinion on a couple of issues, and I suspect that many of you will be as well.
There is so much uncertainty about what might happen that I hope you will take part in these two polls, in which I am seeking to find out what you think might happen and, if Starmer does go, who might replace him?
Loading ...And then there is the question of who will replace him if he goes:
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I find it hard to predict who would replace Starmer but the person I most respect , and would like to see there is Clive Lewis.
Rayner seems to say she doesnt want the job
Burnham cant have it as he’s not an MP
Like all these contests it could end up with an unexpected result – see Corbyn
A vital question for me is ; While all this nonsense is going on, who the hell is running the country?
The same people who were running it before this all started.
Some points I’d like to make:
1. Starmer is obviously the sort of Labour leader the markets and privateers like – so it is not just a case of whether he stays, it is also about their objectives staying too. He’s their man.
2. Streeting is interesting – just how corrupted is he? There is a lot of money to be made out of healthcare in the future but will it be enough to make him the markets and privateers their ‘new man’in No.10?
3. The real issue for the country is if this triggers a new general election. I don’t see why it should. Why not just do what the Tories do, change leaders and say to the country ‘Ave it!’ and deny a GE until end of term. Given the foulness out there, to have a GE could lever in things we could well do without. Or is it too late, it’s going to happen anyway?
4. I think that what we are seeing is the unraveling of the Neo-liberal Gordian Knot. This country is in a complete mess – everyone of all political persuasions seems to agree on that. As someone said on C4 news last night, the gap between rhetoric and reality has grown too big and Starmer has to go, but whoever comes in has to close that gap and do a hell of a lot more than the Knight of the Realm who has been fulfilling his oaths to the unaccountable powers that made him. We might get something out of this – but then again, maybe not much? And then it will all well up again.
@PSR
Starmer may be the market/privateers man but not their only man, or woman. You don’t have control over a country’s government for around 50 years by just having one iron in the fire at any one time.
I believe keeping Starmer would make it look too obvious that he’s a shill.
Wes Streeting I think is the most likely candidate, (but who knows) and no good can come of that for the ordinary public.
The sooner the U.K. splits, the better.
No idea who’s likely to replace Stsrmer, but some concerns: at the last election Streeting had a majority of under 500 so is unlikely to be an MP for long. And he’s actively destroying the NHS. Lewis is good but I’d rather see him included in a Green-led cabinet than wasted in a doomed party. Burnham isn’t an MP and might be better staying in Manchester where he seems popular.
I was going say not sure whether he’ll go soon but chose yes because much as he obviously wants to cling on to the power that’s very clearly slipping away, I believe the way things are shaping up rapidly, he’ll be forced to go, and good riddance.
Having said that, I voted Streeting to replace him, as unfortunately i think he’s the most likely going to take over, so it’s an out of the frying pan and into the fire situation. I’d say god help us all but I’m not a believer.
Your other piece on the qualities required to be a good PM is really thought provoking. If only, but I don’t think such a person will ever be in the running.
Have to say, I don’t think anyone would accuse Starmer of having charisma.
[…] have already posted two polls on this blog this morning, seeking your opinion on the question of the day, which is […]
It’s probably odds-on at this point that Streeting will get the gig but it’ll be the wrong choice as will just prolong the agony. I’ve never been a card carrying member of Labour or any political party but the country needs to move decisively away from the failed neoliberal financial orthodoxy, the FPTP electoral system and the way political parties get their funding. As I see it, in an ideal scenario there seems to be only Burnham and Lewis who espouse these ideas.
Well, after all the build up, the BBC are reporting that Streeting was in and out of No. 10 this morning in under 20 minutes. It was, as their reporter remarked, “a very, very short meeting”.
“F**k off” might summarise it
Aye, but who was the person saying ‘f**k off!’ Or was it both of them?
“The Thick of It” ..”Feotus-boy” who could have guessed we would see a politician & potential PM to whom the label could apply.
Of course the interests (or indeed well being) of UK serfs is neither here not there in the matter of “who is the next PM” – what matters is filled troughs and which politico gets prime position next to the spigot.
Failure: they name is UK politics.
I think the reason why Streeting hasn’t launched a challenge is because he knows it would e likely to mean he loses. Historically the first person to make a challenge does not win as everyone who did not want a challenge will vote against the.
I think the same thing applies to Rayner.
Burnham is ineligible and likely to stay that way, especially if he has any common sense.
Milliband is a known loser.
Lewis isn’t interested.
So Starmer will stay unless an unknown launches the challenge and Streeting and Rayner join in. Both Streeting and Rayner are disliked by the membership, possibly Streeting more so.
So, as unlikely as it sounds I have voted for Rayner.
We need to consider who controls each situation in a multi-stage (Labour) process.
Hanging on – Starmer will try to “hang on” if his minders tell him to, which they clearly are doing. (deep state, City, USA, Press, donors, Israel lobby).
He can be forced into a leadership election if 81 MPs back a challenger MP (that MP might be just a stalking horse, such as Catherine West MP, who tried but just backed down – why??). His Cabinet can also resign on him, en masse, to add pressure (as happened to LOTO Corbyn) – he can replace them and withdraw whip from rebels. Who controls 81 MPs (donors, Whips)?
Any serious MP challengers need 81 MPs behind them to get on the ballot.
The Labour members and affiliate organisations (Unions, Fabian Society, Christians on the Left, lots of others) all vote on the candidates. Who controls all of them? They voted for Corbyn, as LOTO, twice, so the more shadowy powers had to smear him into oblivion. Coronations happen if only one person stands?
The new PM has to have (and retain) the confidence of the House of Commons. (Who controls >300 Labour MPs? and how?).
At this point conventional wisdom says, its over to the bond markets as to whether the new PM survives. As Richard has shown, that is bo*****s. A determined capable PM can deal with the bond markets if they choose to.
Remember the non-MP, (Tory), A B de Pfeffel Johnson, who (inevitably, & catastrophically, eventually) became PM?
🙁
Who gets ignored?
WE do (for now).
Given current Labour’s former preponderance for effective outmaneuvering of anything deemed a threat e.g. Corbyn, Abbot, possibly Rayner, Burnham, its possible a simple rebrand with a current cabinet minister espousing a similar set of values as Starmer is likely.
Don’t spook lobbies or the city. Maintain control and keep the party machine running.
Encourage further MPs to resign and mobilise around the chosen candidate. Leverage Starmer’s declining support as justification for the new candidate to step in for the good of the party. Someone with the correct background and experience…probably a Darren Jones type of some sort.
I like Richard Burgon personally. He seems kind and consistently sticks his neck out on matters of principal.
The ship is already sinking. Any sensible body with long term ambitions is taking a back seat, quietly putting on their life jacket and biding their time.
I really struggle to understand how any Labour MP can honestly look at the current situation and think “what we need now to put us back on course is Wes Streeting”!?
He seems to be next by default now, absent anyone else, though I suspect Ed Miliband may just give him a run for his money if Burnham is completely shut out. I suppose all those neoliberals in Labour are genuine true believers in their project despite all the evidence of the abject failure of their project.
Having thought about it, I think I may favour arguing in favour of a general election if they do adopt Streeting, since it might at least just pull the band aid off and save us from 3 years of damage followed by 5 years of fascism. Let’s just put the fascists in now when things are rough and watch them flounder, hopefully shortening the time between now and a reasonable government.
But I think that’s probably over-thinking it, and keeping out the worst of the worst at all times is the only sensible option. I just think Streeting for 3 years at this time will just make the whole situation even worse… maybe he’s not inevitable though…. In miliband we trust? Dear Lord….
I have though that it would be good to have an election now in the hope of giving Nigel enough rope with which to hang himself and thereby take the wind out his sails. That’s easy to say from the other side of the world when what is really needed in every country at the moment is a government that can focus on dealing with the serious consequences of the war in the middle east.
People said that of hitler. It wasn’t a good idea
If it all goes pear-shaped, watch out for a compromise candidate like the odious arch-Zionist Steve Reed.
A quick read of Paul Holden’s book The Fraud” will make it clear that Steve Reed, is not a compromise candidate, he has been deep in the Labour Together project from the very early days.
Lewis Goodall has an interesting take on all of this, spoiler: Ed Miliband
https://goodallandgoodluck.substack.com/p/could-the-answer-beed-miliband
Agreed. I had read it.
If Burnham is the supposed king in waiting, they have to wait until he can challenge otherwise we’ll be back here in 12 months.
I don’t care who the leader is. Whoever it is, I would like to see some ambitious and exciting goals focussed on people and our environment in the UK, backed up with coherent policy ideas. You often talk about a politics of care and I’d add to that a politics of hope. A lot of us have no hope. Someone has to reach across the divides and present a vision of a better future. It doesn’t matter to me whether those ideas come from the left, centre or right of Labour as long as the people are the focus. A good leader/cabinet would embrace all sides of the party and listen to external experts.