Zero tolerance on most things a sure-fire way of losing votes. Most people rightly don't consider themselves as being intolerant, racist, homophobic or sexist etc. Being told they are and that they don't meet the high standards of wokeness by some self righteous minority is a real turn-off.

This tweet made me laugh, and it does seem partly true[Link]

the way for Labour to win is to pivot around one fundamental message. Zero tolerance for sex pests and their abetters. Anyone who associated with Epstein persona non-grata. Huge expansion of anti-sex crime policing.

mandelson was friends with chief nonce epstein

As Mandelson pointed out on the radio, the last eleven elections for Labour are: lose-lose-lose-lose-Blair-Blair-Blair-lose-lose-lose-lose.

Saveloy- prosecutor. Some of his “non-decisions” about prosecuting as DPP don’t look great.

KD - if we had been wedded to a European approach it would have been the sovereign decision of a Tory government. It might also have altered the way the EU vaccine procurement was set up.

It's worth pointing out that at the Hartlepool by-election the turnout went down from 58% to 42%. So more people in Hartlepool are disillusioned with all politics than are voting Conservative.

'solved the mixing...'

I read the other day that in Australia, the Labor party solved by the 'mixing oil and water' problem by splitting into Labor Left and Labor Right, and each faction has different policies. They then divvy up cabinet/shadow cabinets seats on a roughly 50-50 basis. I suppose if Labour did something similar here they could field socially conservative 'Right' candidates in places like Hartlepool and 'Left' knee-benders in Islington etc.

Preston - not a very good violinist or not a very good public prosecutor?

Another great wombles had a dream podcast. Is Shayon Harrison really out of contract? I assumed he would have been given 1.5 years, rather than 0.5. Shame if we lose him without really seeing him.

Saveloy- arguably not a very good one.

08:26, KD. It needs no further analysis, your comment nails it and that is why the working class has turned its back.

Keith Starmer, or whatever his name is, is Gordon Brittas

While trying to learn a bit more about Keir Startmer I just found out he took violin lessons alongside Norman Cook (a.k.a. Fatboy Slim) while at school in Surrey.

Oh and I guess that the reason that people apparently don't seem to use their vote to oust politicians who are corrupt, lie and fight like 13 year old debating students is fairly simple. In the grand scheme of things and at a personal level, it doesn't really matter and people just don't care enough in sufficient numbers.

OI - Not sure your assertion that the UK could’ve gone its own way on vaccines regardless of Brexit is politically realistic given no other country did until January when Hungary approved the Sputnik vaccine. It’s very probable we’d have been wedded to an EU approach.

DO - I'd like a copy of Mission Impossible please. Email in profile to sort out.

Labour seem to be trying to be all things to all people and failing to be anything. They have lost the patriotic working class to the Tories and have lost the chattering classes who still haven't quite forgiven the Iraq war to gawd knows where.

DO - agreed we got procurement right but that wasn't through brilliant motivation by Johnson. Also not joining the EU initiative was not dependent on Brexit, we made those decisions whilst still subject to EU rules. Boris's brilliance has been carving a career through Brussels, HIGNFY and various mistresses, so that mistakes and corruption that would sink almost any other politician have people going "That's just Boris being Boris, how droll".

KD you are right, unfortunately Khan will be re-elected as Mayor by those who you describe!

Surely Starmer precisely represents Labour voters, Keefy, ie metropolitan middle class professional liberals.

How can Labour have a leader with a "Sir" before his name? They don't know who they are supposed to be representing!

John Major, Rutlish School (my school too!), our children used to refer to him as “Mister Smelly Socks” 🧦🙊