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Yes, those are important points. I guess that leaves the conclusion that Starmer is both a far worse politician than Blair, and is operating in far less favourable circumstances. Where does that leave Labour's chances of political success?
I agree that there is a dearth of talent on all wings of the Labour party, and that there has been no real attempt to confront the problems that the party faces in Scotland, including under Corbyn. I will be interested to see how the council elections in May turn out and personally can only hope that it results in a change in course from the current direction.
bens0n
I think he makes some reasonable points in that piece, and I am not claiming Starmer has got everything right, but he misses out that Blair was up against John Major's divided and exhausted government and that Labour were 20% up in the polls under John Smith. And he grovelled to Murdoch to get the Sun's endorsement. The Tories then had Duncan Smith, Hague and Howard as their leaders. Blair was a skilled politician for sure but he wasn't up against the strongest foes so comparisons to that era are not exact.
I think Labour have massive problems with Scotland and there's no possible leader that can solve them. I think it is too early to decide about Starmer but I don't believe any of the other candidates would have done any better.