That Starmer fella...

I don't want to get into a ruck but 'they lied about Corbyn so I'll lie about Starmer' is not an admirable position - apart from anything else, when your criticisms of a politician are true, they bite more. If you really want to have a pop at the guy, stick to facts. It'll be more effective.

Well said.

Labour’s longlist of candidates for the Hartlepool by-election has been published.

There’s one name on it.

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Yep, and while this is nothing unprecedented as far as Labour bureaucracy goes, the fact that the leadership are parachuting in a candidate who by his team's own admission doesn't know anything about the constituency leaves a particularly bitter taste. See the second to last paragraph here:

Also, after all the bleating on about the red wall, their chosen candidate is an arch-remainer who broke the whip 6 times between 2017 and 2019 to vote for a second referendum, going into a seat in which 70% voted to leave the EU

Aside from that he seems like a lovely bloke, got his head screwed on

I’m sure all the voices in the party who routinely cried Stalinism! for offences such as suggesting mandatory reselection for candidates will be along to condemn this development in no time at all

He seems like a great guy

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parachuting in a candidate who by his team's own admission doesn't know anything about the constituency

I think that's something of an exaggeration. He lives ten miles down the road and was the CEO of Hartlepool's GPs.

Nothing like as egregious as the Blair years when they were parachuting in female candidates with no links to the area.

Not sure what ppw11 is, but I'm hoping that's him taking the piss out of other people. That's how I read it.

ppw11

That's the yearly Progress event, a soft left / centre left Labour organisation, and I read it in the same way - him sarcastically calling out other people's behaviour.

Wrt to some of the other replies, unless the people criticising this principle were complaining as vociferously about when Corbyn greatly expanded the use of parachuting of his favoured candidates into safe seats, I'd say they were on shaky ground, consistency-wise.

I also don't think that 'but he's an elite remainer' stuff will stick. That culture war is done. And it's a shame to see ostensible Labour supporters repeating tory attack lines to damage the credibility of a GP, but I guess that's where we are. Many of us on the left would rather attack our own side than the people in power.

EDIT: Worth noting that this 'parachute' is done with the full support of the local CLP ('Paul Williams was the standout choice of the CLP and we are delighted with this decision') which is extremely different to Corbyn's approach when he was parachuting his favoured candidates - which led to resignations in protest, against an MP who is currently undergoing trial for harassment.

I'm intrigued as to people's responses on the Tory MILF question. Would have enjoyed being a shocked and appalled fly on the wall.

Priti must top the list for centrist dads

Let's just not

To balance things up a bit, my missus keeps having sex dreams about Starmer. I think they might be on the way out following last night's dream though, in which he had realised he was going to become PM and ghosted her. Which she wouldn't mind except he also blanked her while out at functions, which she felt was unnecessary, and out of line with his 'have the hard conversations' USP.

I think it's the hair.

Rumours are that he was who the lawyer character in Bridget Jones' diary was based on.

Mrs Run coos over Raab!

Does she like thickos generally?

As someone put it the other day, he's running an 8-bit CPU in a 64-bit world.

I'm hoping that's him taking the piss out of other people

It wasn’t: https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/uk-politics-56460823?

One day I hope someone prominent like KS, or whoever, will have the guts to just say “I couldn’t care less what someone said on Twitter to their 20 followers ten years ago, and neither should you”.

Will never happen obvs, and this PPC really should’ve just deleted his old Twitter as soon as he put himself forward. What a world

I can't imagine how awful that dinner must have been to be attended by people having that conversation, but mostly then thinking it was hilarious enough to tweet to the world.

That doesn't really say either way whether he was taking the piss or not though, it just says he apologises. Even if it was a piss-take, it doesn't make a very good apology to go on about it.

worst sort of low energy "ladzbantz". that tweet alone should have been the end of it.

gotta give these white cis males the breaks they so richly deserve tho, so it gets a pass!

fucking starmer. smh.

maybe he should have had a crafty tinned gin and tonic on a tube.

Starmer's Labour doing a very good job of alienating its most loyal city, I see

Full of bloody commies and socialists.

Genuine question, who is Starmer's Labour for? It isn't for voters on the left or progressives, and it's not picking up voters from the right despite Starmer's efforts in that direction. Which leaves the centrists who wouldn't vote Tory; in essence Lib Dem voters?