That Starmer fella...

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tbc in reply to @aggi
I think you're right - and whether the credit is due to the government or not, it has been impressive.

That said, so much has preceded this that could, by rights, have sunk a government,* but they've managed to weather it all. How?

*off the top of my head:
- Boris Johnson's "lots of people will die" approach to Covid and failing to close the borders (before Starmer, admittedly)
- Boris Johnson boasting about shaking hands with Covid patients and then nearly dying himself
- The awful numbers of Covid deaths
- The shortage of PPE and the handing out of contracts to friends
- Gavin Williamson's assessments fuck up Pt.1
- The inexplicable pre-Christmas easing of restrictions and then the Christmas lockdown
- Gavin Williamson's assessments fuck up Pt.2 (after his "cast-iron guarantees")
- Priti Patel's bullying
- Boris Johnson's latest affair
How can a successful rollout cover that up?

And how can Labour have failed so badly to make political capital out of the non-sensitive parts of that?

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ReekBlefs in reply to @tbc

so much has preceded this that could, by rights, have sunk a government

You're absolutely right on this. And I think Keir absolutely could have used those fuckups as leverage to sink the Tory government. I think where we depart is whether or not that's a good idea.

We are in a global pandemic, utterly unprecedented. The closest analogue is WW2, and just like in those times, the job of the opposition is fundamentally irrelevant. Labour would do more or less the same thing as the Tories in power - furlough, roll out the vaccine, test and trace, manage expectations. Yes, Starmer could go down the route of Corbyn-esque reactive opposition, which I agree went down really well in 2017 against a background of austerity and rising inequality, but I think it would go down like a cup of cold sick at a time when we're just looking to get out of lockdown and people want some good news.

I think Starmer's attack line last year of 'incompetence' was excellent. Right up until the vaccine rollout, it was a wound he could poke every week at PMQs. Fortunately for the country but unfortunately for Starmer's strategy, the Tories have knocked the vaccine rollout out of the park, and they're getting the poll bump for it.

I do agree that Starmer needs to do more to cut through and that these stats are not excellent. But I absolutely understand why he's laying back in the cut for the moment. It's the wrong time for it. People don't want to hear sniping from the sidelines against the background of a literally world beating vaccine rollout. Covid is all that matters and Labour is 80 seats down.

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