That Starmer fella...

Smith would have been discredited in the Monklands scandal.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/what-john-smith-left-behind-monklands-east-the-late-leader-s-constituency-should-be-solid-labour-but-charges-of-corruption-in-the-local-party-have-altered-that-1423656.html

Right. See link above.

Mandelson, Watson and their shit gang of Blairdad grifters lack the self awareness to acknowledge that they were and continue to be most unappealing, unelectable aspect of the Labour Party.

The problem with that assertion is that they actually did get elected and formed a government.

Three times.

Unlike Labour in 2010, 2015, 2017 or 2019.

Smith would have been discredited in the Monklands scandal.

Maybe, maybe not ...

Helen Liddell held the seat and its successor, then John Reid kept it Labour, and meantime the scandal - which was local authority rather than parliamentary, not that people draw a distinction - had long fizzled out.

Councillors suspended, a couple of inquiries with the official one finding no wrongdoing - were there any prosecutions?

Messy maybe, but discrediting?

The trail gets murkier with Reid. Linked by marriage to small time organised crime. North Lanarkshire Labour was properly dodgy.

I'm not going to vote for someone who denies that sex matters as well as gender

I've completely missed this. Is it a Labour thing?

Being female has a massive impact on my life which is nothing whatsoever to do with how I feel inside and everything to do with how the world treats bodies like mine.

I agree. Well put.

Everything he's done makes sense. But I was talking to the other half about this last night. I think our conclusion was that with his analytical approach, ability to be across the detail and rational evidence-based mind, Starmer is exactly the kind of person who should be running the country.

However, this is not the kind of person the public vote for :/

Valueless flag waving? Surely he's talking about the Tories?
https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2021/03/tories-flag-flying-shallowest-form-patriotism

A stupid and bigoted population is one that will return a Tory majority

If only it were the stupid and bigoted who are voting Tory.

It's not and that's the real problem.

Is this a codified way of saying fuck trans people?

Because that's how I'm reading it.

Leave Whitney out of this. God rest her soul.

Generally accepted to be bi and in a relationship with her female assistant so I doubt she was a J.K.Rowling.

If it was, is this the best way to address her views?

It was my recollection at the time though - labour were still benefitting from people wanting "not this" about the Tory plans; being officially pro-leave probably meant that couldn't as easily be used against Lab in leave areas either. So they may have got the best of both worlds (although I recall at the time it being argued as the worst of both too)

Not sure being bi is a particularly good indicator

I suppose you're right about it being the 'best of both worlds' in that there was neither a mass exodus from Labour for being a party of leave, nor was there a mass exodus from Labour for being a party of remain (as arguably there was in 2019 although this was of course only one factor among many in the defeat).

Either way, Brexit was less of a wedge issue in 2017 than it was in 2019. I don't think the idea that 'it was passionate remainers with nowhere else to go' who contributed to Labour gaining seats in 2017 is a particularly coherent one.

Working class revolt against labour party!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjT99EcdnNI

Great, and how are they doing now?

Nobody gives a fuck if they were (just about) electable 15 years ago.

It's worth also mentioning that they lost votes (and seats) in every election since 1997:

By ... calling them out?

IKR !

Don't care tbh. Terfs shit on some of the most discriminated against people in society.

Also, it's not like you can persuade them.

All Starmer did was stop sitting on the fence and back trans rights. That's not an attack on women, it's the only decent thing to do.

Fuck em.

I think 2017 was a weird election -i know people who voted labour as a more direct, brexit related "anti Tory" vote, more so than in 2019, so am sure there was some element of it.

Yeah, don't get me wrong—it was clearly pretty odd terrain. Still, it's the only election since 1997 in which Labour gained seats. There are clearly some lessons to be learned from it.