That Starmer fella...

Politics at the moment scares the shit out of me but I’m hooked. We need a Labour government so bad even if it’s Kier in charge, please don’t fuck this up!

Thanks dude.

Great speech from Starmer, that. I'd like to see some more details on Great British Energy - if that's just another retailer then who cares, it won't help, but if he's suggesting they become a wholesale supplier like Openreach that could be huge.

I’ve never felt the craziness accelerating so much in such a short period of time, it feels like something seismic is coming our way, we need a GE asap.

I really liked Starmer's front on addressing of party anti semitism and NATO scepticism.

"We had to rip antisemitism by its roots."

"Our support for NATO is non-negotiable"

One of many less positive opinions coming from the left after the speech.

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coming from the left

I don't know about that group in particular, but I wouldn't be surprised if some "Leftist" anti-Starmer Twitter accounts are Tory trolls.

Although on the seizing means of production note...Great British Energy

This sounds like an Ed Miliband authored policy, so you can bet the Blairites won't be happy either. Although one suspects they won't be happy until they've destroyed every last vestige of the party.

I think in some ways this just shows how inward looking and archaic UK politics has become. This sort of targeted state ownership isn't the super left thing it once was...its a serious policy to solve problems, nurture growth and generate wealth. Its the sort of thing that left and right wing governments are doing all over Europe. It feels like UK politics has been so up its own arse it never really left the 1970s.

This sort of targeted state ownership isn't the super left thing it once was...its a serious policy to solve problems, nurture growth and generate wealth.

Agree - assuming its an energy producer rather than retailer.

It does also show - imo - that Starmer genuinely isn't a Blairite. He has a similar ruthless pragmatism when it comes to being seen to be electable, but his politics are imo far to the left of Blair. Blair would never have countenanced something like this. It's very far to the left of the Third Way.

Agreed, it feels like we just need pragmatic policies that will benefit us, the country, the planet. Eg create green energy for the benefit of the country, tax the very richest more, spread the wealth about a bit more evenly, look after the young and vulnerable etc etc it doesn’t seem like rocket science to me.

Although I'm sure this is going to infuriate our more left wing lfgssers who would rather seize the means of production in 2024.

I'll seize your means of production in a minute.

So much of the chat on nationalisation /privatisation is old hat.

Ie The French govt don't directly run EDF.

I also hear "it didn't work with British Rail" a lot.

.makes me wonder if he thinks there is a GE just around the corner.

I think the sensible move is to act/plan as if. We've seen how quickly events can move (not the Tory leadship contest obvs), that you've got to be prepared.

I also think from an optics pov showing that you are prepared to lead right now while the clusterfuck of sock puppets let the country burn and what's-her-chops is hiding presents well.

Great speech from Starmer, that. I'd like to see some more details on Great British Energy - if that's just another retailer then who cares, it won't help, but if he's suggesting they become a wholesale supplier like Openreach that could be huge.

It sounds from his speech that its not just retail, which wouldn't make sense really since he didn't propose that this public company would just be selling green energy but focus on producing Solar, wind, waves, giga-battery factories, insulation programmes, carbon capture. All the things!

It does put the Green party on the spot or in coalition. 1 seat atm. wac

Labour doesn't have any choice other than to do a new labour which I fully support because that is the way to banish the nutter current tory/UKIP/erg coalition.

Also 2 years of that lot? Really?
There have been mumblings this week from some saner Tories asking how to get rid of Truss

Exactly. But I would say it goes both ways.

You hear people wanting to actively nationalise fosil fuel based engery companies.

When you then look at the range of funding models by large companies to startups, etc. all of these simplistic models seem so backwards.

I also hear "it didn't work with British Rail" a lot.

It's also not working with the current crop of terrible train operating companies. I wouldn't mind the service being so crap of you weren't paying a small fortune for the priviledge.

Yeah - generation company, not retail. And will be part of a national wealth fund - a la Norway. I hope that can make that somehow un-selloff-able. Could/should be a huge boon to future generations.

It's also not working with the current crop of terrible train operating companies. I wouldn't mind the service being so crap of you weren't paying a small fortune for the priviledge.

One of the most telling things about our train network owners is how much better they are at running train networks in their own countries....where they tend to be held to account and expected to provide a reasonable service.

Arriva, who are owned by Deutsche Bahn, are a good example.

where they tend to be held to account and expected to provide a reasonable service

And they don't have to deal with chronically underfunded Network Rail and the rolling stock leasing monopolies?

Sure, and that.

Its almost as if the competition/markets do not sort everything out, they just reduce quality of service and drive up profits.

See also what the Tories have been doing to the NHS.

Its almost as if the competition/markets do not sort everything out, they just reduce quality of service and drive up profits.

I suppose the mechanism for competition / consumer choice to change anything about railways is just pretty weak. Airline privatisation on the other hand seems to have worked pretty well. Not a natural monopoly, I suppose.

I’ve read that a growing number of Tory backbenchers want a period in opposition. They want a reset. Absolute nadir.