Abstainer Starmer is the Pits.
By: Cornish Damo
Tags: UK Politics, UK, Keir Starmer, Covid 19, Palestine

Here we go again. It’s been announced that the Tier system which has already failed once, leading to another month long national lockdown, if you can call keeping schools open a lockdown. Nonetheless it does appear to have had a bit of an effect, flattening the curve, if not seeing a slight dip, but now we’re going to reopen after these small gains and that curve will go up again. The Tory tier system might be reopening to more stringent restrictions, but that won’t last as Tory backbenchers kick off about even that. We’ll never see another lockdown, some of the dafties will cheer that, the trouble is the worst of those dafties happen to sit on the government side of the Commons. They won’t let there be another one. Lifting restrictions further at Christmas will see a super spreader event most likely, but at least Johnson’s backbenchers will stop sharpening their steak knives for him for 5 minutes.

As a result of another doomed phase of tiers, we’ll see that curve tip upwards, it’ll inevitably lead to more deaths, but according to Keith it’s the right thing to do, so, as he has all year long, he’ll abstain, allow it to come into force once again and then bitch about it from the sidelines. The tier system failed. Yes, we need a proper strategy to deal with COVID at some point, we aren’t getting one from the Tories, but by God Keith, you’re offering nothing either. You’re a political vacuum where an alternative plan should be. What would you do instead? We as Labour members — how much longer before we’re purged is a valid question — but as Labour members we expect to be putting across an alternative and even we have no idea what you’d do instead! We have Tories being more of an actual opposition here than Starmer who has said again he WANTS to support the govt!

This system failed and that, combined with news that there’s a growing number of Tories unhappy with it and threatening to rebel — I know, Tory rebellions are like unicorns and pots of gold at the end of the rainbow — Starmer has nothing to lose by opposing this as long as he has an alternative and I fear that he simply doesn’t — Finally a real opposition the centrist melts cried. You wanted this, congratulations. Vacuum.

Starmer’s abstentions don’t end there though. For all the accusations of racism under the previous leader, as a member I think its now worse and Starmer’s actions bear that out too.

We’ve seen how Corbyn has been treated, we’ve seen him cleared by an NEC panel, the NEC being our highest point of authority, only for Starmer to withdraw the whip from him in spite, as proven in correspondence to Young Labour Chair Jess Barnard, which clearly stated the move was factional. We as members are being gagged from speaking out on this, again, undermining the fight against racism when the wrong people are accused and sanctioned, that when we speak out we’re told we’re out of order. The entire leadership is out of order and I have nothing but contempt for it right now. Plenty of CLP’s and branches around the country have felt likewise, passing motions of solidarity in defiance of this diktat. Some have faced consequences for doing so too, with suspensions across Bristol amongst Labour officers and the appalling situation in Nottingham East where Louise Regan, the CLP chair was suspended despite reports saying she was on the receiving end of abuse FROM a Jewish member, not being abusive herself and to the Party’s shame, parliamentarians have put the boot in.

On Sunday it was International Day of Solidarity with Palestine, now in its 43rd year, where the world shows solidarity with the plight of the Palestinian people, living under Israeli occupation since 1967, yet the Jewish Labour Movement — a body where you need neither be Jewish, nor Labour to join, combined with Labour Friends of Israel, decided to hold an event — guess when? Yup, on International Day of Solidarity with Palestine. Of all the days to hold it, you cannot say that this was anything but intentional. Which do you think Keith went to? Yup, the pro-Israel bash. He failed to even acknowledge International Day of Solidarity. Not only that, he was joined by Angela Rayner because God forbid they show representation to both events who stood up and in possibly the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard her say, declared if I have to suspend thousands of members we will because an injury to one is an injury to all. Start with yourself Ange, because that’s political interference and the EHRC report you all put so much faith in, which didn’t deliver on eviscerating Corbyn’s tenure as leader as you’d hoped, says it isn’t permitted! That it undermines due process. Undermines the fight against racism. Of course Starmer himself is guilty of the same crime when he withdrew the whip from Corbyn after the investigation was over. Only the NEC or the GLU — governance and legal unit of the party can suspend or expel members, so the leadership are overreaching their remits. Neither showed any solidarity with Palestine, they still haven’t. Neither has the official Labour account. Corbyn has of course. Members are gagged to the point of being suspended for speaking out, yet the leadership can say and do what they like — one rule for us, one rule for them. That’s the Tory way. Solidarity my arse.

It wasn’t just the two berks leading the party that attended this bash though, the chair of Labour Friends of Palestine of all people, Lisa Nandy went too and if you’ve given plenty of props to Andy Burnham lately, just remember why he lost to Corbyn, because he was there too. Another guest straight from his crypt was Peter Mandelson, who happened to mention to the press that he didn’t much like the EHRC report findings…will we see the leadership ditch that report they put so much stock in? If they let this malign influence have any say about it, they may well do. What will that say about the current Labour leadership compared to Corbyn’s on this issue? Will the press give it as much focus? Only the left media will, you can guarantee it. What a sick joke their attendance was, what a one-sided demonstration and what an appalling day to choose to do it.

Sadly we aren’t finished there either. We all remember with horror when Starmer described Black Lives Matter as a moment, criticised the toppling of the slaver Edward Colston’s statue in Bristol and now, where Tory thug Priti Patel prepares to deport more British citizens to Jamaica tomorrow, a continuation of the hostile environment which the Tories have never let up on, he lets us down again. Clive Lewis penned a letter, signed by more than 60 MP’s, asking to stop this. Do you think Starmer signed it? No. Of course not. He can’t use the excuse of being a frontbencher not to either as other Labour frontbenchers have, but not him, not Rayner, not Nandy. Other frontbenchers who failed to sign it include David Lammy, Jess Phillips, Yvette Cooper, Wes Screeching, Rachel Reeves, Ed Miliband, Jon Ashworth, Dr Rosena, Anneliese Dodds, Nick-Thomas-Symonds — just what sort of example are they setting here, surely to God this is a no brainer? It is pathetic, it offends members sensibilities the country over, it should offend the sensibilities of most people full stop.

But its not all abstention after all. A Brexit Deal? — oh but Starmer’s gonna whip to vote for that we hear. The head cheerleader for remain — Keirleader? Cheerleader, who hasn’t mentioned a second vote, or remain once since becoming leader now looks set to whip his MP’s to accept whatever deal Johnson gets. Congratulations FBPE, look what you’ve won. Everything the man has done has been for his own personal ambition and now he’s got what he wants, he hasn’t a clue what to do about it, the sooner he’s gone the better, because Labour needs to get back to standing up for ordinary people, regardless of creed or colour and right now things are worse than ever. Members need to realise right now that the onus is on them to make our party relevant and respectable, to fight for the reputation of the Labour Party because our leadership are failing miserably at it. Something has to change, pressure needs to be applied and if they’re going to threaten to suspend thousands of us, lets see them put their money where their mouths are.

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