By stewartb
From the review of the Labour Party conference, and in particular its leaders speech, by the Institute for Government (IfG). It is crystal clear in its (non-partisan) analysis: in order to win the next General Election, Labour is committing itself to ‘Conservative friendly policies’!
This is from the IfG (with my emphasis):
‘The Labour leader MADE A DIRECT APPEAL TO CONSERVATIVES to switch to his party, PURPOSELY FOCUSING ON THEMES of security and highlighting priorities traditionally popular on the right: fighting for the union, defending family life, keeping taxes down and building a positive relationship with business .’
https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/keir-starmers-narrative
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
IF IT SMELLS LIKE SHIT
IT SURELY IS BULL SHIT
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It will more or less guarantee tactical voting in Scotland.
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England cannot afford the break up of the U.K. and it’s not so much Wales or Northern Ireland it cannot afford to lose , of course they are both territorially important but in terms of wealth resources money it’s Scotland they cannot afford to lose and that is why the English political parties are aligning their policies , they need to ensure that they are all in it together to keep control of Scotland , that includes the English political parties plying their trade in Scotland too , they can call themselves Scottish Labour or Scottish conservatives or Scottish Liberal Democrat but they are not Scottish political parties they are English political parties doing a job for England their main task is to deprive SNP and any other Scottish independence parties of support , they have the media on their side because it too is English and controlled by England.
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Indeed…I was looking up mining/minerals etc in Scotland yesterday, lots to read and catch up with…yikes, critical minerals…
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S001678782030081X
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-to-host-minerals-security-partnership-for-first-time-to-boost-investment-in-critical-minerals
https://www2.bgs.ac.uk/mineralsuk/exploration/home.html
https://www.iom3.org/group/mining-institute-of-scotland.html
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Well , that means the unionists have a choice in the GE – and it’s heads they win tails they win ,whether they vote Tory or Labour !
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Starmer is aping the Blair tactics of not much change, but we will be better managers. In one of his first interviews after winning TB was asked which of the Thatcherite policies he would overturn first? Oh no he said, there’ll be no going back, and there’ll be no going back with KS, it’s right wing all the way now, like it or no.
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Prof. Sir John Curtice
“…the foundations of Scottish Labour’s rise lie in unionist voters’ reaction to the mistakes made by the Conservatives at Westminster, rather than in anything it achieved or promised north of the border.”
As in ‘Tactical voting’ which will however NOT see any difference, for either us or those “Unionist voters” here lending their vote to New New Labour because of the “mistake made by Conservatives at WM” should a New New Labour party win the next GE……I would say tis more a way for some Unionist voters to unite behind the most likely, as touted by the media, candidate via party to win against the SNP that sees some Unionists in Scotland ‘change’ their vote to New New Labour.
New New Labour know that too.
However politics being politics then a win for them, New New Labour, North North of the border must be dressed up in such a way that obscures the tactical voting that is going on via Unionists here and instead be communicated as somehow ‘clear’ evidence of the demise of the SNP and thus the ‘rise’ of New New Labour in Scotland and their …..Tory friendly policies to include Brexit ?????????
There will be no emphasis on why New New Labour, via any great detail, have lost so many elections in Scotland since 2014 because that would then expose their involvement in the big con of 2014 and that is an episode New New Labour would prefer was consigned to FORGOTTEN history. …..and ironically Starmer declared in the New New Labour’s party conference that “The SNP will re-group, of course they will. Once again they will wave away the lessons of history. Try to present nationalism as a bridge to the world.” ……Pot kettle black no ?…….this quote from someone who cannot make any speech without trying to appeal to voters to embrace British patriotism while the background is bedecked by so called British flags and who in his conference speech spoke only of achievement via a British context thus clearly adopting “British nationalism” as a “bridge to the world” while for Scotland he prefers to “wave away the lessons of history” that we in Scotland experienced and suffered under…. pre and post 2014 via his party……hypocrite does not even cover it via his ‘forked tongue’ but yes the SNP will indeed regroup but what public platform, via the media here in Scotland, will give them, the SNP, a fair hearing and too honest commentary on what positives they have implemented in Scotland and too the potential benefits of independence against their, media’s, false promotion of Starmer’s branch office stand in i.e. Anas Sarwar for New New Labour and too their so called Britain……..so any gains for New New Labour here in Scotland will be via tactical voting and too via the ‘Trial by media’ against the SNP on everything that they, the SNP, say and do……rinse and repeat.
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From today’s Observer newspaper (with my emphasis):
Headline: ‘Labour to omit funding of social care reform from manifesto and scale back Lords plans – Dismay as key proposals are downsized in order to make election offer to voters ‘bombproof’.’
‘Labour is preparing to OMIT DETAILS of how to fund a reformed social care system from its next election manifesto, SCALE BACK its plans for House of Lords reform during a first term in office, and recalibrate the way it presents its £28bn-a-year green prosperity plan as it prepares to put a “bombproof” offer to voters before polling day.’
‘The Observer understands that Starmer’s party will AVOID laying out a detailed plan for reform of social care, and the politically nightmarish issue of how to fund it, because it FEARS any proposals would be torpedoed by the Tories in the heat of a campaign.’
And on the Lords: ‘Several Labour sources have also made clear that previous pledges by Starmer and his team to abolish the House of Lords and replace it with a fully elected second chamber would NO LONGER BE A FIRST-TERM COMMITMENT. …. Less than a year ago, Starmer and his team APPEARED COMMITTED TO moving towards a fully elected second chamber in a first term. Now several shadow cabinet sources said there was a recognition this would cause huge constitutional upheaval and take up too much parliamentary time.’
And: ‘Party officials in Liverpool were DETERMINED TO AVOID talk of “radicalism” and “boldness” for fear that it would be interpreted as a sign of financial ill-discipline.’
And the last extract from the article for now: ‘Some senior shadow ministers also WANT THE WORD “GREEN” DROPPED from the plan, and to label it instead as “Labour’s prosperity plan to boost investment and jobs”, because party polling about its “green” messaging has not been positive.
See https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/oct/15/labour-to-omit-social-care-reform-from-manifesto-and-scale-back-lords-plans
All the above is to reassure and attract voters that vote Tory: these are voters in England. Labour is seeking to achieve power through offering a manifesto designed to be acceptable to Tory voters. Scotland since the late 1950s has always rejected by a majority Tory values and policies: Labour’s 2024 GE manifesto is not being designed for Scotland’s needs and wants!
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Charlatan of a man Keir Starmer …..
5 days ago in an interview “Keir Starmer says Israel ‘does have that right’ to enforce a siege, cutting off power and water to Gaza” this statement has been backed, in televised interviews, by some others who are in his shadow cabinet though it has been reported that some Labour councillors and members have now resigned from the party because of this.
Now we read and hear, in the media, that some people are saying this does not comply with international law and also the media are at last noting the real humanitarian crisis that they say is now emerging in Gaza (which lets be honest already existed as a crisis long ago) plus many have condemned his, Starmer’s, words supporting Israel’s action….in fact SKY News noted how aligned the Tories and Labour were in uniting in their total support for Israel……..the distinct omission , via both the media and SOME politicians here, in what is being reported and supported is that there seems to be no emphasis or background highlighted in respect to what has happened for years to Palestinians in Gaza because of the actions of Israel prior to the recent attack via Hamas upon Israel……as per innocent people on both sides must suffer and also die…..while Starmer is more concerned with casting away the accusations of anti Semitism in the Labour party and pandering to an organisation set up long ago by his party called ‘Labour friends of Israel’……..to match the Tories same organisation ‘Conservative friends of Israel’. (Note too Ed Davey of the Lib Dems also back Israel and funnily enough they too have a ‘Lib Dems friends of Israel’…..)
All roads lead to money, donations and trade deals…..where UK politicians are very selective and quick in condemning atrocities committed by countries they do not like and with whom there is no relationship with the UK (financial or trade)……Starmer , unlike Corbyn, has no principles or diplomatic skills instead he courts those with whom he thinks will benefit HIS party financially which is yet another similarity with the Tory party…….the man is a charlatan.
Humza Yousaf is the only UK leader who has come out and stated that Israel have gone too far …..but as this humanitarian crisis unfolds for Palestinians you will be hard pushed to find ANY media in the UK credit him with taking a humane stand…..indeed they, the media, await people like Starmer or Sunak to row back a little and take a more humane approach so that they can then credit them with that which should be accredited to Humza Yousaf…….indeed Humza said ” “Nobody has said that Israel does not have the right to protect itself from terror. All of us have said that, myself included, but collective punishment cannot be justified. “They are going too far, collective punishment cannot be justified”…..
So called British values from British politicians are not ‘values’ that I support that’s for sure……their real motivation via their words and actions are so very transparent that it is disgusting.
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