What does Starmer stand for?
JVL Introduction
In this editorial the Morning Star is clear that Starmer does have a political programme – and it has not much to do with socialism:
“The Starmer project’s twin aims — to restore ruling-class faith in Labour as a party that won’t rock the boat, and to shut the door on political trends that might — were evident throughout the speech.”
His watchwords “security, prosperity and respect” are not what one would expect from someone who stood as a unity and continuity candidate when Jeremy Corbyn stood down.
Even those who believe a progressive left patriotism is desirable and possible get little succour from Starmer.
As a letter to the Guardian commented: ” Starmer can scream until he’s red, white and blue in the face. Nobody will take him seriously so long as the only vision of patriotism is the one presented by the send-them-back brigade of Tory ministers, because they might as well vote for the people who really believe it.”
The Morning Star captures well the warning signs amid the waffle of Starmer’s politics and calls for us to make higher pay and public ownership the biggest political issues of the day.
Climate change needs to be added high into this list of priorities as well.
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Added later on 5th Jan: The Independent’s assessement of Starmer’s speech: Keir Starmer did a Big Speech – it’s a shame he had absolutely nothing to say
This article was originally published by the Morning Star on Wed 5 Jan 2022. Read the original here.
Editorial: Starmer in Birmingham – warning signs amid the waffle
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David Rosenberg wrote an assessment of Starmer’s speech yesterday in Rebel Notes under the title Could I just flag up…? No, not really : “I had no great expectations from Keir Starmer’s address to the nation today. Quite the opposite – and he didn’t disappoint on that.”
Starmer’s positions are hardly new for the Labour party which has long been in thrall to militarism, the police and capitalism. In foreign policy, Jeremy Corbyn when party leader notoriously weakened his previous long-standing goal of taking the UK out of NATO and began waffling. Starmer is merely back to the standard Labour role as HM Loyal Opposition – only the first two elements are real.
I assume you’re not aware of it, but the headline to this article says ‘Whet’, as in Whet does Starmer stand for? [No longer – lot of people pointed it out! – JVL web]
Anyway, I just wanted to say that if I was putting a leaflet together about Jeremy Corbyn and the A/S smear campaign against him (and the left membership) whilst he was leader – and the purge of Jewish members since Starmer took over – I would definitely include this video in a list (on the last page) of recommended articles and videos for people to check out. And I would also include the video entitled ‘Meet the wrong kind of Jew’ etc that Naomi made last year, along with Norman Finkelstein’s interview entitled ‘The American Jewish scholar behind Labour’s ‘antisemitism’ scandal breaks his silence’, and also Ken’s resignation statement (on JVLs website), to name just four.
And THAT’s just for starters!
PS I’m referring to a leaflet to put through peoples doors….. Oh!, and not forgetting a certain video clip of someone on an Israeli news station several years ago spinning a Big Black Lie about Jeremy! Oh YES!!
nor me what I heard was pretty inspirational to say the least.. The Guardain in the shape of Polly Toynbee seemed to think Starmer is PM in waiting/ She like O’Brian on LBC has a real blind spot re Corbyn or those who have supported him. Polly writes some great stuff re Poverty but like O’Brian has a blind spot but she is not as vindictive as him.
as a member of the labour party i shall not be voting for starmer lol…stay at home me…
Is resigning from the LP enough?
The Union Flag is an anti-Celtic trope. It superimposes the English flag of Saint George over the Irish flag of Saint Patrick and the Scottish flag of Saint Andrew. And it ignores the Welsh altogether. Many Irish regard it as “the Butcher’s Apron” – a symbol of centuries of colonial persecution. I thought we were supposed to exercise zero tolerance of racist tropes. Yet under Starmer we must revere the Union Flag. Being Irish and brought up by an Irish nationalist mother, I could demand that Labour condemns the Union Flag under our zero tolerance policy. But it would hardly be expedient or electorally popular. I believe in optimum tolerance – which means, on occasion, putting up with things you don’t like for the sake of harmony. We don’t really practice zero tolerance of anti-Jewish racism, either. Christianity is the greatest anti-semitic trope in history – the Jews as Christ killers. I doubt if Starmer will condemn Easter as a festival of anti-semitism or demand that the New Testament is re-written to rid it of anti-Jewish sentiment. It would hardly be expedient. So just among ourselves, can we be candid and acknowledge that what we actually practise is – zero tolerance of Jeremy Corbyn and people who think like him.
James, I just did a search regarding Jeremy Corbyn and your assertion that prior to becoming leader of the LP his long-standing goal had been to take the UK out of NATO and, as such, came across the following Channel 4 Fact Check, and apparently he’s never said any such thing. Yes, he’s said that NATO should be disbanded (as of since the end of the Cold War), but he has NEVER said that the UK should withdraw from NATO. The reason Channel 4 did the Fact Check is because of a spat between Emily Thornberry and Dominic Raab in October 2019:
Mr Raab told the shadow foreign secretary, Emily Thornberry, that the situation showed “how we need NATO now more than ever”, adding: “That’s one of the reasons it was so irresponsible that the leader of the Labour Party has called for us to come out of NATO.”
Ms Thornberry shouted: “No he hasn’t. Take that back… That’s absolutely not Labour’s policy and it’s completely misleading.”
Later she made a point of order, seeking to “force the Foreign Secretary to withdraw his thoroughly misleading comments about the Leader of the Opposition’s commitment to NATO”.
So it would appear you got it wrong, and I can’t help wonder how you did so. What did Jeremy say, and when? Thanks