Quote:
Originally Posted by Russ
Unless I'm missing something blatantly obvious here, hasn't just about every governing party done at least one u-turn on some massively unpopular policy in the past 50+ years?
In principle, what's the difference between this and the poll tax u-turn, for example?
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There’s a pretty monumental difference between a policy born of hubris in the 3rd term of the most consequential post-war prime minister of this country’s history (and which brought her down), thereby narrowly rescuing a general election 2 years later than nobody thought the Tories would win and, on the other hand, a government less than 12 months old, sitting on an epoch-defying majority of 156.
Thatcher and her party had by 1987 come to think they could do no wrong and Labour was gifting them permanent power by sticking with Neil Kinnock. It was obvious the poll tax was unpopular but they pressed on because they had drunk their own kool aid, bought their own propaganda, etc etc etc.
Starmer has no such excuses. He has a majority, he’s fresh in the job, and if this wasn’t merely the latest in a string of un-forced errors he would have a pile of political goodwill at his disposal. For him to mess up this badly, this soon, and to have to be seen appeasing backbenchers as if he thinks losing the vote is a serious possibility despite his massive majority … that’s mismanagement on a catastrophic scale.
He has no political capital left now. There’s no way he can lead Labour into the next election. I’ll not be remotely surprised if he’s out of No.10 a year from now.