Huge sympathy for Kier Starmer or anyone else in the Prime Minister’s job…

I have a huge, massive sympathy for anyone in that job, and I feel for Kier Starmer. Yes, he has made many mistakes, beginning with his response to the matter of accepting freebies; all he had to do was come out and say that he got it wrong and much as it may have seemed ok, when he took the freebies, now that he is leading the nation, in retrospect, it’s not a good look, he’s sorry and won’t take any other free stuff. That’s all he should have said. Instead, he wasted weeks, ineffectually, mounting a pointless defence, only to later issue a belated and ineffectual apology. sort of.

But the position of the Prime Minister, is very similar to the debates about policing: nobody wants to see police brutality or stuff like that, BUT without the police, heaven help us! have you seen how human beings behave? So, yes, the police are extremely necessary, and even if some of them do things that ain’t great, on the whole, heaven help us all, if there aren’t any police men & women. So, yes, nobody asked Starmer to be Prime Minister, BUT what would we do as a nation, without a leader? Someone has to do it. And I have sincere sympathies for that person. Perks or no perks, they are still putting themselves out there, for the rest of us.

So, on the current turbulence. It is a shame that Starmer has not just come out and explained himself. The reality is that most of the people who say: “we put you in office to serve us etc” actually are people who didn’t vote for him! They are largely the people who voted for others. BUT, does it matter? If large numbers of people who are voting age, say they are unhappy about something, a politician or political party, should listen to them, regardless. Even if Starmer can see that a few thousand illegal migrants and asylum seekers crossing in via the English Channel SHOULD NOT have the stated effect on a country the size and strength (in resources) of the UK, the simple fact is that it is angering so many people in the country and whether their anger is right or wrong, and whether or not a few illegal migrants committing crimes should become stalking point, when the UK was never crime-free prior to their arrival, is beside the point. The point is, many people say they are angry, and as such, the elected leader of the nation, should indeed at least LISTEN to them. Starmer should travel to the towns the cities where people say they are angry, and explain to them that he understands them, and then share with them the simple and true fact that there are so many reasons why progress in dealing with the issue has been slow. The UK must indeed put an end to people just rowing rubber boats into the country – it is not right and it is not fair on anyone – and he could share all sorts of thoughts on what’s being done and why the Rwanda scheme was just a nonsense (it wouldn’t have worked as a deterrent. We all know that) and what he is trying to do and will do. FAILURE to make that effort – YES, he will probably get booed and not convince those folk, BUT, some may give him credit for trying – is a total mistake and it has led to the awful local election result for his party and calls for him to go. The reality is that NOBODY else, for any political party, would have fared any better than Starmer has. Yes, it was easy for Boris to say stuff and for Niger Farage and his party to say they have the answers, the honest truth is that none of them have the answer to the English Channel crossings and any of the other problems the country is presently facing. There are too may pressure groups controlling what’s going on: the issues can of course be resolved, BUT IT STARTS WITH A Prime Minister that can step up and tell the country he is LISTENING to them. It doesn’t matter whether or not we all agree. The simple fact, is that elected folk should listen. People are travelling across the country to attend rallies and some of the, are prepared to be violent and burn stuff down. We cannot lock them all up! The prisons are already too full! So, what is to give??? There is no harm in a PM listening and offering a clear explanation, even if it’s rejected.

If he survives, Starmer must change course. He needs to listen, engage (with the folk who savaged labour in the local government election) with people and try to get things done. Yes, it ain’t easy, BUT surely, the listening part is doable?

Goodluck to him.