It doesn't take much scratching below the surface to reveal that he and his wife are far from squeaky clean. However, it seems that there are vast swathes of the British public who are quite happy to ignore such "minor indiscretions", at least if the recent past is anything to go by.
I think you're wrong about honesty on the Labour front bench. Give me an example where they have lied to Parliament? I'll agree that Labour are keeping schtum about their plans but you'd expect that with the next election over 2 years away. Also Starmer has shown plenty of passion in PMQs with Johnson - same goes for Angela Rayner.
He lied to the membership, he's dropped just about every pledge he made in the leadership contest, he hasn't lied to parliament cos he hasn't said anything of any worth. I haven't seen any passion from him at all, but again, he hasn't said anything to get passionate about. As for raynor I've seen her get shoutey at pmq's so there's a bit of passion there but she's done a volte face on much of what she stood for before the leadership contest.
Yes. Passion. That’s what it’s all about. That’s how Johnson got away with his lies and deception. Johnson promised everything in rousing, passionate, world-beating speeches that promised to make Britain Great Again! Build Back Better with Oven Ready Deals! Level up! Sending foreigners back! Restoring our Sovereignty! Rational thinking, trying to do the right thing, morality - all pretty dull compared with that. So, let’s look for another entertainer. Let’s buy their passionate dreams because it makes us feel good. Until their dreams are shown to be no more than empty words and the nightmare begins. By then it’ll be too late. Never mind we can always blame foreigners.
John Major was both the best Tory PM of my lifetime* and useless/mired in scandal. *I can't remember Heath, but with the allegations against him will not count him either way.
Pardon my ignorance but exactly what did Starmer lie about to the membership? This is a genuine question, not being a member (I was in the 1990s but was disillusioned by Blair) and not being an avid follower of the Labour party I honestly don't know. As for passion, it's overrated in my opinion, if I needed somebody to get the best for me I'd prefer somebody who is intelligent, hard working and diligent to somebody who just gets shouty - I can do that for myself. Labour hasn't properly represented the working class since the days of Clement Attlee but anyone with an ounce of sense would prefer them to the current shower of excrement.
During the leadership contest he stated that they would build on the manifesto that nearly won in 2017 and was still popular in 2019 and got voted in on that premise, he's dropped nearly everyone of the main points, the main one being getting private companies out of the nhs. Turns out one of his backers, who he refused to divulge during the contest has got big interests in the private medical industry. That's when I cancelled my membership, I cancelled under blair because he was another one that betrayed socialist values of the party, I rejoined under Milliband because I believed he was a socialist and got to vote in the next leadership contest. As for passion, I don't think it's overated, it's essential if you are fighting for a cause, it doesn't need to be shouty, see Tony Benn, Micheal Foot and Jeremy Corbyn, very passionate people without being shouty, or personally insulting and decending to johnsons level hubris and lying. I probably came across wrong when I mentioned rayner being shouty so she must be passionate, it was meant to be a tongue in cheek reply. I agree with you re Attlee, I was born 1 year after the NHS was created so have benifitted from it's creation and I now mourn it's decline. From the mid 50's onwards the elite, in the guise of the tories have waged a class war in order to claw back all the gains we made in that very short but revolutionary period of socialism. https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/n...private-sector-outsourcing-in-the-nhs-329640/
When Starmer got the leadership, I wasn't really paying it much attention so I wasn't aware of his promises but it certainly sounds like he misled the membership. However, we are where we are and if he comes to an agreement with the Lib Dems to stand on a manifesto of electoral reform, Labour will get my vote. In fact, in my constituency of South Derbyshire, Labour are the only party that can beat the Tory Heather Wheeler so Labour will get my vote anyway. It would be nice in future elections to be able to vote Green without it being a wasted vote.