Diane Abbott and Tim Montgommery morun the passing of both Labour and Conservative principles

[@Wilkins_Micawber]

The world has truly gone crazy, I am agreeing with Diane Abbot. I need to sit down.

[@nicholasbethell2921]

The BBC certainly weren't looking for a balanced assessment of Starmer when they chose these two to ask for their opinions.

[@PMMagro]

The "beuaty" of long term one party govermnet. They shape and form authorities in a non-biased way...

[@padraigohooligan8363]

Excellent point!

[@thecheesefactor]

What can one do with the BBC? They give platforms to ghouls from 55 Tufton Street too often.

[@thecheesefactor]

@@PMMagro 14 years of the Tories - they have gerrymandered all kinds of things, the media, the civil service, even the arts ... to suit themselves. That has an impact on the way people think now that we are hardly aware of.

[@BobPsomiadis]

Very interesting, but look at the personalities of these 2 troublemakers.

[@jamesjuke7505]

Bloody well said!

[@shugieshugied2269]

Abbott is a dinosaur and Montgomery is remarkably biased. The example of Johnson should show that charisma may not be a desirable element in leaders when compared to simple competence. Corbyn's leftie lot had two bites at the electoral cherry, and the results suggest a third go would not have provided a different outcome. The question is, did those who voted for Labour at the last election now think Farage's wing of the Uniparty would be better? I rather doubt it. The left and the right are noisy minorities forever whining because they've not got, and never well have, the electoral appeal to get power. Neither should be allowed anywhere near government because they will force their warped ideologies on people who will suffer as a result.

[@stumac869]

Keep lying to the electorate and prepare for the dole.

[@alanbradley9621]

There is No Requirement for these class affected and infected politicians of either party feathering their own nests for too long...WE need a modern forward thinking problem solving politics..for our modern problems.Do we really need any of this lot..They have taken more than enough and give nothing in return....

[@georgesdelatour]

I’m not a Blair fan. But Blair had more of a political apprenticeship, introducing him to more real voters. Blair first had to contest the heavily Conservative constituency of Beaconsfield in 1982. This gave him a sense of what non-Labour voters cared about. Starmer’s first election was in 2015 for the safe Labour seat of Holborn and St Pancras. Even Starmer’s legal career was curiously rarefied. He specialised in an area of human rights law where he was mostly defending foreigners. Every case Starmer contested was decided by a judge, not a jury. So he never had to frame arguments to appeal to ordinary members of the public. People today use the word “populism” malevolently, to mean “I want to call you a Fascist but I probably can’t get away with it”. But correctly understood, all democratic politics should be populist. The Labour Manifesto of 1945 was absolutely populist, in that it proposed policies designed to appeal to the mass of the general population. Harold Macmillan was a populist, and, yes, Tony Blair was a populist. Part of the reason Labour’s fortunes declined after Gordon Brown replaced Blair was, Brown wasn’t a populist - as shown by his “dreadful woman” gaffe against longtime Labour voter Gillian Duffy. Starmer is, unfortunately, more like Brown than like Blair.

[@UtubeRfarlefty]

Agree, except for Blair, he was/is evil. A lot of the issues we suffer today stem from him, e.g. Devolution. No devolution = no SNP, no Welsh Labour, no Khan. He also set the stage for mass migration (extended by the Tories).

[@georgesdelatour]

@@UtubeRfarlefty I agree completely. I'm simply saying that Blair was really really good at politics in the Machiavellian sense, and he understood how to outflank his political opponents by pivoting on key issues. He was also good at public speaking.

[@Trevor_Austin]

At my political party meetings we talk about how we can serve the local community. The overwhelming majority of our members are former Labour members and voters. We are actively listening to what people want and determining how we can help. If people agree with our approach they will vote for us. It’s not about the ‘message’ or the ‘narrative’ or how we can win. It’s about how we can make our country better to help British people.

[@gregtowning]

Montgomery concerned about the shift from policy driven politics................... then joins Reform 😂

[@jamesscurr571]

Is this the true problem with the game of politics ?. It is steeped in past traditions with the "feeding trough" in th middle of the room. It never seems to be in tune with any current generation. it should be always setting the future agenda and not relying on silly people who reminisce about how things have been thoughout the centuries.

[@paulgibbons2320]

First interview ive seen where Diane came off like a person worth listening to. Diabetes must have cleared up. Until she tried to elaborate on the energy companies. She clearly didn't have a grasp of that. She gets in rediculous muddles.

[@minimalist279]

Ohhhh feisty Diane (courageous)! .. r' is a dish best served cold.... She is serious , I am just clowning

[@jamesbond7107]

Did not hear any of those interviews, what does concern me is how the right wing press are falling for the propaganda from the Reform party, The last thing this country needs is Nigel Farage and the Reform party, AbSOLUTE NIGHTMARE.

[@stumac869]

The Conservatives lied about their immigration agenda and Labour don't care or encourage open borders. The only party offering genuine change is Reform which is why they're gaining momentum. It'll be down to the electorate at the next election to decide which party they believe and align with their personal vision for the country. Let's hope it doesn't hinge on that one policy because there are equally important issues such as sound fiscal policy which both Labour and the Conservatives have totally screwed up. Whether Reform can offer anything better is yet to be seen?

[@gamigbonni7769]

Greetings from a Dutchman in Finland. Keep up the good work.....✌️👍

[@linking-it]

we talk about the Conservative party now in the past tense

[@cherylburrows1655]

I tend to agree with Diane Abbott to a certain degree. Considering Starmer is supposed being shown how to reach out and connect with his voters. He seams more busy suspending mp who won't push through his policies. He seams to lack the sense of feeling the public mood. He says labour needs to change. But Starmer is trampling labour values to dust. We need a true labour leader and not another elite puppet

[@AndymacUK]

The writing is on the wall for Abbott as Starmer can't allow her poisonous presence to continue!

[@minimalist279]

does she care... ready 2 leave a party led by a human right lawyer who does not know the basics of humanity...

[@NPC--666]

Good points. I've noticed that the few folks still supporting the conservatives all come it from a centre / win elections POV, never from a policy POV.

[@jjlyon100]

I strongly disagree that David Cameron was better. But I respect your opinion :)

[@thecheesefactor]

Cameron rebranded trickle down economics as austerity. It ensured that the broken system that made the UK so vulnerable to the global banking crisis stayed in place. And here we are a decade and a half later in a national economy still overdependent on financial services. Also the unwitting enabler of Brexit. Party before country with Cameron.

[@eddieharris6004]

You win the political game from the centre still holds true, but if the 'centre' shifts so must you....the centre now embraces concerns about falling living standards, inequality, migration, sceptism around net zero, failing services, poor housing etc etc. The duopoly of Conservative/Labour dominance can no longer prevail on rhetoric/personality alone. Reform are clearly not the vehicle for change, but the public are desparate to reach out for any available straw.

[@georgesdelatour]

The problem is, the professional political class has very different ideas about what is “centrist” than the voters do. For instance, advocating a return to the immigration levels of John Major’s centrist Conservative government is now considered “far right” and borderline Fascist by the professional political class.

[@jeffsimon9594]

@@georgesdelatour Exactly

[@Themanwithnoname386]

"Party of the working class of the UK." At least we can all agree now, Labour are not that. But Reform. But the Torys. Yea, anything but admitting the truth about Us Labours.

[@MegaKapo12]

Reform is clearly not but but is not covering it there's no party of the people.

[@alanconway94]

Not existing? Suits me. Mind you, look what they're going to be replaced with. It's not all good news.

[@camo68]

Not for liberal insanity that has destroyed Britain Reform represents the majority now Tick tock

[@johnrussell3961]

Some have a romantic view of labour principles. Labour are the party of Attle, Wilson , Blair .They could not be called that, They were all realists. Starmer is very like a Atlee. What you want from the state has to be funded from taxation, not debt . That is a Tory idea introduced in the 50’s..

[@padraigohooligan8363]

You mean (Clement) Attlee?

[@georgesdelatour]

When Attlee’s government took over in 1945 they found that the country was weeks away from total bankruptcy. Their only hope of avoiding it was to secure either aid or a loan from the USA. They sent John Maynard Keynes to Washington, but he came back empty-handed. So, as their final, desperate gamble, they sent Winston Churchill - the man they had just defeated. Churchill went to Washington and secured a US loan which rescued the country and helped fund Attlee’s programme. It’s true that the Attlee government avoided running budget deficits, and they are to be congratulated on that. But the need to repay the US war loans and the new US postwar loan was a constant drag on the UK economy in the postwar years. It was a problem the occupied and defeated countries (France, West Germany, Italy) didn’t have. All the aid Stalin's USSR received from the USA during WW2 was free of charge, unlike the aid the UK received.

[@thecheesefactor]

Labour has let themselves get intimidated by Tory media into running on a platform of not raising taxes. Raising taxes can mean a lot of things. The real question is will the tax system become progressive or will it remain as the Tories have rigged it - regressive.

[@angussoutter7824]

Till the Conservatives get back to basics they will stay in the fringes they stand for nothing

[@akumar7366]

Abbot tye faliure

[@lifewithzoe9468]

‘MOURN’🥹🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏-in the title of this video please 🙏🌲🎄

[@steveday6671]

check your headline. Diane Abbot..."morun"... Freudian?

[@RichardSteeper]

Leaky Sue, truss and Abbott were the magnificent 3 who needed extra highly 🚆 ed security. 🤔 Pretty petal and Ms Abbott wanted to hide in parliament when the far right went a bit feral instead of getting stuck in within their elected community trying to suggest can we stop wasting tax payers money 🤑 by trying to destroy stuff when 3 children have suffered a tragic end. 🤔😺☮️

[@joffey1212]

empathy and blair doesn't go together does it ,illegal war and signing off horizon seem more like

[@marksimons8861]

I blame those who voted to Leave the EU back in 2016. Why anyone might think there are advantages in creating a Free Trade Deal with the USA beats me. UK may as well have one with Mauretania.

[@Alanturner-c5x]

Strange bedfellows.

[@thecheesefactor]

Who better than to criticise a centrist than the left and the right? We know from previous elections that Labour can't exist as a left-leaning party and win elections with the dire right-leaning media in the UK. We also know that Brexit means the increasingly pro-EU electorate will not re-elect the Tories. Unless media reform happens, Labour cannot move left, and unless the Tories renounce Brexit, the Tories become more irrelevant as the young replace the old. The latter also goes for Reform.

[@georgesdelatour]

@@thecheesefactor Labour received more votes in 2017 and 2019 under Jeremy Corbyn than it did in 2024 under Keir Starmer. The most recent FT opinion poll puts Labour on 26%, Conservatives on 25%, Reform on 23%, Lib Dems on 11%, Greens on 7%. According to Statista, in December 2024, voters put Brexit 9th on the list of issues they care about, at 13%. Top is the economy (48%) followed by immigration (44%).

[@thecheesefactor]

@@georgesdelatour That would be more relevant if Labour is ending the first past the post system, but that does not seem to be on the cards. That Statista poll separates Brexit from the economy and immigration which are faulty assumptions reducing the poll's value.