this post was submitted on 15 Sep 2025
162 points (98.8% liked)

UK Politics

4281 readers
164 users here now

General Discussion for politics in the UK.
Please don't post to both !uk_politics@feddit.uk and !unitedkingdom@feddit.uk .
Pick the most appropriate, and put it there.

Posts should be related to UK-centric politics, and should be either a link to a reputable news source for news, or a text post on this community.

Opinion pieces are also allowed, provided they are not misleading/misrepresented/drivel, and have proper sources.

If you think "reputable news source" needs some definition, by all means start a meta thread. (These things should be publicly discussed)

Posts should be manually submitted, not by bot. Link titles should not be editorialised.

Disappointing comments will generally be left to fester in ratio, outright horrible comments will be removed.
Message the mods if you feel something really should be removed, or if a user seems to have a pattern of awful comments.

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
tom@feddit.uk
GreatAlbatross@feddit.uk
flamingos@feddit.uk
frankPodmore@slrpnk.net
162
LibDem leader Ed Davey wrote a letter to Keir Starmer (lemmy.world)
submitted 1 week ago by fraiserouge@lemmy.world to c/uk_politics@feddit.uk
28 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 
top 28 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] meejle@lemmy.world 36 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (5 children)

In my opinion (don't @ me bro): The last credible leader and party we have in this country.

The way I see it, the only remotely "leftist" options we have are Zach "I can make women's breasts bigger through hypnosis" Polanski, Corbyn's not-quite-a-party that can't-quite-decide whether trans people should exist, or the Lib Dems.

As much as people see Ed Davey as a "joke leader" because of his stunts (because the media would only platform Mr Toad otherwise 🐸), I'm increasingly impressed by him. He's on the right side of basically every issue lately, you guys.

And is often the only person who is.

--
ETA: He also wrote to Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage. His letter alludes to that but doesn't make it super clear.

[–] theo@lemmy.world 20 points 1 week ago

I agree that Ed is a very competent and credible leader fronting possibly the most professional parties in Westminster (despite the stunts and gaffs). However I feel like you are parroting smears on Polanski and to and extent Corbyn.

The hypnosis breasts incident was instigated by a Sun journalist and repeated every time he reaches any headlines by the right wing press. For a story that was largely fabricated.

The Corbyn party I feel you have more of a point as they seem quite unorganised and split (and they have so much overlap with Green that there isn't all that much point). But didn't they cut association with the guy questioning trans rights?

Just to add as well, there are other leftist options in the country who are doing quite well and currently seem pretty competent, though they are not English.

[–] crapwittyname@feddit.uk 12 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Ok, so Zack Polanski is absolutely spot on on every issue, more so than Ed Davey, who is a free marketeer who is happy to sell our power infrastructure to foreign interests. Ed Davey privatised Royal Mail and failed to investigate the Horizon scandal whilst in post as the minister for postal affairs. All prominent politicians have some shit in their past, so why are you picking on Polanski?

[–] svcg@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 1 week ago

Probably because Polanski's is objectively the funniest, with the only contender in recent times being David Hameron and his porcine tryst.

[–] IcyToes@sh.itjust.works 7 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Corbyn's interview a few weeks ago called out vilifying of Trans folk and made clear they should feel safe from discrimination to live their lives.

Yes there is one MP that has slightly different views but still made clear there should be safe spaces. Let's not make perfect be the enemy of good as I don't think any party has every MP with the same view on trans people and all issues close to our heart. I'm pretty confident Your Party will have a progressive view on Trans rights.

Politics is like bus routes. You'll never find anything that goes exactly to your door, so you pick the one that gets you closest so you can walk the rest of the way.

[–] echodot@feddit.uk -5 points 1 week ago (2 children)

To extend your analogy.

Corbin is promising to run a bus route that will maybe go in the vague approximate direction of where you live. But for some reason it's refusing to publish a route map.

Until they have their conference they haven't set out any kind of road map.

[–] IcyToes@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 week ago

Yes, because he's a democrat. He can hardly set out positions without agreement.

He'll not open the bus route without consulting the people to see if that is the optimal route, or seeing that there are enough drivers available to cover the routes.

The funny thing is, people blast Keir for being an autocrat and not listening to folk and then unironically bash a democratic approach because they're hoping for someone to tell them what to do.

[–] HumanPenguin@feddit.uk 3 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

But for some reason it’s refusing to publish

The reason is pretty darn clear and well documented.

To ensure the overtaking of the party by workers and leadership. The way labour was. Is impossible.

Equality including trans is part of the proposed founding. The roadmap to that founding process was sent out to supporters yesterday. And is expected to be complete by mid Nov.

Official website and most of the forums openly opposed and ban anti trans members. I say most. I've not found any that don't. Only a few vocal idiots complaining about bans on social media. But it's the internet. I'm sure these sad trolls gather somewhere. Nothing official agrees with or tollerats them.

Your repeated failure to understand how important membership authority is to a huge % of left wing supporters. And the processes required to make that happen. In no way backs up your accusations. And so far you have nothing else to support your claims. Your single MP example is (as all are until local members vote). An independent MP expressing his personal views. Not a party representative in any way.

The founding proposal is clear. Only local party affiliations will have any right to appoint MPs. Leadership will not be allowed to parachute supporting MPs into constituencies as Labour and the Tories do.

Yet you use the very process and time nessesery to support that. As some form of evidence the party fails to stand up to your ideals. It fails provide the proof you think it dose.

[–] hanrahan@piefed.social 6 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Zach's is made up by tbe right wing ltress though. I guess repeat a lie often enough...

[–] meejle@lemmy.world 5 points 1 week ago

I've just done a bunch of googling.

Mostly he's just quoted as saying he didn't charge for the session. The "strongest" quote I could find said it "[was] not a service I ever have or would offer outside of the context of this article", which I guess just means he was dumb enough to be sucked in by the tabloid "journalist" who asked him to try it. 😬

In the same interview, he was asked for details about how the article misrepresented the events, and he pointed to a 6-year-old [at the time] radio interview that was obviously longer available.

Idk. It's slightly more nuanced than I'd assumed, but I now just think he's weak, a bit thick, and a poor communicator. πŸ˜…

[–] echodot@feddit.uk 4 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

I can see why he wrote to Badenoch, but Farage is basically part of the problem. Although it would be funny to see his response.

[–] LuckingFurker@lemmy.blahaj.zone 13 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Why is just about everybody showing themselves to be a better leader than Starmer lately? Like, I know he's shit but I didn't expect him to be this shit, even Badenoch has been scoring points against him easily. There's incompetence and then there's "Keir Starmer a year into being Prime Minister"

[–] mannycalavera@feddit.uk 10 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (3 children)

Because he's a technocrat, not a leader. He might be good at doing one thing (he was director of public prosecution and his dad was a tool maker, did you know?) but it doesn't translate into leading at the top of politics. Same with Sunak. Both very earnest at wanting to do the best for the country (as they saw it), but both also absolute shit at selling their visions for the future properly.

Christ, dare I say bring back Blair?

[–] BeardedGingerWonder@feddit.uk 6 points 1 week ago

If he'd take a fucking principled stand on something it'd be something at least. Horse may have bolted in that regard though.

[–] Womble@piefed.world 5 points 1 week ago

Best way I've heard Starmer described is Blair without the any of the vision, charisma or political insincts.

[–] echodot@feddit.uk 2 points 1 week ago

I don't understand how he's so bad at public speaking. Surely he had to prepare speeches as part of his job, yet he always gives the impression that thinking of the top of his head and has no prepared remarks.

But he also has another problem which is that whoever is in charge of public relations in the party needs to be fired because they are beyond incompetent.

[–] Skullgrid@lemmy.world 12 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Wow, a strongly worded letter. Things must be dire.

[–] HereIAm@lemmy.world 5 points 1 week ago

That's usually how a dialogue starts. Unless you think a tweet would have been better. I get the frustration, these are just word on a piece of paper, but it's hard to have action (and let's hope it comes to that) without being in agreement first.

[–] wewbull@feddit.uk 6 points 1 week ago

At the time of writing there's one response in this whole thread that isn't about Starmer, Corbyn, the Greens, Farage, or the crooked letterhead. Once again the Lib Dems demonstrate why they are the best chance for this country, and yet everyone ignores what they say.

People need to engage with the threat, and when you hear a party saying the right things, support them. Don't cut them down. They are ignored by the media who would rather amplify the voices of Farage, Yaxley-Lenon and Musk. If you agree with Ed Davey that the UK government needs to make sure people like Musk face consequences for trying to invite violence in the UK, be vocal about it - here and anywhere else you can be.

[–] Luvs2Spuj@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago

Uphold right to peaceful protest

Sounds like something a terrorist organisation would say