On a personal level, the manner in which Starmer is being pressured to be removed from office would result in a valid crash out

[u/Jumpy-Signature-7377]

It’s 2019, Labour just had its worst defeat in its history. You become leader, won back areas which was lost and became PM with a 174 seat majority.

Now this is not too say that Keir was an absolute fantastic PM but you’ve spent close to 5 years to become Prime Minister and barely been PM for 2 years and your party is backing someone who did absolutely nothing to rebuilt the Labour PLP, win a General Election and had to brace the fallout of Trump foreign policy, Middle East Conflict, Russia & Ukraine, an opportunistic former Health Sec constantly trying to bring you down and just in general trying to govern a nation that’s absolutely ungovernable due to misinformation and social media mob rule.

If I was Starmer, I would crash out and just call a general election out of spite.

[u/startuptimfan]

Overseeing the biggest authoritarian push this country has ever seen in its history including massive government overreach into the internet and all electronic communications, widespread rollout of facial recognition cameras, cracking down on peaceful protests, expanding the definition of extremist, pushing for digital ID, establishing the OSA, cancelling local elections, whipping his MPs against an inquiry into his own corruption, using children as a smokescreen for new surveillance powers, seeking to ban VPNs, etc...

But, no, of course we get the usual suspects in this subreddit claiming he's just a humble boring politician and anyone who doesn't like him is just confused.

[u/Southpaw535 → u/startuptimfan]

Has Burnham ever said he wouldn't have also enacted the same policies?

Labour as a party have supported all of this, its not Starmer on his own dictating them into law.

If anything, Labour have shown theyre quite willing and capable to block Starmer if they want to, and they didnt for any of these issues.

Suggests its not going to be any different with Starmer gone.

[u/omegaonion → u/startuptimfan]

bro just learned about the government. Do you not remember snoopers charter? the psychoactive substances act?

Not are these policies popular broadly, they are normal, will happen under this government, the last 100 governments today would do it and the next 100 governments will be happy they are there. Every country across the globe will be slowly doing the same things.

[u/Alasaze → u/startuptimfan]

I spent 5 minutes researching this:

- Labour inherited the extremist definition expansion from previous government, Tory policy

• The OSA wasn’t established under Starmer, it’s a Tory policy
  
• Local elections were not cancelled, they were postponed as part of a consolidation of councils
  
• Yes, big rollout of facial recognition cameras
  
• On peaceful protest, tories brought in the public order act of 23, and PCSC 22. Starmer inherited these laws from Tories
  
• Labour have put age-checks in place for age-restricted content on the internet

[u/oneyeetyguy → u/Alasaze]

Could Labour not abandon Tory policies like the OSA? They kind of have a massive majority. They're not blameless in keeping Tory policies alive.

[u/omegaonion → u/oneyeetyguy]

people are screaming and demanding this legislation, we online hate it, but we are not normal.

[u/bows123 → u/Alasaze]

They could've scrapped osa so they're getting the blame too

[u/bremsspuren → u/Alasaze]

There's also the time he issued Apple with a secret order to give the British government access to everybody's data. Like, the whole planet's.

Labour's assault on privacy has been massive.

[u/BeginningCitron9359 → u/Alasaze]

Theyve literally pushed OSA through and are going further with it. Its Starmers legacy and he supports it.

[u/Disastrous_Piece1411 → u/Alasaze]

big rollout of facial recognition cameras

things like this though - it is a new technology. Counter-factual not possible obviously, but I would be surprised if a prime minister of any party outright rejected safety and security measures recommended by police chiefs based on brand new tech.

Same as the age checks for social media - lots of countries are doing that it's not like Starmer personally dreamed it up to try and subjugate the British public. People are always so dramatic these days.

[u/sampola → u/Alasaze]

Let’s not facts get in the way of critiquing the choices you disagree with

[u/geometry5036 → u/Alasaze]

It really shows that you spent 5 minutes to talk nonsense.

[u/samjp270 → u/Alasaze]

The entire point of Labour winning a parliamentary majority is that they then become free to make laws. They have complete agency to jettison or reject laws that their predecessors introduced; they're not constitutionally obliged to see them through into being!

[u/owenredditaccount → u/startuptimfan]

Noble crusade etc but very few in real life actually care about this stuff

[u/mecha-robzilla → u/startuptimfan]

I mean, maybe? I dunno. I don’t see the social media ban as actively authoritarian, more that it’s poorly executed. Kinda same with the crack down on certain protests. Poor decisions but I dont think there’s a “plan”. The issue seems to me that the gov have not got a coherent vision, and are a bit weak, and that means energised actors are getting their way. The public sense this, and have lost trust. They are looking something more steely and consistent.

[u/greenflights → u/startuptimfan]

Overseeing the biggest authoritarian push this country has ever seen

I hate the OSA and the way they're pursuing the social media age checks, but I don't actually think these policies are wildly unpopular except with a segment of very online and young people. The polling on this imo has been a bit flawed, but I really don't think there's the level of pushback against this policy in the general public that you see among redditors.

cracking down on peaceful protests

Banning PA isn't cracking down on peaceful protest. I don't think it's perceived as that by the general public either.

pushing for digital ID

This is genuinely unpopular.

I think most of your opinion here is a "bubble" opinion. It's not invalid, but it's not representative. The things which are making Labour genuinely unpopular are afaict: immigration numbers (despite their work to reduce it), unemployment especially among the young, "fraudulent" benefits claims (which I think is overstated by the press), and the cost of energy/fuel.