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Monday 25 March 2024

Owen Jones & Keir Starmer

Last week, Owen Jones divorced Labour.  There was a lot of comment about it at the time, but I understand where he is coming from.  Labour have not been the best at communicating their message, not just with the way that Israel are committing war crimes in Gaza, but in other ways as well.

Today, I have listened to Ed Milliband being quizzed on Labour U-turns.  And it got me thinking.  I think that a better way for Labour to appeal to the electorate is to be honest about these policy shifts.  When asked about the reversal on the Green Energy Pledge, an honest answer would be to say that Labour would want to meet the pledge, but does not think that it can so are to make a promise it knows it can keep.  He could have been clearer on the pledge on tuition fees.  

And when it comes to Gaza, I think that Labour should be honest.  I supported Israeli military action until the scale of civilian lives lost became apparent.  Labour should have the courage to say the same. 

So while I do not like everything Labour is doing, I will probably still Vote Labour. Keir Starmer was not my first choice as leader for Labour as he had promised a lot to the left wing of the party.  My choice when it came to who should be party leader was Lisa Nandy, someone who is much better at communication that Starmer.  The alternative is more years of Conservative misrule.  Labour are going to have to improve how they communicate things as otherwise, they will be quickly voted out of power.