The tactics that gave Labour its huge majority in 2024 were no preparation for government – and the prime minister has proved he has nothing more to offer, says Guardian columnist Rafael Behr
Are you referring to the supreme court case? It wasn’t Starmer, and it didn’t gut trans rights; it said that it was legal to designate a space for biological women. Maybe there’s something I forgot about though. I don’t think this is making him unpopular though, as Starmer’s views on the issue are pretty mainstream.
pandering to reform bigots
Is very popular and cannot be an explanation for his unpopularity.
ID cards
A sensible policy but yes, everyone knows it’s unpopular so this was an unforced error
Authoritarian bullying of pro-Palestinian activists and protestors
Palestine Action should never have been banned. But Yvette Cooper did that, and let me remind you of the past home secretaries, PMs and governments who gradually made the law on protest more and more repressive, who oversaw much worse anti-immigration pandering, who said more definitive things about trans issues, and so on and so on.
I’m not saying that Starmer would be some wonder-kid in other circumstances, I’m saying that his unpopularity is absurd and utterly disconnected from his actual performance.
Is very popular and cannot be an explanation for his unpopularity.
Yes it can. Reform voters see this move as disingenuous, so don’t change their mind on Starmer, while Labour’s base sees it as a betrayal so opinions sour.
Are you referring to the supreme court case? It wasn’t Starmer, and it didn’t gut trans rights; it said that it was legal to designate a space for biological women. Maybe there’s something I forgot about though. I don’t think this is making him unpopular though, as Starmer’s views on the issue are pretty mainstream.
Just to speak on this point. Regardless of what the intent of the supreme court ruling is said to be, it has resulted in many trans people being kicked out of sports teams, forced to out themselves at work and banned from toilets alongside increased harassment. So it has resulted in a very real loss of rights for trans people. And even though it is technical not Starmer’s ruling, he had done nothing to push back against it or even criticise it.
That is not even mentioning Wes Streeting making the conservative’s temp ban on puberty blockers permanent and therefore banning health care for all trans kids under 18. Also the introduction of new guidance discouraging schools from teaching about trans issues - effectively a new section 28 for trans people. The online safety act has also made it more difficult to access LGBT resources and communities. Its not an exaggeration to say that this labour government has been the worst for trans people in 30+ years.
I don’t know how much this has affected Starmer’s popularity, but anyone who is LGBT or an ally will be majorly put off, and thats not an insignificant fraction of the population.
Are you referring to the supreme court case? It wasn’t Starmer, and it didn’t gut trans rights; it said that it was legal to designate a space for biological women. Maybe there’s something I forgot about though. I don’t think this is making him unpopular though, as Starmer’s views on the issue are pretty mainstream.
Is very popular and cannot be an explanation for his unpopularity.
A sensible policy but yes, everyone knows it’s unpopular so this was an unforced error
Palestine Action should never have been banned. But Yvette Cooper did that, and let me remind you of the past home secretaries, PMs and governments who gradually made the law on protest more and more repressive, who oversaw much worse anti-immigration pandering, who said more definitive things about trans issues, and so on and so on.
I’m not saying that Starmer would be some wonder-kid in other circumstances, I’m saying that his unpopularity is absurd and utterly disconnected from his actual performance.
Yes it can. Reform voters see this move as disingenuous, so don’t change their mind on Starmer, while Labour’s base sees it as a betrayal so opinions sour.
Just to speak on this point. Regardless of what the intent of the supreme court ruling is said to be, it has resulted in many trans people being kicked out of sports teams, forced to out themselves at work and banned from toilets alongside increased harassment. So it has resulted in a very real loss of rights for trans people. And even though it is technical not Starmer’s ruling, he had done nothing to push back against it or even criticise it.
That is not even mentioning Wes Streeting making the conservative’s temp ban on puberty blockers permanent and therefore banning health care for all trans kids under 18. Also the introduction of new guidance discouraging schools from teaching about trans issues - effectively a new section 28 for trans people. The online safety act has also made it more difficult to access LGBT resources and communities. Its not an exaggeration to say that this labour government has been the worst for trans people in 30+ years.
I don’t know how much this has affected Starmer’s popularity, but anyone who is LGBT or an ally will be majorly put off, and thats not an insignificant fraction of the population.