Starmer

[Jap Stammer]

No. But bonus points if you can tell me, without searching, the name of the leader of the opposition in World War 2.

The bulk of the public plainly don't want political shenanigans right now. The only sensible strategy for Mr Starmer is to keep his powder dry until the crisis is over. Then he can start asking the serious questions and setting out his vision for the future.

Was there a leader of the opposition during WW2?

There was a war cabinet made up of politicians from all parties - maybe we should have done something similar for Covid.

 

[bahtat]

No. But bonus points if you can tell me, without searching, the name of the leader of the opposition in World War 2.

The bulk of the public plainly don't want political shenanigans right now. The only sensible strategy for Mr Starmer is to keep his powder dry until the crisis is over. Then he can start asking the serious questions and setting out his vision for the future.

Mosley?

 

[stapler]

Was there a leader of the opposition during WW2?

There was a war cabinet made up of politicians from all parties - maybe we should have done something similar for Covid.

There was still a leader of the opposition.

 

[Old Timer]

Mosley?

He was locked up.

 

[Jap Stammer]

There was still a leader of the opposition.

You sure?

It wasn't Attlee - he was Churchill's Deputy Prime Minister.

I don't think there was an Opposition as such until after the war ended. I could be wrong mind you - who do you reckon was Opposition leader during the war?

 

[stapler]

I am

You sure?

It wasn't Attlee - he was Churchill's Deputy Prime Minister.

I don't think there was an Opposition as such until after the war ended. I could be wrong mind you - who do you reckon was Opposition leader during the war?

There was an Opposition and it had a leader.

 

[Jap Stammer]

I am


There was an Opposition and it had a leader.

So who was it?

I'm not being funny, I'm genuinely interested as I was always under the impression that once an emergency, cross-party government was formed there was no concept of an Opposition.

 

[Old Timer]

I am


There was an Opposition and it had a leader.

Arthur Greenwood was the official leader of the opposition, he led a small group of Labour MP’s who felt they couldn’t join the government led by Churchill, after his extremist views in the previous decades, especially his very right wing anti union policies and his racist attitudes to parts of the commonwealth. While they supported the war aims they felt that Churchill was a danger to the working class.

 

[Jap Stammer]

Arthur Greenwood was the official leader of the opposition, he led a small group of Labour MP’s who felt they couldn’t join the government led by Churchill, after his extremist views in the previous decades, especially his very right wing anti union policies and his racist attitudes to parts of the commonwealth. While they supported the war aims they felt that Churchill was a danger to the working class.

Cheers.

As my Dad would have said - 'You learn something every day'.

 

[Skandhaless]

No. But bonus points if you can tell me, without searching, the name of the leader of the opposition in World War 2.

The bulk of the public plainly don't want political shenanigans right now. The only sensible strategy for Mr Starmer is to keep his powder dry until the crisis is over. Then he can start asking the serious questions and setting out his vision for the future.

Was a coalition wasn't it? so presumably there wasn't one technically . I suppose Bevan would have been the nearest thing and a driving force for the ideas that followed the peace

 

[stapler]

Cheers.

As my Dad would have said - 'You learn something every day'.

Well, quite a lot of Old Timer's post isn't true, so be careful what you learn today. I did mean Arthur Greenwood, but he did not lead "a small group of Labour MP’s who felt they couldn’t join the government led by Churchill". To the contrary, Greenwood was a member of Churchill's war cabinet until 1942 and is widely regarded as the casting vote (either alone or with Attlee depending on the account) in cabinet in favour of continuing the war in the summer 1940.

Churchill didn't have "very right wing anti union policies". To the contrary, as President of the Board of Trade in Asquith's Government he brought in the first major pro-union and employment protection legislation. He was also the Chancellor that brought in the 1911 Peoples Budget. The maligning of Churchill as an anti-union, anti-working man is revisionist nonsense, peddled by Soviet sponsored fifth columnists who had infiltrated the post-war Labour Party and were seeking to rubbish the reputation of the man who warned the world of the Iron Curtain. He was an staunch imperialist and his views would definitely be considered racist today, that much is true.

I was being a touch facetious about the leader of the opposition in WWII. The leader of the Parliamentary Labour Party held the role, but there was no real opposition. Greenwood's main act of opposition was to refuse to delay the 1945 election any further, despite Churchill and Attlee agreeing to the delay. My point really was that everybody remembers Attlee and nobody remembers Greenwood

 

[Jap Stammer]

Well, quite a lot of Old Timer's post isn't true, so be careful what you learn today. I did mean Arthur Greenwood, but he did not lead "a small group of Labour MP’s who felt they couldn’t join the government led by Churchill". To the contrary, Greenwood was a member of Churchill's war cabinet until 1942 and is widely regarded as the casting vote (either alone or with Attlee depending on the account) in cabinet in favour of continuing the war in the summer 1940.

Churchill didn't have "very right wing anti union policies". To the contrary, as President of the Board of Trade in Asquith's Government he brought in the first major pro-union and employment protection legislation. He was also the Chancellor that brought in the 1911 Peoples Budget. The maligning of Churchill as an anti-union, anti-working man is revisionist nonsense, peddled by Soviet sponsored fifth columnists who had infiltrated the post-war Labour Party and were seeking to rubbish the reputation of the man who warned the world of the Iron Curtain. He was an staunch imperialist and his views would definitely be considered racist today, that much is true.

I was being a touch facetious about the leader of the opposition in WWII. The leader of the Parliamentary Labour Party held the role, but there was no real opposition. Greenwood's main act of opposition was to refuse to delay the 1945 election any further, despite Churchill and Attlee agreeing to the delay. My point really was that everybody remembers Attlee and nobody remembers Greenwood

And some days you learn more than one thing.....

 

[DaveH]

Starmer has had the unluckiest first year of any LOTO in recent memory mind.

If he disagrees with the government he is putting lives at risk, jeopardising national unity, not a patriot.

If he agrees with the government he is pointless, a yes man, a Tory enabler.

He has another three years. Give him the time.

It depends. He stood up and made a big noise about a circuit breaker lockdown in October, extend the half term and knock cases back to a low level. His fear was cases would go through the roof and a longer lockdown in December or January would be needed to get back to sensible levels. He was mocked saying his 2-3 week lockdown in October would screw business and Boris would keep the economy moving.

Looking back, it seems he was spot on, as we soon enter April having had most of the year locked down to get over the October/November surge.