Spotted in Brick Lane, in the seat Bethnal Green and Stepney, are some anti-Labour campaigners using rather unsavoury tactics to urge people to not vote for Starmer. A local co-conspirator tells Guido a van, stationed just outside Brick Lane Mosque, is continuously blaring out the stark message: “Voting for Labour is voting for genocide.”
Adding to the bizarre scene is a man wearing a dog mask with the Bangladeshi flag plastered on his arm. The van also splashes the message “Starmer wants to deport Bangladeshis” – a reference to Starmer’s comments at the Leaders debate last Monday…
Not the sort of #DogsAtPollingStations Guido was expecting to see…
There are many things to take into account when out campaigning. What issues matter most to voters, how to approach people, how to hammer home your party’s message. For some Labour campaigners, it’s how you come across. Most importantly, it’s all about what you wear. Labour campaigners in Canterbury took to their WhatsApp group to share the importance on dressing “according to demographic”. In poorer areas, upmarket Seasalt is out, Primark is in…
Good to see Labour campaigners are focused on the things that truly “matter” when appearing to be the party of the people. The struggles of canvassing…
Fresh from the fallout over his “I won’t work past 6 o’clock on Fridays’ own goal, Starmer has doubled down on his commitment to a work-life balance. Speaking to Times Radio today, he made it clear that running the country won’t get in the way of his love for football. Sir Sleepy said:
“I’m determined to continue playing football, maybe not as regularly. I’m determined to continue to go to watch Arsenal play with my son and my friends…I’ve played football pretty well every week since I was 10 years old and I’m not planning on stopping now.”
Someone better tell Kipping Keir that he may not have that much extra time on his hands. Leading from the pitch…
Deputy Leader Angela Rayner brought back a familiar Corbynite line at a Citizens UK event last night, accusing the Tories of “scapegoating” refugees. Speaking to the audience, she revived the soft-stance line:
“Refugees scapegoated, while those in power fail to take responsibility for our crumbling immigration system…It has to stop. It has to change.”
“Scapegoating refugees” had largely faded from Labour’s rhetoric since the Corbyn era. Meanwhile, critics on the left have accused Starmer of siding with the right on the issue, all as he gets embroiled in scandal over wanting to return people to Bangladesh. It’s worth recalling that Starmer pledged to scrap migrant detention centres during his leadership campaign, though now he claims to be tough on immigration. His foregone 2020 campaign promises are never more than a few clicks away:
“I challenge the government to give EU citizens the right to vote and be properly citizens of our country … We welcome migrants, we don’t scapegoat them.”
His Deputy Leader is reviving the old rhetoric. Does Labour ever really change?
Labour campaign director Morgan McSweeney lives in a palatial Scottish country house, featuring three stables and substantial grounds. The house in Lanarkshire was built in 1903 and was described by estate agents responsible for the sale as “a beautifully finished detached sandstone country house”. Guido found pictures of the manor publicly available from Residence Estate Agents for co-conspirators to see. It features a lavish double height entrance hall, with a double staircase and chandelier taking pride of place…
More troublingly for man of the people Morgan McSweeney, the subject of fawning newspaper profiles for his “intuitive sense of what ordinary British voters feel”, the sprawling complex also features an attached stable block with room to stable several horses.
The kitchen, decorated in a modernised farmyard style, features flagstone flooring, exposed wooden beams, and what appears to be a £5,000 dual-fuel three oven Aga. Meanwhile the Labour laird can plot higher taxes on those less comfortably accommodated from a stylish study, featuring floor to ceiling custom built bookcases with an attached ladder…
Kill-joy Welsh Labour have taken the term nanny-state to new levels, proposing a ban on free refills, buy one get one free and multibuy offers on foods that may contain high sugar and salt. The crackdown targets everything from yoghurts and breakfast cereals to potato products, pizza, and milk/juice-based drinks. The list of life-threatening foods goes on…
If retailers dare to break these new rules, they’ll face a hefty fine of £2,500. Shops are also forbidden from placing ‘unhealthy’ foods in prime spots like aisle ends and store entrances. Sam Rowlands, Welsh Conservative Shadow Health Minister said:
“Nanny state plans like these are a distraction from Labour’s atrocious NHS record here in Wales.These frankly over the top regulations will hit people in their pockets, exacerbating the cost of living for the poorest in society, yet Keir Starmer calls this his blueprint for Britain. While healthy eating is important, the Welsh Conservatives believe that you have a right to decide what you eat and drink. Clearly Labour do not.”
Prepare for these punitive measures to cross the border into England if Labour seize control of Downing Street this week…
Speaking at his speech on how to achieve “progressive capitalism” Wes Streeting fired a dig and Andy Burnham:
“Bond markets are not bond villains and fiscal rules matter.”
