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Frozen by the challenges of power: how Starmer turned triumph into tragedy
The Guardian ^ | June 22nd, 2026 | Peter Walker

Posted on 06/22/2026 4:28:27 AM PDT by Cronos

Starmer’s political career has been almost Shakespearean in its trajectory: a mere 11 years to enter parliament, lead Labour to an election win e and then, inside the final two years, throw it all away.

No modern prime minister has looked so well-suited to the job on paper and been so fundamentally inept in practice.

“Starmer didn’t know what he was doing in three ways,”

“Firstly, he never worked out what the job was – what does the prime minister do? Secondly, he never knew what he wanted to do, above all not on economic policy. And thirdly, he didn’t know who to appoint.

“Once you’ve got those three things happening it’s never going to work. It’s just a question of how quickly the wheels come off.”

As a precis this might sound harsh. a politician adept at winning the Labour leadership and then guiding the party to victory, before becoming frozen by the endless choices of power,

This chasm between campaigning and governing was noticed, with alarm, by some working directly with Starmer in the final days before Labour’s election triumph of July 2024, a landslide in seats if not the popular vote.

One staffer recounted asking why they had not yet seen a plan to govern, to be told that there did not appear to be one. “After the win we expected some sort of blitz of major policies. Instead, we just had the PM going round meeting mayors on a UK tour. There were a lot of people saying: ‘This can’t be it. This isn’t how you do politics.’”

from the moment Liz Truss appointed Kwasi Kwarteng as chancellor – Labour were going to win the next election, whatever happened. They had two years to prepare, and did not prepare.”

(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...


TOPICS: Editorial; Foreign Affairs; Government; Political Humor/Cartoons; Politics/Elections; United Kingdom
KEYWORDS: returnthesausages; sausagestriumphant
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1 posted on 06/22/2026 4:28:27 AM PDT by Cronos
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To: Cronos
Oh look, the UK's version of "hope and change" retards.


2 posted on 06/22/2026 4:34:23 AM PDT by Sicon ("All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others." - G. Orwell)
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To: Cronos

Starmer thought by pretending Islam was good it would be good for the UK. Islam is inherently evil. No amount of polishing is ever going to make it shine.


3 posted on 06/22/2026 4:35:33 AM PDT by Nateman (Democrats did not strive for fraud friendly voting merely to continue honest elections.)
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To: Sicon

Look at all the AWFULs!


4 posted on 06/22/2026 4:45:06 AM PDT by Kudsman (Make Mike Lee Majority Leader.)
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To: Cronos

The Guardian makes Starmer look like a decent fellow who was simply in over his head.

Nope. Starmer was just another in a line of prime ministers who deliberately chose policies to tear down the old Britain, and replace it with a fascist, Islam-lite Britain.

And so what if he’s resigning?
Labour will pick another PM with the exact same philosophy.


5 posted on 06/22/2026 4:48:07 AM PDT by Leaning Right
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To: Sicon

I noticed the article compared Starmer to Obambam. Great ‘presentationist.” Snort.


6 posted on 06/22/2026 4:59:50 AM PDT by yldstrk
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To: Cronos

I watch a lot of clips from British news and game shows. It was clear to me years before Keir’s name was known here that he was utterly devoid of personality. He was savaged on a weekly basis.

CC


7 posted on 06/22/2026 5:11:37 AM PDT by Celtic Conservative (Heghlu'meH QaQ jajvam!)
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To: yldstrk; Nateman
On the contrary, FTA: "He’s not Obama in his presentational skills"

Nor did I see any reference to Islam anywhere in the Guardian's article, and, iirc, only an oblique reference to muslim immigrant rapes.

The Guardian clearly has its head stuck in sand.

8 posted on 06/22/2026 5:19:14 AM PDT by chiller ( Davy Crockett said:"Be sure you're right, then go ahead." I'll go ahead.)
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To: chiller

The Guardian is the last place you’re going to read about the evils of Islam. Islam will always remain the unseen elephant in the room in that worthless rag because it can’t fit into their narrative.


9 posted on 06/22/2026 5:29:58 AM PDT by Nateman (Democrats did not strive for fraud friendly voting merely to continue honest elections.)
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To: Cronos

Massive failure because he couldn’t accept the consequences of the failed reality that he espoused and proposed. He hid the consequences of unfetter immigration and assault of a particular religious group upon the innocent people. His policies led to ‘lies’ and ‘mis-representations’ of facts that ultimately came to define ‘Britain’ as now a racist, fascist, and ultimately religious advocate, but not of native British people.

The good news is that at least the damage to him politically mounted quickly so he could be ‘removed’. His successor may turn out to be more adept at continuing the policies without discovery of the disastrous consequences.


10 posted on 06/22/2026 5:39:50 AM PDT by Pete Dovgan
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To: Leaning Right

The Guardian is a hard left rag. Of course they’re going to be soft on their resigning PM. The left wing policies are never the problem it was the lack of connection and messaging. Sounds familiar as in any time a dim loses.


11 posted on 06/22/2026 5:51:23 AM PDT by xp38
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To: Cronos

>>>Frozen by the challenges of power: how Starmer turned triumph into tragedy

Headline spot on!


12 posted on 06/22/2026 6:18:30 AM PDT by existentially_kuffer
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To: yldstrk

The UK’s POTATUS analogue and ours are two sides of the same coin.


13 posted on 06/22/2026 6:24:26 AM PDT by mewzilla (Swing away, Mr. President, swing away! 🇺🇸 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿)
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To: Nateman

Polishing a turd
Still stinks


14 posted on 06/22/2026 6:46:09 AM PDT by TStro (Come and take it!)
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To: xp38

“..the lack of connection and messaging”

Starmer is an unfeeling brute and couldn’t contain his enthusiasm for his own reprobate evil. Where more astute politicians believing the same know to smile and ‘feel their pain’

A true sycophant of the WEFs agenda 2030 and its destruction of the individual nation state. No matter the cost to his own countrymen.

We can be sure the ‘new WEF guy’ will be exactly the same as the last one, but he will smile more.


15 posted on 06/22/2026 6:48:30 AM PDT by captmar-vell
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To: Cronos

Why the constant posts from the leftist a-holes at The Guardian?


16 posted on 06/22/2026 6:50:33 AM PDT by iamgalt
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