Strategy at PMQs

Johnson was taunting KS today, as he did last week, with an ‘are you with us or against us?’ line. Clearly, this is seen as a weak point for Labour. Starmer, in his turn, seems anxious not to be seen as openly hostile. He asks what he thinks are tricky ..

.. questions but refrains from attaching pejorative labels to the govt’s mishandling of the pandemic.

So, they both judge that the public would disapprove of open, unrestrained (even if fair & justified) criticism. Maybe their view is based on focus group research or ..

.. something but I question Labour’s position, whatever the public thinks. Facts are facts & truth is truth. It can’t be a good strategy that denies or obscures either. And a true statesman must sometimes rise above & mould public opinion anyway, especially in times of ..

.. emergency, as now.

To those who nod appreciatively & say KS is playing a long game, I reply that the emergency is now! The next election is not for 4 years. Plenty of time to worry about it then. How about stating some glaring facts, confronting Johnson’s claim that it’s ..

.. too early to make comparisons, challenging him on the 2nd wave & the coming winter surge of new cases (by nailing him to some targets), not being taken by surprise by bogus claims about other country’s Apps, distancing Labour from govt. incompetence & avoidance of scrutiny ..

.. suggesting what should be done in contrast to the govt’s ‘strategy’ (which, now, is very tricky because the virus has run amok & everything the govt. does is crap) highlighting the manipulation of the stats & calling out lies?

Lies are lies. You can have all the fancy ..

.. strategy in the world, but being shackled to this govt’s mendacity & incompetence, however loosely, taints Labour & fails to serve the national interest.