Some quick thoughts on Keir Starmer and racism and *that* LBC interview yesterday.

This will apply a lot over the next few years, so consider them ever-green tweets.

There will be times when Starmer won't react to rows on racism to how I would react.

But he has to pull together a broad coalition of voters, not me. Labour needs focus, discipline.

Stay away from culture wars. Labour doesn't need a civil war everytime Owen Jones thinks so.

On racism, I'm not convinced that "calling out" works most of the time. Depends on who is doing it and language they use.

To me it's like howling in the wind.

More specifically, it doesn't work when far-right are explicitly *looking* to get a reaction out of us.

Did Starmer react like how I would? Probably not. But did his failure to challenge a far-right troll lead to anything? Also no.

He actually avoided a trap that the far-right set for him. More on this a bit later.

Some people think Corbyn was treated badly over racism, and will leap on any 'mistake' by Starmer to claim there are double standards.

This is the weaponisation of racism for Labour's internal factional battles.

I think non-white folks should avoid feeding into it.

I didn't think all the charges levelled at Corbyn were justified either, and said so.

But the very people who looked away as Jewish and Sikh Labour members were badly horribly during Corbyn years should stop preaching about racism.

Where was Corbyn Twitter when @Jas_Athwal got suspended last minute over baseless accusations, and Corbyn mate Sam Tarry was conveniently the candidate?

There's a lot of people preaching about the right way to tackle racism when they lost that moral authority ages ago.

Just a quick refresher on that episode

Thread explaining why "calling out" doesn't work in the way many on the left think it does. https://twitter.com/sunny_hundal/status/1338855198135992321?s=20