Starmer and Putin

Earlier this week I saw someone comparing Keir Starmer with Putin. Five years ago that would have been ludicrous, but now it doesn’t seem so wild. No, he won’t be starting a war any time soon, but he is insisting on a degree of control that is unhealthy and ultimately unsustainable.

His USP is “I’m not Corbyn”, and it’s not surprising that he’s worked hard to throw out Corbyn, and some of his most vociferous supporters. But he hasn’t stopped there. He’s also blocked a popular local mayor and Neal Lawson, whose main crime seems to be that he recognises intelligent life outside the Labour Party, and thinks it should be possible to build alliances there. No. All the answers will come from Keir and his immediate team, and nobody else will contribute, have a share, get involved.

Some of these expulsions may be hasty or unjustified, but surely that will be picked up when they come to appeal. Or maybe not. The failure rate of appeals is 100%. That looks to me very like a Putin election result. It’s not only immoral, it’s self-defeating. Where is the incentive to go out and canvas for a cause? Where, for most people, is the incentive to vote? “We’re not going to change anything, or spend anything, but hey, give us a chance.”