Thread by @NAJ562

THREAD

Leaders should be judged on whose interests they represent. So how does Keir Starmer stack up?

▪️Will he defend ordinary people, especially the most vulnerable in the face of powerful corporate and establishment pressure?

▪️Will he protect the democratic rights of Labour members, and society more generally? 

▪️Does he have the courage to do what's right especially in matters of war and peace?

These qualities are the essence of Jeremy Corbyn’s popularity.

DEMOCRACY: 

▪️Starmer was at forefront of the campaign for 2nd referendum - the main reason we lost 2019 election. Many leave voters abandoned us, but remain voters left us too because policy was anti-democratic.

▪️Starmer is spearheading the campaign to push for a greater proportional say for councillors over ordinary members.

CIVIL LIBERTIES:

▪️As DPP Starmer vociferously supported the Investigatory Powers Bill (snoopers charter). Supported the indiscriminate collection of data.

▪️As head of CPS fast tracked extradition of Assange and advised Swedish prosecutors not to interview Assange in UK (contravening precedent).

▪️When Swedish wanted to drop case as baseless, KS famously said “don’t you dare get cold feet” ... sinister treatment of a journalist.

▪️In 2010 Starter introduced greater powers to prosecute activists. They could be arrested for wearing a scarf, as could be used to conceal identity and for carrying a placard - potential weapon.

VULNERABLE MEMBERS OF SOCIETY:
 
Starmer introduced a fraud indictment for improper claims on benefits and eliminated minimal value threshold, so more time and money is wasted on prosecution of the most vulnerable for very small sums of money ...

... and reduced emphasis on pursuing tax avoiders.

AND FINALLY:

Keir Starmer abstained on Welfare Bill 😐

As Keir Starmer’s past is coming under scrutiny. What can we learn from it?
theguardian.com/commentisfree/…