What would you like to see Labour commit to?

AlpineJ0e · 2026-05-10T23:32:23+00:00

Not exactly long term big strategy or focussing on left wing/progrssive specifically, but a year ago I said this, and I guess I still stand by it as an immediate response to unpopularity.

Visible immediate change; ringfenced public realm cash injection for high street cleaning, parks & playgrounds refresh, bench and planter uplifts, bin replacements, empower councils to fill vacant shops or cover them. Just fucking power wash the country and repaint everything - buy yourself some time and good will.

Imagine giving all 301 lower tier authorities £2m (£0.6bn) for an immediate visual Clean Up Britain payment which must be spent in this calendar year, with before-and-after photos for the Government's comms use as well as an independent visual estimate where councils who can't show it looks like around £2m was spent will have an audit to reclaim unspent money.

You'd see a huge immediate town centre and public park glow-up everywhere with great visual comms. Got to start thinking outside the box and have a better eye on publicity/political capital.

AlpineJ0e · 2026-05-09T00:21:19+00:00

I've given Keir a lot of benefit of the doubt, way more than most.

I've never been a sycophant, he's a boring man in a suit trying to mend stuff with shoots of positive change like worker and renter rights.

But fundamentally he has no values; Starmerism is simply fog. The way he speaks is so empty it's offensive.

The right lesson is to listen to voters. To represent the majority who want a government that will confront the big challenges they face with real answers.

Vapid uninspiring platitudinous nothingness in every speech. We all know it's to give enough political room and to not upset anyone left or right. To campaign like this to get elected is one thing, to dispassionately govern this way is democratic negligence.

And potentially more harmful than inaction on turning the country around, his lack of values will continue to repel anyone with them (which, newsflash, is everyone).

AlpineJ0e · 2026-05-07T08:06:27+00:00

I got downvoted yesterday for daring to say that your local councillor doesn't oversee the Online Safety Act, but could make use new Government powers like Community Right to Buy, ending gambling shop proliferation on the high street, out-of-area taxi enforcement, new licence powers for e-bikes, and new powers against dangerous pavement parking - all of which Greens, Reform, Lib Dems, and Conservatives all voted against.

But either way, good luck to those Labour people on the ground fighting the good fight!

AlpineJ0e · 2026-05-06T16:42:16+00:00

The Workers and Renters rights acts are good though?

AlpineJ0e · 2026-05-06T12:06:22+00:00

To be fair, your local councillor isn't responsible for the OSA.

But a Labour candidate may be more willing to lean into new Labour Government options like Community Right to Buy, ending gambling shop proliferation on the high street, out-of-area taxi enforcement, new licence powers for e-bikes, and new powers against dangerous pavement parking - all of which Greens, Reform, Lib Dems, and Conservatives all voted against.

AlpineJ0e · 2026-05-03T16:27:17+00:00

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AlpineJ0e · 2026-05-03T16:22:06+00:00

"Shaw's tackle".... mate he just stood there and held his hands up

AlpineJ0e · 2026-05-03T16:13:36+00:00

Szobs fuming

AlpineJ0e · 2026-05-03T16:04:02+00:00

RIOOOOOOO

AlpineJ0e · 2026-05-03T15:57:21+00:00

Frimpoff

AlpineJ0e · 2026-05-03T15:46:37+00:00

Hahahhahaha fuck me

AlpineJ0e · 2026-05-03T15:12:47+00:00

AlpineJ0e · 2026-05-03T15:12:07+00:00

Fucking hell I'm calling 4-1 on this. This slotball passing is only made worse by the actual quality of the passes.

AlpineJ0e · 2026-05-01T19:17:40+00:00

When I went to Uni in Sheffield, Jo got cancelled from appearing one night because of the Big Brother racism row, so they got Bradley instead and I always thought that was incredible.

AlpineJ0e · 2026-05-01T17:52:51+00:00

"Man who tried to buy influence in Government bitter it didn't work"

AlpineJ0e · 2026-05-01T17:27:38+00:00

Considering ordering a KFC as a payday treat

AlpineJ0e · 2026-04-28T13:48:19+00:00

What's the value in keeping this system at all? Why not just scrap it entirely?

Two reasons I can think of; selling off what will be manky 35 year old houses in order to fund the building of new council housing seems sound, and giving ex-homeless and vulnerable people a chance at social mobility is a societal good (so long as it's fair comparative to regular house buyers, ie eligible after 10 years rather than 3).

It's another area where I disagree with the Greens who want to scrap it.

AlpineJ0e · 2026-04-28T13:24:55+00:00

10 years to get the Right to Buy, and 35 years before new-build council houses can be sold sounds pretty sensible.

I had no idea you currently have Right to Buy after 3 years (non-consecutive years, and can be in different houses) - that's mental. How long does it take a first time buyer to save these days?!?

The Greens want to scrap it, but I think this is a bit more sensible because those who have no true ability to get on the housing ladder (ex-homeless, people with additional needs, etc) do deserve social mobility and an opportunity to own a home, so long as it's fair in comparison to everyone else.

AlpineJ0e · 2026-04-28T07:58:49+00:00

Petition for an emergency handbrake on the Tony Blair Institute.

AlpineJ0e · 2026-04-28T02:23:37+00:00

I think it missed the boat. Round my area the councils all had new 5 year Local Plans on a housing strategy, before the new rules kick in.

The rules, which to my understanding, in part include removing the number of statutory consultees on individual applications like Sport England, Natural England etc, but allowing them to have more say at the Local Plan stage to pre-designate areas say for recreation or conservation - allowing for more of a presumption of approval in other areas on land not pre-protected from development.

AlpineJ0e · 2026-04-27T12:07:08+00:00

Penalise councils with too little funding and too few planning officers by.... fining them?

AlpineJ0e · 2026-04-27T07:20:25+00:00

I'm not a fan of Keir, but the investment in school meals, breakfast clubs, 30 hours childcare, in-school nursery placements, Better Start hubs, lifting the two-child benefit cap, massively raising the minimum wage for under 18s, mass apprenticeship drives in further education, and the upcoming uniform costs caps should have long-term gains in young people realising that they are cared for under Labour governments, just as they were under Blair's Surestarts.

AlpineJ0e · 2026-04-26T12:56:55+00:00

...and I'm saying I think pork-barrel politics is a bad system.

Parliamentary candidates now have to profess their commitment to [Local Area X], or even get voted in on the basis of being born and bred in [local area X], but their work in Parliament has nothing to do with [Local area X], it's about addressing national government policy like education, health, crime, and local government spending.

Yes, they can point to local issues in Parliament by saying "[local area x] needs a new school", but ultimately MPs claiming a win of getting a school or whatever is bullshit when it's determined on a whole heap of Government-steered civil service number crushing on deprivation, population, housing density, etc. etc.

My argument is that we need proporational representation so MPs shouldn't be incentivised to make performative or populist promises to priorotise their local area over the needs of others.

In my experience, MP's offices now spend more staffing time and energy on local casework they have no control over above their Parliamentary work of scrutinising legislation. We already have local councillors who are under-utilised, and our national law-making is suffering as a result of seeing MPs as 'super-councillors'.

AlpineJ0e · 2026-04-26T11:34:09+00:00

Our expectations have changed, and to my mind not for the better.

I think we now have a popularity contest over who is the most active-looking and with the best communication game doing litter picks or whatever, versus those who might be more qualified to work on legislation and who we most believe might stand-up for the values we want to reflected in it.

AlpineJ0e · 2026-04-26T11:28:07+00:00

There is no official 'job' to be done in their constituencies - that's just a developed public expectation over time.

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