Keir Starmer should be Britain’s next prime minister | The Economist endorses Labour for the first time since 2005

[u/extraneous_parsnip]

https://www.economist.com/leaders/2024/06/27/keir-starmer-should-be-britains-next-prime-minister

[u/mostanonymousnick]

What of the Liberal Democrats? The logic that led us to endorse them in 2019 no longer holds... they have become more sceptical on trade and even more nimbyish on planning. The Lib Dems do not aspire to be a credible party of government; they are barely credible as liberals.

Damn, shots fired.

[u/CheeseMakerThing → u/mostanonymousnick]

Economist Logic: the Lib Dems aren't liberal enough for us so we're going to back the party that wants to freeze tax thresholds to ensure fiscal drag, wants to bring back ASBOs under the guise of "Respect Orders", supports cannabis prohibition, hasn't committed to bringing in a land value tax, hasn't committed to simplifying capital gains tax, has a literal NIMBY as housing minister and has been as vague as possible on how to actually build houses, opposes joining the single market, opposes making it easier for asylum seekers to get work, is outwardly pursuing an anti-immigration rhetoric and supports national insurance.

How "liberal", any fair endorsement would be Labour in most seats but Lib Dems in Lib Dem target seats using their own logic but nope.

[u/ldn6 → u/CheeseMakerThing]

This is why I'm hoping that the Lib Dems become the official opposition. It'll very much shift the nature of politics if it were to happen and place much greater pressure on Labour with these matters.