The treatment of Starmer by the press, the Labour Party and the public has been nothing short of appalling. Yeah for sure he has been an underwhelming PM. But the visceral hated of the man in many quarters is completely disproportionate to the reality. When you have chancers like Boris and Farage held up as heros, even a Liz Truss budget hailed in the right wing press, it is clear that there is one rule for right wing politicians even those on the hard right and another for left wing ones even centre left.
People may choose to forget that Starmer has had to navigate some difficult political waters both at home and internationally. He's endured personal abuse, had his car firebombed and what it must be like for his kids, one can only imagine. Those circumstances would have broken a lot of people. However criticize him all you like but it's hard to say the man hasn't shown tremendous resolve, dignity and calmness. He has been much classier than what preceded him. Burnham will face the same challenges and I'm sure won't have a magic wand to wave to make it all better.
One thing's for sure though, if Badenoch and Davy push for a General election the country will get Farage as a PM. Then, as we saw with his appalling defense of race riots in Northern Ireland, his closeness to Trump, and his mysterious donors who want him to deregulate cryptocurrency and certain parts of the internet, the country will be in serious trouble.
I hope this gamble by the Labour party pays off. But I won't thank them for it.