"A month ago, the group from Birmingham Yardley had very little good to say about the prime minister, comparing him to a rat or a donkey. They said they felt he had let them down. But the same constituents sounded distinctly worried about the idea of Labour MPs getting rid of Starmer when they gathered for a second focus group convened by More in Common in the week of the local elections."
"Bob, an engineering manager, summed up what several members felt. I don't know if it would be better off without him, because it's like, at the moment things aren't good, but things could always get worse and you don't really know. Sometimes it's better the devil you know than whoever you don't. Not that we know him, because he doesn't say much."
"Emma, who works in a special educational needs school, spoke up in agreement: I was going to say the same thing, the same phrase, better the devil you know sometimes. When discussing the alternatives, another member, Terry, a secondary school teacher, identified some of the possible contenders to replace Starmer and described two of them favourably but he still wasn't completely sure about the idea."
"There's Angela Rayner, his old deputy, and there's what's his name? the king of the north guy. He said Rayner and Andy Burnham were very working class but they're also very much more relatable. But, he added: As Bob says, would things actually be better? We don't know what Keir Starmer's doing he may be a genius behind the scenes, and he may be actually the only thing keeping us out of an actual war. But all we hear about is the Mandelson scandal, and this scandal and that scandal He needs to be more forthright about the good. If it was me, I'd be shouting the good all the time."
Former Labour voters in Birmingham Yardley expressed nervousness about what could come next as Keir Starmer faces a possible leadership challenge. Earlier views were strongly negative, with comparisons to a rat or a donkey and feelings of being let down. In a later focus group, participants said things are not good but could get worse, making “the devil you know” preferable to unknown alternatives. Some considered possible replacements such as Angela Rayner and Andy Burnham, viewing them as more relatable, but questioned whether they would improve conditions. Participants also wanted Starmer to highlight achievements more clearly and referenced lingering memories of early mistakes in power.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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