After the dust from the UK election has settled, we can see the “Curse of Zelensky” has struck again—and without limits. This is the online joke about how any leader photographed shaking hands with the Ukrainian “leader for life” soon ends up with the punishment “comeuppance” at the hands of the disgruntled electorate.
The Conservative party was roundly trounced in the parliamentary elections in the UK, officially beaten by Labour who gained a massive landslide win, going from 205 seats in parliament to 411, a gain of 206, while the conservative party went from 344 seats to 121, a loss of 223, including the seats of a number of cabinet members, and the prime minister Rishi Sunak, the first time in British electoral history that a sitting PM has lost his seat.
Sick and tired of the lot!
Perhaps the French can top this one in the next round. Such a comprehensive defeat of the Conservatives can be blamed on a number of factors, the short list of reasons for the lost starts with ding their mishandling of Brexit, in effect keeping the UK subservient to the EU by continuing to adhere to the legal rulings of the ailing Franco-German beloved European Court. And not to forget the fiasco over inter-Ireland trade between the Republic of Ireland and the British ruled Northern Ireland, the chaos of repeated party leadership changes, etc.
The HR for Labour has not been the cream of the crop, with a rapid succession of PMs after the resignation of David Cameron, with the Tories running through Theresa May, PMs from 2017 until 2019. And not to forget, Boris Johnson, great spoiler of what was thought to have been a done deal Ukrainian-Russian peace deal.
He is still remembered for his insane lockdown policies during COVID in 2020 came back to haunt him in 2022, when it turned out that he and his ilk had been partying-it-up while the ordinary voter was banned from even visiting loved ones in hospital or to attend their funerals.
Good Riddance to all of them
The proof of the pudding of the best that the Conservatives had to offer in recent years is well-reflected in the incredibly short career of Liz Truss, and she was noted for having been outlived by a lettuce, and her replacement by the completely out of touch Rishi Sunak in October 2022, whose premiership lurched from one gaff filled crisis to another until the disaster of the current election.
Amongst the examples are the UK’s rabid support for Ukrainian ultranationalists, such as the Neo Nazi Azov Battalion and its backing by the premiership of Zelensky, while Boris Johnson, besides his wild haircut will be remembered for the blood on his hands for pushing the Ukrainian leader to refuse the peace deal agreed in principle between Russia and Ukraine under Turkish mediation in 2022.
Let us not forget that the UK supplied offensive weapons such as the Storm Shadow cruise missile have been supplied with a blind eye turned. It has since been used against a range of targets, both military and civilian. The UK provides everything from training to intelligence from drone and reconnaissance flights, and operational planning for the Ukrainian armed forces.
The UK has also given full support to the Israeli-American led genocide, even going so far as to help intercept Iranian drones launched in retaliation for the Israeli bombing of the Iranian embassy in Damascus, and the supply of weapons to the Israeli military that fuels the ongoing slaughter of Palestinians. Both of these wars are a massive drain on the resources of the British military, with the armed forces at the lowest level of strength since the Napoleonic wars, but the British rhetoric for war has not reflected their actual lack of combat strength.
The other huge factor was the Conservatives absolute mishandling of both the economy and illegal immigration, with the average Briton nearly US$13,000 worse off per year than in 2010, a situation made worse by the rampant money printing carried out for supplying financial aid to the Ukrainian Junta.
Mass illegal immigration is also an issue, so much so that Enoch Power and his River of Blood Speech would boil over if he would see what is now happening with limitless immigration. And not to mention rampant crime, both property theft and violent crime, catching up with what is happening in the US.
But the problem is, will anything change under a Labour government led by Keir Starmer?
Let’s take a look at his policies, on Ukraine, Starmer is definitely a hawk, even flying to Ukraine in February 2023 to assure Zelensky of his personal support for the war effort, even going so far as to say:
“I’ve said throughout this conflict there will be no difference between the political parties on this, so we will continue to work with the government to see what further support we can provide.”
After his election victory, Starmer called Zelensky to promise continued support for the Ukrainian military and its (now unelected) government, where he promised continued aid, as well as to support Ukraine’s membership bid at the upcoming NATO summit.
So, no changes there
On Israel, Starmer and his newly appointed Foreign minister, David Lammy, have issued mealy-mouthed statements that they will support Israel, but demand that it adheres to international law. Quite how they intend to square that circle is anyone’s guess, but I suspect we can safely assume that it will mean turning a blind eye, or probably both, to the ongoing genocide.
Again, no real change in substance, more bombs, more starvation, more dead Palestinian civilians, and with such a massive majority, Starmer can afford to ignore the Muslim members of Labour, who have already voiced their concern at his support for the Zionist entity.
On the economy, to say the situation is dire, would be an understatement, with stagnation, at best, being the name of the game since the 2008 financial crisis, thanks in part to a policy of austerity from the conservatives, their bungling of Brexit, and the shutting down of the economy during the COVID crisis (a self-inflicted injury if ever there was one). Starmer promised to “kick-start” the British economy, making it his number one priority, but has also severely tied his own hands by promising not to raise taxes.
Slip-shod wishful thinking
All in all, Labours planning seems slip-shod wishful thinking, with little to no real planning about how to turn around a comatose UK economy, which does not bode well. It is not as if this party offered something better, only did better because people were tired of all what the Conservatives had done, or not accomplished, so it was a vote against, not a vote for Labour.
So, all in all, we see the dreaded “Uni-party” in action. The fact that Labour actually LOST voter share compared to the previous election, the result of its landslide victory, is more a testament to the peculiarities of the outdated “First Past the Post” system, whereby Labour can dominate despite only receiving 34% of the total vote.
Another question is: What will be Starmer’s relations with the US, another lapdog? The Labour leader is a staunch ally of the Democrat party, with members of Labour meeting their Democrat counterparts even before the election, so, if Biden wins, we can expect him to have a strong ally in Starmer. However, that is likely wishful thinking at this stage, so Trump will remember whose camp that Starmer has been lurking.
That Special Relationship between the UK and US NOT so special
Starmer will more likely than not end up dealing with Trump (assuming the Democrats or CIA don’t kill him first) which is likely to be a far less cordial relationship, to put it mildly. Starmer has been scathing of Trump, as has his foreign minister Lammy, who described Trump as a “neo-Nazi-sympathising sociopath.” So one can imagine the much touted “special relationship” is likely to hit a wall in the case of a Trump victory in November.
Another problem, two strikes, that may be heading Starmer’s way is the French parliamentary election. Starmer is a natural ally not only of Biden, but of Macron, both being center left, pro-immigration and violently pro-Ukraine.
We are all holding our breath as what will happen if Le Pen’s National Rally win hands down? The lady herself has already stated that she will not allow French troops to be deployed in Ukraine, and will severely change the French Republic’s support for the war. Given Starmer’s “balls to the wall” support for Ukraine, it is unlikely that cross channel relations will improve in the case of the National Rally.
All in all, there will be little difference in Britain’s foreign or domestic policies on many major issues, and one can only feel that Starmer has been handed a poison chalice by his opponent, and outgoing PM, Sunak. The British public is more fractured than at any time in living memory, and appear to have not voted for Labour, but against the Conservatives, with the two parties only gaining 57% of the vote between them, or, put another way, given the low turnout, Starmer and Labour were elected by only 18% of registered voters.
In reality, we are seeing the case of “Same circus, different clowns”
Seth Ferris, investigative journalist and political scientist, expert on Middle Eastern affairs, exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”.
