@steevc hope is what Corbyn and his "very slightly to the left of Thatcher" policies gave millions of people in the midst of Tory and Lib Dem austerity politics. That's all gone, now.

I was like your friend before Corbyn, but, like Corbyn or not (and like most, I didn't at first, because I believed all the media bullshit about him) he was the only politician in my voting lifetime to offer a genuine alternative.

Honestly, in Ealing, there's no difference between Tory and Labour because it's such a safe Labour area - anyone with any political ambition (whatever their politics) joins the local Labour party. It's so safe, they don't have to do anything.

Starmer has kicked out anyone with any kind of alternative/left politics, and recruited a few actual failed Tories along the way. The Labour Party is a cesspit. Totally undemocratic, unfit to govern.

I'll probably vote Green next time (same as last time, actually), just to try to get rid of our useless Labour MP (who supports Modi in India, for example).