Self-indulgent shill Sonia Sodha shamelessly claims ‘anti-Starmer left’ are splitting the vote

This general election’s trophy for liberals shitting their pants goes to Guardian columnist Sonia Sodha. At least for today, anyway. After Sunak announced the election, Sodha penned a pompous piece laying into the left for kicking Keir Starmer’s rightwing Labour Party to the curb. However, folks on X are fed up with her lofty opinions, and her spineless outlet bootlicking for Labour.

Sonia Sodha: ‘Don’t vote Labour’ left splitting the vote?

Sodha unironically titled her article:

It is foolish and self-indulgent for the anti-Starmer left to split the Labour vote

Setting aside that it’s laughable she thinks there’s such as thing as the ‘Starmer left’, Sodha’s premise is barmy. People on X articulated a number of reasons why.

For one, it showed staggering cognitive dissonance from long-time Corbyn detractors:

Love the lack of self-awareness of the ‘I could never vote for Corbyn’ crowd.

Its art. pic.twitter.com/2I2Hg4SI1C

— Tez (@tezilyas) June 24, 2024

In particular, people on X are old enough to remember when the Labour right straight up sabotaged Corbyn’s chance at Number 10:

Very true. They not only did not vote for Corbyn’s Labour Party, they actively organised against it. https://t.co/0u2FXiKMrf

— Jonathan Glennie (@jonathanglennie) June 24, 2024

Because, who exactly does the country have to blame for Boris Johnson again?

The hypocrisy of this statement is unbelievable, given that the right of the party did all they could to undermine Corbyn at the last election and allowed the tories to rule for five more years https://t.co/XDi8jCmI4Y

— Simon Heppolette (@SimonHeppolette) May 26, 2024

Naturally, Sodha seems to have forgotten her part in this, so people on X kindly reminded her:

https://t.co/75Q3RAL48o pic.twitter.com/aog2CvbPop

— ⬛️⬜️Mannion⬛️⬜️ (@mannion99) June 24, 2024

This was her in 2019. Make it make sense. https://t.co/W7GnmLP8Bp

— Rage Against Genocide! (@RageATApartheid) June 24, 2024

People were also understandably amused by Jess Philip’s smug mug as the feature image. This was particularly the case, given her public (and brutal) disavowal of Corbyn at the last election:

Funny with Jessica because she was one of the most prominent people getting wheeled out to tell people not to vote Labour and even laughed about the results on live TV.

She called it stabbing in the front – something that would make them cry on the news if a lefty said it. https://t.co/UXLTu9GFHk

— Andy (@Andrew_Albacia) June 24, 2024

Starmer showed the left the door

Moreover, when Sodha opines about splitting the vote, she has a conveniently short term memory. Remember the time Starmer literally showed the left the door, Sodha? Well, again, people on X do:

Starmer showed us the door and I left. https://t.co/R244BBcd8f pic.twitter.com/QTu4K5iraT

— Dave Toller #SaveOurNHS (@doctort50) May 28, 2024

Again tapping the sign that says “You don’t owe any party your vote, and it’s the responsibility of a political party to win votes by offering policies and candidates that you favour.”
The ‘anti-Starmer left’ aren’t splitting the vote, Labour told them to leave, so they did. pic.twitter.com/2ptBmmmtHn

— Ben Goren (@BanGaoRen) June 24, 2024

As a result, one poster had a go at a more accurate headline:

Hi @soniasodha
Can you remember back when Starmer said ‘If you don’t like what we’ve done to the party, the door is open & you can leave’?

Allow me to rewrite the headline for you.

It was foolish & self-indulgent of Starmer to split the left vote.

You’re welcome. https://t.co/43BKutvkyO

— Hugh Frazzles (@HughFrazzles) May 27, 2024

But of course liberals can’t help throw their weight around with astonishing levels of entitlement:

Neoliberals always feel entitled to your vote https://t.co/6fq4gqCypB

— Marwan 🐦‍🔥 (@mxrwanlfc) June 24, 2024

These are the people who undermine democracy by relentlessly & willfully narrowing the spectrum–& stomping their entitled well-shod feet when ordinary voters try to speak differently. Authoritarians in their own right. https://t.co/oDg72PRdMj

— Priyamvada Gopal © (@PriyamvadaGopal) June 24, 2024

Liberal stooges gonna stooge, though, and short-changing democracy is their God-given gift to the world, that literally no-one asked for:

We don’t owe our vote to anyone. I’m not voting for the ‘lesser’ of 2 evils. https://t.co/yKbGnLgZ5V

— Dr Rehana Parveen (@rehanaparv) June 24, 2024

it is, actually, the political representatives role to offer to represent the interests of the voters to receive their vote. that’s sort of how democracy works

regardless of uk&us ruling class insistence otherwise:its not a tax through which you choose which noble will rule you https://t.co/DaiD77Gf1W

— FrankenTan (@FrankenTan) June 24, 2024

Another party apparatchik. Disappointingly using their platform to dumb down moral oversight and enquiry. Yawn. https://t.co/dZeEABdIbS

— Tariq Khan (@MTariqUKhan) May 26, 2024

Labour’s “politics are shit”

Back in the real-world, people pointed out that if anything Starmer is the one ‘splitting the vote’ by turning Tory-red traitor:

Starmer split the party
by making it #redtory

Starmer Rayner Philips Nandy and others
deserve to lose their seats#VoteTheGreenParty#VoteLeftIndependent https://t.co/n6947u6Ior

— Green Socialists (@GreenSocialists) June 24, 2024

And more to the point, people aren’t ditching the party because of Starmer specifically. Funnily enough, people vote for their values, and Starmer’s Labour is in short supply:

It’s not about the leader, I’m not that shallow. It’s the politics are shit. Call me a swing voter. https://t.co/CB0dT6OY9F

— Jack Faulkner (@Jackcantsleep1) June 24, 2024

Ultimately, people know that a vote for Starmer and his loyalists is a vote for another corporate capitalist hell:

Giving your ONLY vote to a Party (especially @Conservatives and @UKLabour ) means your MP will never represent you.
It will only and forever, represent the party, its donors and its backers.
In those two cases, multi-millionaires, corporations and Israeli zionists.#VoteIndy. https://t.co/Jyg5rQADKK

— TP Sheridan (@tps2203) June 24, 2024

So, you think integrity and compassion are self-indulgent ? In this looking-glass negation of democracy, we are expected not to examine, not to question, but just to indulge these “MyChangedLabour” liars, spivs and status-junkies. https://t.co/jSIOzmT1nv

— Nigel Brittain (@JustStopAle) June 24, 2024

Or it hardly needs to be said at this point, but a bunch of literal Tories:

It is foolish for Sonia soda, to believe a stooge like starmer, who invites tories into Labour, whilst forcing the last Labour leader out. Should be respected, the whole issue is above her pay grade…. https://t.co/ORDJzZ5CjE pic.twitter.com/t6VTxhVZn9

— Are We All Asleep ? ▄▀▄▀▄∆▄▀▄▀▄ (@demindblower) May 26, 2024

Sonia Sodha: Starmer shill can shut up

At the end of the day, Starmer’s Labour has crossed one too many red lines. Abetting Israel’s genocide in Gaza was and is an unconscionable step too far:

Now the Starmerites want us back!

Too late.

We will never forget, nor forgive, the words “I think Israel does have that right.”

We have anti-genocide/anti-austerity Independent candidates now

In Leicester South vote @ShockatAdam

Give Jon Ashworth the shock he deserves! https://t.co/tUMl1yI1V9

— Leicester Worker (@LeicesterWorker) May 26, 2024

If anything, Sodha’s article might have had the direct opposite effect to what she was hoping:

@soniasodha Doesn’t realize but she’s actually making us want to vote independent more. Some people are reluctant because they think it won’t make a difference, but this proves it will – and I definitely will be voting for Faiza Shaheen!

— Anonymous 🇵🇸🇿🇦🇮🇪🇪🇸🇳🇴🇳🇮 #NeverAgain (@_AnonIsMe_) June 24, 2024

If the feeling on X is anything to go by, it’s about time these hypocrites shut up shilling for a shit party without principles.

Perhaps Sodha could put her pen to unpacking precisely why the left has up and gone. But that might suggest the neoliberal stenographer has an interest in holding the powerful to account. And that’s not something a self-indulgent suck up like Sodha knows how to do.

So, like the good left folks on X, I won’t be holding my breath.

Feature image via the Canary