been reading left outlets, bbc ?

Talking to actual real people in daily life. /quote]
quite a few people are stupid enough to watch the bbc.

I very much identify myself as a traditional leftie.

due respect

the left has traditionally been the home of freedom and liberty.

Not economic freedom or liberty.

trump...

Perhaps it is better to let the left destroy some of the world, and be seen to do so... as long as we remember to crush them, like the USSR, at the end.

My self-identified political leanings have moved around over the years but I'd say that for most of the time, and up until this year, I have identified as a traditional leftist opposed to neo-liberalism, statism, corporatism etc. I now consider myself to be beyond political labels.

I think this topic is exceedingly complex to deal with largely because it defies simple language. When you say 'left' what exactly do you mean? A classic example of this problem of defining the 'left' is the 'liberal' vs. 'socialist' debate. Not only is this distinction complicated by the fact that the term 'liberal' has moved on from a past philosophy that would now be deemed closer to libertarianism, but it is also made completely abstruse by the fact that 'liberals', despite their vocal support for certain liberties (particularly those of persecuted minorities) and for a welfare state (of sorts), are wedded to an ideology that holds corportate power and profit to be an integral part of government power (and legitimacy).

I personally would deny that 'liberals' are leftists on the basis of their economic model which is a fusion of moderate leftism and corporate fascism. Consequently, Starmer et al are not leftists in my book, so the reasons for their lockdown obsession are beyond the scope of the original question.

However, my experience is that there are actual leftists who are supportive of lockdowns as a consequence of their leftist perspective and I believe that this is broadly due to two things:

1) A belief that the left has a monopoly on science. This belief I think derives from the traditional fusion of the left with materialism (ultimately from Marxism) and its proletarian industrial roots (now largely forgotten and fading into memory). One consequence of this is a strong belief in technological progress and its utlility in improving the conditions of life for all classes and in overthrowing 'obsolete' or 'unscientific' ideas. A susbidiary consequence of this is an uncritical acceptance of scientific 'orthodoxy' (read 'authority') and therein lies the first and main reason for their unbending belief in the lockdown narrative.

2) A belief that the left has a monopoly on 'compassion'. Everyone knows that leftists believe this, and even right wingers have often been willing to fulfill the role of the 'uncompassionate' whether in jest or in reality, so it isn't even as if it isn't in some sense true as a form of self-identification (whether or not it's true in actuality). The consequence of this vis-a-vis lockdowns is that it pulls at the heart strings and essentially provides a perfect opportunity for 'virtue signalling'.

You might say: "but both of these apply to liberals to!", and I'd say that that is in some sense true. However, I think that the reasons for liberals holding these beliefs are slightly more complicated (plus there are other reasons too) and I'd also argue that they often don't hold them at all, they merely use them cynically to manipulate those who do.

The old traditional left of Tony Benn would never have worn lockdown. As he presciently said..."I think there are two ways in which people are controlled. First of all frighten people and secondly, demoralize them". Benn's socialism was essentially democratic.
Since his day the left has become the home of the professional middle classes, who pity the poor and also hate and fear them. They support rule by experts....technocracy. Theirs is the left wing of Stalin and Mao......the people don't know what's good for them so we will make them have it, whether they like it or not.

Perhaps it is better to let the left destroy some of the world, and be seen to do so...

Yeah, they've been there and done that https://scottmanning.com/content/communist-body-count/

If you want to know where you lie on the scale https://www.politicalcompass.org/test

I don't really care where people lie on the left or right, but the more authoritarian you are, the less power you should be given.