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Hang on, shouldn't Starmer have vanquished the northern usurper and then lost to some French guy?

Emma Reynolds apparently had childhood in France and is fluent - maybe a late challenge?

Not quite. Emma Reynolds seems to be a polyglot Midlander who worked in Brussels for a bit (cf Boris).

Emma Reynolds was born on November 2, 1977 in Wolverhampton.

She grew up in a council flat and went to local state schools, before securing a place at Oxford University where she graduated in Politics, Philosophy and Economics.

The mother-of-two speaks several languages, including French, Spanish and Italian and has worked abroad in several countries.

In the early noughties, before entering politics herself, Reynolds went to live and work in Brussels, home of the European Union, and joined the Labour Party in 2003.
https://www.bucksfreepress.co.uk/news/24441415.election-meet-new-labour-mp-wycombe-emma-reynolds/

BREAKING: Nottingham maternity review exposes ‘cruel’ care and toxic bullying at NHS trust:

Some 520 mothers and babies suffered potentially avoidable harm or death.
There were at least 156 deaths of babies and six mothers died.
Of the baby deaths, 94 were stillbirths.
Some 62 cases were neonatal deaths shortly after birth

Of the 14 senior leaders at CCG/ICB level, only 4 agreed to give evidence. Of 66 senior managers at
@nottmhospitals only 35 actually engaged with the review just 53%.

This is shocking behaviour by supposed NHS leaders.

https://x.com/ShaunLintern/status/2069734314003034169

The logic should be refusal to talk to an inquiry is admission of gross misconduct - with the appropriate immediate consequence.

Two things the next Chancellor should immediately promise are:

1) No more increases in business taxation
2) No more increases in pension taxation

Reeves twice allowing months of speculation about increases in business and pension taxation had detrimental effects on business investment and pension planning.

I'm a pensioner, and most of my friends are now pensioners. It's eccentric to suggest that we should be exempt from tax increases (especially as pensioners tend to vote Tory or Reform anyway). A means-tested increase, including abolition of the right to a state pension if one's already got ample private pension, would meet widespread approval. I appreciate that this would go against promises made in ca. 1945 but really one needs to revisit these things sometimes - someone getting £80K in private pension really doesn't need the national pension.

Utter bollox, pensioners pay tax and are not exempt from anything. Also if they have paid over 50 years for a state pension then they deserve it, lazy spongers should not be entitled just because they did nothing and expect people. who worked hard to have some money for retirement have to pay to keep the lazy barstewards living high on the hog for free.
Only MP's are likely to have 80K private pension, will be very few others for sure having more than a small amount which precludes them from all the freebies the spongers get on top of pension tax free.

The bit I find funny is that most people will be on defined contribution schemes that they have some or all control over.

Start tapering away the state pension at £55,000 say and I and most others will make sure to never extract more than £55,000.