If Starmer doesn’t go now then Sarwar has just delivered an even worse result in May for Scottish Labour .
Assuming the disaffected in his sub branch don’t take action. If Sarwar went Tonto on his own initiative without checking what backing he had, he really is more of a fckwit than I thought (and I already thought he was mucho fckwit).
For the ultimate lols he should turn around now and say “I have always supported Skyr 100%, I deeply respect his work in the Kievan male modelling charity sector, it’s just malicious gossip about my speech, I was simply going to express my total reverence for our brilliant free-designer-spectacles-wearing PM”
For the ultimate lols he should turn around now and say “I always supported Skyr, I deeply respect his work in the Kievan male modelling charity sector, it’s just malicious gossip about my speech, I was always going to express my total reverence for our brilliant free-designer-spectacles-wearing PM”
Rayner has that tax affair hanging over her . And the rest of the choices are hardly inspiring .
The tax affair probably doesn't prevent her from become leader.
You couldn’t risk that because she’s already struggling to repair the damage from last year . Labour can’t have a new leader who could possibly then get a penalty from the HMRC .
A penalty from HMRC is not a criminal record. Johnson and Sunak both paid fines for criminal breaches -- Sunak twice. Yet they were Primes Ministers.
I really like Angela Rayner but I don’t think she can become leader and then get a penalty .
Angela's future is in the hands of one unnamed individual in HMRC who decides whether her error was understandable, careless or deliberate. It's a judgement call. If it were clear cut it would be declared by now.
Will the political leaning of this unnamed individual colour their judgement? They can decide who is next PM and the future of this country. What a responsibility.
Once again we have people posting about they think HMRC works without knowing how HMRC actually works.
Reality is HMRC are just waiting for the issue to go away which it does the day Angela Rayner’s son turns 18.
That aside HMRC found against Boris and Sunak twice
For the ultimate lols he should turn around now and say “I always supported Skyr, I deeply respect his work in the Kievan male modelling charity sector, it’s just malicious gossip about my speech, I was always going to express my total reverence for our brilliant free-designer-spectacles-wearing PM”
He has. He did call for change
If you've ever been to Glasgow, you'll hear that a lot - usually for a cup of tea.
If Starmer doesn’t go now then Sarwar has just delivered an even worse result in May for Scottish Labour .
Assuming the disaffected in his sub branch don’t take action. If Sarwar went Tonto on his own initiative without checking what backing he had, he really is more of a fckwit than I thought (and I already thought he was mucho fckwit).
Can we now start postulating the imminent demise of Sarwar? Will he last longer than Starmer?
Rayner has that tax affair hanging over her . And the rest of the choices are hardly inspiring .
The tax affair probably doesn't prevent her from become leader.
You couldn’t risk that because she’s already struggling to repair the damage from last year . Labour can’t have a new leader who could possibly then get a penalty from the HMRC .
A penalty from HMRC is not a criminal record. Johnson and Sunak both paid fines for criminal breaches -- Sunak twice. Yet they were Primes Ministers.
I really like Angela Rayner but I don’t think she can become leader and then get a penalty .
Angela's future is in the hands of one unnamed individual in HMRC who decides whether her error was understandable, careless or deliberate. It's a judgement call. If it were clear cut it would be declared by now.
Will the political leaning of this unnamed individual colour their judgement? They can decide who is next PM and the future of this country. What a responsibility.
Once again we have people posting about they think HMRC works without knowing how HMRC actually works.
Reality is HMRC are just waiting for the issue to go away which it does the day Angela Rayner’s son turns 18.
Charlie Rayner’s 18th birthday is 9 April 2026 so we'll soon know. I'm not sure it does go away. There are conflicting views on this. On what basis do you think it will go away? With links if possible because this is important.
I'm not sure 33.7% of the vote at 60% turnout is a "massive mandate". It's actually a pretty poor result given how clapped out the government was after 14 years and 5 PMs (including lettuce Liz). I guess it helps these Labour people sleep at night...
Enough of them rely on Starmer's patronage and would return to the back benches under a new PM. Boris mastered the art of this too until it wasn't enough, and I think this is probably worse than being ambushed with cake.
EXCL: An website claiming to launch Angela Rayner’s Labour leadership campaign was published temporarily last month, prompting further speculation the former deputy PM is gearing up for contest to replace Keir Starmer.
'Lucy Powell MP @LucyMPowell I will be sitting alongside Keir Starmer at the PLP this evening as Deputy Leader with my full support.
He and I have been discussing in recent days, and before, how we need to do better to take the fight to Reform (as we are doing in Gorton & Denton) and by showing we are on the side of ordinary people. That also means being more inclusive and collaborative in the way we work. Keir gets that.
'Lucy Powell MP @LucyMPowell I will be sitting alongside Keir Starmer at the PLP this evening as Deputy Leader with my full support.
He and I have been discussing in recent days, and before, how we need to do better to take the fight to Reform (as we are doing in Gorton & Denton) and by showing we are on the side of ordinary people. That also means being more inclusive and collaborative in the way we work. Keir gets that.
Remember, this is SKS - he will always manage to do things in the clunkiest and most reputationally damaging way possible. If it is a choice between go cleanly, cling grimly on, or wait until his colleagues have backed him and then resign, making everyone look daft, you know what he'll somehow end up doing.
Only senior Cabinet Minister not to show their support for Starmer so far online or in person is Mahmood.
Nothing from Rayner or Burnham yet either
They ain’t coming out now, even if they had everything ready to go over the top. A united cabinet keeps him safe, while leaving Sarwar out in the cold.
I think he is safe til May, unless the release of the vetting documents causes more problems (which it could). Even then, the cabinet are going to look pretty ridiculous if they do an about face so quickly.
@PippaCrerar The Guardian was alerted to the website, which appeared to be under construction, by source in IT sector. It was published, seemingly by accident, on a “staging site”, before being removed from internet.
It featured pictures of the senior Labour politician along with the words: “Angela Rayner is running for Leader to fight for working-class Britain.” It had an endorsements page, as well as a form for party members to join her campaign and list their local constituency party.
The domain name http://angelaforleader.co.uk was registered within minutes of the apparent publishing error, at 9.48am on 27 January, with same company – Webfusion – as her official parliamentary site.
Rayner has denied any links to the website, with her team dismissing it as a “fake” that had neither been commissioned by her, nor with her knowledge, while one ally described it as a “false flag” operation.
EXCL: An website claiming to launch Angela Rayner’s Labour leadership campaign was published temporarily last month, prompting further speculation the former deputy PM is gearing up for contest to replace Keir Starmer.
@PippaCrerar The Guardian was alerted to the website, which appeared to be under construction, by source in IT sector. It was published, seemingly by accident, on a “staging site”, before being removed from internet.
It featured pictures of the senior Labour politician along with the words: “Angela Rayner is running for Leader to fight for working-class Britain.” It had an endorsements page, as well as a form for party members to join her campaign and list their local constituency party.
The domain name http://angelaforleader.co.uk was registered within minutes of the apparent publishing error, at 9.48am on 27 January, with same company – Webfusion – as her official parliamentary site.
Rayner has denied any links to the website, with her team dismissing it as a “fake” that had neither been commissioned by her, nor with her knowledge, while one ally described it as a “false flag” operation.
The only thing Angela has done there (assuming this story is a pack of lies) is fail to forward plan her eventual campaign website
Sadiq Khan: "Keir Starmer was elected with a huge majority and needs to be given the time to deliver, especially given the extremely challenging circumstances he inherited after 14 years of Tory governments."
Only senior Cabinet Minister not to show their support for Starmer so far online or in person is Mahmood.
Nothing from Rayner or Burnham yet either
They ain’t coming out now, even if they had everything ready to go over the top. A united cabinet keeps him safe, while leaving Sarwar out in the cold.
I think he is safe til May, unless the release of the vetting documents causes more problems (which it could). Even then, the cabinet are going to look pretty ridiculous if they do an about face so quickly.
The uncertainty about revelations in the e mails and whats app messages from Mandelson's time in Washington is a ticking clock
I would not like to be canvassing for labour anywhere at present
@PippaCrerar The Guardian was alerted to the website, which appeared to be under construction, by source in IT sector. It was published, seemingly by accident, on a “staging site”, before being removed from internet.
It featured pictures of the senior Labour politician along with the words: “Angela Rayner is running for Leader to fight for working-class Britain.” It had an endorsements page, as well as a form for party members to join her campaign and list their local constituency party.
The domain name http://angelaforleader.co.uk was registered within minutes of the apparent publishing error, at 9.48am on 27 January, with same company – Webfusion – as her official parliamentary site.
Rayner has denied any links to the website, with her team dismissing it as a “fake” that had neither been commissioned by her, nor with her knowledge, while one ally described it as a “false flag” operation.
All I can see is the registration time: 2026-01-27 09:48:23 UTC
and the registration company: 123-Reg Limited t/a 123-reg
Rayner has that tax affair hanging over her . And the rest of the choices are hardly inspiring .
The tax affair probably doesn't prevent her from become leader.
You couldn’t risk that because she’s already struggling to repair the damage from last year . Labour can’t have a new leader who could possibly then get a penalty from the HMRC .
A penalty from HMRC is not a criminal record. Johnson and Sunak both paid fines for criminal breaches -- Sunak twice. Yet they were Primes Ministers.
I really like Angela Rayner but I don’t think she can become leader and then get a penalty .
Angela's future is in the hands of one unnamed individual in HMRC who decides whether her error was understandable, careless or deliberate. It's a judgement call. If it were clear cut it would be declared by now.
Will the political leaning of this unnamed individual colour their judgement? They can decide who is next PM and the future of this country. What a responsibility.
Once again we have people posting about they think HMRC works without knowing how HMRC actually works.
Reality is HMRC are just waiting for the issue to go away which it does the day Angela Rayner’s son turns 18.
Charlie Rayner’s 18th birthday is 9 April 2026 so we'll soon know. I'm not sure it does go away. There are conflicting views on this. On what basis do you think it will go away? With links if possible because this is important.
Had the tax been paid it would be reclaimable on April 9th.
Only senior Cabinet Minister not to show their support for Starmer so far online or in person is Mahmood.
Nothing from Rayner or Burnham yet either
They ain’t coming out now, even if they had everything ready to go over the top. A united cabinet keeps him safe, while leaving Sarwar out in the cold.
I think he is safe til May, unless the release of the vetting documents causes more problems (which it could). Even then, the cabinet are going to look pretty ridiculous if they do an about face so quickly.
Pretty sure Mahmood was down to take questions in the House early afternoon
@PippaCrerar The Guardian was alerted to the website, which appeared to be under construction, by source in IT sector. It was published, seemingly by accident, on a “staging site”, before being removed from internet.
It featured pictures of the senior Labour politician along with the words: “Angela Rayner is running for Leader to fight for working-class Britain.” It had an endorsements page, as well as a form for party members to join her campaign and list their local constituency party.
The domain name http://angelaforleader.co.uk was registered within minutes of the apparent publishing error, at 9.48am on 27 January, with same company – Webfusion – as her official parliamentary site.
Rayner has denied any links to the website, with her team dismissing it as a “fake” that had neither been commissioned by her, nor with her knowledge, while one ally described it as a “false flag” operation.
If it's a fake then it can only have been the work of one of Sir Keir's foot soldiers, with the intention of smearing Ange as a disloyal, vain and ambitious vulture. Would they really have had the time, inclination and resources to do that?
It was in Anas Sarwar's interest to make the call now. It is probably in the interests of the PM's potential successors in Westminster not to make that call right now.
Only senior Cabinet Minister not to show their support for Starmer so far online or in person is Mahmood.
Nothing from Rayner or Burnham yet either
They ain’t coming out now, even if they had everything ready to go over the top. A united cabinet keeps him safe, while leaving Sarwar out in the cold.
I think he is safe til May, unless the release of the vetting documents causes more problems (which it could). Even then, the cabinet are going to look pretty ridiculous if they do an about face so quickly.
Pretty sure Mahmood was down to take questions in the House early afternoon
Has the newly spawned man of mystery Al Carns tweeted in support yet??
'Keir Starmer has spent his career serving our country. Being the Prime Minister is the hardest job in politics - there are no easy days but our country needs stability.
Integrity, duty and resilience are the foundations of serious leadership.
'The recent scandal around Peter Mandelson and Jeffrey Epstein was shocking - and demands that both this government and our party learn the lessons, and act on them.But the worst possible response would be to play party politics or factional games. Labour is only getting started on changing things for the better - our Employment Rights Act, renters’ rights, leasehold reform, free school meals and lifting kids out of poverty.I urge all my colleagues to come together, remember our values and put them into practice as a team. The Prime Minister has my full support in leading us to that end. ' https://x.com/AngelaRayner/status/2020884870684094609?s=20
I actually hadn't realised but Labour got fewer votes (9.7m) in 2024 than they did in 2019 (10.3m), it's pretty shocking how poorly they did in the end, a weak and divided opponent meant they waltzed in without actually winning a real mandate. It's the true source of all their indecision and inaction, no one actually voted for them. I mean more actual people voted for Jez in 2019 let alone getting anywhere near the 12.9m Jez got in 2017 or the 14m that voted for Boris in 2019.
There's always one though....'@RichardBurgon As I told the BBC this weekend, what should concern the Prime Minister greatly is that it's not just MPs on the left, but it's a growing view across the Labour Party, that his position is now untenable.' https://x.com/RichardBurgon/status/2020869538527547424?s=20
There's always one though....'@RichardBurgon As I told the BBC this weekend, what should concern the Prime Minister greatly is that it's not just MPs on the left, but it's a growing view across the Labour Party, that his position is now untenable.' https://x.com/RichardBurgon/status/2020869538527547424?s=20
There has to be a very uneasy feeling, when just like with Boris, Truss, Rishi and now Starmer a view that in the 24 hour media age, media drives the narrative not the elected politicians
It didn't used to be like this.
Will we ever see another 5 year term for any Party Leader as PM again.
Like sports journalists bating for a goal, a wicket, a knock out, an eagle a try, they seek to make to force the agenda not report it.
It is very frightening and getting worse.
It will blight all party's and all politicians unless it is curbed.
There is a fine line between free speech and anarchy
It's not a game.
Er, you’re new here, so we will forgive you
But be in no doubt, we LIVE for days like this, on PB. Days like this are what make the boring days bearable, the days when we get up and the biggest news is a narrow Lib Dem council by election loss in Ebbw Vale (south)
Every so often we get a UK general election, a US prez election, or a UK leader putsch. And in that order those are the things that turn us on, here in the snug at Ye Olde PB Arms
Personally I find the boring days delightfully bearable. The days when we argue about which county had the best flag or lament the declining quality of supermarket tannoy announcements or get stuck yet again in the (Trains U Sex) bit of the Venn diagram. Vignettes on architecture, urban planning, cricket. Incredibly precise points of detail on the English language.
ISTR my first foray BTL was on the subject of cheese.
OTOH, until this afternoon I was unaware of that quote from Macbeth. I've been to Birnam Wood. Once you got away from the railway line it felt like something from fantasy; deer frolicking away from you, birds of prey circling. I had no idea it was in Shakespeare but it seems apt.
There has to be a very uneasy feeling, when just like with Boris, Truss, Rishi and now Starmer a view that in the 24 hour media age, media drives the narrative not the elected politicians
It didn't used to be like this.
Will we ever see another 5 year term for any Party Leader as PM again.
Like sports journalists bating for a goal, a wicket, a knock out, an eagle a try, they seek to make to force the agenda not report it.
It is very frightening and getting worse.
It will blight all party's and all politicians unless it is curbed.
There is a fine line between free speech and anarchy
It's not a game.
A country gets the political culture it deserves. Many PMs in a short time is probably happening because it reflects the general impatience of the population today compared to 30 or 40 years ago.
Rayner has that tax affair hanging over her . And the rest of the choices are hardly inspiring .
The tax affair probably doesn't prevent her from become leader.
You couldn’t risk that because she’s already struggling to repair the damage from last year . Labour can’t have a new leader who could possibly then get a penalty from the HMRC .
A penalty from HMRC is not a criminal record. Johnson and Sunak both paid fines for criminal breaches -- Sunak twice. Yet they were Primes Ministers.
I really like Angela Rayner but I don’t think she can become leader and then get a penalty .
Angela's future is in the hands of one unnamed individual in HMRC who decides whether her error was understandable, careless or deliberate. It's a judgement call. If it were clear cut it would be declared by now.
Will the political leaning of this unnamed individual colour their judgement? They can decide who is next PM and the future of this country. What a responsibility.
Once again we have people posting about they think HMRC works without knowing how HMRC actually works.
Reality is HMRC are just waiting for the issue to go away which it does the day Angela Rayner’s son turns 18.
Charlie Rayner’s 18th birthday is 9 April 2026 so we'll soon know. I'm not sure it does go away. There are conflicting views on this. On what basis do you think it will go away? With links if possible because this is important.
Had the tax been paid it would be reclaimable on April 9th.
While reaching 18 can change how a trust is taxed or how assets are legally owned, UK tax law does not allow for a retrospective "reclaim" of Stamp Duty that was legally owed at the time of a property purchase.
If you think it does, please point to it.
NB I fully support Angela Rayner in this affair. It was very complex with a trust for a disabled son. I'm not attacking her at all. I'm just trying to understand the law.
@PippaCrerar The Guardian was alerted to the website, which appeared to be under construction, by source in IT sector. It was published, seemingly by accident, on a “staging site”, before being removed from internet.
It featured pictures of the senior Labour politician along with the words: “Angela Rayner is running for Leader to fight for working-class Britain.” It had an endorsements page, as well as a form for party members to join her campaign and list their local constituency party.
The domain name http://angelaforleader.co.uk was registered within minutes of the apparent publishing error, at 9.48am on 27 January, with same company – Webfusion – as her official parliamentary site.
Rayner has denied any links to the website, with her team dismissing it as a “fake” that had neither been commissioned by her, nor with her knowledge, while one ally described it as a “false flag” operation.
If it's a fake then it can only have been the work of one of Sir Keir's foot soldiers, with the intention of smearing Ange as a disloyal, vain and ambitious vulture. Would they really have had the time, inclination and resources to do that?
Or the organisational skills?
Must be a really happy House, as Siouxsie would have sung.
I actually hadn't realised but Labour got fewer votes (9.7m) in 2024 than they did in 2019 (10.3m), it's pretty shocking how poorly they did in the end, a weak and divided opponent meant they waltzed in without actually winning a real mandate. It's the true source of all their indecision and inaction, no one actually voted for them. I mean more actual people voted for Jez in 2019 let alone getting anywhere near the 12.9m Jez got in 2017 or the 14m that voted for Boris in 2019.
A much under appreciated point. Horse, once of this parish, used to bang on about how brilliant McSweeny's campaign had been. I don't see it myself. A steaming pile of horse shit would have beaten the Tories in 2014. That lack of a resounding win, coupled to the lack of any ideas of how to make Britain better, other than by not being Tories, is why we are where we are.
It wasn't a putsch. It was a random Scotsman losing the plot.
All a bit panicky and lightweight imo. I suppose the calculation is it might improve Holyrood election prospects (which I doubt) and he may as well (oh no it's that phrase again) "roll the dice" because he's looking vulnerable anyway with a bad result there. That was probably the motivation rather than some 'first over the hill' declaration expected to force Starmer to resign.
Minister briefs off record to Hodges that theyve all been instructed to tweet support Nooooooo, surely not
What on earth would we do without such insightful reporting from Mr Hodges.
In these games they always get asked - it is whether they do or don’t that is at issue (and if they do - do they change the language / nature of the requested post, or leave it until the last moment).
I actually hadn't realised but Labour got fewer votes (9.7m) in 2024 than they did in 2019 (10.3m), it's pretty shocking how poorly they did in the end, a weak and divided opponent meant they waltzed in without actually winning a real mandate. It's the true source of all their indecision and inaction, no one actually voted for them. I mean more actual people voted for Jez in 2019 let alone getting anywhere near the 12.9m Jez got in 2017 or the 14m that voted for Boris in 2019.
A much under appreciated point. Horse, once of this parish, used to bang on about how brilliant McSweeny's campaign had been. I don't see it myself. A steaming pile of horse shit would have beaten the Tories in 2014. That lack of a resounding win, coupled to the lack of any ideas of how to make Britain better, other than by not being Tories, is why we are where we are.
They blew a 25 point lead down to 10 points against the DDay Gamblegate 14 years squad Hes no genius
What's next? 1. Labour are fucked in Scotland. Had Sarwar led the movement to oust Starmer he would have been in a fantastic position going into the election. Instead, he's fucked and the party's fucked. How on earth can any senior people come up and campaign alongside him? The jibe about branch office starts to ring true - he's in opposition to his own government kinda.
2. Starmer will get banged into the room by the PLP tonight who will judge that even if they want him gone there is no mechanism to do so with the cabinet corralled into alignment. He's either safe until after May, or something totally abhorrent will surface. In which case he goes but anyone looking to take over from him is similarly tainted now. No "we didn't know" because you did
3. Like the cabinet assembled by Donitz, they will back him and he will have no power to actually deliver policy. The Flensburg government actually put forward plans for the reconstruction of a post-Hitler Nazi Germany, until one sunny morning a knock at the door and they were all arrested.
What's next? 1. Labour are fucked in Scotland. Had Sarwar led the movement to oust Starmer he would have been in a fantastic position going into the election. Instead, he's fucked and the party's fucked. How on earth can any senior people come up and campaign alongside him? The jibe about branch office starts to ring true - he's in opposition to his own government kinda.
2. Starmer will get banged into the room by the PLP tonight who will judge that even if they want him gone there is no mechanism to do so with the cabinet corralled into alignment. He's either safe until after May, or something totally abhorrent will surface. In which case he goes but anyone looking to take over from him is similarly tainted now. No "we didn't know" because you did
3. Like the cabinet assembled by Donitz, they will back him and he will have no power to actually deliver policy. The Flensburg government actually put forward plans for the reconstruction of a post-Hitler Nazi Germany, until one sunny morning a knock at the door and they were all arrested.
Starmer is Donitz.
Losing every council mathematically possible to lose in May looms
What's next? 1. Labour are fucked in Scotland. Had Sarwar led the movement to oust Starmer he would have been in a fantastic position going into the election. Instead, he's fucked and the party's fucked. How on earth can any senior people come up and campaign alongside him? The jibe about branch office starts to ring true - he's in opposition to his own government kinda.
2. Starmer will get banged into the room by the PLP tonight who will judge that even if they want him gone there is no mechanism to do so with the cabinet corralled into alignment. He's either safe until after May, or something totally abhorrent will surface. In which case he goes but anyone looking to take over from him is similarly tainted now. No "we didn't know" because you did
3. Like the cabinet assembled by Donitz, they will back him and he will have no power to actually deliver policy. The Flensburg government actually put forward plans for the reconstruction of a post-Hitler Nazi Germany, until one sunny morning a knock at the door and they were all arrested.
Rayner has that tax affair hanging over her . And the rest of the choices are hardly inspiring .
The tax affair probably doesn't prevent her from become leader.
You couldn’t risk that because she’s already struggling to repair the damage from last year . Labour can’t have a new leader who could possibly then get a penalty from the HMRC .
A penalty from HMRC is not a criminal record. Johnson and Sunak both paid fines for criminal breaches -- Sunak twice. Yet they were Primes Ministers.
I really like Angela Rayner but I don’t think she can become leader and then get a penalty .
Angela's future is in the hands of one unnamed individual in HMRC who decides whether her error was understandable, careless or deliberate. It's a judgement call. If it were clear cut it would be declared by now.
Will the political leaning of this unnamed individual colour their judgement? They can decide who is next PM and the future of this country. What a responsibility.
Once again we have people posting about they think HMRC works without knowing how HMRC actually works.
Reality is HMRC are just waiting for the issue to go away which it does the day Angela Rayner’s son turns 18.
Charlie Rayner’s 18th birthday is 9 April 2026 so we'll soon know. I'm not sure it does go away. There are conflicting views on this. On what basis do you think it will go away? With links if possible because this is important.
Had the tax been paid it would be reclaimable on April 9th.
While reaching 18 can change how a trust is taxed or how assets are legally owned, UK tax law does not allow for a retrospective "reclaim" of Stamp Duty that was legally owed at the time of a property purchase.
If you think it does, please point to it.
NB I fully support Angela Rayner in this affair. It was very complex with a trust for a disabled son. I'm not attacking her at all. I'm just trying to understand the law.
If only Angela Rayner had known someone with power in politics.
Then they could have legislated to reduce the complexity for trusts for those with disabled children/dependents.
There has to be a very uneasy feeling, when just like with Boris, Truss, Rishi and now Starmer a view that in the 24 hour media age, media drives the narrative not the elected politicians
It didn't used to be like this.
Will we ever see another 5 year term for any Party Leader as PM again.
Like sports journalists bating for a goal, a wicket, a knock out, an eagle a try, they seek to make to force the agenda not report it.
It is very frightening and getting worse.
It will blight all party's and all politicians unless it is curbed.
There is a fine line between free speech and anarchy
It's not a game.
When it was working against your opponents your party and your sort loved it. Putting the boot in.
You helped create the monster.
Labour expected a sycophantic press when they came in, they got scrutiny instead. They have been pitiful so far. Continuity Sunak.
So as for the media and how it treats politicians. Suck it up sunshine.
They’ve all decided they want Starmer to take the blame for May.
Which Starmer also wants. So there you go. May at the earliest for him to resign IMO. And it hasn't happened until it's happened, all chants of "toast" and "it's over" and "endgame" notwithstanding.
What's next? 1. Labour are fucked in Scotland. Had Sarwar led the movement to oust Starmer he would have been in a fantastic position going into the election. Instead, he's fucked and the party's fucked. How on earth can any senior people come up and campaign alongside him? The jibe about branch office starts to ring true - he's in opposition to his own government kinda.
2. Starmer will get banged into the room by the PLP tonight who will judge that even if they want him gone there is no mechanism to do so with the cabinet corralled into alignment. He's either safe until after May, or something totally abhorrent will surface. In which case he goes but anyone looking to take over from him is similarly tainted now. No "we didn't know" because you did
3. Like the cabinet assembled by Donitz, they will back him and he will have no power to actually deliver policy. The Flensburg government actually put forward plans for the reconstruction of a post-Hitler Nazi Germany, until one sunny morning a knock at the door and they were all arrested.
What's next? 1. Labour are fucked in Scotland. Had Sarwar led the movement to oust Starmer he would have been in a fantastic position going into the election. Instead, he's fucked and the party's fucked. How on earth can any senior people come up and campaign alongside him? The jibe about branch office starts to ring true - he's in opposition to his own government kinda.
2. Starmer will get banged into the room by the PLP tonight who will judge that even if they want him gone there is no mechanism to do so with the cabinet corralled into alignment. He's either safe until after May, or something totally abhorrent will surface. In which case he goes but anyone looking to take over from him is similarly tainted now. No "we didn't know" because you did
3. Like the cabinet assembled by Donitz, they will back him and he will have no power to actually deliver policy. The Flensburg government actually put forward plans for the reconstruction of a post-Hitler Nazi Germany, until one sunny morning a knock at the door and they were all arrested.
What's next? 1. Labour are fucked in Scotland. Had Sarwar led the movement to oust Starmer he would have been in a fantastic position going into the election. Instead, he's fucked and the party's fucked. How on earth can any senior people come up and campaign alongside him? The jibe about branch office starts to ring true - he's in opposition to his own government kinda.
2. Starmer will get banged into the room by the PLP tonight who will judge that even if they want him gone there is no mechanism to do so with the cabinet corralled into alignment. He's either safe until after May, or something totally abhorrent will surface. In which case he goes but anyone looking to take over from him is similarly tainted now. No "we didn't know" because you did
3. Like the cabinet assembled by Donitz, they will back him and he will have no power to actually deliver policy. The Flensburg government actually put forward plans for the reconstruction of a post-Hitler Nazi Germany, until one sunny morning a knock at the door and they were all arrested.
Starmer is Donitz.
Please do not compare Starmer to Donuts.
Adm. Donuts was a horrible human being. Just read up on his order for the execution of soldiers after the war was over. For the crime of celebrating the war was over.
FPT: After WW II, Stalin tried to reduce the Soviet Union's demographic problems (for which he was largely reponsible). He did three things that I can recall from my long-ago reading on that period: 1. He made it easier for unwed mothers to have children, put them in orphanages -- and then retrieve them later, when their lives had improved. 2. He honored "hero mothers". (As I recall, having ten children made you a hero.) 3. He increased taxes on men who were still single, after the age of 25.
Minister briefs off record to Hodges that theyve all been instructed to tweet support Nooooooo, surely not
I mean that's the game isn't it?
Once the first shot is fired, you either need to keep shooting until the king is dead. Or you need to put your gun away and retreat back to the barracks.
I think we need a new event to prompt any new attempt. And I don't think a by-election loss or local elections losses will be sufficient.
What's next? 1. Labour are fucked in Scotland. Had Sarwar led the movement to oust Starmer he would have been in a fantastic position going into the election. Instead, he's fucked and the party's fucked. How on earth can any senior people come up and campaign alongside him? The jibe about branch office starts to ring true - he's in opposition to his own government kinda.
2. Starmer will get banged into the room by the PLP tonight who will judge that even if they want him gone there is no mechanism to do so with the cabinet corralled into alignment. He's either safe until after May, or something totally abhorrent will surface. In which case he goes but anyone looking to take over from him is similarly tainted now. No "we didn't know" because you did
3. Like the cabinet assembled by Donitz, they will back him and he will have no power to actually deliver policy. The Flensburg government actually put forward plans for the reconstruction of a post-Hitler Nazi Germany, until one sunny morning a knock at the door and they were all arrested.
Starmer is Donitz.
Losing every council mathematically possible to lose in May looms
Just as well all those labour councils, totally independently and not at all pushed by the govt, decided to ask for local elections to be postponed. All for a great reason. To prevent a bloodbath of labour councils.
They’ve all decided they want Starmer to take the blame for May.
Which Starmer also wants. So there you go. May at the earliest for him to resign IMO. And it hasn't happened until it's happened, all chants of "toast" and "it's over" and "endgame" notwithstanding.
It all depends on the investigation into the vetting and what comes out
What's next? 1. Labour are fucked in Scotland. Had Sarwar led the movement to oust Starmer he would have been in a fantastic position going into the election. Instead, he's fucked and the party's fucked. How on earth can any senior people come up and campaign alongside him? The jibe about branch office starts to ring true - he's in opposition to his own government kinda.
2. Starmer will get banged into the room by the PLP tonight who will judge that even if they want him gone there is no mechanism to do so with the cabinet corralled into alignment. He's either safe until after May, or something totally abhorrent will surface. In which case he goes but anyone looking to take over from him is similarly tainted now. No "we didn't know" because you did
3. Like the cabinet assembled by Donitz, they will back him and he will have no power to actually deliver policy. The Flensburg government actually put forward plans for the reconstruction of a post-Hitler Nazi Germany, until one sunny morning a knock at the door and they were all arrested.
Starmer is Donitz.
Losing every council mathematically possible to lose in May looms
Just as well all those labour councils, totally independently and not at all pushed by the govt, decided to ask for local elections to be postponed. All for a great reason. To prevent a bloodbath of labour councils.
Theyve still got 33 plus the London ones up, there can still be quite the bath
Comments
“Keir Starmer won a massive mandate 18 months ago, for five years to deliver on Labour’s manifesto that we all stood on.
“We should let nothing distract us from our mission to change Britain and we support the Prime Minister in doing that.”
https://x.com/davidlammy/status/2020867529065779297
For the ultimate lols he should turn around now and say “I have always supported Skyr 100%, I deeply respect his work in the Kievan male modelling charity sector, it’s just malicious gossip about my speech, I was simply going to express my total reverence for our brilliant free-designer-spectacles-wearing PM”
D Jones
Alexander D and a rebuke for a Sarwar latest to support
Williams - Symonds too
She sees it s a LONG WAY DOWN to the bottom of that canyon.
I'm not sure it does go away. There are conflicting views on this.
On what basis do you think it will go away? With links if possible because this is important.
It’s over.
They are all weak
EXCL: An website claiming to launch Angela Rayner’s Labour leadership campaign was published temporarily last month, prompting further speculation the former deputy PM is gearing up for contest to replace Keir Starmer.
https://x.com/PippaCrerar/status/2020883603958198394?s=20
Nothing from Rayner or Burnham yet either
'Lucy Powell MP
@LucyMPowell
I will be sitting alongside Keir Starmer at the PLP this evening as Deputy Leader with my full support.
He and I have been discussing in recent days, and before, how we need to do better to take the fight to Reform (as we are doing in Gorton & Denton) and by showing we are on the side of ordinary people. That also means being more inclusive and collaborative in the way we work. Keir gets that.
I very much look forward to continuing that work together as one Labour team, with Keir as our leader. I know most colleagues feel the same.'
https://x.com/LucyMPowell/status/2020883132728135990?s=20
The Prime Minister is right to take that obligation seriously and he has my full support as he works in difficult circumstances to deliver.'
https://x.com/lisanandy/status/2020881389009199126?s=20
I think he is safe til May, unless the release of the vetting documents causes more problems (which it could). Even then, the cabinet are going to look pretty ridiculous if they do an about face so quickly.
The Guardian was alerted to the website, which appeared to be under construction, by source in IT sector. It was published, seemingly by accident, on a “staging site”, before being removed from internet.
It featured pictures of the senior Labour politician along with the words: “Angela Rayner is running for Leader to fight for working-class Britain.” It had an endorsements page, as well as a form for party members to join her campaign and list their local constituency party.
The domain name http://angelaforleader.co.uk was registered within minutes of the apparent publishing error, at 9.48am on 27 January, with same company – Webfusion – as her official parliamentary site.
Rayner has denied any links to the website, with her team dismissing it as a “fake” that had neither been commissioned by her, nor with her knowledge, while one ally described it as a “false flag” operation.
Rayner comes out for Starmer as well.
Everyone has to do it today or they look stupid.
See how long it lasts.
Sadiq Khan: "Keir Starmer was elected with a huge majority and needs to be given the time to deliver, especially given the extremely challenging circumstances he inherited after 14 years of Tory governments."
I would not like to be canvassing for labour anywhere at present
2026-01-27 09:48:23 UTC
and the registration company:
123-Reg Limited t/a 123-reg
Other details are hidden. Pity.
Putsch appears to be over... for now
It was in Anas Sarwar's interest to make the call now. It is probably in the interests of the PM's potential successors in Westminster not to make that call right now.
Labour governments don't come along often. It is a privilege to serve in one and we must not waste a second.
The PM has my full support. Let's get on with changing the country for the better.'
https://x.com/ShabanaMahmood/status/2020884884680552886?s=20
Integrity, duty and resilience are the foundations of serious leadership.
The PM is a genuinely good man and has my support - and my loyalty.'
https://x.com/AlistairCarns/status/2020882152322159069?s=20
3 nil down
No surrender
What he needs to do now is walk in to that meeting at 6pm and call out the Burgon, Long Bailey McDonnell cabal, back me or you're suspended
Labour or not
If he cills 20 do it now, take the hit
Starmer purge
https://x.com/AngelaRayner/status/2020884870684094609?s=20
As I told the BBC this weekend, what should concern the Prime Minister greatly is that it's not just MPs on the left, but it's a growing view across the Labour Party, that his position is now untenable.'
https://x.com/RichardBurgon/status/2020869538527547424?s=20
"It was Starmer. He did it. All of it. On his own..."
ISTR my first foray BTL was on the subject of cheese.
OTOH, until this afternoon I was unaware of that quote from Macbeth. I've been to Birnam Wood. Once you got away from the railway line it felt like something from fantasy; deer frolicking away from you, birds of prey circling. I had no idea it was in Shakespeare but it seems apt.
Yes, Keir Starmer should resign, but unless we replace our rotten political system, nothing will change.
We need a new kind of politics. One that takes on the rich and powerful to build a dignified society for all.'
https://x.com/jeremycorbyn/status/2020880873537560883?s=20
He's here until 2029 and will lead Labour into the next election IMO.
Nooooooo, surely not
If you think it does, please point to it.
NB I fully support Angela Rayner in this affair. It was very complex with a trust for a disabled son. I'm not attacking her at all. I'm just trying to understand the law.
Must be a really happy House, as Siouxsie would have sung.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amR6-neQBPE
In these games they always get asked - it is whether they do or don’t that is at issue (and if they do - do they change the language / nature of the requested post, or leave it until the last moment).
Hes no genius
1. Labour are fucked in Scotland. Had Sarwar led the movement to oust Starmer he would have been in a fantastic position going into the election. Instead, he's fucked and the party's fucked. How on earth can any senior people come up and campaign alongside him? The jibe about branch office starts to ring true - he's in opposition to his own government kinda.
2. Starmer will get banged into the room by the PLP tonight who will judge that even if they want him gone there is no mechanism to do so with the cabinet corralled into alignment. He's either safe until after May, or something totally abhorrent will surface. In which case he goes but anyone looking to take over from him is similarly tainted now. No "we didn't know" because you did
3. Like the cabinet assembled by Donitz, they will back him and he will have no power to actually deliver policy. The Flensburg government actually put forward plans for the reconstruction of a post-Hitler Nazi Germany, until one sunny morning a knock at the door and they were all arrested.
Starmer is Donitz.
Then they could have legislated to reduce the complexity for trusts for those with disabled children/dependents.
Fix the problem for everyone else.
You helped create the monster.
Labour expected a sycophantic press when they came in, they got scrutiny instead. They have been pitiful so far. Continuity Sunak.
So as for the media and how it treats politicians. Suck it up sunshine.
Adm. Donuts was a horrible human being. Just read up on his order for the execution of soldiers after the war was over. For the crime of celebrating the war was over.
1. He made it easier for unwed mothers to have children, put them in orphanages -- and then retrieve them later, when their lives had improved.
2. He honored "hero mothers". (As I recall, having ten children made you a hero.)
3. He increased taxes on men who were still single, after the age of 25.
Once the first shot is fired, you either need to keep shooting until the king is dead. Or you need to put your gun away and retreat back to the barracks.
I think we need a new event to prompt any new attempt. And I don't think a by-election loss or local elections losses will be sufficient.