Do people seriously think less of Starmer because Hartlepudlians and their ilk voted Tory?
I remember when Labour Wolverhampton came out in their droves to support Enoch Powell followed by the dockers and porters who marched through London. There are some very illiberal people who vote Labour and if they prefer Tory/UKIP so be it
Starmer shouldn't be 'listening'. We know the sound of the 'Little Englanders' He should set out a vision of liberal inclusiveness and if Labour's traditional supporters don't like it then go for constituencies that do. Johnson's welcome to the his 'Red Wall'. They deserve each other.
Labour probably can't win an election without the votes of people like those in Hartlepool and similar areas.
Epidemiologist-in-chief, think-tanker-in-chief and now shrink to the European press — there is apparently no end to French President Emmanuel Macron’s talents.
At an EU summit in the Portuguese city of Porto on Saturday, Macron decided reporters were in need of some analysis over their response to U.S. President Joe Biden’s call to waive coronavirus vaccine patents......
.....Not that he has any kind of complex, of course.
Do people seriously think less of Starmer because Hartlepudlians and their ilk voted Tory?
I remember when Labour Wolverhampton came out in their droves to support Enoch Powell followed by the dockers and porters who marched through London. There are some very illiberal people who vote Labour and if they prefer Tory/UKIP so be it
Starmer shouldn't be 'listening'. We know the sound of the 'Little Englanders' He should set out a vision of liberal inclusiveness and if Labour's traditional supporters don't like it then go for constituencies that do. Johnson's welcome to the his 'Red Wall'. They deserve each other.
What poor sods are moving to London then getting spat out to Luton and Coventry.....talk about a raw deal.
Question is if we all become 3 day a week WFHers, will the young still move to London in such large numbers? I definitely think we are going to continue to see exodus those to the regions. Why live in London with the cost and the crime, when you can sell up and have a decent house with a garden with less crime 2hrs outside of it, and still keep your jobs as you work remotely.
Probably. It's where the young go to find fame, fortune and fanciable friends. As @Leon has pointed out before.
And wherever they end up, it probably won't be their hometown in Redwallshire, because they've paired off with someone from somewhere else. Even if you could make a wide range of graduate jobs work in small towns.
So Redwallton ages, the shops become sadder and shabbier, the schools struggle because fewer professional families live there, and the people left behind feel left behind.
Do people seriously think less of Starmer because Hartlepudlians and their ilk voted Tory?
I remember when Labour Wolverhampton came out in their droves to support Enoch Powell followed by the dockers and porters who marched through London. There are some very illiberal people who vote Labour and if they prefer Tory/UKIP so be it
Starmer shouldn't be 'listening'. We know the sound of the 'Little Englanders' He should set out a vision of liberal inclusiveness and if Labour's traditional supporters don't like it then go for constituencies that do. Johnson's welcome to the his 'Red Wall'. They deserve each other.
I've no idea why the Tories have been in power for 11 years....total mystery....
Yes I think 2019 demonstrated the weakness in telling those voters to eff off and vote Tory...
Nope, Unionist parties combined also clearly won more votes than the SNP and Greens and Alba combined.
So when Boris tells Sturgeon she can scream and scream all she wants next week for indyref2 his answer will remain a firm NO, he has plenty of evidence to back him up, no SNP majority and more votes for Unionists than Nationalists as well as respecting the once in a generation 2014 vote
BBC and John Curtice now forecasting the SNP will NOT get a majority at Holyrood, the icing on the cake of a fantastic set of elections results for Boris
Boris can hold off on sending the tanks up to Hadrians Wall for now then!
If Sturgeon has moved the border down to Hadrian’s Wall then he bloody well should send the tanks in!
Now this is something for Labour to look at and understand. Because something has gone right here, what is it
Bristol basically. Not many places outside London have swung more to Labour over the last 25 years.
The irony of the big Corbynistas I have met are from the posh parts of Bristol, where their wealth is on the back of their houses now been worth London prices, but they never leave that area, kids go to the posh private schools locally and the only time they visit the rougher areas is on a trip to Ikea.
Andy Burnham not saying no to leadership in a rather nuanced manner
Burnham might let Stamer do the hard work of opposition with 202 seats and suffer another defeat (but still make some gains) in 2023 then take on the leadership and possibly return Labour to power in 2027/2028 after Boris has stood down?
Aberdeenshire West - looks like a lot of Unionist tactical voting by LibDems.
Not been nearly enough of this though and boy have the SNP gained. The number of seats they have won whilst outnumbered by Unionists. Its infuriating and we may have a very high price to pay for such stupidity.
Wouldn't matter in a referendum and anyway they have no mandate for one.
Andrew Neil @afneil · 4h What’s happening in English politics is unique: it’s a watershed, with rules being radically rewritten, not because an insurgent party is successfully challenging an unpopular incumbent (that happens) but because a popular incumbent is savaging an unpopular opposition.
Difficult to argue with that. What's bizarre is that these situations were always used to give the incumbents a thumping, if for no other reason than, to keep them honest. Now they're being used to express gratitude and admiration for the PM. I hope this doesn't continue as it ultimately may not be healthy.
Worse than that. You get tons of people these days who if the government displeases them - eg with lockdowns - blame LABOUR for "letting them down" and not somehow stopping it. That ghastly bloke in Bath was a good example. Get some of this on here too, I have to say.
@ManchesterKurt Andy Burnham is clearly very popular, but I think Ben Houchen has a strong case to be individually more popular and the true King of the North!
Worth remembering, Burnham, like Khan, was pretty damn useless as a minister when Labour were in power. Labour need to be careful to the same thinking for so long that David Miliband would be their saviour.
Very different being a local mayor to leader of the national party, see Boris...all of a sudden life every day is an absolute shitter and every slip up you are in the firing line. You can't just get away with doing a nice PR photoshoot of throwing some basketballs into a net and then off to see the mistress.
Owen Jones Rose @OwenJones84 · 1h Labour figures are now saying that “tackling injustice and inequality” is the party’s mission. But that’s an abstraction to most voters: you need to talk about concrete things that matter to people’s lives - like housing, jobs, pay, services - and what you’ll do about them
Blimey, Jones has said something that is a correct analysis.
Labour should ban the words 'social justice', 'injustice', 'inequality' etc. from use by the party.
I doubt many voters have a clue what the party means by them, but many will have a suspicion it involves loads of bonkers pc stuff and/or giving free money to people they think are undeserving.
Labour should ban words like "inequality" and "injustice" because voters don't have a clue what they mean? I doubt voters really are that thick.
But if they are, what do you suggest we talk to them about instead - their favourite shampoo?
Owen Jones gave some non-shampoo examples. As I posted yesterday they should talk about pay and conditions - specifically the gig economy stuff, lack of security and so on.
"You'll no longer be one pay cheque away from destitution and losing the roof over your head" is far more direct and promising than "we will tackle inequality wherever we see it & fight for social justice for all."
And stop banging on about how it is terrible that some people are rich. My experience of voters is they don't really care and just want to know whether their own lives will steadily improve rather than go backwards and especially whether their kids will be alright. Most don't sit around in spasms of jealously and angst that there are rich people in London.
As a related aside, Philip Gould always used to say one of Labour's problems was it never talked about people's aspirations.
Disappointing for Sarwar. Its a great pity that SLAB dithered and did not replace their totally incompetent and useless leader last year. Sarwar needed more time than he got.
Owen Jones Rose @OwenJones84 · 1h Labour figures are now saying that “tackling injustice and inequality” is the party’s mission. But that’s an abstraction to most voters: you need to talk about concrete things that matter to people’s lives - like housing, jobs, pay, services - and what you’ll do about them
Blimey, Jones has said something that is a correct analysis.
Labour should ban the words 'social justice', 'injustice', 'inequality' etc. from use by the party.
I doubt many voters have a clue what the party means by them, but many will have a suspicion it involves loads of bonkers pc stuff and/or giving free money to people they think are undeserving.
Labour should ban words like "inequality" and "injustice" because voters don't have a clue what they mean? I doubt voters really are that thick.
But if they are, what do you suggest we talk to them about instead - their favourite shampoo?
Owen Jones gave some non-shampoo examples. As I posted yesterday they should talk about pay and conditions - specifically the gig economy stuff, lack of security and so on.
"You'll no longer be one pay cheque away from destitution and losing the roof over your head" is far more direct and promising than "we will tackle inequality wherever we see it & fight for social justice for all."
And stop banging on about how it is terrible that some people are rich. My experience of voters is they don't really care and just want to know whether their own lives will steadily improve rather than go backwards and especially whether their kids will be alright. Most don't sit around in spasms of jealously and angst that there are rich people in London.
As a related aside, Philip Gould always used to say one of Labour's problems was it never talked about people's aspirations.
So did Ken Livingstone.
You know who else was always talking about his people's aspirations?
Now this is something for Labour to look at and understand. Because something has gone right here, what is it
Norris was miles better than either Williams although I voted Libdem first round because I had the choice. Tim Bowles the previous Tory mayor was completely anonymous too.
Disappointing for Sarwar. Its a great pity that SLAB dithered and did not replace their totally incompetent and useless leader last year. Sarwar needed more time than he got.
Looks like Douglas Ross’s ‘peach sheet’ strategy paid off? I don’t think anyone expected the Tories to stand still on seats overall.
Aberdeenshire West - looks like a lot of Unionist tactical voting by LibDems.
Not been nearly enough of this though and boy have the SNP gained. The number of seats they have won whilst outnumbered by Unionists. Its infuriating and we may have a very high price to pay for such stupidity.
Wouldn't matter in a referendum and anyway they have no mandate for one.
I don't think that they do because they have got less than 50% of the vote and more Scots have voted for parties opposed to a second referendum. But it is going to be politically difficult when there is a clear independence majority in Holyrood. It did not have to be that way.
The former mill town of Bolton has been revealed as the UK hotspot for the new Covid 19 strain detected in India which has been escalated to a 'variant of concern'. Urgent measures to contain the variant are in the works in the town including surge testing and a strengthened vaccination campaign urging people to get the jab.
Do people seriously think less of Starmer because Hartlepudlians and their ilk voted Tory?
I remember when Labour Wolverhampton came out in their droves to support Enoch Powell followed by the dockers and porters who marched through London. There are some very illiberal people who vote Labour and if they prefer Tory/UKIP so be it
Starmer shouldn't be 'listening'. We know the sound of the 'Little Englanders' He should set out a vision of liberal inclusiveness and if Labour's traditional supporters don't like it then go for constituencies that do. Johnson's welcome to the his 'Red Wall'. They deserve each other.
Labour probably can't win an election without the votes of people like those in Hartlepool and similar areas.
That’s the thing. They want the votes of these people and these seats but they don’t want anything to do with them or to listen to what their issues are as they clash with the labour worldview.
Owen Jones Rose @OwenJones84 · 1h Labour figures are now saying that “tackling injustice and inequality” is the party’s mission. But that’s an abstraction to most voters: you need to talk about concrete things that matter to people’s lives - like housing, jobs, pay, services - and what you’ll do about them
Blimey, Jones has said something that is a correct analysis.
Labour should ban the words 'social justice', 'injustice', 'inequality' etc. from use by the party.
I doubt many voters have a clue what the party means by them, but many will have a suspicion it involves loads of bonkers pc stuff and/or giving free money to people they think are undeserving.
Labour should ban words like "inequality" and "injustice" because voters don't have a clue what they mean? I doubt voters really are that thick.
But if they are, what do you suggest we talk to them about instead - their favourite shampoo?
Owen Jones gave some non-shampoo examples. As I posted yesterday they should talk about pay and conditions - specifically the gig economy stuff, lack of security and so on.
"You'll no longer be one pay cheque away from destitution and losing the roof over your head" is far more direct and promising than "we will tackle inequality wherever we see it & fight for social justice for all."
And stop banging on about how it is terrible that some people are rich. My experience of voters is they don't really care and just want to know whether their own lives will steadily improve rather than go backwards and especially whether their kids will be alright. Most don't sit around in spasms of jealously and angst that there are rich people in London.
As a related aside, Philip Gould always used to say one of Labour's problems was it never talked about people's aspirations.
So did Ken Livingstone.
You know who was able to connect with both the working man and rich Germans?...
Worth remembering, Burnham, like Khan, was pretty damn useless as a minister when Labour were in power. Labour need to be careful to the same thinking for so long that David Miliband would be their saviour.
Very different being a local mayor to leader of the national party, see Boris...all of a sudden life every day is an absolute shitter and every slip up you are in the firing line. You can't just get away with doing a nice PR photoshoot of throwing some basketballs into a net and then off to see the mistress.
At this point I think Labour would just be happy to be back in the game? Thinking about what happens next is for another day...
BBC and John Curtice now forecasting the SNP will NOT get a majority at Holyrood, the icing on the cake of a fantastic set of elections results for Boris
Boris can hold off on sending the tanks up to Hadrians Wall for now then!
If Sturgeon has moved the border down to Hadrian’s Wall then he bloody well should send the tanks in!
Field Marshal H.Y.U.F.D Montgomery is intrepid but NOT rash.
Mobilizing on the border as a stern WARNING to potential North British troublemakers.
The first ever BAME woman elected to the Scottish Parliament - what an absolutely historic day for our country. Huge congratulations to @kaukabstewart #SP21
Good interview from Rebecca Long Bailley on the BBC and now Andy Burnham. The natives are getting restless.
RLB has not spoken to SKS for "a very long time". This seems unwise.
She needs to get herself a pair of personalised apple airpods like her mate Rayner...I believe without them you can't use Zoom to talk to other politicians....or so it seems with politicians during this pandemic.
So what is going on in the West? It seems to me that rumours of Labour's death are greatly exaggerated
Labour aren’t dead. They can still win in some places. This is a good result as is the Welsh result, and they had some localised success elsewhere.
The trouble is the overall direction of travel. The places they are winning are nowhere near enough to form a successful coalition to challenge for power. They need at least some of the red wall back, and arguably they need to stop the rot and make a recovery in Scotland too, because it is hard to see where a Labour majority comes from without at least some recovery in those areas. Even if they start to do better in the South, it is not enough.
Binface holding steady at 1% in all still counting boroughs - will be close around the 20K Jackpot threshold but I am going to call it for him with errrmm 21,076 votes
The Binface operation has beaten Corbyn and Peter Gammons. Other parties will be poring over it, inevitably.
Has any other party made an election song like Binface ? (70K views on youtube)
Yes, the Greens in 2015. I loved it, had stand ins for the other party leaders.
Do people seriously think less of Starmer because Hartlepudlians and their ilk voted Tory?
I remember when Labour Wolverhampton came out in their droves to support Enoch Powell followed by the dockers and porters who marched through London. There are some very illiberal people who vote Labour and if they prefer Tory/UKIP so be it
Starmer shouldn't be 'listening'. We know the sound of the 'Little Englanders' He should set out a vision of liberal inclusiveness and if Labour's traditional supporters don't like it then go for constituencies that do. Johnson's welcome to the his 'Red Wall'. They deserve each other.
I've no idea why the Tories have been in power for 11 years....total mystery....
Yes I think 2019 demonstrated the weakness in telling those voters to eff off and vote Tory...
But the 2021 strategy of telling anyone left of New Labour to Fuck Off and join the SWP whilst failing to attract any of those that had already fucked off to vote Tory, has proven even worse.
1 in 5 of Lab held Council seats lost compared to the 2016/17 Corbyn era that was supposedly terrible.
Binface holding steady at 1% in all still counting boroughs - will be close around the 20K Jackpot threshold but I am going to call it for him with errrmm 21,076 votes
The Binface operation has beaten Corbyn and Peter Gammons. Other parties will be poring over it, inevitably.
Has any other party made an election song like Binface ? (70K views on youtube)
Yes, the Greens in 2015. I loved it, had stand ins for the other party leaders.
I’d take stand ins over the real ones at the moment.
The former mill town of Bolton has been revealed as the UK hotspot for the new Covid 19 strain detected in India which has been escalated to a 'variant of concern'. Urgent measures to contain the variant are in the works in the town including surge testing and a strengthened vaccination campaign urging people to get the jab.
BBC and John Curtice now forecasting the SNP will NOT get a majority at Holyrood, the icing on the cake of a fantastic set of elections results for Boris
Yes. His amazing luck holds. When will Beelzebub come calling for the debt?
The first ever BAME woman elected to the Scottish Parliament - what an absolutely historic day for our country. Huge congratulations to @kaukabstewart #SP21
The former mill town of Bolton has been revealed as the UK hotspot for the new Covid 19 strain detected in India which has been escalated to a 'variant of concern'. Urgent measures to contain the variant are in the works in the town including surge testing and a strengthened vaccination campaign urging people to get the jab.
Asked by @SophyRidgeSky whether Andy Burnham is preparing for a leadership bid he says "In the distant future, if they need me, they can get in touch." "I am here to help the Labour party, if they need it... They have lost an emotional connection with parts of the country..."
Do people seriously think less of Starmer because Hartlepudlians and their ilk voted Tory?
I remember when Labour Wolverhampton came out in their droves to support Enoch Powell followed by the dockers and porters who marched through London. There are some very illiberal people who vote Labour and if they prefer Tory/UKIP so be it
Starmer shouldn't be 'listening'. We know the sound of the 'Little Englanders' He should set out a vision of liberal inclusiveness and if Labour's traditional supporters don't like it then go for constituencies that do. Johnson's welcome to the his 'Red Wall'. They deserve each other.
Very well said Roger.
Labour should absolutely say "we didn't want your votes anyway, you smelly racists". Starmer should get on TV and say it live. Go for it!
Disappointing for Sarwar. Its a great pity that SLAB dithered and did not replace their totally incompetent and useless leader last year. Sarwar needed more time than he got.
Did Labour take one for the team north of the border?
Do people seriously think less of Starmer because Hartlepudlians and their ilk voted Tory?
I remember when Labour Wolverhampton came out in their droves to support Enoch Powell followed by the dockers and porters who marched through London. There are some very illiberal people who vote Labour and if they prefer Tory/UKIP so be it
Starmer shouldn't be 'listening'. We know the sound of the 'Little Englanders' He should set out a vision of liberal inclusiveness and if Labour's traditional supporters don't like it then go for constituencies that do. Johnson's welcome to the his 'Red Wall'. They deserve each other.
I've no idea why the Tories have been in power for 11 years....total mystery....
Yes I think 2019 demonstrated the weakness in telling those voters to eff off and vote Tory...
But the 2021 strategy of telling anyone left of New Labour to Fuck Off and join the SWP whilst failing to attract any of those that had already fucked off to vote Tory, has proven even worse.
1 in 5 of Lab held Council seats lost compared to the 2016/17 Corbyn era that was supposedly terrible.
I agree. Labour just “feels” like the Tories c. 2003. No self confidence and every discussion about policy direction is defined by the past. The wheel will turn but it’s taking too long. I’m of the view that two terms each and then swap Gvts delivers true best outcomes for the country, but Labour just isn’t ready yet so the Tories are likely to get yet another term.
Do people seriously think less of Starmer because Hartlepudlians and their ilk voted Tory?
I remember when Labour Wolverhampton came out in their droves to support Enoch Powell followed by the dockers and porters who marched through London. There are some very illiberal people who vote Labour and if they prefer Tory/UKIP so be it
Starmer shouldn't be 'listening'. We know the sound of the 'Little Englanders' He should set out a vision of liberal inclusiveness and if Labour's traditional supporters don't like it then go for constituencies that do. Johnson's welcome to the his 'Red Wall'. They deserve each other.
That way guarantees defeat.
You've got to remember that Roger is always wrong, about everything, except when it comes to the Oscars.
Good interview from Rebecca Long Bailley on the BBC and now Andy Burnham. The natives are getting restless.
RLB has not spoken to SKS for "a very long time". This seems unwise.
She’s still sore at being called out for unthinking racism?
She fell in with a really bad crowd.
I think when we are judging Starmer for Labour’s dismal performance, we should just pause and remember when he became leader, Labour had just become the second legal political organisation in this country to be investigated for systematic anti-semitism. It had suffered the worst defeat of any opposition party nine years into power and its worst result since World War II. It had seen people promoted for arselicking the leader even if they were actually incapable of uttering a coherent sentence. It had fought an election campaign based on a pack of implausible lies that had no answer to significant questions about timing, costing and practicality on key policies. It had spent the past three years insulting all its voters and telling them what to think.
Let’s face it, turning this around would have been a huge task in normal times. In these times, it looks beyond impossible. I don’t think any politician leader would be doing better. If Long Bailey or Pidcock were in charge, Labour could well have done much worse.
There was a comment earlier that this should be the end of some former big names like Salmond, Galloway and Reckless.
The same should also apply to some old parties.
UKIP - 0 councillors (-43) Liberal party - 1 councillor (-1) Independent Health concern 0 councillors (-2) - they won Wyre Forest back in the Blair years
Now this is something for Labour to look at and understand. Because something has gone right here, what is it
Bristol basically. Not many places outside London have swung more to Labour over the last 25 years.
The irony of the big Corbynistas I have met are from the posh parts of Bristol, where their wealth is on the back of their houses now been worth London prices, but they never leave that area, kids go to the posh private schools locally and the only time they visit the rougher areas is on a trip to Ikea.
Not even that. Most of the areas of deprivation are South of the city. Most of the Nicer areas and jobs to the north. So both Unis, big employers like the MOD, rolls Royce and Airbus, the main hospital, main shopping mall, are all to the North. Even the Airport to the south now has a bypass so you don't see any poor people! Most people in the North of Bristol will have never been to Knowle West, Hartcliffe or Stockwood, and there is nothing to take them there.
Now this is something for Labour to look at and understand. Because something has gone right here, what is it
Bristol basically. Not many places outside London have swung more to Labour over the last 25 years.
Tory incumbent wasn't restanding. Tories went up a bit but looks like tactical voting for Labour and a huge increase in Greens, so seconds took them over.
The first ever BAME woman elected to the Scottish Parliament - what an absolutely historic day for our country. Huge congratulations to @kaukabstewart #SP21
Yes. That does seem strange given the parties’ power to impose candidates on the list. (Which I disagree with - these AMS systems should all use open lists.)
So what is going on in the West? It seems to me that rumours of Labour's death are greatly exaggerated
They don't like Brexit much round that way and Bristol has become ever more Labour stronghold. Even the posh bits are packed full of Corbynistas.
Indeed Labour's death is greatly exaggerated. That bit is simple. They hold 200+ seats in parliament and can target lots more. The tricky bit is twofold: how can Labour avoid death as a majority party of government
and secondly - a truly fascinating question for maps and demographers - no-one doubts a realignment happening, with Labour a huge part of the mix. Labour now wins council seats in places like Worthing and Surrey; they hold Enfield Southgate easily etc, while losing Hartlepool. But what does the alignment look like when the music briefly stops. How can they manage the transition from typical non ultra urban working class seats to the new rather posher clientele in such a way as to get to either a working majority, largest party or at least oust the Tories.
If for now Bassetlaw and Hartlepool are not real targets, where do they go instead? And how?
If this question is correct, and it's true that lots of target seats are moving away from them, which seats (it has to be a lot) should they move towards instead?
SKS sounded yesterday like a leader who wasn't sure of the 125 real targets he can get. But he will need to be to survive, and soon.
Disappointing for Sarwar. Its a great pity that SLAB dithered and did not replace their totally incompetent and useless leader last year. Sarwar needed more time than he got.
Did Labour take one for the team north of the border?
Sarwar shouldn't have spent the campaign beating on the Conservatives and cuddling up to the SNP.
Asked by @SophyRidgeSky whether Andy Burnham is preparing for a leadership bid he says "In the distant future, if they need me, they can get in touch." "I am here to help the Labour party, if they need it... They have lost an emotional connection with parts of the country..."
Part of his success. Like Street having green leaflets. He's the spokesman for Greater Manchester. Not Labour. Houchen has done similarly. That's why they win.
Do people seriously think less of Starmer because Hartlepudlians and their ilk voted Tory?
I remember when Labour Wolverhampton came out in their droves to support Enoch Powell followed by the dockers and porters who marched through London. There are some very illiberal people who vote Labour and if they prefer Tory/UKIP so be it
Starmer shouldn't be 'listening'. We know the sound of the 'Little Englanders' He should set out a vision of liberal inclusiveness and if Labour's traditional supporters don't like it then go for constituencies that do. Johnson's welcome to the his 'Red Wall'. They deserve each other.
Labour probably can't win an election without the votes of people like those in Hartlepool and similar areas.
That’s the thing. They want the votes of these people and these seats but they don’t want anything to do with them or to listen to what their issues are as they clash with the labour worldview.
I'd vote for Roger to lead the Labour party - I'd even crowdfund 20 p to help him on his way!
Disappointing for Sarwar. Its a great pity that SLAB dithered and did not replace their totally incompetent and useless leader last year. Sarwar needed more time than he got.
Did Labour take one for the team north of the border?
No, SKS dithered and left Corbyn's incompetent northern friend in office for too long.
Andy Burnham tells Sky News he has no current plans to run for Labour leader, but adds that 'in the distant future, if the party were to need me, they should get in touch'.
Owen Jones Rose @OwenJones84 · 1h Labour figures are now saying that “tackling injustice and inequality” is the party’s mission. But that’s an abstraction to most voters: you need to talk about concrete things that matter to people’s lives - like housing, jobs, pay, services - and what you’ll do about them
Blimey, Jones has said something that is a correct analysis.
Labour should ban the words 'social justice', 'injustice', 'inequality' etc. from use by the party.
I doubt many voters have a clue what the party means by them, but many will have a suspicion it involves loads of bonkers pc stuff and/or giving free money to people they think are undeserving.
Meanwhile, in the constituency I work in - the Tories have built a new multi million pound sports facility, work has started on a new hospital and plans are in for school rebuilds. No wonder the Tories took Northumberland County Council.
People want tangible stuff, not vague notions.
That's what the Ashfield Independents did. Though they may have been Lib Dems when the process started.
Buggers knocked down a swimming pool my dad designed back in 1970 or so, and turned the older swimming pool into Council Flats, and built a sports' centre on the local ancient Lammas via some dodgy manipulations.
Twas a very nice swimming pool too - electrically heated benches to lie on, and the only one I have ever seen with a row of tiles laid on their side 4ft under the water to give a shelf to rest your feet on. Thoughtful.
Comments
Now this is something for Labour to look at and understand. Because something has gone right here, what is it
At an EU summit in the Portuguese city of Porto on Saturday, Macron decided reporters were in need of some analysis over their response to U.S. President Joe Biden’s call to waive coronavirus vaccine patents......
.....Not that he has any kind of complex, of course.
https://www.politico.eu/article/macron-puts-eu-press-on-the-couch/
And wherever they end up, it probably won't be their hometown in Redwallshire, because they've paired off with someone from somewhere else. Even if you could make a wide range of graduate jobs work in small towns.
So Redwallton ages, the shops become sadder and shabbier, the schools struggle because fewer professional families live there, and the people left behind feel left behind.
It's a bigger of a problem to solve.
So when Boris tells Sturgeon she can scream and scream all she wants next week for indyref2 his answer will remain a firm NO, he has plenty of evidence to back him up, no SNP majority and more votes for Unionists than Nationalists as well as respecting the once in a generation 2014 vote
Norris (LAB): 33.4% (+11.2)
Williams (CON): 28.6% (+1.3)
Thomas (GRN): 21.7% (+10.5)
Williams (LDM): 16.3% (-3.9)
2nd Round:
Norris (LAB): 59.5% (E)
Williams (CON): 40.5%
Labour GAIN from Conservative
https://twitter.com/ElectionMapsUK/status/1391055081232117766?s=20
SNP 63 (no change from 2016)
Con 31 (no change)
Lab 22 -2
Green 9 +3
Lib Dem 4 -1
https://twitter.com/JohnRentoul/status/1391056077786124294?s=20
Novara rapidly back pedalling.
Very different being a local mayor to leader of the national party, see Boris...all of a sudden life every day is an absolute shitter and every slip up you are in the firing line. You can't just get away with doing a nice PR photoshoot of throwing some basketballs into a net and then off to see the mistress.
The former mill town of Bolton has been revealed as the UK hotspot for the new Covid 19 strain detected in India which has been escalated to a 'variant of concern'. Urgent measures to contain the variant are in the works in the town including surge testing and a strengthened vaccination campaign urging people to get the jab.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9557063/Bolton-revealed-UK-hotspot-new-Covid-strain-detected-India.html
RLB has not spoken to SKS for "a very long time". This seems unwise.
Mobilizing on the border as a stern WARNING to potential North British troublemakers.
More than they deserve, admittedly!
Now that would change the narrative
The first ever BAME woman elected to the Scottish Parliament - what an absolutely historic day for our country. Huge congratulations to @kaukabstewart
#SP21
https://twitter.com/LaurenOxleyx/status/1391057448870498306?s=20
The trouble is the overall direction of travel. The places they are winning are nowhere near enough to form a successful coalition to challenge for power. They need at least some of the red wall back, and arguably they need to stop the rot and make a recovery in Scotland too, because it is hard to see where a Labour majority comes from without at least some recovery in those areas. Even if they start to do better in the South, it is not enough.
1 in 5 of Lab held Council seats lost compared to the 2016/17 Corbyn era that was supposedly terrible.
https://twitter.com/PhilRodgers/status/1391057931018309632?s=19
(Remaining transfers to come are Cambridge, Peterborough and S Cambs)
Gets what he deserves IMO
Asked by @SophyRidgeSky whether Andy Burnham is preparing for a leadership bid he says "In the distant future, if they need me, they can get in touch." "I am here to help the Labour party, if they need it... They have lost an emotional connection with parts of the country..."
What a difference to Starmer's performance.
The King speaks human.
Labour should absolutely say "we didn't want your votes anyway, you smelly racists". Starmer should get on TV and say it live. Go for it!
The Lord giveth then taketh away twice..
Throwing shade at Richard Burgon lol, Welsh Labour is solidly centre-left, not socialist
No self confidence and every discussion about policy direction is defined by the past. The wheel will turn but it’s taking too long. I’m of the view that two terms each and then swap Gvts delivers true best outcomes for the country, but Labour just isn’t ready yet so the Tories are likely to get yet another term.
Let’s face it, turning this around would have been a huge task in normal times. In these times, it looks beyond impossible. I don’t think any politician leader would be doing better. If Long Bailey or Pidcock were in charge, Labour could well have done much worse.
No wonder Starmer looks frustrated.
He deserves more time.
The same should also apply to some old parties.
UKIP - 0 councillors (-43)
Liberal party - 1 councillor (-1)
Independent Health concern 0 councillors (-2) - they won Wyre Forest back in the Blair years
Just give it up and move on
Conservatives GAIN TWENTY councillors in Rotherham
and secondly - a truly fascinating question for maps and demographers - no-one doubts a realignment happening, with Labour a huge part of the mix. Labour now wins council seats in places like Worthing and Surrey; they hold Enfield Southgate easily etc, while losing Hartlepool. But what does the alignment look like when the music briefly stops. How can they manage the transition from typical non ultra urban working class seats to the new rather posher clientele in such a way as to get to either a working majority, largest party or at least oust the Tories.
If for now Bassetlaw and Hartlepool are not real targets, where do they go instead? And how?
If this question is correct, and it's true that lots of target seats are moving away from them, which seats (it has to be a lot) should they move towards instead?
SKS sounded yesterday like a leader who wasn't sure of the 125 real targets he can get. But he will need to be to survive, and soon.
Remember the good old days?
He's the spokesman for Greater Manchester. Not Labour. Houchen has done similarly. That's why they win.
“If the party feels it needs me, I’m here and they should get in touch.” says Burnham.
Anyone know how to get in touch?
#getintouchwithAndy
English devolution. Something to hang a narrative on.
Labour could do a whole lot worse even though twice they've rejected him.
Buggers knocked down a swimming pool my dad designed back in 1970 or so, and turned the older swimming pool into Council Flats, and built a sports' centre on the local ancient Lammas via some dodgy manipulations.
Twas a very nice swimming pool too - electrically heated benches to lie on, and the only one I have ever seen with a row of tiles laid on their side 4ft under the water to give a shelf to rest your feet on. Thoughtful.