The power of the Starmer speech? Catherine West backs down – politicalbetting.com
The power of the Starmer speech? Catherine West backs down – politicalbetting.com
I’ve been busy all morning and I haven’t watched the speech so cannot comment on it, it might be a case of post hoc ergo propter hoc in thinking the speech has made Catherine West back down.
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LMACO
https://x.com/kemibadenoch/status/2053788418010755093
Keir Starmer’s speech was sad to watch. With so many resets, even his reset button needs a reset.
But I do not take pleasure in watching the Prime Minister flounder. The country needs leadership, not another speech from a man who clearly knows something has gone badly wrong, but still can't explain why.
This is Labour’s real problem. It is not just Starmer - all the pretenders jostling for his job do not have the answers either, because they all believe the same things: more welfare, more state control, more borrowing, more regulation. They are busy arguing over who should drive the car, but the truth is they are all heading in the wrong direction. They have no vision for the future.
What we need is to get Britain working again. That is why I have proposed an alternative King’s Speech with a a clear plan to reward effort, cut the cost of government, secure our borders, rebuild industry and back families who do the right thing.
If Labour are serious about fixing the country they could do all of this tomorrow. Whether they have the bravery or the common sense to do that is a different matter.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdepdpwpp5jo
This isn't over by a long way.
This has, in essence, only just started.
We have the rest of the Mandelson papers to come. Plus much more
Or did you not mean Postacoglu?
That's the past.
Their response is uniformly
'You're a Miley fucking Cyrus fan?'
@LewisJWarner
🚨 TODAY: Reform UK picks the leader of the largest group on Birmingham City Council.
One name tipped for the top job: Jex Parkin
Before the election, he told me about the party’s priorities and blasted what he called “net zero nonsense” 👇
@itvcentral
https://x.com/LewisJWarner/status/2053745843631513655
===
Can't or won't say whether man-made climate change is real.
Tar and feather him now.
I am hopeless at TV's Only Connect.
Exc: Chris Curtis - Lab Milton Keynes MP and influential head of the Labour growth group - joining calls for Keir Starmer to go
Speaks exclusively on @skynews now
He wants the PM to set out a timetable and will be signing the Catherine West letter. Not backing a candidate - the growth group is putting out a report with their agenda tomorrow
https://yougov.com/en-gb/articles/54604-political-favourability-ratings-april-2026
Move to a different stage and Burnham will very quickly get the same approval ratings everyone else gets when he fails to make their local town the success Manchester seems to be.
If she had hoovered up 80 signatures, they would not have been available to others and there will be a significant caucus of MPs who will not nominate anyone either because they are at ministerial level and feel they can't (this is something I disagree with, I feel ministers should be at liberty to back others in a private nomination process without resigning) or because they don't like the alternatives or wish to wait for Andy Burnham to participate or because they have some loyalty to some of the lower level implementation going on at the moment or, indeed, to Starmer himself. That leaves potentially not a lot of MPs to nominate any single challenger alongside her.
And if she released her signatures by withdrawing before someone else reached 80, then you are back to square one, there would be no contest at that juncture.
In short, her intervention didn't make much practical sense in terms of moving things forward.
2021 slogan: Stronger Future Together
2022 slogan: A Fairer, Greener Future
2026 slogan: Stronger Fairer Britain
RIP
Starmer really should try and laugh at himself sometimes . Indeed he should have highlighted he’s a bit wooden , he’s not a natural politician . His line should have been “ I can’t change my personality but I’m confident I can change the country for the better “.
As an aside, if this site's content is being used by an AI odds setter, then there may be some good betting opportunities.
I know this is not an atypical Muslim name, but I was also kind of sad that he didn't come up against Labour's Sheik Rashid Wasim who stood in Batley, as a Sheikh versus a Marquis would have been a proper battle.
It would mean either a mass internal revolt to force a humiliating resignation a la Johnson (not happening) or a leadership contest via hostile challenge (looking unlikely). So what we could get is a period of stasis (in the party) whereby Starmer carries on until Andy Burnham has tried and failed/succeeded to become an MP. Then (unless Starmer has somehow transformed his ratings by then) comes the contest - with Burnham if he's made it, without him if he hasn't.
Edit: how that isn't against statutory duties I don't know
I haven't seen his speech and I knew it would be shite before he had opened his gob.
Hes had his go and failed miserably. The only thing left to do now is to resign with some humility
(the Cons, not PB ffs)
She's had it now, and will return to obscurity outside Hornsey and Wood Green.
And the timetable for an immediate contest doesn’t work for Burnham.
So Burnham needs between now and party conference to engineer a return to the Commons.
Let’s see if we hear about an MP standing aside in the next day or so.
I think the NEC will struggle to block the candidacy now without provoking civil war.
Anyway, Starmer is gone this year, most likely by Conference.
I am not massively au-fait with the current NEC or who’s likely to get seats next time there are elections. But suffice to say it may not just be Starmer that wants to keep the self proclaimed King of the North out of Westminster for now.
https://x.com/SarahCholwill/status/2053584077270180277
Did they did see the results on Friday? I get the impression a lot of Starmers 2024 intake are more supine than most Slab MSPs
And Reform will take the GM Mayoralty.
Absolute Cinema
But even if, in some parallel universe, the NEC somehow did not block Burnham's candidacy, Streeting could through timing. That is, there are three different interests who effectively all have a veto on Burnham standing.
1. Starmer, obviously, because the NEC officers will follow his lead while he is leader.
2. The NEC officers who even if Starmer throws in the towel will block Burnham in order to give Streeting the best possible chance.
3. Streeting himself, for he can launch a leadership contest at any time before Burnham becomes an MP. He will do so if he considers it necessary because he doesn't have a chance if he allows Burnham to run against him.
I simply don't see a path for Burnham to become next PM, at least by any of the routes being talked about.
With Burnham now 2/1 favourite on Betfair, it implies that there is value in backing other candidates.
For "bikes" and similar, it is as noted down to a political decision not to regulate the marketplace for safety, unlike powertools, laptops, kettles and the rest.
This one is a really serious issue now that Insurance Companies and insurance companies are running ignorant, panicked and scared and clamping down on everything from a base of ignorance. Here is an example case that has been fought this year.
TLDR: Masters student at a Russell Group Uni had her power wheelchair attachment, which is fully certified and allowed on aeroplanes and costs about £3-4k, compulsorily stored in a security guard controlled 'shed' rather than her accommodation.
She could only access it by going to the accommodation, with a wait of 10-20 minutes. And when that was unstaffed it was a phone call to when security were on duty, and and even longer wait as it needed an elaborate explanation. How would we feel if forced to access our outdoor shoes on those terms?
By the time they checked with a real fire expert, her social life had been wrecked, the battery was damaged by the conditions and needed replacing (cost: £500), extra self-propelling had exacerbated shoulder injuries so basic tasks like opening doors became difficult, and more.
But the institution did not get any of it, even afterwards, even after they had acted on an assumed non-existent risk that they did not bother to find out about.
It is very difficult to enforce action on, which should have been able to be done the same day. But the enforcement mechanisms in the Equality Act were gutted in 2011, and now the bastards want to repeal the whole thing because they have a couple of bees in their bonnet.
https://wheelsforwellbeing.org.uk/case-study-letty-and-her-wheelchair-front-power-assist-attachment/
https://x.com/electionmapsuk/status/2053822117737615397?s=46&t=fJymV-V84rexmlQMLXHHJQIn
During the battle, Burnhamite spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire's ultimate weapon, the DEATH STARMER, a policy relaunch with enough power to destroy an entire parliamentary majority.
Pursued by the Keirish Empire's sinister agents, Princess Angie races home aboard her starship, custodian of the stolen plans that can save her Party, and restore freedom to these islands....
https://starwarsintrocreator.kassellabs.io/#!/FOsMB-Jja-9lC1aBlek_
UPDATE: Catherine West says she accidentally called for a leadership election "in September" in her email to Labour MPs
She meant a new leader should be in place by September, but wants the contest to begin "soon"
The sooner Labour realise Burnham isn't going to be able to save them the better (and he wouldn't anyway, IMO he will be worse than Starmer). Then they would be able to choose one of the available options now, then shut up. But they won't.