I quite like Wes Streeting, he and I both have similar backgrounds.
We both came from humble backgrounds (him working class and me the grandson of immigrants), we both attended the finest university they gave us the confidence to achieve greatness.
Burnham also attended Cambridge like Streeting, if either of them got it we would have the first Cambridge educated PM since Baldwin
This is seeming just a little too coordinated and planned to me. Is Streeting behind it? Who knows but someone is.
Ben Riley-Smith @benrileysmith Wes Streeting's PPS and the Labour MP moderate in the next-door constituency to him have both publicly called for Starmer to go in the last hour.
Being seen by some of the Left that the Health Sec has given the signal for his backers to move on Starmer. Could Streeting say something in the next 24hrs?
Its Andy Burnham I feel sorry for. He can't get his PPS to quit. All he can do is get Sir Graham Stringer to retire and hope for a delay in the Starmer ousting.
Burnham's path isn't entirely closed. It's been plausibly reported that Miliband would prefer to be kingmaker with a reward as Chancellor of the Exchequer, but that he would stand if necessary to prevent Streeting from getting it. So on the assumption that, if the NEC doesn't block Burnham, Streeting will then trigger a contest before Burnham can get into parliament, Burnham might just be able to persuade Miliband to stand for leader on a platform that he would keep the seat warm for Burnham and stand down to trigger another contest as soon as Burnham were eligible. Miliband would walk the contest with Streeting on that basis.
So Burnham could still end up as PM by the end of 2026. But Miliband would have in the meantime have become the next PM as far as the betting markets are concerned.
Streeting is a creature of Mandelson isn’t he? Burnham isn’t in Parliament, twice rejected by the party. Rayner is a gob shite and has the tax stink still over her. And Miliband was already roundly rejected by voters.
What am I missing that the Deputy PM isn’t being spoken of for a potential promotion?
Deputy PM is the job which is essentially "sitting by the exit door" and promotion is being booted upstairs.
Hey and just one thing. Whoever emerges and gets this - and esp if it's Wes - I want to see some positivity on here, or at least a fair minded assessment of how he's doing, rather than a load of herdlike 'what a wanker' stuff that just lowers the spirits and reinforces dumbed down division at the expense of solidarity and progress.
Same message to the country if it's listening.
With all due respect, fuck off
OF COURSE we will immediately start humiliating Wes or Ange or The Manc Messiah or whoever gets it. It's what we DO. Plus, they will deserve it, and all of it. They are Labour
That exchange could have gone better.
My priority is UK plc and its residents. I desperately want someone to get a grip and start to address our problems. Starmer just isn't it. If Streeting gets it I will genuinely wish him well without holding back when I disagree. We are in a perilous and difficult situation. Its long past time our politicians of all stripes stopped lying about how bad things are. If he is brave enough to do this I will cheer him on.
I guess for all of us. Undoubtedly many would disagree, but taking the bull by the horns on spending is absolutely vital. Welfare is a luxury - I know that'll rouse all sorts of people, but it is. We need to slowly and carefully cut out all sorts of people from the welfare bill. We also should stop the pensioners from their triple lock.
Yes, and I suspect that there is a fairly broad cross party consensus on this. It is selling it to the British people after they have been so consistently lied to by politicians of every stripe for so long that is the problem.
This is seeming just a little too coordinated and planned to me. Is Streeting behind it? Who knows but someone is.
Ben Riley-Smith @benrileysmith Wes Streeting's PPS and the Labour MP moderate in the next-door constituency to him have both publicly called for Starmer to go in the last hour.
Being seen by some of the Left that the Health Sec has given the signal for his backers to move on Starmer. Could Streeting say something in the next 24hrs?
Its Andy Burnham I feel sorry for. He can't get his PPS to quit. All he can do is get Sir Graham Stringer to retire and hope for a delay in the Starmer ousting.
Burnham's path isn't entirely closed. It's been plausibly reported that Miliband would prefer to be kingmaker with a reward as Chancellor of the Exchequer, but that he would stand if necessary to prevent Streeting from getting it. So on the assumption that, if the NEC doesn't block Burnham, Streeting will then trigger a contest before Burnham can get into parliament, Burnham might just be able to persuade Miliband to stand for leader on a platform that he would keep the seat warm for Burnham and stand down to trigger another contest as soon as Burnham were eligible. Miliband would walk the contest with Streeting on that basis.
So Burnham could still end up as PM by the end of 2026. But Miliband would have in the meantime have become the next PM as far as the betting markets are concerned.
Once in why step aside even if you promised?
Exactly ! No way once you’re PM you’re not going to just hand it over out of the goodness of your heart .
So some Labour MPs expect the country to have a lame duck PM for 5 months so they can give time for Burnham to get back into the Commons .
And what if he loses any by-election ?
Burnham needs to announce now to try and bounce MPs into agreeing some absurd timeframe.
He can't. He's not an MP.
I mean announce he wants it. Obviously everyone knows but if he wants MPs to reject a handover until he can get into Parliament now is the time to be up front.
Imagine if Labour goes all through this agony, installs Wes or Ange or Whoever, and then the polls do not budge one iota. And the new PM is, within weeks, as unpopular as Skyr
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
The polls didn't budge when the Tories replaced Boris with Truss, indeed they went down, nor did they budge much when they replaced Truss with Rishi.
Indeed the last new PM to really get a poll bounce was Boris when he replaced May in 2019 and Burnham is likely the only one of the Labour contenders who would get a significant poll bounce if he replaced Starmer but he is still not an MP and can't stand
This is seeming just a little too coordinated and planned to me. Is Streeting behind it? Who knows but someone is.
Ben Riley-Smith @benrileysmith Wes Streeting's PPS and the Labour MP moderate in the next-door constituency to him have both publicly called for Starmer to go in the last hour.
Being seen by some of the Left that the Health Sec has given the signal for his backers to move on Starmer. Could Streeting say something in the next 24hrs?
Its Andy Burnham I feel sorry for. He can't get his PPS to quit. All he can do is get Sir Graham Stringer to retire and hope for a delay in the Starmer ousting.
Burnham's path isn't entirely closed. It's been plausibly reported that Miliband would prefer to be kingmaker with a reward as Chancellor of the Exchequer, but that he would stand if necessary to prevent Streeting from getting it. So on the assumption that, if the NEC doesn't block Burnham, Streeting will then trigger a contest before Burnham can get into parliament, Burnham might just be able to persuade Miliband to stand for leader on a platform that he would keep the seat warm for Burnham and stand down to trigger another contest as soon as Burnham were eligible. Miliband would walk the contest with Streeting on that basis.
So Burnham could still end up as PM by the end of 2026. But Miliband would have in the meantime have become the next PM as far as the betting markets are concerned.
Once in why step aside even if you promised?
Because if you publically promised to step aside, and then reneged on that promise, you would be utterly discredited and could expect to face a challenge that I would expect Burnham to win.
getting out ahead of this right now - we simply do not claim wes streeting as the first gay PM
a man who has thrown trans people under the bus, who backs govt attacks on lgbtq migrants, on poc, on working class etc is not emblematic of our movement+ is certainly no trailblazer
Labour might actually get a legitimate first and they want to disown him as the wrong kind of gay? Fools.
Hey and just one thing. Whoever emerges and gets this - and esp if it's Wes - I want to see some positivity on here, or at least a fair minded assessment of how he's doing, rather than a load of herdlike 'what a wanker' stuff that just lowers the spirits and reinforces dumbed down division at the expense of solidarity and progress.
Same message to the country if it's listening.
With all due respect, fuck off
OF COURSE we will immediately start humiliating Wes or Ange or The Manc Messiah or whoever gets it. It's what we DO. Plus, they will deserve it, and all of it. They are Labour
That exchange could have gone better.
My priority is UK plc and its residents. I desperately want someone to get a grip and start to address our problems. Starmer just isn't it. If Streeting gets it I will genuinely wish him well without holding back when I disagree. We are in a perilous and difficult situation. Its long past time our politicians of all stripes stopped lying about how bad things are. If he is brave enough to do this I will cheer him on.
I guess for all of us. Undoubtedly many would disagree, but taking the bull by the horns on spending is absolutely vital. Welfare is a luxury - I know that'll rouse all sorts of people, but it is. We need to slowly and carefully cut out all sorts of people from the welfare bill. We also should stop the pensioners from their triple lock.
Yes, and I suspect that there is a fairly broad cross party consensus on this. It is selling it to the British people after they have been so consistently lied to by politicians of every stripe for so long that is the problem.
We're a rich nation but not as rich as we think. Anyone cutting will be punished, the spend will likely increase.
So some Labour MPs expect the country to have a lame duck PM for 5 months so they can give time for Burnham to get back into the Commons .
And what if he loses any by-election ?
Burnham needs to announce now to try and bounce MPs into agreeing some absurd timeframe.
He can't. He's not an MP.
I mean announce he wants it. Obviously everyone knows but if he wants MPs to reject a handover until he can get into Parliament now is the time to be up front.
Manchester man agonises. Doesn't on first look seem a winner.
While we are all poring over the entrails of last Thursdays elections, something trully astonishing is happening in the USA with the gutting of the Civil Rights cornerstone, the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
Soon there won't be a black Congressman representing the 11 states of the Old Confederacy. Major implications for the Mid-terms.
To be honest I don't know a huge amount about him and yet I suspect I know a lot more than most the population. I think he has been right to stand up to the BMA. He seems very focused on improving the NHS and not by yet another pointless reorganisation. He is clearly on the right of the Labour party. He seems to have a much clearer idea of what he wants and what he intends to do than Starmer (very low bar alert). Not a great orator. Not sure he can hold the party together. Not sure he has enough allies. There is a danger of him being another Starmer with no real roots or natural supporters in the party.
Streeting is currently literally reorganising the NHS, in its biggest reorganisation for many years. I’m not certain that many people think it’s going especially well as a reorganisation either.
Hey and just one thing. Whoever emerges and gets this - and esp if it's Wes - I want to see some positivity on here, or at least a fair minded assessment of how he's doing, rather than a load of herdlike 'what a wanker' stuff that just lowers the spirits and reinforces dumbed down division at the expense of solidarity and progress.
Same message to the country if it's listening.
With all due respect, fuck off
OF COURSE we will immediately start humiliating Wes or Ange or The Manc Messiah or whoever gets it. It's what we DO. Plus, they will deserve it, and all of it. They are Labour
That exchange could have gone better.
My priority is UK plc and its residents. I desperately want someone to get a grip and start to address our problems. Starmer just isn't it. If Streeting gets it I will genuinely wish him well without holding back when I disagree. We are in a perilous and difficult situation. Its long past time our politicians of all stripes stopped lying about how bad things are. If he is brave enough to do this I will cheer him on.
I guess for all of us. Undoubtedly many would disagree, but taking the bull by the horns on spending is absolutely vital. Welfare is a luxury - I know that'll rouse all sorts of people, but it is. We need to slowly and carefully cut out all sorts of people from the welfare bill. We also should stop the pensioners from their triple lock.
Yet welfare (for working-age people) hasn't grown at all as a percentage of GDP. Removing the triple-lock is absolutely necessary, but saves very little money in the short-term - or even none at all if the particular measure you go for happens to be the highest.
Actually, genuinely, taking the bull by the horns means slaughtering the Sacred Cow - the NHS.
Streeting is a creature of Mandelson isn’t he? Burnham isn’t in Parliament, twice rejected by the party. Rayner is a gob shite and has the tax stink still over her. And Miliband was already roundly rejected by voters.
What am I missing that the Deputy PM isn’t being spoken of for a potential promotion?
Deputy PM is the job which is essentially "sitting by the exit door" and promotion is being booted upstairs.
Indeed. A promotion in the style of Jim Hacker / Nicola Murray.
All this would be highly entertaining if we were talking about the Leader of the Opposition. But we're not. It's about the PM of this country. I can't see how, whatever happens next, this doesn't lead to really quite damaging instability in our governance, which I'm sure the financial markets will reflect.
I really do think we've got into the habit of replacing PMs too readily and too quickly. (Unless they're Tories, of course).
This is seeming just a little too coordinated and planned to me. Is Streeting behind it? Who knows but someone is.
Ben Riley-Smith @benrileysmith Wes Streeting's PPS and the Labour MP moderate in the next-door constituency to him have both publicly called for Starmer to go in the last hour.
Being seen by some of the Left that the Health Sec has given the signal for his backers to move on Starmer. Could Streeting say something in the next 24hrs?
Its Andy Burnham I feel sorry for. He can't get his PPS to quit. All he can do is get Sir Graham Stringer to retire and hope for a delay in the Starmer ousting.
Burnham's path isn't entirely closed. It's been plausibly reported that Miliband would prefer to be kingmaker with a reward as Chancellor of the Exchequer, but that he would stand if necessary to prevent Streeting from getting it. So on the assumption that, if the NEC doesn't block Burnham, Streeting will then trigger a contest before Burnham can get into parliament, Burnham might just be able to persuade Miliband to stand for leader on a platform that he would keep the seat warm for Burnham and stand down to trigger another contest as soon as Burnham were eligible. Miliband would walk the contest with Streeting on that basis.
So Burnham could still end up as PM by the end of 2026. But Miliband would have in the meantime have become the next PM as far as the betting markets are concerned.
Once in why step aside even if you promised?
Because if you publically promised to step aside, and then reneged on that promise, you would be utterly discredited and could expect to face a challenge that I would expect Burnham to win.
He won't publicly promise that. I'm a placeholder vote for me? Not a compelling story.
"Not a political strategist in sight in all of No10. An acting Chief of Staff who doesn’t understand the Labour Party and never has, and a PM who desperately needs his loyalists, except they’re all running public affairs companies now."
I quite like Wes Streeting, he and I both have similar backgrounds.
We both came from humble backgrounds (him working class and me the grandson of immigrants), we both attended the finest university they gave us the confidence to achieve greatness.
Burnham also attended Cambridge like Streeting, if either of them got it we would have the first Cambridge educated PM since Baldwin
Indeed, Andy Burnham would not only be the first Cambridge graduate we have had for nearly 100 years but the first English graduate we have ever had as PM, would make a change from the usual PPE and Law and Classics and History graduates we have at No 10. We even had a Chemistry graduate in Thatcher and an Oriental languages graduate in Eden but have never had an English graduate as PM
So some Labour MPs expect the country to have a lame duck PM for 5 months so they can give time for Burnham to get back into the Commons .
And what if he loses any by-election ?
Burnham needs to announce now to try and bounce MPs into agreeing some absurd timeframe.
He can't. He's not an MP.
I mean announce he wants it. Obviously everyone knows but if he wants MPs to reject a handover until he can get into Parliament now is the time to be up front.
Manchester man agonises. Doesn't on first look seem a winner.
Agreed but he needs a hail mary if the coup is on. His supporters have been trying to make him seem inevitable but the MPs know he's not.
To be honest I don't know a huge amount about him and yet I suspect I know a lot more than most the population. I think he has been right to stand up to the BMA. He seems very focused on improving the NHS and not by yet another pointless reorganisation. He is clearly on the right of the Labour party. He seems to have a much clearer idea of what he wants and what he intends to do than Starmer (very low bar alert). Not a great orator. Not sure he can hold the party together. Not sure he has enough allies. There is a danger of him being another Starmer with no real roots or natural supporters in the party.
Streeting is currently literally reorganising the NHS, in its biggest reorganisation for many years. I’m not certain that many people think it’s going especially well as a reorganisation either.
The reorganisation is not the worst of it. The AI scheme is hare-brained.
On Ange, of whom I'm a fan, her biggest minus is not the HRMC, but rather her 'colourful' private life, which would be seen as fair game to a hostile press if she were elected, and they would have a field day. For example, she spends a lot of time in Hove for someone representing Ashton-under-Lyne, she clearly likes to have a good time, and she tells it like it is.
While Boris could get away with all his shenanigans because he is 'one of the lads', I fear in our misogynistic media and social media culture the same forgiveness wouldn't be extended to Ange. I suspect many Labour MPs share my concerns, however unfair that may be.
I actually don't think "colourlife but legal" private lives are that much of a killer these days. Having affairs etc doesn't seem like a) a disqualifer and b) the public don't care, be it men or women. There are countless examples over the past 10 years where even if the press report it, the individual concerns just comes out and says yes, my marriage has broken down, please respect my privacy and everybody moves on. Also, the press aren't legally allowed to report anywhere near as much as they used to be able to e.g. we are never allowed to know now which footballer is shagging with OF girl behind the back of their wife, where as that used to be a story every Sunday.
getting out ahead of this right now - we simply do not claim wes streeting as the first gay PM
a man who has thrown trans people under the bus, who backs govt attacks on lgbtq migrants, on poc, on working class etc is not emblematic of our movement+ is certainly no trailblazer
Labour might actually get a legitimate first and they want to disown him as the wrong kind of gay? Fools.
I don’t think Ben Smoke is representative of Labour.
This is seeming just a little too coordinated and planned to me. Is Streeting behind it? Who knows but someone is.
Ben Riley-Smith @benrileysmith Wes Streeting's PPS and the Labour MP moderate in the next-door constituency to him have both publicly called for Starmer to go in the last hour.
Being seen by some of the Left that the Health Sec has given the signal for his backers to move on Starmer. Could Streeting say something in the next 24hrs?
Its Andy Burnham I feel sorry for. He can't get his PPS to quit. All he can do is get Sir Graham Stringer to retire and hope for a delay in the Starmer ousting.
Burnham's path isn't entirely closed. It's been plausibly reported that Miliband would prefer to be kingmaker with a reward as Chancellor of the Exchequer, but that he would stand if necessary to prevent Streeting from getting it. So on the assumption that, if the NEC doesn't block Burnham, Streeting will then trigger a contest before Burnham can get into parliament, Burnham might just be able to persuade Miliband to stand for leader on a platform that he would keep the seat warm for Burnham and stand down to trigger another contest as soon as Burnham were eligible. Miliband would walk the contest with Streeting on that basis.
So Burnham could still end up as PM by the end of 2026. But Miliband would have in the meantime have become the next PM as far as the betting markets are concerned.
Once in why step aside even if you promised?
Because if you publically promised to step aside, and then reneged on that promise, you would be utterly discredited and could expect to face a challenge that I would expect Burnham to win.
He won't publicly promise that. I'm a placeholder vote for me? Not a compelling story.
I didn't say it was the most likely outcome. The most likely outcome is Streeting v Rayner/Miliband with Burnham giving backing to the latter. What I'm saying is that the scenario of a Miliband/Burnham partnership that I've set out has an outside chance of happening and is now Burnham's best option for reaching No 10 relatively quickly. And I take issue with your view that members wouldn't vote for Miliband in those circumstances.
This is seeming just a little too coordinated and planned to me. Is Streeting behind it? Who knows but someone is.
Ben Riley-Smith @benrileysmith Wes Streeting's PPS and the Labour MP moderate in the next-door constituency to him have both publicly called for Starmer to go in the last hour.
Being seen by some of the Left that the Health Sec has given the signal for his backers to move on Starmer. Could Streeting say something in the next 24hrs?
Its Andy Burnham I feel sorry for. He can't get his PPS to quit. All he can do is get Sir Graham Stringer to retire and hope for a delay in the Starmer ousting.
Burnham's path isn't entirely closed. It's been plausibly reported that Miliband would prefer to be kingmaker with a reward as Chancellor of the Exchequer, but that he would stand if necessary to prevent Streeting from getting it. So on the assumption that, if the NEC doesn't block Burnham, Streeting will then trigger a contest before Burnham can get into parliament, Burnham might just be able to persuade Miliband to stand for leader on a platform that he would keep the seat warm for Burnham and stand down to trigger another contest as soon as Burnham were eligible. Miliband would walk the contest with Streeting on that basis.
So Burnham could still end up as PM by the end of 2026. But Miliband would have in the meantime have become the next PM as far as the betting markets are concerned.
Once in why step aside even if you promised?
Because if you publically promised to step aside, and then reneged on that promise, you would be utterly discredited and could expect to face a challenge that I would expect Burnham to win.
He won't publicly promise that. I'm a placeholder vote for me? Not a compelling story.
I didn't say it was the most likely outcome. The most likely outcome is Streeting v Rayner/Miliband with Burnham giving backing to the latter. What I'm saying is that the scenario of a Miliband/Burnham partnership that I've set out has an outside chance of happening and is now Burnham's best option for reaching No 10 relatively quickly. And I take issue with your view that members wouldn't vote for Miliband in those circumstances.
That kind of manoeuvring would look appalling to the public.
PM is a serious position - you don't play with it like that.
If a big enough one is commissioned it might stimulate some economic activity and boost growth tbf
That's how I play Civilization games, dealing with overpopulation by having slaves worked to death building some gaudy wonder to boost the economy and improve living conditions for the survivors.
It always seems to make the cities happier, and many an autocrat in the real world likes to give it a go too.
Imagine if Labour goes all through this agony, installs Wes or Ange or Whoever, and then the polls do not budge one iota. And the new PM is, within weeks, as unpopular as Skyr
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
The polls didn't budge when the Tories replaced Boris with Truss, indeed they went down, nor did they budge much when they replaced Truss with Rishi.
Indeed the last new PM to really get a poll bounce was Boris when he replaced May in 2019 and Burnham is likely the only one of the Labour contenders who would get a significant poll bounce if he replaced Starmer but he is still not an MP and can't stand
I suspect that Labour would get a modest poll bounce from a replacement. Crap comms is one of this governments big failings (by no means the only one, and fixing the comms is not by itself enough), but I think that would go some way to give them a boost. That boost will not be sustained long term unless they can actually build and form a competent offering and speak to the nation’s concerns. They show limited understanding of that, so while this is possible it is improbable.
Hi, sorry, no I am going into a tunnel, no I can't hear you, no, I am going to have to hang up, the reception is too bad....
Hard for ministers to pretend loyalty now. It takes 5 seconds to tweet something, so not doing so is instantly commented upon, you cannot escape being contacted and claim ignorance.
Hi, sorry, no I am going into a tunnel, no I can't hear you, no, I am going to have to hang up, the reception is too bad....
Hard for ministers to pretend loyalty now. It takes 5 seconds to tweet something, so not doing so is instantly commented upon, you cannot escape being contacted and claim ignorance.
Unless you have your phone accidentally on purpose nicked....
Imagine if Labour goes all through this agony, installs Wes or Ange or Whoever, and then the polls do not budge one iota. And the new PM is, within weeks, as unpopular as Skyr
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
The polls didn't budge when the Tories replaced Boris with Truss, indeed they went down, nor did they budge much when they replaced Truss with Rishi.
Indeed the last new PM to really get a poll bounce was Boris when he replaced May in 2019 and Burnham is likely the only one of the Labour contenders who would get a significant poll bounce if he replaced Starmer but he is still not an MP and can't stand
I suspect that Labour would get a modest poll bounce from a replacement. Crap comms is one of this governments big failings (by no means the only one, and fixing the comms is not by itself enough), but I think that would go some way to give them a boost. That boost will not be sustained long term unless they can actually build and form a competent offering and speak to the nation’s concerns. They show limited understanding of that, so while this is possible it is improbable.
It looks not unlikely that a change of leader will be accompanied by a gilts strike. Let’s see how long that modest poll bounce lasts.
I really think this country is becoming ungovernable.
The public seem to be like drones all yapping on about change , the media do the same all helped along by politicians doing the same .
Then you have these resignations all yapping on about the same . Wtf is the change people want apart from better public services and more money .
And then you get the grating Polanski , droning on about people so fed up about the status quo . More vacuous nonsense . He’s really beginning to get on my nerves .
The opposition parties range from Reform , deport people allegedly save a load of cash and things will be marvellous . The Greens delusional claptrap with a leader that seems to be a pathological liar . The Tories strangely I find less annoying because they do actually have some policies and don’t seem to think there’s a cosmic cash machine but push me over the edge when it comes to their view on the EU and ECHR .
The Lib Dem’s need a change of leadership . As much as I like Davey he’s turning into Mary Poppins and has become just too sugary .
This country is going to the dogs politically because the public have expectations that can never be met and so we get the politicians we deserve . All peddling rubbish .
The biggest voting block continues to keep hostages and the ransom note is God forbid any changes are made to the Triple Lock . So all the parties continue to indulge them whilst younger people are thrown under a bus .
If this was the Tory party, Starmer would be standing down in the next 24 hours.
The way this is going I expect he will have to anyway. Once we get into ministers quitting its all over.
What Starmer can do to calm things down is this:
Resign as leader of the Labour Party. Invite the NEC to start a process to elect a new leader. He continues to command a majority in the Commons so stays on as PM. NEC can then invoke a process to run for a couple of months - hustings and all that Burnham then gets a shot at becoming an MP - or not if Starmer wants to Larry Grayson him again
Or, stay in denial, insist the Kings Speech is actually relevant, and then we get to watch it fall apart into fractious ruin.
I really think this country is becoming ungovernable.
The public seem to be like drones all yapping on about change , the media do the same all helped along by politicians doing the same .
Then you have these resignations all yapping on about the same . Wtf is the change people want apart from better public services and more money .
And then you get the grating Polanski , droning on about people so fed up about the status quo . More vacuous nonsense . He’s really beginning to get on my nerves .
The opposition parties range from Reform , deport people allegedly save a load of cash and things will be marvellous . The Greens delusional claptrap with a leader that seems to be a pathological liar . The Tories strangely I find less annoying because they do actually have some policies and don’t seem to think there’s a cosmic cash machine but push me over the edge when it comes to their view on the EU and ECHR .
The Lib Dem’s need a change of leadership . As much as I like Davey he’s turning into Mary Poppins and has become just too sugary .
This country is going to the dogs politically because the public have expectations that can never be met and so we get the politicians we deserve . All peddling rubbish .
The biggest voting block continues to keep hostages and the ransom note is God forbid any changes are made to the Triple Lock . So all the parties continue to indulge them whilst younger people are thrown under a bus .
"We’re now seeing a steady drip drip of Wes Streeting supporters, of increasing seniority, going over the top to call on Starmer to go. Number 10 is braced for ministerial resignations to follow. Team Streeting is resolutely silent, but Labour insiders reading the tea leaves are drawing the conclusion that we should expect a Streeting challenge against Starmer in the coming hours or days. But, importantly, this isn’t just a drip drip of Streeting supporters now making a charge. There are Burnham supporters among the frontbenchers calling on Starmer to go, such as Jameson, the first PPS to stick her head above the parapet. The pressure is coming from several directions, suggesting perhaps a level of coordination between rival camps, or simply a decision in different parts of the party that the current situation is unsustainable.
The cabinet is meeting at 9am tomorrow morning. Some expect Streeting may have launched a challenge by then, others that that will be the moment for cabinet ministers to tell Starmer to go. “You don’t need to bother with delegations of ministers going to see Keir to tell him to go,” one insider joked, “because conveniently they’re all going to meet tomorrow morning anyway.”"
If Starmer had any sense, he'd put Burnham a Lord tonight and make him one of the biggies (Home/Foreign), or even Health Secretary and send Streeting to NI. Then he could make Clive Lewis a Lord and slot Burnham into Lewis's seat. We've done something similar-ish before with Alec Douglas-Home in the 1960s and Cameron recently.
I really think this country is becoming ungovernable.
The public seem to be like drones all yapping on about change , the media do the same all helped along by politicians doing the same .
Then you have these resignations all yapping on about the same . Wtf is the change people want apart from better public services and more money .
And then you get the grating Polanski , droning on about people so fed up about the status quo . More vacuous nonsense . He’s really beginning to get on my nerves .
The opposition parties range from Reform , deport people allegedly save a load of cash and things will be marvellous . The Greens delusional claptrap with a leader that seems to be a pathological liar . The Tories strangely I find less annoying because they do actually have some policies and don’t seem to think there’s a cosmic cash machine but push me over the edge when it comes to their view on the EU and ECHR .
The Lib Dem’s need a change of leadership . As much as I like Davey he’s turning into Mary Poppins and has become just too sugary .
This country is going to the dogs politically because the public have expectations that can never be met and so we get the politicians we deserve . All peddling rubbish .
The biggest voting block continues to keep hostages and the ransom note is God forbid any changes are made to the Triple Lock . So all the parties continue to indulge them whilst younger people are thrown under a bus .
Anyway rant over !
Top ranting.
Thanks . There’ll be more to come over the next few days and weeks with Labour’s implosion .
getting out ahead of this right now - we simply do not claim wes streeting as the first gay PM
a man who has thrown trans people under the bus, who backs govt attacks on lgbtq migrants, on poc, on working class etc is not emblematic of our movement+ is certainly no trailblazer
Labour might actually get a legitimate first and they want to disown him as the wrong kind of gay? Fools.
I really think this country is becoming ungovernable.
The public seem to be like drones all yapping on about change , the media do the same all helped along by politicians doing the same .
Then you have these resignations all yapping on about the same . Wtf is the change people want apart from better public services and more money .
And then you get the grating Polanski , droning on about people so fed up about the status quo . More vacuous nonsense . He’s really beginning to get on my nerves .
The opposition parties range from Reform , deport people allegedly save a load of cash and things will be marvellous . The Greens delusional claptrap with a leader that seems to be a pathological liar . The Tories strangely I find less annoying because they do actually have some policies and don’t seem to think there’s a cosmic cash machine but push me over the edge when it comes to their view on the EU and ECHR .
The Lib Dem’s need a change of leadership . As much as I like Davey he’s turning into Mary Poppins and has become just too sugary .
This country is going to the dogs politically because the public have expectations that can never be met and so we get the politicians we deserve . All peddling rubbish .
The biggest voting block continues to keep hostages and the ransom note is God forbid any changes are made to the Triple Lock . So all the parties continue to indulge them whilst younger people are thrown under a bus .
Anyway rant over !
Top ranting.
Thanks . There’ll be more to come over the next few days and weeks with Labour’s implosion .
Well not too much I hope, but the occasional shouty 'he's not wearing any clothes' is of great benefit to us all.
I almost fell off my seat laughing when I heard Toynbee on the beeb just now announce very earnestly "if Lammy made a move it would be incredibly significant" 😵💫
getting out ahead of this right now - we simply do not claim wes streeting as the first gay PM
a man who has thrown trans people under the bus, who backs govt attacks on lgbtq migrants, on poc, on working class etc is not emblematic of our movement+ is certainly no trailblazer
Labour might actually get a legitimate first and they want to disown him as the wrong kind of gay? Fools.
Like Lady Thatcher wasn't a true... lady.
If memory serves, it was Germaine Greer who said that. But it was years ago and I'm not googling to check
"We’re now seeing a steady drip drip of Wes Streeting supporters, of increasing seniority, going over the top to call on Starmer to go. Number 10 is braced for ministerial resignations to follow. Team Streeting is resolutely silent, but Labour insiders reading the tea leaves are drawing the conclusion that we should expect a Streeting challenge against Starmer in the coming hours or days. But, importantly, this isn’t just a drip drip of Streeting supporters now making a charge. There are Burnham supporters among the frontbenchers calling on Starmer to go, such as Jameson, the first PPS to stick her head above the parapet. The pressure is coming from several directions, suggesting perhaps a level of coordination between rival camps, or simply a decision in different parts of the party that the current situation is unsustainable.
The cabinet is meeting at 9am tomorrow morning. Some expect Streeting may have launched a challenge by then, others that that will be the moment for cabinet ministers to tell Starmer to go. “You don’t need to bother with delegations of ministers going to see Keir to tell him to go,” one insider joked, “because conveniently they’re all going to meet tomorrow morning anyway.”"
This seems like Portillo 1995 and his phone lines, Streeting has his supporters coming out for him but will he challenge unlike Portillo's dithering then? Would be a disaster for Burnham if he did as he could not stand until he comes back as an MP, instead he would have to get Rayner to stand in his place. Starmer would probably contest a leadership election but if he didn't Cooper or Ed Miliband could stand in his place
"We’re now seeing a steady drip drip of Wes Streeting supporters, of increasing seniority, going over the top to call on Starmer to go. Number 10 is braced for ministerial resignations to follow. Team Streeting is resolutely silent, but Labour insiders reading the tea leaves are drawing the conclusion that we should expect a Streeting challenge against Starmer in the coming hours or days. But, importantly, this isn’t just a drip drip of Streeting supporters now making a charge. There are Burnham supporters among the frontbenchers calling on Starmer to go, such as Jameson, the first PPS to stick her head above the parapet. The pressure is coming from several directions, suggesting perhaps a level of coordination between rival camps, or simply a decision in different parts of the party that the current situation is unsustainable.
The cabinet is meeting at 9am tomorrow morning. Some expect Streeting may have launched a challenge by then, others that that will be the moment for cabinet ministers to tell Starmer to go. “You don’t need to bother with delegations of ministers going to see Keir to tell him to go,” one insider joked, “because conveniently they’re all going to meet tomorrow morning anyway.”"
This seems like Portillo 1995 and his phone lines, Streeting has his supporters coming out for him but will he challenge unlike Portillo's dithering then? Would be a disaster for Burnham if he did as he could not stand until he comes back as an MP, instead he would have to get Rayner to stand in his place. Starmer would probably contest a leadership election but if he didn't Cooper or Ed Miliband could stand in his place
Will you admit that you were wrong when you said Sir Keir was safe?
getting out ahead of this right now - we simply do not claim wes streeting as the first gay PM
a man who has thrown trans people under the bus, who backs govt attacks on lgbtq migrants, on poc, on working class etc is not emblematic of our movement+ is certainly no trailblazer
I don't think not 'claiming' him would make him not gay. What a bizarre possessiveness.
Are all gay men supposed to have the same political views? Famously the UK parliament has gay people of many political stripes, hence possibly being the gayest.
When you say 'gay', are you using the Andrew Tate definition?
I really think this country is becoming ungovernable.
The public seem to be like drones all yapping on about change , the media do the same all helped along by politicians doing the same .
Then you have these resignations all yapping on about the same . Wtf is the change people want apart from better public services and more money .
And then you get the grating Polanski , droning on about people so fed up about the status quo . More vacuous nonsense . He’s really beginning to get on my nerves .
The opposition parties range from Reform , deport people allegedly save a load of cash and things will be marvellous . The Greens delusional claptrap with a leader that seems to be a pathological liar . The Tories strangely I find less annoying because they do actually have some policies and don’t seem to think there’s a cosmic cash machine but push me over the edge when it comes to their view on the EU and ECHR .
The Lib Dem’s need a change of leadership . As much as I like Davey he’s turning into Mary Poppins and has become just too sugary .
This country is going to the dogs politically because the public have expectations that can never be met and so we get the politicians we deserve . All peddling rubbish .
The biggest voting block continues to keep hostages and the ransom note is God forbid any changes are made to the Triple Lock . So all the parties continue to indulge them whilst younger people are thrown under a bus .
Anyway rant over !
Top ranting.
Just needs one more step - "I no longer believe in the People. We need to abolish them"
Can anyone move the by-election writ other than the Chief Whip?
If answer is "No" then as long as Chief Whip is on board with Starmer he can delay by-election irrespective of what NEC does.
Any mp ca. - it’s just convention. I recall there was something about the Tories last time talking about a delaying a by election and Labour threatening to move the writ
Imagine if Labour goes all through this agony, installs Wes or Ange or Whoever, and then the polls do not budge one iota. And the new PM is, within weeks, as unpopular as Skyr
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
Unlikely with Wes.
To offer you a tiny shred of that positivity you want, I agree with this
The simple act of replacing Starmer - if they hurry the F up - should at least allow a decent bounce in the polls. New leader, fresh face, Starmer is loathed but he will, one hopes, take a lot of that loathing with him
Which is why I find your level of confidence in Reform's chances surprising.
1) The NEV from the locals wasn't that great for the right of centre parties combined. 2) Reform are on a downward trend 3) Farage's approval ratings are bad 4) Governments always take a kicking mid term 5) A new Labour leader could fare better than Starmer 6) Wales showed anti Reform tactical voting, no surprise if your approval rating is bad 7) The £5m donation story may be very difficult/impossible to brush off
Of course we are in a unprecedented period. But that would be another reason not to be too sure you're on to a winner.
Hey and just one thing. Whoever emerges and gets this - and esp if it's Wes - I want to see some positivity on here, or at least a fair minded assessment of how he's doing, rather than a load of herdlike 'what a wanker' stuff that just lowers the spirits and reinforces dumbed down division at the expense of solidarity and progress.
Same message to the country if it's listening.
We would need to come up with some objective measures to judge his performance, which was kinda hard with Starmer because - besides the pledge to build 1.5 million houses - he was always very vague about what he was trying to do.
For me the main metric will be Lab poll scores but I accept that won't work for everyone.
If this was the Tory party, Starmer would be standing down in the next 24 hours.
Corbyn managed to remain Labour leader even when well over half of Labour MPs told him to stand down
The difference I guess is the three quidders made what MPs thought irrelevant. Starmer would not now survive a members vote against Bungle from Rainbow
Imagine if Labour goes all through this agony, installs Wes or Ange or Whoever, and then the polls do not budge one iota. And the new PM is, within weeks, as unpopular as Skyr
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
Unlikely with Wes.
To offer you a tiny shred of that positivity you want, I agree with this
The simple act of replacing Starmer - if they hurry the F up - should at least allow a decent bounce in the polls. New leader, fresh face, Starmer is loathed but he will, one hopes, take a lot of that loathing with him
Which is why I find your level of confidence in Reform's chances surprising.
1) The NEV from the locals wasn't that great for the right of centre parties combined. 2) Reform are on a downward trend 3) Farage's approval ratings are bad 4) Governments always take a kicking mid term 5) A new Labour leader could fare better than Starmer 6) Wales showed anti Reform tactical voting, no surprise if your approval rating is bad 7) The £5m donation story may be very difficult/impossible to brush off
Of course we are in a unprecedented period. But that would be another reason not to be too sure you're on to a winner.
This is why the best objective choice would be Burnham because he’s net positive. But Farage only looks popular currently because he’s not Keir Starmer.
Some people are going to jizz themselves inside out and into a coma if this involves curries and beers.
I’m outside No 10 Downing Street tonight and hearing that the takeaways are being ordered in. It’s going to be a long night as PM and team battle for survival. Now 63 MPs calling for him to go, including 5 ministerial aides - four of whom have quit govt
Hi, sorry, no I am going into a tunnel, no I can't hear you, no, I am going to have to hang up, the reception is too bad....
Hard for ministers to pretend loyalty now. It takes 5 seconds to tweet something, so not doing so is instantly commented upon, you cannot escape being contacted and claim ignorance.
Unless you have your phone accidentally on purpose nicked....
I’m sorry, I can’t hear you. My phone’s been nicked…
While we are all poring over the entrails of last Thursdays elections, something trully astonishing is happening in the USA with the gutting of the Civil Rights cornerstone, the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
Soon there won't be a black Congressman representing the 11 states of the Old Confederacy. Major implications for the Mid-terms.
While we are all poring over the entrails of last Thursdays elections, something trully astonishing is happening in the USA with the gutting of the Civil Rights cornerstone, the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
Soon there won't be a black Congressman representing the 11 states of the Old Confederacy. Major implications for the Mid-terms.
Yes that's a scandal.
Once again a SC making decisions which have no basis in law, precedent or fact. Their behaviour is truly shocking and deeply corrupt.
Some people are going to jizz themselves inside out and into a coma if this involves curries and beers.
I’m outside No 10 Downing Street tonight and hearing that the takeaways are being ordered in. It’s going to be a long night as PM and team battle for survival. Now 63 MPs calling for him to go, including 5 ministerial aides - four of whom have quit govt
The number of MPs calling for him to go is accelerating. This isn't dying out as a story, its getting louder and faster.
Ironically I think the Kings Speech makes the pressure acute. If they get to Wednesday morning and there's 200 MPs saying go and ministerial resignations, it would be hugely embarrassing to the King if he's brought in to read a "My government will" speech which everyone knows won't carry through the Commons.
Some people are going to jizz themselves inside out and into a coma if this involves curries and beers.
I’m outside No 10 Downing Street tonight and hearing that the takeaways are being ordered in. It’s going to be a long night as PM and team battle for survival. Now 63 MPs calling for him to go, including 5 ministerial aides - four of whom have quit govt
Some people are going to jizz themselves inside out and into a coma if this involves curries and beers.
I’m outside No 10 Downing Street tonight and hearing that the takeaways are being ordered in. It’s going to be a long night as PM and team battle for survival. Now 63 MPs calling for him to go, including 5 ministerial aides - four of whom have quit govt
Comments
Indeed the last new PM to really get a poll bounce was Boris when he replaced May in 2019 and Burnham is likely the only one of the Labour contenders who would get a significant poll bounce if he replaced Starmer but he is still not an MP and can't stand
Soon there won't be a black Congressman representing the 11 states of the Old Confederacy. Major implications for the Mid-terms.
Actually, genuinely, taking the bull by the horns means slaughtering the Sacred Cow - the NHS.
I really do think we've got into the habit of replacing PMs too readily and too quickly.
(Unless they're Tories, of course).
A former Keir Starmer adviser texts:
"Not a political strategist in sight in all of No10. An acting Chief of Staff who doesn’t understand the Labour Party and never has, and a PM who desperately needs his loyalists, except they’re all running public affairs companies now."
If answer is "No" then as long as Chief Whip is on board with Starmer he can delay by-election irrespective of what NEC does.
Lewis Warner
@LewisJWarner
·
1h
NEW: Reform UK councillors in Birmimgham have selected Jex Parkin as leader.
Charles Latchford is Deputy.
They lead the largest group on BCC!
https://x.com/LewisJWarner/status/2053888750363484445
Streeting now 2nd favourite ahead of Rayner.
Miliband also shortening significantly.
Burnham 3.85
Streeting 5.3
Rayner 6.2
Miliband 9.6
Looks to be between those four.
PM is a serious position - you don't play with it like that.
https://x.com/PolitlcsUK/status/2053905515814506834?s=20
Hi, sorry, no I am going into a tunnel, no I can't hear you, no, I am going to have to hang up, the reception is too bad....
It always seems to make the cities happier, and many an autocrat in the real world likes to give it a go too.
The public seem to be like drones all yapping on about change , the media do the same all helped along by politicians doing the same .
Then you have these resignations all yapping on about the same . Wtf is the change people want apart from better public services and more money .
And then you get the grating Polanski , droning on about people so fed up about the status quo . More vacuous nonsense . He’s really beginning to get on my nerves .
The opposition parties range from Reform , deport people allegedly save a load of cash and things will be marvellous . The Greens delusional claptrap with a leader that seems to be a pathological liar . The Tories strangely I find less annoying because they do actually have some policies and don’t seem to think there’s a cosmic cash machine but push me over the edge when it comes to their view on the EU and ECHR .
The Lib Dem’s need a change of leadership . As much as I like Davey he’s turning into Mary Poppins and has become just too sugary .
This country is going to the dogs politically because the public have expectations that can never be met and so we get the politicians we deserve . All peddling rubbish .
The biggest voting block continues to keep hostages and the ransom note is God forbid any changes are made to the Triple Lock . So all the parties continue to indulge them whilst younger people are thrown under a bus .
Anyway rant over !
What Starmer can do to calm things down is this:
Resign as leader of the Labour Party. Invite the NEC to start a process to elect a new leader.
He continues to command a majority in the Commons so stays on as PM.
NEC can then invoke a process to run for a couple of months - hustings and all that
Burnham then gets a shot at becoming an MP - or not if Starmer wants to Larry Grayson him again
Or, stay in denial, insist the Kings Speech is actually relevant, and then we get to watch it fall apart into fractious ruin.
"We’re now seeing a steady drip drip of Wes Streeting supporters, of increasing seniority, going over the top to call on Starmer to go. Number 10 is braced for ministerial resignations to follow. Team Streeting is resolutely silent, but Labour insiders reading the tea leaves are drawing the conclusion that we should expect a Streeting challenge against Starmer in the coming hours or days. But, importantly, this isn’t just a drip drip of Streeting supporters now making a charge. There are Burnham supporters among the frontbenchers calling on Starmer to go, such as Jameson, the first PPS to stick her head above the parapet. The pressure is coming from several directions, suggesting perhaps a level of coordination between rival camps, or simply a decision in different parts of the party that the current situation is unsustainable.
The cabinet is meeting at 9am tomorrow morning. Some expect Streeting may have launched a challenge by then, others that that will be the moment for cabinet ministers to tell Starmer to go. “You don’t need to bother with delegations of ministers going to see Keir to tell him to go,” one insider joked, “because conveniently they’re all going to meet tomorrow morning anyway.”"
https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/westminster/2026/05/its-happening
I was just looking for old posts about Starmer, and somehow yours shone through the rest!
Yet another close ally of Wes Streeting - and a PPS to David Lammy to boot - goes over the top
Melanie Ward delivers a blunt assessment and calls for a "rapid process" to deliver a new leader - one that would inevitably favour Streeting
'It is clear that the prime minister no longer has the trust or confidence of the public to lead this change'
She is the fifth to call for Starmer to resign and one of a growing band of Streetingites (???) who think he should go
Weren't you saying you were part of the Burnham orchestration?
Streeting is orchestrating the coup is my judgment.
1) The NEV from the locals wasn't that great for the right of centre parties combined.
2) Reform are on a downward trend
3) Farage's approval ratings are bad
4) Governments always take a kicking mid term
5) A new Labour leader could fare better than Starmer
6) Wales showed anti Reform tactical voting, no surprise if your approval rating is bad
7) The £5m donation story may be very difficult/impossible to brush off
Of course we are in a unprecedented period. But that would be another reason not to be too sure you're on to a winner.
Admittedly Forbes isn't an MP, but lots of people think that doesn't disqualify another Cantabrigensian.
I’m outside No 10 Downing Street tonight and hearing that the takeaways are being ordered in. It’s going to be a long night as PM and team battle for survival. Now 63 MPs calling for him to go, including 5 ministerial aides - four of whom have quit govt
https://x.com/BethRigby/status/2053914812782891492
The number of MPs calling for him to go is accelerating. This isn't dying out as a story, its getting louder and faster.
Ironically I think the Kings Speech makes the pressure acute. If they get to Wednesday morning and there's 200 MPs saying go and ministerial resignations, it would be hugely embarrassing to the King if he's brought in to read a "My government will" speech which everyone knows won't carry through the Commons.