All I want is for a PM that doesn’t step on so many obvious rakes.
Starmer has been terrible. But he’s also made it so much worse for himself with his own self-inflicted mistakes. Any replacement who is likely to run would improve on that.
Wes doesn’t strike me as a Liz Truss. Labour could do a lot worse.
He's not a Liz in terms of being completely loopy and totally unfit to be anywhere near the levers of power, but a Liz in terms of being only being PM briefly before he, too, is ousted.
One thing is clear, Labour are going LEFT and Wes is generally to the RIGHT of most of them... So it ain't gonna work.
It's just rather unsporting of the country that it's clearly to the right of where the government is now, never mind where it might end up if the Labour left get hold of it.
I can only assume that they all really, really want PM Farage. Otherwise they'd be picking Mahmood, as she's about the only one who seems to understand roughly where the country is at.
Labour are doing what they always do in times of trouble and strife (1970s and early 80s and again in the 2010s) retreating into their left wing comfort zone... It always ends the same way as well...
Well, if you are right.. I guess they'd least destroy the Greens (think it should be obvious that Polanksi is a fraud, who can put back into his box), retaining enough seats to be the Opposition and be in a position to pick up the pieces when a Farage minority government crashes and burns. Well, maybe.
Wes doesn’t strike me as a Liz Truss. Labour could do a lot worse.
He's not a Liz in terms of being completely loopy and totally unfit to be anywhere near the levers of power, but a Liz in terms of being only being PM briefly before he, too, is ousted.
One thing is clear, Labour are going LEFT and Wes is generally to the RIGHT of most of them... So it ain't gonna work.
Is it clear that Labour is going left? The membership has basically halved in the last few years and if the membership is anything like the voters at large it's the left half that's left.
Yeah the people that are left are people like me that were once fans of Keir Starmer.
I thoght you were a fan of Badenoch? Or was that just a psycho drama of the type so beloved by Big_G?
I think she’s a good leader yes. Like I thought Cameron was.
Maybe Farage's prediction of a 2027 General Election will turn out to be accurate. It could all fall apart for Labour if they get this wrong.
It won't, Turkey Labour MPs won't vote to get eaten by Farage before 2029 at least or they have a new leader with a big poll lead
Labour MPs don't have to vote for anything though? All that has to happen is the PM decides we're having an election and... we're having an election.
Remember, most Tory MPs didn't want an election in July 2024. They wanted to wait until October or November. It was pretty much Rishi alone that decided to go in July '24 and nobody could stop him as it's the one power and decision that is purely that of the Prime Minister....
Something which the Tories and Labour both supported as each promised to repeal the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act.
Cabinet ministers tell Starmer to consider his position
Sir Keir Starmer has been told by senior cabinet ministers to consider setting out a timeline for his departure after more than 70 Labour MPs called for him to go.
The Times has been told that at least three ministers including Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, have told Starmer that he should consider his position.
Cabinet ministers are expected to tell Starmer at cabinet on Tuesday that he needs to stand down amid concerns that his position is now unsustainable.
Shabana Mahmood could be the John Major of this contest if the other rival factions cancel each other out.
Yvette Cooper is my John Major candidate.
Cooper is far more likely than Mahmood and as Foreign Secretary a strong contender given new PMs for a party in power always have held one of the 3 Great Offices of State, neither Burnham nor Streeting nor Rayner have. Labour are also hardly likely to go back to Ed Miliband either who led them to humiliating defeat in the 2015 GE
That would be sensible. The evidence of the last couple of days is that the Labour Party have decided to give up on being sensible.
I suppose that whilst our government is consumed by all this drama, the world is still going to hell in a handcart all over the place.
Probably. And assuming that Hormuz is still closed, it'll have to be a handcart soon.
In I am always right news.
Saudi Aramco warns fuel stocks heading for ‘critically low levels’
Amin Nasser warns depletion of gasoline and jet fuel inventories is ‘rapidly accelerating’ due to Hormuz closure
Saudi Aramco has warned that the world’s stocks of gasoline and jet fuel could reach “critically low levels” ahead of the summer months if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, in a pointed intervention by the world’s largest oil company.
Amin Nasser, Saudi Aramco’s chief executive, said on Monday that the depletion of “onshore inventories” was “rapidly accelerating” with refined fuels like gasoline and jet fuel showing the fastest decline.
He added that since the start of the Iran war and the near closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the world had lost a cumulative 1bn barrels of oil supplies, with another 100mn barrels lost every week that the strait stays closed.
Inventories are “the only buffer that is available today” but they have been “materially depleted”, Nasser said.
Nasser’s comments, which he made after the company reported an increase in earnings in the first three months of the year, add to a chorus of voices warning that the oil shock created by the Iran war could be on the brink of a new and more disruptive phase.
Oil prices have swung wildly in the last 10 weeks, rising as high as $126 a barrel in late April before falling back towards $100 a barrel, as the Trump administration has signalled it is looking for a long-term resolution to the conflict.
But the closure of the strait, through which a fifth of global oil supplies normally flow, has already forced some Asian countries to curtail demand while western countries have had to lean more heavily on commercial and strategic reserves.
JPMorgan warned on Monday that commercial oil inventories in the developed world could “approach operational stress levels” by early June, limiting the world’s ability to keep absorbing the loss of Middle Eastern supplies by drawing oil out of storage.
Cabinet ministers tell Starmer to consider his position
Sir Keir Starmer has been told by senior cabinet ministers to consider setting out a timeline for his departure after more than 70 Labour MPs called for him to go.
The Times has been told that at least three ministers including Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, have told Starmer that he should consider his position.
Cabinet ministers are expected to tell Starmer at cabinet on Tuesday that he needs to stand down amid concerns that his position is now unsustainable.
Shabana Mahmood could be the John Major of this contest if the other rival factions cancel each other out.
Yvette Cooper is my John Major candidate.
Cooper is far more likely than Mahmood and as Foreign Secretary a strong contender given new PMs for a party in power always have held one of the 3 Great Offices of State, neither Burnham nor Streeting nor Rayner have. Labour are also hardly likely to go back to Ed Miliband either who led them to humiliating defeat in the 2015 GE
I don't think she would run, aiui she still has pretty severe chronic fatigue syndrome/ME.
Does she have that? I didn't know. That makes me sympathetic
I have to say (and this is not meant ungallantly) she has looked a little pale and unwell, and she's not performed as a minister. I thought it was just age or weariness, if she is actually sick, then that's a damn shame. She was good fun and a good sport when she was a PB-er
Again, not being ungallant, it says so much about the lack of quality in Labour that someone with such a difficult condition is Foreign Secretary.
It says much about Starmer's judgement that she replaced David Lammy who was doing quite well.
Playing musical chairs with cabinet posts in a new government is never a good sign.
My suspicion is that Lammy was moved at Mandelson's request (possibly via McSweeney) as the Foreign Secretary was getting too much credit for his work with the American regime.
Wes doesn’t strike me as a Liz Truss. Labour could do a lot worse.
He's not a Liz in terms of being completely loopy and totally unfit to be anywhere near the levers of power, but a Liz in terms of being only being PM briefly before he, too, is ousted.
One thing is clear, Labour are going LEFT and Wes is generally to the RIGHT of most of them... So it ain't gonna work.
Is it clear that Labour is going left? The membership has basically halved in the last few years and if the membership is anything like the voters at large it's the left half that's left.
Yeah the people that are left are people like me that were once fans of Keir Starmer.
I thoght you were a fan of Badenoch? Or was that just a psycho drama of the type so beloved by Big_G?
At least neither of us are fans of the absurd Polanski
I supported Sir Keir, I was proud to do so and he was clearly the best choice in 2020.
But things move on, I accept he’s not been a good PM and in ma many ways I feel duped that I honestly thought he had a plan. I was wrong. I accept that.
It can be anyone except Rayner or Miliband. Burnham is the best even though I don’t like him but he’s not an MP
Wes doesn’t strike me as a Liz Truss. Labour could do a lot worse.
He's not a Liz in terms of being completely loopy and totally unfit to be anywhere near the levers of power, but a Liz in terms of being only being PM briefly before he, too, is ousted.
One thing is clear, Labour are going LEFT and Wes is generally to the RIGHT of most of them... So it ain't gonna work.
I’m not convinced the 2024 intake is very left
They probably were not inherently so, but most MPs are not all that ideological (within the bounds of the party they have chosen) and will go along with the direction of the leadership if it seems competent and reasonably popular. So if going left is what would achieve that, and that sounds like it could, then I feel like most would go along with it.
Cabinet ministers tell Starmer to consider his position
Sir Keir Starmer has been told by senior cabinet ministers to consider setting out a timeline for his departure after more than 70 Labour MPs called for him to go.
The Times has been told that at least three ministers including Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, have told Starmer that he should consider his position.
Cabinet ministers are expected to tell Starmer at cabinet on Tuesday that he needs to stand down amid concerns that his position is now unsustainable.
Shabana Mahmood could be the John Major of this contest if the other rival factions cancel each other out.
Yvette Cooper is my John Major candidate.
Cooper is far more likely than Mahmood and as Foreign Secretary a strong contender given new PMs for a party in power always have held one of the 3 Great Offices of State, neither Burnham nor Streeting nor Rayner have. Labour are also hardly likely to go back to Ed Miliband either who led them to humiliating defeat in the 2015 GE
I don't think she would run, aiui she still has pretty severe chronic fatigue syndrome/ME.
Does she have that? I didn't know. That makes me sympathetic
I have to say (and this is not meant ungallantly) she has looked a little pale and unwell, and she's not performed as a minister. I thought it was just age or weariness, if she is actually sick, then that's a damn shame. She was good fun and a good sport when she was a PB-er
Again, not being ungallant, it says so much about the lack of quality in Labour that someone with such a difficult condition is Foreign Secretary.
It says much about Starmer's judgement that she replaced David Lammy who was doing quite well.
Playing musical chairs with cabinet posts in a new government is never a good sign.
My suspicion is that Lammy was moved at Mandelson's request (possibly via McSweeney) as the Foreign Secretary was getting too much credit for his work with the American regime.
Nah, Lammy hated the flying/being away from his family.
He's happy at Justice, he sees a lot of unfairness in the justice system and wants to correct that.
Maybe Farage's prediction of a 2027 General Election will turn out to be accurate. It could all fall apart for Labour if they get this wrong.
It won't, Turkey Labour MPs won't vote to get eaten by Farage before 2029 at least or they have a new leader with a big poll lead
Labour MPs don't have to vote for anything though? All that has to happen is the PM decides we're having an election and... we're having an election.
Remember, most Tory MPs didn't want an election in July 2024. They wanted to wait until October or November. It was pretty much Rishi alone that decided to go in July '24 and nobody could stop him as it's the one power and decision that is purely that of the Prime Minister....
Starmer might threaten that if he feels it was his only way to stay in power but Labour MPs would probably then back down and otherwise if they did not the King would just tell them to get on with a leadership election while Starmer stays PM in the meantime. Labour has a clear majority and 3 years left of its term
Cabinet ministers tell Starmer to consider his position
Sir Keir Starmer has been told by senior cabinet ministers to consider setting out a timeline for his departure after more than 70 Labour MPs called for him to go.
The Times has been told that at least three ministers including Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, have told Starmer that he should consider his position.
Cabinet ministers are expected to tell Starmer at cabinet on Tuesday that he needs to stand down amid concerns that his position is now unsustainable.
Shabana Mahmood could be the John Major of this contest if the other rival factions cancel each other out.
Yvette Cooper is my John Major candidate.
Cooper is far more likely than Mahmood and as Foreign Secretary a strong contender given new PMs for a party in power always have held one of the 3 Great Offices of State, neither Burnham nor Streeting nor Rayner have. Labour are also hardly likely to go back to Ed Miliband either who led them to humiliating defeat in the 2015 GE
That would be sensible. The evidence of the last couple of days is that the Labour Party have decided to give up on being sensible.
I suppose that whilst our government is consumed by all this drama, the world is still going to hell in a handcart all over the place.
Bugger all we can do about that, so might as well be distracted by factional silliness.
What about - and give me some leeway here - parallel leadership contests? One with Andy Burnham that assumes he wins a by-election and one without in case he gets his arse handed to him by the Greens?
What the fuck do they do with the King's Speech? Parliament gets opened on Wednesday with no functioning government and no program to announce. At least not one that will last more than 5 minutes
Charles could say he's lost his voice. Might buy a couple of days.
Cabinet ministers tell Starmer to consider his position
Sir Keir Starmer has been told by senior cabinet ministers to consider setting out a timeline for his departure after more than 70 Labour MPs called for him to go.
The Times has been told that at least three ministers including Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, have told Starmer that he should consider his position.
Cabinet ministers are expected to tell Starmer at cabinet on Tuesday that he needs to stand down amid concerns that his position is now unsustainable.
Shabana Mahmood could be the John Major of this contest if the other rival factions cancel each other out.
Yvette Cooper is my John Major candidate.
Cooper is far more likely than Mahmood and as Foreign Secretary a strong contender given new PMs for a party in power always have held one of the 3 Great Offices of State, neither Burnham nor Streeting nor Rayner have. Labour are also hardly likely to go back to Ed Miliband either who led them to humiliating defeat in the 2015 GE
That would be sensible. The evidence of the last couple of days is that the Labour Party have decided to give up on being sensible.
I suppose that whilst our government is consumed by all this drama, the world is still going to hell in a handcart all over the place.
Probably. And assuming that Hormuz is still closed, it'll have to be a handcart soon.
In I am always right news.
Saudi Aramco warns fuel stocks heading for ‘critically low levels’
Amin Nasser warns depletion of gasoline and jet fuel inventories is ‘rapidly accelerating’ due to Hormuz closure
Saudi Aramco has warned that the world’s stocks of gasoline and jet fuel could reach “critically low levels” ahead of the summer months if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, in a pointed intervention by the world’s largest oil company.
Amin Nasser, Saudi Aramco’s chief executive, said on Monday that the depletion of “onshore inventories” was “rapidly accelerating” with refined fuels like gasoline and jet fuel showing the fastest decline.
He added that since the start of the Iran war and the near closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the world had lost a cumulative 1bn barrels of oil supplies, with another 100mn barrels lost every week that the strait stays closed.
Inventories are “the only buffer that is available today” but they have been “materially depleted”, Nasser said.
Nasser’s comments, which he made after the company reported an increase in earnings in the first three months of the year, add to a chorus of voices warning that the oil shock created by the Iran war could be on the brink of a new and more disruptive phase.
Oil prices have swung wildly in the last 10 weeks, rising as high as $126 a barrel in late April before falling back towards $100 a barrel, as the Trump administration has signalled it is looking for a long-term resolution to the conflict.
But the closure of the strait, through which a fifth of global oil supplies normally flow, has already forced some Asian countries to curtail demand while western countries have had to lean more heavily on commercial and strategic reserves.
JPMorgan warned on Monday that commercial oil inventories in the developed world could “approach operational stress levels” by early June, limiting the world’s ability to keep absorbing the loss of Middle Eastern supplies by drawing oil out of storage.
Trump will announce the world's best deal soon. Iran are suffering I am sure, but he's been pushing back further aggression over and over again, he wouldn't do that unless he wanted a resolution that the Iranians won't mock by sending out a few more missiles days later.
The Fox News will announce the Iranian regime has been defeated and Trump has restored peace in the world, and all those with Trump Derangement Syndrome said the war would never end.
What about - and give me some leeway here - parallel leadership contests? One with Andy Burnham that assumes he wins a by-election and one without in case he gets his arse handed to him by the Greens?
iirc the NEC has the power to change the rules, so it could be done.
What about - and give me some leeway here - parallel leadership contests? One with Andy Burnham that assumes he wins a by-election and one without in case he gets his arse handed to him by the Greens?
Reminds me of my plan for the Tories in 2024, which would have been to go in with no leader but have all the leader candidates pitch their version of the party so they could appeal to as wide a section of the public as possible.
I supported Sir Keir, I was proud to do so and he was clearly the best choice in 2020.
But things move on, I accept he’s not been a good PM and in ma many ways I feel duped that I honestly thought he had a plan. I was wrong. I accept that.
It can be anyone except Rayner or Miliband. Burnham is the best even though I don’t like him but he’s not an MP
In fairness to tge you of five years ago, he was up against Lisa Nandy and Rebecca Long-Bailey. Rubbish though he's been, it's hard to conclude there was a better alternative. Even at the time, I remember Labour members describing him as Keir "he'll do, I suppose" Starmer.
I supported Sir Keir, I was proud to do so and he was clearly the best choice in 2020.
But things move on, I accept he’s not been a good PM and in ma many ways I feel duped that I honestly thought he had a plan. I was wrong. I accept that.
It can be anyone except Rayner or Miliband. Burnham is the best even though I don’t like him but he’s not an MP
McSweeney had a plan; Starmer was his front man. Cf Dominic Cummings and Boris.
Trump threatens Iran, although no sign he won’t just TACO again
Filipino Vice President impeached (again)
Office of the High Representative In Bosnia resigns
Voting Rights Act gutted in America, with rampant gerrymandering in the Confederacy ahead of the mid terms.
Oh, and RFK is in charge of the US response to Hantavirus exposed cruise passengers. What could possibly go wrong?
Children of the blitz on BBC2 Made this year, the interviewees are in amazing mental and physical health for their age. 35000 tonnes of bombs, 40000 killed. Aerial bombing of civilian areas should be an automatic war crime.
I supported Sir Keir, I was proud to do so and he was clearly the best choice in 2020.
But things move on, I accept he’s not been a good PM and in ma many ways I feel duped that I honestly thought he had a plan. I was wrong. I accept that.
It can be anyone except Rayner or Miliband. Burnham is the best even though I don’t like him but he’s not an MP
McSweeney had a plan; Starmer was his front man. Cf Dominic Cummings and Boris.
If McSweeney had a plan why has Sir Keir been so poor?
It basically went from bad to worse as soon as Gray left.
Wes doesn’t strike me as a Liz Truss. Labour could do a lot worse.
He's not a Liz in terms of being completely loopy and totally unfit to be anywhere near the levers of power, but a Liz in terms of being only being PM briefly before he, too, is ousted.
One thing is clear, Labour are going LEFT and Wes is generally to the RIGHT of most of them... So it ain't gonna work.
Is it clear that Labour is going left? The membership has basically halved in the last few years and if the membership is anything like the voters at large it's the left half that's left.
Yeah the people that are left are people like me that were once fans of Keir Starmer.
I thoght you were a fan of Badenoch? Or was that just a psycho drama of the type so beloved by Big_G?
At least neither of us are fans of the absurd Polanski
I supported Sir Keir, I was proud to do so and he was clearly the best choice in 2020.
But things move on, I accept he’s not been a good PM and in ma many ways I feel duped that I honestly thought he had a plan. I was wrong. I accept that.
It can be anyone except Rayner or Miliband. Burnham is the best even though I don’t like him but he’s not an MP
McSweeney had a plan; Starmer was his front man. Cf Dominic Cummings and Boris.
If McSweeney had a plan why has Sir Keir been so poor?
It basically went from bad to worse as soon as Gray left.
NEW: No 10 has come out fighting tonight, announcing replacements for the six junior ministerial aides who publicly called for Starmer's resignation earlier today
Sir Keir Starmer is resisting calls from senior Cabinet ministers to stand down
He’s just announced six new PPS appointments to replace those who quit after calling for him to go
Loyal ministers say he stands by his position from this morning - he will not walk away
This is going to get very, very messy indeed
This doesn't sound messy to me. He's Prime Minister, he's got a majority, he's got loads of new MPs so if some of the ministers want to quit he can bring some new blood in.
If someone thinks they'd do a better job they can get 80 signatures and have a leadership challenge, there are perfectly good rules in place for how to do that.
I supported Sir Keir, I was proud to do so and he was clearly the best choice in 2020.
But things move on, I accept he’s not been a good PM and in ma many ways I feel duped that I honestly thought he had a plan. I was wrong. I accept that.
It can be anyone except Rayner or Miliband. Burnham is the best even though I don’t like him but he’s not an MP
McSweeney had a plan; Starmer was his front man. Cf Dominic Cummings and Boris.
If McSweeney had a plan why has Sir Keir been so poor?
It basically went from bad to worse as soon as Gray left.
You used to rave about mcsweeney, or at least about his election strategy. I suggest that Labour had a uniquely lucky situation that led Starmer to think he had a mandate. He got fewer votes than Corbyn for fecks sake. And then with the chance to be radical he’s cowered back from every tough choice. I think that Starmer would have been fine pre 2008. But since then, since the new economic normal, all PMs are expected to work miracles, and none can.
I supported Sir Keir, I was proud to do so and he was clearly the best choice in 2020.
But things move on, I accept he’s not been a good PM and in ma many ways I feel duped that I honestly thought he had a plan. I was wrong. I accept that.
It can be anyone except Rayner or Miliband. Burnham is the best even though I don’t like him but he’s not an MP
In fairness to tge you of five years ago, he was up against Lisa Nandy and Rebecca Long-Bailey. Rubbish though he's been, it's hard to conclude there was a better alternative. Even at the time, I remember Labour members describing him as Keir "he'll do, I suppose" Starmer.
Strange you should say that. Exactly the same thing was said about Mr Burnham before Mr Corbyn's efforts took off.
Sir Keir Starmer is resisting calls from senior Cabinet ministers to stand down
He’s just announced six new PPS appointments to replace those who quit after calling for him to go
Loyal ministers say he stands by his position from this morning - he will not walk away
This is going to get very, very messy indeed
This doesn't sound messy to me. He's Prime Minister, he's got a majority, he's got loads of new MPs so if some of the ministers want to quit he can bring some new blood in.
If someone thinks they'd do a better job they can get 80 signatures and have a leadership challenge, there are perfectly good rules in place for how to do that.
Usually people break before the challenge, the way most people 'resign' when told to or they will be sacked. But on rare occasions people say 'No, if you want to sack me, do it', 'No, if you want to remove me, challenge me properly'.
One wonders why football doesn’t just implement a stopping clock, akin to rugby. * Hard to see where 13 minutes came from.
*Except of course football hates learning from other sports, especially rugby.
Because it is institutionally stupid.
Hard not to disagree. Var could genuinely have been useful. About three times a season a terriblecwrong would be righted. But no, they couldn’t stop at the Lampard non goal and Maradonas punch and Henry’s handball.
NEW: No 10 has come out fighting tonight, announcing replacements for the six junior ministerial aides who publicly called for Starmer's resignation earlier today
At the moment there is roughly 70 calling for him to stand down which means there are roughly 330 who are not. None of the cabinet has broken ranks yet. Its going to take that to bring this to a crisis.
One wonders why football doesn’t just implement a stopping clock, akin to rugby. * Hard to see where 13 minutes came from.
*Except of course football hates learning from other sports, especially rugby.
Because it is institutionally stupid.
They could also end the culture of shouting at and bullying referees in one afternoon by backing instant yellow or red cards for anyone who does it, but don't have the balls as all clubs would moan it was ruining the game to punish players for it.
This "Quality Streeting" plan feels like a galaxy brain effort from Wes. After eight or so ministers have told Starmer to go his enemies are happy to revel in his discomfort. But there are no heroes in politics and given the flakiness of his plan, celebrations will likely be in short supply in the Streeting camp.
NEW: No 10 has come out fighting tonight, announcing replacements for the six junior ministerial aides who publicly called for Starmer's resignation earlier today
At the moment there is roughly 70 calling for him to stand down which means there are roughly 330 who are not. None of the cabinet has broken ranks yet. Its going to take that to bring this to a crisis.
What about the 4 who have been to see Starmer tonight? Including the Home Secretary
NEW: No 10 has come out fighting tonight, announcing replacements for the six junior ministerial aides who publicly called for Starmer's resignation earlier today
At the moment there is roughly 70 calling for him to stand down which means there are roughly 330 who are not. None of the cabinet has broken ranks yet. Its going to take that to bring this to a crisis.
Hearing Yvette Cooper is calling for Starmer to go.
I think if he's lost of the support of two thirds of the Great Offices of State then the situation is a trifle sticky for him.
One wonders why football doesn’t just implement a stopping clock, akin to rugby. * Hard to see where 13 minutes came from.
*Except of course football hates learning from other sports, especially rugby.
Because it is institutionally stupid.
Hard not to disagree. Var could genuinely have been useful. About three times a season a terriblecwrong would be righted. But no, they couldn’t stop at the Lampard non goal and Maradonas punch and Henry’s handball.
The new offside rule being trialed sounds a million times better than the 'your pinky finger was past the last man' approach they use now.
NEW: No 10 has come out fighting tonight, announcing replacements for the six junior ministerial aides who publicly called for Starmer's resignation earlier today
At the moment there is roughly 70 calling for him to stand down which means there are roughly 330 who are not. None of the cabinet has broken ranks yet. Its going to take that to bring this to a crisis.
What about the 4 who have been to see Starmer tonight? Including the Home Secretary
They haven't quit. At least not yet. The resignations were the final straw for Boris. Starmer is threatening them with the rapid replacement of those who have quit.
One wonders why football doesn’t just implement a stopping clock, akin to rugby. * Hard to see where 13 minutes came from.
*Except of course football hates learning from other sports, especially rugby.
Because it is institutionally stupid.
They could also end the culture of shouting at and bullying referees in one afternoon by backing instant yellow or red cards for anyone who does it, but don't have the balls as all clubs would moan it was ruining the game to punish players for it.
Yep. First game of the season. Proper tough on any backchat. Games might end up 7 vs 6 for a game or two, but they’d adapt.
Have to be careful with replacements. Remember Zahawi accepting a job from Boris to replace Sunak then calling for him to resign 48 hours later? What a snake.
Must have made the final few Cabinets during the leadership contest awkward.
This "Quality Streeting" plan feels like a galaxy brain effort from Wes. After eight or so ministers have told Starmer to go his enemies are happy to revel in his discomfort. But there are no heroes in politics and given the flakiness of his plan, celebrations will likely be in short supply in the Streeting camp.
If he has choreographed this he has shown more ability to run the country in 1 night than Starmer has in 2 years.
I believe the famous Barbone was actually called 'Praise-God' Barebone, which is must more reasonable.
He was.
I once met a Nigerian man with 14 Christian names.
Two current students of mine havre been lumped with names that make me smile. Marvellous and Blessings. And they don’t appear to use nicknames.
I like Zimbabweans with good old fashioned British Christians names but with an absolutely unpronounceable Zimbabwean surname.
Always tickles me when I meet a black man with the first name Enoch.
It took me far to long why (a) Winston Smith in 1984 is called Winston and (b) why so many Afro-Caribbean men were called Winston. I can be very slow on the uptake at times.
Seems to have been a very forgettable man in his youth, prone to exaggerations as well given his claiming positions he did not hold, but he also somehow managed to convince people he could increase breast size through hypnosis so he's obviously persuasive - he'll go far.
In fairness I feel like it is up to the council to figure out how much council tax someone should be paying so long as no outright fibs are told.
It is now. Its absurd. In 45 minutes they are saying the ball was out of play 1/3 of the time. Ridiculous.
It's not about the ball being out of play per se like basketball. There's no provision for time added on for the time it takes to take free kicks, goal kicks, corners, throw ins, etc. It's purely for injuries, subs, goals and VAR. No way can that come to 15 except for a very serious injury. I remember an Everton game against Stoke a few years back where three players were stretchered off in the first half and they only got to ten minutes.
One wonders why football doesn’t just implement a stopping clock, akin to rugby. * Hard to see where 13 minutes came from.
*Except of course football hates learning from other sports, especially rugby.
Because it is institutionally stupid.
Hard not to disagree. Var could genuinely have been useful. About three times a season a terriblecwrong would be righted. But no, they couldn’t stop at the Lampard non goal and Maradonas punch and Henry’s handball.
Every othrt sport had found a way of using technology to make the right decisions, without making much of a fuss about it. For years football uttetly refused - then institured VAR with much fanfare as if this was football's brilliant new idea - and made an utter bollocks of it.
It is now. Its absurd. In 45 minutes they are saying the ball was out of play 1/3 of the time. Ridiculous.
It's not about the ball being out of play per se like basketball. There's no provision for time added on for the time it takes to take free kicks, goal kicks, corners, throw ins, etc. It's purely for injuries, subs, goals and VAR. No way can that come to 15 except for a very serious injury. I remember an Everton game against Stoke a few years back where three players were stretchered off in the first half and they only got to ten minutes.
The initial 13 was so long I suggest a miscommunication and then just going with it to save face. The extra 2 in the extra 13 were fair nough, there was another Var. but still odd.
NEW: No 10 has come out fighting tonight, announcing replacements for the six junior ministerial aides who publicly called for Starmer's resignation earlier today
At the moment there is roughly 70 calling for him to stand down which means there are roughly 330 who are not. None of the cabinet has broken ranks yet. Its going to take that to bring this to a crisis.
What about the 4 who have been to see Starmer tonight? Including the Home Secretary
They haven't quit. At least not yet. The resignations were the final straw for Boris. Starmer is threatening them with the rapid replacement of those who have quit.
It didn't take mass resignations to get Thatcher to quit. It was conversations behind closed doors revealing the loss of support from her Cabinet
I still wonder, without evidence (who needs it) if Starmer's inability to control his backbenchers despite a massive majority in part comes down to not really having ever been a backbencher. Now that those marked for the top get jobs within years of being elected (months in his case), they have no real sense of what it is like. Maybe one parliament at least before you get a top job.
A counter argument to my own argument - Boris, who had experience on the backbenchers, but failed to control his MPs too, due to being a chaotic individual always causing them trouble.
What about - and give me some leeway here - parallel leadership contests? One with Andy Burnham that assumes he wins a by-election and one without in case he gets his arse handed to him by the Greens?
iirc the NEC has the power to change the rules, so it could be done.
Whenever I see NEC I think. They used to sponsor Everton.
One wonders why football doesn’t just implement a stopping clock, akin to rugby. * Hard to see where 13 minutes came from.
*Except of course football hates learning from other sports, especially rugby.
Because it is institutionally stupid.
Hard not to disagree. Var could genuinely have been useful. About three times a season a terriblecwrong would be righted. But no, they couldn’t stop at the Lampard non goal and Maradonas punch and Henry’s handball.
Every othrt sport had found a way of using technology to make the right decisions, without making much of a fuss about it. For years football uttetly refused - then institured VAR with much fanfare as if this was football's brilliant new idea - and made an utter bollocks of it.
Rugby has been pretty good but in recent times the overuse of super slo mo has turned genuine rugby accidents into something more sinister. Add in a baying crowd as every replay is shown and we start to see some very harsh officiating.
Unless you are a French team playing in France, of course, where the TV director ‘has no clearer angles’, as Bath found to their cast.
AI data center project secretly sucked 29 million gallons of water over 15 months before detected by residents complaining about low water pressure — officials refuse to fine builders of massive 6.2 million-square-foot facility over unauthorized water use
I refuse to believe Streeting is three years older than me if 11 years ago he looked 20 years old.
Makes you wonder why anyone wants to be PM if that's what it does to you.
Being famous and powerful, and probably access to becoming rich after you leave office depending how shameless you want to be, at the cost of being a little more haggard? Easy.
London being a much healthier place and easier to get away from too, it's not so much of a hazard as it used to eb either.
At the last PMQs before the recess and out of view of the TV cameras but clearly visible from the Peers' gallery was John Healey, standing prominently at the bar of the commons, not on the front bench.
As I remarked to my Noble Friends, "there you go, he's next."
He's the one to watch.
With the Kings Garden Party tomorrow there's not a long of time for him to rehearse another Speech on Wednesday
NEW: No 10 has come out fighting tonight, announcing replacements for the six junior ministerial aides who publicly called for Starmer's resignation earlier today
At the moment there is roughly 70 calling for him to stand down which means there are roughly 330 who are not. None of the cabinet has broken ranks yet. Its going to take that to bring this to a crisis.
What about the 4 who have been to see Starmer tonight? Including the Home Secretary
They haven't quit. At least not yet. The resignations were the final straw for Boris. Starmer is threatening them with the rapid replacement of those who have quit.
Presumably if Starmer doesn't stand down voluntarily after cabinet, then the ministerial resignations will start
At the last PMQs before the recess and out of view of the TV cameras but clearly visible from the Peers' gallery was John Healey, standing prominently at the bar of the commons, not on the front bench.
As I remarked to my Noble Friends, "there you go, he's next."
He's the one to watch.
With the Kings Garden Party tomorrow there's not a long of time for him to rehearse another Speech on Wednesday
Bunnco - Your man on the spot
@bunnco , welcome back! But no, I don't see Healey winning anything.
Sir Keir Starmer is resisting calls from senior Cabinet ministers to stand down
He’s just announced six new PPS appointments to replace those who quit after calling for him to go
Loyal ministers say he stands by his position from this morning - he will not walk away
This is going to get very, very messy indeed
This doesn't sound messy to me. He's Prime Minister, he's got a majority, he's got loads of new MPs so if some of the ministers want to quit he can bring some new blood in.
If someone thinks they'd do a better job they can get 80 signatures and have a leadership challenge, there are perfectly good rules in place for how to do that.
Usually people break before the challenge, the way most people 'resign' when told to or they will be sacked. But on rare occasions people say 'No, if you want to sack me, do it', 'No, if you want to remove me, challenge me properly'.
We shall see if he forces the issue.
Maybe I'm out-of-touch here but it's not clear to me that Starmer loses a challenge.
I think the left rank him over Streeting and the right rank him over Rayner. And people who really, really want it to be Burnham might want to keep him in place until Burnham can run, which Starmer can ensure never actually happens.
Also I know he hasn't shown himself to be brilliant at using this but he's Prime Minister, he has some control over the agenda that the other contenders don't.
Cooper or Miliband or somebody might be able to attract transfers from both sides but it's not clear they're interested in running.
At the last PMQs before the recess and out of view of the TV cameras but clearly visible from the Peers' gallery was John Healey, standing prominently at the bar of the commons, not on the front bench.
As I remarked to my Noble Friends, "there you go, he's next."
He's the one to watch.
With the Kings Garden Party tomorrow there's not a long of time for him to rehearse another Speech on Wednesday
Bunnco - Your man on the spot
@bunnco , welcome back! But no, I don't see Healey winning anything.
I've been lurking since joining Big School but Healey is a big beast and he knew what he was doing.
I think Elizabeth II had around 15 PMs in 70 years. Charles might be on to his 4th in less than 5 years, so he might yet catch up despite looking at a reign of probably 10-15 years.
Sir Keir Starmer is resisting calls from senior Cabinet ministers to stand down
He’s just announced six new PPS appointments to replace those who quit after calling for him to go
Loyal ministers say he stands by his position from this morning - he will not walk away
This is going to get very, very messy indeed
This doesn't sound messy to me. He's Prime Minister, he's got a majority, he's got loads of new MPs so if some of the ministers want to quit he can bring some new blood in.
If someone thinks they'd do a better job they can get 80 signatures and have a leadership challenge, there are perfectly good rules in place for how to do that.
Usually people break before the challenge, the way most people 'resign' when told to or they will be sacked. But on rare occasions people say 'No, if you want to sack me, do it', 'No, if you want to remove me, challenge me properly'.
We shall see if he forces the issue.
Maybe I'm out-of-touch here but it's not clear to me that Starmer loses a challenge.
I think the left rank him over Streeting and the right rank him over Rayner. And people who really, really want it to be Burnham might want to keep him in place until Burnham can run, which Starmer can ensure never actually happens.
Also I know he hasn't shown himself to be brilliant at using this but he's Prime Minister, he has some control over the agenda that the other contenders don't.
Cooper or Miliband or somebody might be able to attract transfers from both sides but it's not clear they're interested in running.
Burnham's last hope being people voting for Starmer now would be a hilarious outcome, but as you suggest requires the PM to hold firm and face a challenge and not announce he will stand down of course.
And as we know winning a challenge doesn't mean you are safe long term, even when a formal rule states you are.
I never saw the late Michael Pennington on stage, regrettably. But here he is in his prime, demonstrating how to command an assembly of bloodthirsty backstabbers. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=i45Y4Hf_so8&ra=m
Useful viewing for Labour challengers looking for oratorical tips.
At the last PMQs before the recess and out of view of the TV cameras but clearly visible from the Peers' gallery was John Healey, standing prominently at the bar of the commons, not on the front bench.
As I remarked to my Noble Friends, "there you go, he's next."
He's the one to watch.
With the Kings Garden Party tomorrow there's not a long of time for him to rehearse another Speech on Wednesday
Bunnco - Your man on the spot
Welcome back, please keep posting.
My legendary modesty prevents me from reminding everyone I tipped Healey at 50s.
I think Elizabeth II had around 15 PMs in 70 years. Charles might be on to his 4th in less than 5 years, so he might yet catch up despite looking at a resign of probably 10-15 years.
Optimistic numbers for King Prince Charles’s reign there.
AI data center project secretly sucked 29 million gallons of water over 15 months before detected by residents complaining about low water pressure — officials refuse to fine builders of massive 6.2 million-square-foot facility over unauthorized water use
Comments
Starmer has been terrible. But he’s also made it so much worse for himself with his own self-inflicted mistakes. Any replacement who is likely to run would improve on that.
Well, maybe.
Don’t be so tribal Roger.
Saudi Aramco warns fuel stocks heading for ‘critically low levels’
Amin Nasser warns depletion of gasoline and jet fuel inventories is ‘rapidly accelerating’ due to Hormuz closure
Saudi Aramco has warned that the world’s stocks of gasoline and jet fuel could reach “critically low levels” ahead of the summer months if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, in a pointed intervention by the world’s largest oil company.
Amin Nasser, Saudi Aramco’s chief executive, said on Monday that the depletion of “onshore inventories” was “rapidly accelerating” with refined fuels like gasoline and jet fuel showing the fastest decline.
He added that since the start of the Iran war and the near closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the world had lost a cumulative 1bn barrels of oil supplies, with another 100mn barrels lost every week that the strait stays closed.
Inventories are “the only buffer that is available today” but they have been “materially depleted”, Nasser said.
Nasser’s comments, which he made after the company reported an increase in earnings in the first three months of the year, add to a chorus of voices warning that the oil shock created by the Iran war could be on the brink of a new and more disruptive phase.
Oil prices have swung wildly in the last 10 weeks, rising as high as $126 a barrel in late April before falling back towards $100 a barrel, as the Trump administration has signalled it is looking for a long-term resolution to the conflict.
But the closure of the strait, through which a fifth of global oil supplies normally flow, has already forced some Asian countries to curtail demand while western countries have had to lean more heavily on commercial and strategic reserves.
JPMorgan warned on Monday that commercial oil inventories in the developed world could “approach operational stress levels” by early June,
limiting the world’s ability to keep absorbing the loss of Middle Eastern supplies by drawing oil out of storage.
https://www.ft.com/content/92e2b3bd-40e5-4a9e-a6c4-c8fa9de83386
But things move on, I accept he’s not been a good PM and in ma many ways I feel duped that I honestly thought he had a plan. I was wrong. I accept that.
It can be anyone except Rayner or Miliband. Burnham is the best even though I don’t like him but he’s not an MP
He's happy at Justice, he sees a lot of unfairness in the justice system and wants to correct that.
Oh, and RFK is in charge of the US response to Hantavirus exposed cruise passengers. What could possibly go wrong?
What about - and give me some leeway here - parallel leadership contests? One with Andy Burnham that assumes he wins a by-election and one without in case he gets his arse handed to him by the Greens?
But until Sadiq Khan indicates he will stand down, he should probably be market leader.
James Cleverly is a big price but not certain to be Conservative candidate (indeed, he could be Leader of the Opposition instead).
But with no contest until 2028 I am not betting.
Might buy a couple of days.
Edit. Finally.
Ironically Leeds came closest to winning it.
The Fox News will announce the Iranian regime has been defeated and Trump has restored peace in the world, and all those with Trump Derangement Syndrome said the war would never end.
Jethro Q. Bunn Whackett Buzzard Stubble and Boot Walrustitty ?
Even at the time, I remember Labour members describing him as Keir "he'll do, I suppose" Starmer.
Didn't watch it but that is about normal
Made this year, the interviewees are in amazing mental and physical health for their age.
35000 tonnes of bombs, 40000 killed.
Aerial bombing of civilian areas should be an automatic war crime.
It basically went from bad to worse as soon as Gray left.
'Unless-Jesus-Christ-Had-Died-For-Thee-Thou-Hadst-Been-Damned Barebone.'
Sir Keir Starmer is resisting calls from senior Cabinet ministers to stand down
He’s just announced six new PPS appointments to replace those who quit after calling for him to go
Loyal ministers say he stands by his position from this morning - he will not walk away
This is going to get very, very messy indeed
https://x.com/LOS_Fisher/status/2053947338696044927
If someone thinks they'd do a better job they can get 80 signatures and have a leadership challenge, there are perfectly good rules in place for how to do that.
I think that Starmer would have been fine pre 2008. But since then, since the new economic normal, all PMs are expected to work miracles, and none can.
I once met a Nigerian man with 14 Christian names.
We shall see if he forces the issue.
Fnarr Fnarr.
https://x.com/keir_starmer/status/598424931051958272
Taking our seats for the 1st time @Catherinewest1 & @wesstreeting
I think if he's lost of the support of two thirds of the Great Offices of State then the situation is a trifle sticky for him.
Must have made the final few Cabinets during the leadership contest awkward.
Always tickles me when I meet a black man with the first name Enoch.
NEW: Green Party leader Zack Polanski has tonight admitted that he failed to pay the correct council tax while living on a houseboat in east London
https://x.com/sammerriman_/status/2053947581776945223
In fairness I feel like it is up to the council to figure out how much council tax someone should be paying so long as no outright fibs are told.
There's no provision for time added on for the time it takes to take free kicks, goal kicks, corners, throw ins, etc.
It's purely for injuries, subs, goals and VAR.
No way can that come to 15 except for a very serious injury.
I remember an Everton game against Stoke a few years back where three players were stretchered off in the first half and they only got to ten minutes.
A counter argument to my own argument - Boris, who had experience on the backbenchers, but failed to control his MPs too, due to being a chaotic individual always causing them trouble.
They used to sponsor Everton.
https://x.com/PippaCrerar/status/2053940778758558082
That's everyone bar the Chancellor. He's done.
Unless you are a French team playing in France, of course, where the TV director ‘has no clearer angles’, as Bath found to their cast.
AI data center project secretly sucked 29 million gallons of water over 15 months before detected by residents complaining about low water pressure — officials refuse to fine builders of massive 6.2 million-square-foot facility over unauthorized water use
https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/georgia-data-center-used-29-million-gallons-of-water
London being a much healthier place and easier to get away from too, it's not so much of a hazard as it used to eb either.
As I remarked to my Noble Friends, "there you go, he's next."
He's the one to watch.
With the Kings Garden Party tomorrow there's not a long of time for him to rehearse another Speech on Wednesday
Bunnco - Your man on the spot
I think the left rank him over Streeting and the right rank him over Rayner. And people who really, really want it to be Burnham might want to keep him in place until Burnham can run, which Starmer can ensure never actually happens.
Also I know he hasn't shown himself to be brilliant at using this but he's Prime Minister, he has some control over the agenda that the other contenders don't.
Cooper or Miliband or somebody might be able to attract transfers from both sides but it's not clear they're interested in running.
Good to be back!
Good news for Rayner!
And as we know winning a challenge doesn't mean you are safe long term, even when a formal rule states you are.
But here he is in his prime, demonstrating how to command an assembly of bloodthirsty backstabbers.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=i45Y4Hf_so8&ra=m
Useful viewing for Labour challengers looking for oratorical tips.
My legendary modesty prevents me from reminding everyone I tipped Healey at 50s.
https://www.politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2026/02/08/could-a-healey-or-benn-finally-lead-labour/
https://bsky.app/profile/andymasley.bsky.social/post/3mlhq3opeyk2i
Good, very nuanced podcast if you're interested in the actual environmental impact of datacenters:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-worried-are-you-about-data-centers-ft-andy-masley/id1390384827?i=1000766767353