EXCL: Senior Labour figures are concerned that the party will be dragged towards “bankruptcy” if Andy Burnham successfully stands as its candidate in the Makerfield by-election, triggering a mayoral by-election and possibly a leadership contest
Not as bankrupt as they'll be if the unions shut the purse which they will if Starmer remains.
What's really staggering is that Starmer would have far exceeded Atlee if he hadn't run such a useless election campaign.
I think the extent to which British politics is still dealing with the fallout from the Truss Ministry is underrated. Voters never liked Starmer, but many felt obliged to give him a landslide majority because of what the Tories had done.
And Reform first sparked into life when Truss was defenestrated, animated by those unwilling to accept that she had blundered so catastrophically.
The Labour vote really surged against the Tories after the Truss and Kwarteng budget. Reform surged under Sunak's premiership and then with the Farage return to lead them and have increased further since Badenoch beat Jenrick to become Tory leader. Now over half the 2019 Boris vote backs Reform, only the posher bit of the 2019 Boris vote is still voting Tory
We need to remember a lot of the 2019 Boris vote was due to Nigel Farage standing down his candidates in Tory seats.
To an extent but there were a number of voters in 2019 who had always voted Labour, lent their vote to Boris but would never vote for another Tory and have now gone to Farage and Reform
Burnham - should it be he - needs to appeal to those voters and he might well succeed with those who have gone Reform because they hate Keir Starmer. But he'll struggle with those who are Reform because of their anti-immigrant rhetoric. Burnham won't be able to chase that vote (I'm happy to say) because of the other thing he needs to do, which is appeal to the larger number of people who have moved from Labour to Green.
Any sentence that contains the phrase Keir Starmer and Greatest leader is misleading without the word not in front of greatest leader.
The one exception would be if it refers to him replacing his predecessor who is clearly in with a shout of greatest leader based on his 2017 achievements where he increased Lab vote share by the largest amount since WW2!
The problem is Starmer could have been an excellent PM if he had acted as he promised prior to the election to govern with integrity and purpose in contrast to the conservatives
And yet, within weeks he was walking around in clothes bought for him, with freebies and even glasses, then embarked on catastrophic decisions starting with the WFA and then followed by 16+ u turns
But far and away his worst failure was the appointment of Mandelson and then sacking anyone and everyone but himself
His behaviour towards Johnson in demanding resignation after resignation has now returned to bite him and his breathtaking hypocrisy by not doing the right thing is unedyfing
G'day. I heard more today from my tory voting acquaintance in Manchester. He owns a pub and recently opened a restaurant.
He loves Andy Burnham and thinks he has "been brilliant for business" in the city. He loves that he gets things done. He was desperately hoping to hold onto Burnham as mayor of Manchester.
The last politician who cut through across the political divide like this was ... Boris.
This is why this guy is such a threat to a Reform or Tory-Reform Government.
Totally agree.
All the Tories I speak to say if Andy Burnham wins the Tories will never win again.
He's being massively underestimated. He's a force of nature.
Kemi sacking Worcestershire Tory Leader for supporting progressive alliance against Reform will alarm a large swathe of moderate Tory Members and Voters.
Caroline Lucas strongly suggesting Greens should not field a candidate in Makers field if Burnham stands, specifically because Burnham is a long term supporter of Proportional Representation.
Both very very significant and potentially important pointers for the future travel of right wing and progressive wing alliances in the medium term future.
It was the Worcestershire Tory Leader agreeing to make a Green Leader of the county council that Kemi rightly ruled unacceptable, it would have meant Reform could now say 'Vote Tory, get Green' had Kemi not told CCHQ to suspend his party membership
Note that part of the issue here appears to be people treating LLMs as an authoritative source. I've seen it disturbingly often on here too. People simply willing to take the word of an LLM as gospel.
They simply aren't reliable. They will make things up, at best, or be coded to purposefully feed you biased bullshit.
OK, so I've checked, and apparently the real problem is people who refuse to believe LLMs.
And, I mean, who am I going to trust on this issue, Claude or you?
THe accounts taking Southampton's side on social media - if they're not explicitly Saints fans - seem to have a remarkable mix of beaches, Union Navy flags, Nelson statues etc on their publicly available profiles.
G'day. I heard more today from my tory voting acquaintance in Manchester. He owns a pub and recently opened a restaurant.
He loves Andy Burnham and thinks he has "been brilliant for business" in the city. He loves that he gets things done. He was desperately hoping to hold onto Burnham as mayor of Manchester.
The last politician who cut through across the political divide like this was ... Boris.
This is why this guy is such a threat to a Reform or Tory-Reform Government.
But we have seen that being perceived as a successful regional mayor does not necessarily mean being a good PM
EXCL: Senior Labour figures are concerned that the party will be dragged towards “bankruptcy” if Andy Burnham successfully stands as its candidate in the Makerfield by-election, triggering a mayoral by-election and possibly a leadership contest
Not as bankrupt as they'll be if the unions shut the purse which they will if Starmer remains.
I understand that tripping over and accidentally giving someone £5 million pounds is common in modern politics. Indeed, to be expected. For absolutely no return or expectation of favours.
Any sentence that contains the phrase Keir Starmer and Greatest leader is misleading without the word not in front of greatest leader.
The one exception would be if it refers to him replacing his predecessor who is clearly in with a shout of greatest leader based on his 2017 achievements where he increased Lab vote share by the largest amount since WW2!
Yet Corbyn still lost even in 2017 and Starmer won a landslide majority in 2024. Starmer knew how to count and that he was fighting an election based on seats won not votes won
Hopefully he can count up to 1496
Apparently not though and Streeting cant even count to 81
Kemi sacking Worcestershire Tory Leader for supporting progressive alliance against Reform will alarm a large swathe of moderate Tory Members and Voters.
Caroline Lucas strongly suggesting Greens should not field a candidate in Makers field if Burnham stands, specifically because Burnham is a long term supporter of Proportional Representation.
Both very very significant and potentially important pointers for the future travel of right wing and progressive wing alliances in the medium term future.
I very much doubt it.
Re Kemi of course it won't and her current popularity including her take down of labour at the Kings speech has been widely praised
Indeed the one way to beat Farage is for Kemi to take centre stage on the right and I expect to see that in the coming months
Those 550 Tory Councilors who lost seats last week, including dozens who she will expect to canvas to save her own seat will be all asking the question.
Which of us are completely and utterly deluded.
The 550 of us it the tone deaf arrogant one in charge.
This is the problem the government has. “We’ve signed a new ECHR declaration… This addresses tackling illegal immigration” … yeah but what? How? Just so much nothingness.
In any event people will read the first bit, say rude words about the government, and then vote reform. They should lead with “WE HAVE AGREED X WITH OTHER EUROPEAN LEADERS WHICH ALLOW US TO DO Y BECAUSE Z” The actual mechanism is not important
Hold on. Courts are expected to rule on the basis of this declaration and not legislation?
Try reading the leaders' agreed statement, which I posted on the last thread. Courts rule on the basis of legislation and precedent, but this is about the members agreeing a common set of principles. If all member states agree on a tougher approach, then that is their business.
The ECHR has less power than is assumed. As the statement says, it is not an appeal court of fourth instance.
I did read it thanks and my point remains that we normally expect courts to act on legislation and case law and not what politicians agree. The Supreme Court recently ignored what legislators' intentions on the trans issue, for example.
International law is somewhat different?
I think all constitutional law (and treaty law is effectively a part of constitutional law, as long as a country is signed up to that treaty) involves something of a balance between executive, legislative and judicial power.
Plenty of us on the liberal side of the fence would argue the the US Supreme Court (for example) has in recent years abrogated power to itself that more properly belongs to the legislature. While what we're talking about here is far less blatant, I don't think we can automatically dismiss complaints for the less liberal side of the political spectrum that the ECHR has, in recent years, shown something of a tendency to intrude on the preserve of the members' own governments.
G'day. I heard more today from my tory voting acquaintance in Manchester. He owns a pub and recently opened a restaurant.
He loves Andy Burnham and thinks he has "been brilliant for business" in the city. He loves that he gets things done. He was desperately hoping to hold onto Burnham as mayor of Manchester.
The last politician who cut through across the political divide like this was ... Boris.
This is why this guy is such a threat to a Reform or Tory-Reform Government.
Hopefully this 'Labour Boris' will bring the charisma and voter appeal but spare us the rest of the package.
Kemi sacking Worcestershire Tory Leader for supporting progressive alliance against Reform will alarm a large swathe of moderate Tory Members and Voters.
Caroline Lucas strongly suggesting Greens should not field a candidate in Makers field if Burnham stands, specifically because Burnham is a long term supporter of Proportional Representation.
Both very very significant and potentially important pointers for the future travel of right wing and progressive wing alliances in the medium term future.
I very much doubt it.
Re Kemi of course it won't and her current popularity including her take down of labour at the Kings speech has been widely praised
Indeed the one way to beat Farage is for Kemi to take centre stage on the right and I expect to see that in the coming months
Those 550 Tory Councilors who lost seats last week, including dozens who she will expect to canvas to save her own seat will be all asking the question.
Which of us are completely and utterly deluded.
The 550 of us it the tone deaf arrogant one in charge.
Ever since you started posting anti Kemi comments, she has risen both within her party and in the public's perception whilst your man is about to lose his job as PM
Kemi will be the one to watch this year, and last wednesday's humilation of the labour party by her and across our television screens must have been terrible for you
Getting ahead of myself a bit, here are the full 2026 council election figures for the whole of Greater Manchester:
Reform 257k, 30.7% Labour 198k, 23.6% Green 160k, 19.1% Conservative 85k, 10.2% LD 79k, 9.5% Ind/Others 58k, 6.9%
I honestly think in the post glow of Burnham going into parliament, the mayoralty would be Labour's to lose, with enough drift back from the other left parties and from the Conservatives to get Labour over the line.
This is not so much the baseline hardcore Green vote of 400ish in each ward, but rather the "defeat Reform" vote in Green leaning wards and the LD vote in Stockport (at the last mayoral election the LD split in Stockport was barely higher than elsewhere).
I don't think the chain of events here ends with a Reform mayor running Greater Manchester, even back under FPTP.
Kemi sacking Worcestershire Tory Leader for supporting progressive alliance against Reform will alarm a large swathe of moderate Tory Members and Voters.
Caroline Lucas strongly suggesting Greens should not field a candidate in Makers field if Burnham stands, specifically because Burnham is a long term supporter of Proportional Representation.
Both very very significant and potentially important pointers for the future travel of right wing and progressive wing alliances in the medium term future.
I very much doubt it.
Re Kemi of course it won't and her current popularity including her take down of labour at the Kings speech has been widely praised
Indeed the one way to beat Farage is for Kemi to take centre stage on the right and I expect to see that in the coming months
Those 550 Tory Councilors who lost seats last week, including dozens who she will expect to canvas to save her own seat will be all asking the question.
Which of us are completely and utterly deluded.
The 550 of us it the tone deaf arrogant one in charge.
Ever since you started posting anti Kemi comments, she has risen both within her party and in the public's perception whilst your man is about to lose his job as PM
Kemi will be the one to watch this year, and last wednesday's humilation of the labour party by her and across our television screens must have been terrible for you
I’m sceptical that Badenoch has the kind of broad appeal required to win an election.
Maybe things will change.
But until they do I file under the kind of opposition leader that loves the party and appeals to and comforts the core.
Getting ahead of myself a bit, here are the full 2026 council election figures for the whole of Greater Manchester:
Reform 257k, 30.7% Labour 198k, 23.6% Green 160k, 19.1% Conservative 85k, 10.2% LD 79k, 9.5% Ind/Others 58k, 6.9%
I honestly think in the post glow of Burnham going into parliament, the mayoralty would be Labour's to lose, with enough drift back from the other left parties and from the Conservatives to get Labour over the line.
This is not so much the baseline hardcore Green vote of 400ish in each wards, but rather the "defeat Reform" vote in Green leaning wards and the LD vote in Stockport (at the last mayoral election the LD split in Stockport was barely higher than elsewhere).
I don't think the chain of events here ends with a Reform mayor running Greater Manchester, even back under FPTP.
Agreed and it is entirely the wrong message for leading labour mps to even suggest it
It is a form of silly blackmail to try to stop Burnham, and everything that is wrong with some senior labour politicians
G'day. I heard more today from my tory voting acquaintance in Manchester. He owns a pub and recently opened a restaurant.
He loves Andy Burnham and thinks he has "been brilliant for business" in the city. He loves that he gets things done. He was desperately hoping to hold onto Burnham as mayor of Manchester.
The last politician who cut through across the political divide like this was ... Boris.
This is why this guy is such a threat to a Reform or Tory-Reform Government.
Andy Burnham is the most odious little rat I think I've ever seen in British politics, which is saying something. A person utterly devoid of principles who would push anyone under a train to further his own ends.
I'm still seething with anger at this "Labour" Government for whom I so mistakenly and bitterly voted
Kemi sacking Worcestershire Tory Leader for supporting progressive alliance against Reform will alarm a large swathe of moderate Tory Members and Voters.
Caroline Lucas strongly suggesting Greens should not field a candidate in Makers field if Burnham stands, specifically because Burnham is a long term supporter of Proportional Representation.
Both very very significant and potentially important pointers for the future travel of right wing and progressive wing alliances in the medium term future.
I very much doubt it.
Re Kemi of course it won't and her current popularity including her take down of labour at the Kings speech has been widely praised
Indeed the one way to beat Farage is for Kemi to take centre stage on the right and I expect to see that in the coming months
Those 550 Tory Councilors who lost seats last week, including dozens who she will expect to canvas to save her own seat will be all asking the question.
Which of us are completely and utterly deluded.
The 550 of us it the tone deaf arrogant one in charge.
Do you think 1,500 LABOUR councillors lost their seats last week because of, or despite Keir Starmer?
This is the problem the government has. “We’ve signed a new ECHR declaration… This addresses tackling illegal immigration” … yeah but what? How? Just so much nothingness.
In any event people will read the first bit, say rude words about the government, and then vote reform. They should lead with “WE HAVE AGREED X WITH OTHER EUROPEAN LEADERS WHICH ALLOW US TO DO Y BECAUSE Z” The actual mechanism is not important
Hold on. Courts are expected to rule on the basis of this declaration and not legislation?
Try reading the leaders' agreed statement, which I posted on the last thread. Courts rule on the basis of legislation and precedent, but this is about the members agreeing a common set of principles. If all member states agree on a tougher approach, then that is their business.
The ECHR has less power than is assumed. As the statement says, it is not an appeal court of fourth instance.
I did read it thanks and my point remains that we normally expect courts to act on legislation and case law and not what politicians agree. The Supreme Court recently ignored what legislators' intentions on the trans issue, for example.
International law is somewhat different?
I think all constitutional law (and treaty law is effectively a part of constitutional law, as long as a country is signed up to that treaty) involves something of a balance between executive, legislative and judicial power.
Plenty of us on the liberal side of the fence would argue the the US Supreme Court (for example) has in recent years abrogated power to itself that more properly belongs to the legislature.
While what we're talking about here is far less blatant, I don't think we can automatically dismiss complaints for the less liberal side of the political spectrum that the ECHR has, in recent years, shown something of a tendency to intrude on the preserve of the members' own governments.
Kemi sacking Worcestershire Tory Leader for supporting progressive alliance against Reform will alarm a large swathe of moderate Tory Members and Voters.
Caroline Lucas strongly suggesting Greens should not field a candidate in Makers field if Burnham stands, specifically because Burnham is a long term supporter of Proportional Representation.
Both very very significant and potentially important pointers for the future travel of right wing and progressive wing alliances in the medium term future.
I very much doubt it.
Re Kemi of course it won't and her current popularity including her take down of labour at the Kings speech has been widely praised
Indeed the one way to beat Farage is for Kemi to take centre stage on the right and I expect to see that in the coming months
Those 550 Tory Councilors who lost seats last week, including dozens who she will expect to canvas to save her own seat will be all asking the question.
Which of us are completely and utterly deluded.
The 550 of us it the tone deaf arrogant one in charge.
Do you think 1,500 LABOUR councillors lost their seats last week because of, or despite Keir Starmer?
Kemi sacking Worcestershire Tory Leader for supporting progressive alliance against Reform will alarm a large swathe of moderate Tory Members and Voters.
Caroline Lucas strongly suggesting Greens should not field a candidate in Makers field if Burnham stands, specifically because Burnham is a long term supporter of Proportional Representation.
Both very very significant and potentially important pointers for the future travel of right wing and progressive wing alliances in the medium term future.
It was the Worcestershire Tory Leader agreeing to make a Green Leader of the county council that Kemi rightly ruled unacceptable, it would have meant Reform could now say 'Vote Tory, get Green' had Kemi not told CCHQ to suspend his party membership
Getting ahead of myself a bit, here are the full 2026 council election figures for the whole of Greater Manchester:
Reform 257k, 30.7% Labour 198k, 23.6% Green 160k, 19.1% Conservative 85k, 10.2% LD 79k, 9.5% Ind/Others 58k, 6.9%
I honestly think in the post glow of Burnham going into parliament, the mayoralty would be Labour's to lose, with enough drift back from the other left parties and from the Conservatives to get Labour over the line.
This is not so much the baseline hardcore Green vote of 400ish in each ward, but rather the "defeat Reform" vote in Green leaning wards and the LD vote in Stockport (at the last mayoral election the LD split in Stockport was barely higher than elsewhere).
I don't think the chain of events here ends with a Reform mayor running Greater Manchester, even back under FPTP.
Would the mayoral by-election be under FPTP? They're going back to SV, but I don't know the timings. Reform seem unlikely to win under SV.
Note that part of the issue here appears to be people treating LLMs as an authoritative source. I've seen it disturbingly often on here too. People simply willing to take the word of an LLM as gospel.
They simply aren't reliable. They will make things up, at best, or be coded to purposefully feed you biased bullshit.
OK, so I've checked, and apparently the real problem is people who refuse to believe LLMs.
And, I mean, who am I going to trust on this issue, Claude or you?
I've never been so strongly tempted to flag one of your posts.
This is the problem the government has. “We’ve signed a new ECHR declaration… This addresses tackling illegal immigration” … yeah but what? How? Just so much nothingness.
In any event people will read the first bit, say rude words about the government, and then vote reform. They should lead with “WE HAVE AGREED X WITH OTHER EUROPEAN LEADERS WHICH ALLOW US TO DO Y BECAUSE Z” The actual mechanism is not important
Hold on. Courts are expected to rule on the basis of this declaration and not legislation?
Try reading the leaders' agreed statement, which I posted on the last thread. Courts rule on the basis of legislation and precedent, but this is about the members agreeing a common set of principles. If all member states agree on a tougher approach, then that is their business.
The ECHR has less power than is assumed. As the statement says, it is not an appeal court of fourth instance.
I did read it thanks and my point remains that we normally expect courts to act on legislation and case law and not what politicians agree. The Supreme Court recently ignored what legislators' intentions on the trans issue, for example.
International law is somewhat different?
I think all constitutional law (and treaty law is effectively a part of constitutional law, as long as a country is signed up to that treaty) involves something of a balance between executive, legislative and judicial power.
Plenty of us on the liberal side of the fence would argue the the US Supreme Court (for example) has in recent years abrogated power to itself that more properly belongs to the legislature.
While what we're talking about here is far less blatant, I don't think we can automatically dismiss complaints for the less liberal side of the political spectrum that the ECHR has, in recent years, shown something of a tendency to intrude on the preserve of the members' own governments.
If he wins could be a Coronation by end of June or if a contest could be Labour Conference
The whole shenanigans resembles nothing so much as a recurring car crash with the country rudderless. Funny and ridiculous if it wasn't so tragic and serious. Wtaf has happened to the UK when an enormous majority produces this?
If he wins could be a Coronation by end of June or if a contest could be Labour Conference
The whole shenanigans resembles nothing so much as a recurring car crash with the country rudderless. Funny and ridiculous if it wasn't so tragic and serious. Wtaf has happened to the UK when an enormous majority produces this?
...again. You forgot to mention that it happened four (FOUR!) times under the Tories.
G'day. I heard more today from my tory voting acquaintance in Manchester. He owns a pub and recently opened a restaurant.
He loves Andy Burnham and thinks he has "been brilliant for business" in the city. He loves that he gets things done. He was desperately hoping to hold onto Burnham as mayor of Manchester.
The last politician who cut through across the political divide like this was ... Boris.
This is why this guy is such a threat to a Reform or Tory-Reform Government.
Andy Burnham is the most odious little rat I think I've ever seen in British politics, which is saying something. A person utterly devoid of principles who would push anyone under a train to further his own ends.
I'm still seething with anger at this "Labour" Government for whom I so mistakenly and bitterly voted
Seems a long way from “Keep Calm And Vote Starmer”
You have my sympathies - it’s hard to find that your hoped for leaders have feet of clay.
On a human level I thought Starmer looked forlorn, even haunted today, and I did feel a bit for him
But politics is politics and he simply is not suited to be PM
Funnily enough I always felt most sad for Theresa May. Much as I disagreed with her political stance she did always give the impression she was trying to do her best for the country but events, and her colleagues, were too much for her.
The others since haven't provoked much sympathy from me. Starmer had a wonderful opportunity and has wasted it. Sadly.
THe accounts taking Southampton's side on social media - if they're not explicitly Saints fans - seem to have a remarkable mix of beaches, Union Navy flags, Nelson statues etc on their publicly available profiles.
I doubt many are in Portsmouth either
Rupert Lowe was once their chairman, of course.
fwiw, as a Boro fan I think they should still be allowed to proceed to the final, even if found guilty. I can't really see how any information they gleaned from their spying helped contribute to their victory. The right punishment would be a points deduction for next season (which they could ask the Premier League to impose should they be promoted).
Could Burnham undermine himself by clinging on to the mayoralty as a backup option? People who think he's doing a good job might vote against him to keep him there.
Could Burnham undermine himself by clinging on to the mayoralty as a backup option? People who think he's doing a good job might vote against him to keep him there.
On a human level I thought Starmer looked forlorn, even haunted today, and I did feel a bit for him
But politics is politics and he simply is not suited to be PM
Funnily enough I always felt most sad for Theresa May. Much as I disagreed with her political stance she did always give the impression she was trying to do her best for the country but events, and her colleagues, were too much for her.
The others since haven't provoked much sympathy from me. Starmer had a wonderful opportunity and has wasted it. Sadly.
I remember feeling, to my surprise, great sympathy for Gordon Brown when the bigoted woman tape was plated back to him. I found Gordon Brown an unpleasant PM. And I am riled by the knee jerk reaction of people like him that people whi disagree with them are bigots. But we've all had bad days at work - and for most of us, it doesn't get played out on the national news.
If he wins could be a Coronation by end of June or if a contest could be Labour Conference
The whole shenanigans resembles nothing so much as a recurring car crash with the country rudderless. Funny and ridiculous if it wasn't so tragic and serious. Wtaf has happened to the UK when an enormous majority produces this?
Of course for those who love ve to live in the past....
Have to admit as a Burnham backer in this by-election I rolled my eyes at Starmer's "Battle for the soul of the nation" comment today. Can he not just shut up ? Not helpful to Burnham's chances that comment I think
Have to admit as a Burnham backer in this by-election I rolled my eyes at Starmer's "Battle for the soul of the nation" comment today. Can he not just shut up ? Not helpful to Burnham's chances that comment I think
G'day. I heard more today from my tory voting acquaintance in Manchester. He owns a pub and recently opened a restaurant.
He loves Andy Burnham and thinks he has "been brilliant for business" in the city. He loves that he gets things done. He was desperately hoping to hold onto Burnham as mayor of Manchester.
The last politician who cut through across the political divide like this was ... Boris.
This is why this guy is such a threat to a Reform or Tory-Reform Government.
Andy Burnham is the most odious little rat I think I've ever seen in British politics, which is saying something. A person utterly devoid of principles who would push anyone under a train to further his own ends.
I'm still seething with anger at this "Labour" Government for whom I so mistakenly and bitterly voted
Your not very good at spotting odious little rats are you?
Or persons utterly devoid of principles who would push anyone under a train to further their own ends.
Both SKS and your current MP fit the odious rats devoid of principles much more than the KoN
THe accounts taking Southampton's side on social media - if they're not explicitly Saints fans - seem to have a remarkable mix of beaches, Union Navy flags, Nelson statues etc on their publicly available profiles.
I doubt many are in Portsmouth either
Rupert Lowe was once their chairman, of course.
fwiw, as a Boro fan I think they should still be allowed to proceed to the final, even if found guilty. I can't really see how any information they gleaned from their spying helped contribute to their victory. The right punishment would be a points deduction for next season (which they could ask the Premier League to impose should they be promoted).
That's very magnanimous coming from yourself as a Boro fan but the Spies need punishing. Here's big Frank after one of our best points of the season https://youtu.be/PHnVjBdpuAk?si=0-DdiPxE4LaO_ntk
G'day. I heard more today from my tory voting acquaintance in Manchester. He owns a pub and recently opened a restaurant.
He loves Andy Burnham and thinks he has "been brilliant for business" in the city. He loves that he gets things done. He was desperately hoping to hold onto Burnham as mayor of Manchester.
The last politician who cut through across the political divide like this was ... Boris.
This is why this guy is such a threat to a Reform or Tory-Reform Government.
Andy Burnham is the most odious little rat I think I've ever seen in British politics, which is saying something. A person utterly devoid of principles who would push anyone under a train to further his own ends.
I'm still seething with anger at this "Labour" Government for whom I so mistakenly and bitterly voted
Is this really you Sunil? Never heard you post in such an angry way before! You're normally so mild-mannered.
1. Sanjay and Dheeraj Hinduja and family (£38bn) 2. David and Simon Reuben and family (£27.9bn) 3. Sir Leonard Blavatnik (£26.8bn) 4. Idan Ofer (£24.4bn) 5. Guy, George, Alannah and Galen Weston and family (£18.9bn) 6. Christopher Harborne (£18.1bn) 7. Nik Storonsky (£16.4bn) 8. Alex Gerko (£16bn) 9. Sir Jim Ratcliffe: (£15.1bn) 10. Igor and Dmitry Bukhman: (£14.2bn)
"The Sunday Times Rich List calculates that there are now 157 UK billionaires, 20 less [sic] than four years ago."
Labour will face their Waterloo in Makerfield on June 18th.
Or Reform, if Burnham wins it that would be equally disastrous for Farage given Reform won most council seats in the Makerfield area last week.
If Reform keep their local candidate from the last general election then I think they can brush off a loss. It only becomes make or break for them if they try to parachute in a big name.
1. Sanjay and Dheeraj Hinduja and family (£38bn) 2. David and Simon Reuben and family (£27.9bn) 3. Sir Leonard Blavatnik (£26.8bn) 4. Idan Ofer (£24.4bn) 5. Guy, George, Alannah and Galen Weston and family (£18.9bn) 6. Christopher Harborne (£18.1bn) 7. Nik Storonsky (£16.4bn) 8. Alex Gerko (£16bn) 9. Sir Jim Ratcliffe: (£15.1bn) 10. Igor and Dmitry Bukhman: (£14.2bn)
"The Sunday Times Rich List calculates that there are now 157 UK billionaires, 20 less [sic] than four years ago."
Now we have a Labour government and the UK is not even in the top 10 nations with most billionaires, we have fallen to 12th this year behind even Taiwan.
1 USA 2 China 3 India 4 Germany 5 Russia 6 Italy 7 Canada 8 Hong Kong 9 Brazil 10 Taiwan
1. Sanjay and Dheeraj Hinduja and family (£38bn) 2. David and Simon Reuben and family (£27.9bn) 3. Sir Leonard Blavatnik (£26.8bn) 4. Idan Ofer (£24.4bn) 5. Guy, George, Alannah and Galen Weston and family (£18.9bn) 6. Christopher Harborne (£18.1bn) 7. Nik Storonsky (£16.4bn) 8. Alex Gerko (£16bn) 9. Sir Jim Ratcliffe: (£15.1bn) 10. Igor and Dmitry Bukhman: (£14.2bn)
"The Sunday Times Rich List calculates that there are now 157 UK billionaires, 20 less [sic] than four years ago."
G'day. I heard more today from my tory voting acquaintance in Manchester. He owns a pub and recently opened a restaurant.
He loves Andy Burnham and thinks he has "been brilliant for business" in the city. He loves that he gets things done. He was desperately hoping to hold onto Burnham as mayor of Manchester.
The last politician who cut through across the political divide like this was ... Boris.
This is why this guy is such a threat to a Reform or Tory-Reform Government.
Andy Burnham is the most odious little rat I think I've ever seen in British politics, which is saying something. A person utterly devoid of principles who would push anyone under a train to further his own ends.
I'm still seething with anger at this "Labour" Government for whom I so mistakenly and bitterly voted
Is this really you Sunil? Never heard you post in such an angry way before! You're normally so mild-mannered.
Labour will face their Waterloo in Makerfield on June 18th.
Or Reform, if Burnham wins it that would be equally disastrous for Farage given Reform won most council seats in the Makerfield area last week.
If Reform keep their local candidate from the last general election then I think they can brush off a loss. It only becomes make or break for them if they try to parachute in a big name.
Makerfield is in the top 50 Reform target seats at number 29, if they can't even win this by election it looks like curtains for Farage's chances of becoming PM.
Farage has to see his party win it as much as Burnham needs to win it
1. Sanjay and Dheeraj Hinduja and family (£38bn) 2. David and Simon Reuben and family (£27.9bn) 3. Sir Leonard Blavatnik (£26.8bn) 4. Idan Ofer (£24.4bn) 5. Guy, George, Alannah and Galen Weston and family (£18.9bn) 6. Christopher Harborne (£18.1bn) 7. Nik Storonsky (£16.4bn) 8. Alex Gerko (£16bn) 9. Sir Jim Ratcliffe: (£15.1bn) 10. Igor and Dmitry Bukhman: (£14.2bn)
"The Sunday Times Rich List calculates that there are now 157 UK billionaires, 20 less [sic] than four years ago."
THe accounts taking Southampton's side on social media - if they're not explicitly Saints fans - seem to have a remarkable mix of beaches, Union Navy flags, Nelson statues etc on their publicly available profiles.
I doubt many are in Portsmouth either
Rupert Lowe was once their chairman, of course.
fwiw, as a Boro fan I think they should still be allowed to proceed to the final, even if found guilty. I can't really see how any information they gleaned from their spying helped contribute to their victory. The right punishment would be a points deduction for next season (which they could ask the Premier League to impose should they be promoted).
That's very magnanimous coming from yourself as a Boro fan but the Spies need punishing. Here's big Frank after one of our best points of the season https://youtu.be/PHnVjBdpuAk?si=0-DdiPxE4LaO_ntk
Yes, Cov had the character that Boro lacked at crucial points in the season, and that's why they got promoted and Boro didn't.
On a human level I thought Starmer looked forlorn, even haunted today, and I did feel a bit for him
But politics is politics and he simply is not suited to be PM
Funnily enough I always felt most sad for Theresa May. Much as I disagreed with her political stance she did always give the impression she was trying to do her best for the country but events, and her colleagues, were too much for her.
The others since haven't provoked much sympathy from me. Starmer had a wonderful opportunity and has wasted it. Sadly.
I remember feeling, to my surprise, great sympathy for Gordon Brown when the bigoted woman tape was plated back to him. I found Gordon Brown an unpleasant PM. And I am riled by the knee jerk reaction of people like him that people whi disagree with them are bigots. But we've all had bad days at work - and for most of us, it doesn't get played out on the national news.
The worst example is Charles and his fantasy about Camilla.
G'day. I heard more today from my tory voting acquaintance in Manchester. He owns a pub and recently opened a restaurant.
He loves Andy Burnham and thinks he has "been brilliant for business" in the city. He loves that he gets things done. He was desperately hoping to hold onto Burnham as mayor of Manchester.
The last politician who cut through across the political divide like this was ... Boris.
This is why this guy is such a threat to a Reform or Tory-Reform Government.
Andy Burnham is the most odious little rat I think I've ever seen in British politics, which is saying something. A person utterly devoid of principles who would push anyone under a train to further his own ends.
I'm still seething with anger at this "Labour" Government for whom I so mistakenly and bitterly voted
Your not very good at spotting odious little rats are you?
Or persons utterly devoid of principles who would push anyone under a train to further their own ends.
Both SKS and your current MP fit the odious rats devoid of principles much more than the KoN
I think someone has hacked Sunil's account. Doesn't sound like him. Or he is being ironic. Or Burnham is anti-train.
What's really fascinating about that graph is the extent that when folk get sick of a Tory government they can get quite extraordinarily sick of them.
Too long in power and everything starts to smell. My conterfactual is what would have happened if Labour had won a narrow victory in 1992?
Look at the Senedd last week where labour won just 9 seats out of 96
I did say how bad Wales looked for labour but the reality is they are years away from recovery in Wales
Depends how Plaid do. If they become very unpopular it is more likely that Wales would revert back to Labour than give the Tories or Reform a majority.
G'day. I heard more today from my tory voting acquaintance in Manchester. He owns a pub and recently opened a restaurant.
He loves Andy Burnham and thinks he has "been brilliant for business" in the city. He loves that he gets things done. He was desperately hoping to hold onto Burnham as mayor of Manchester.
The last politician who cut through across the political divide like this was ... Boris.
This is why this guy is such a threat to a Reform or Tory-Reform Government.
Andy Burnham is the most odious little rat I think I've ever seen in British politics, which is saying something. A person utterly devoid of principles who would push anyone under a train to further his own ends.
I'm still seething with anger at this "Labour" Government for whom I so mistakenly and bitterly voted
Your not very good at spotting odious little rats are you?
Or persons utterly devoid of principles who would push anyone under a train to further their own ends.
Both SKS and your current MP fit the odious rats devoid of principles much more than the KoN
I think someone has hacked Sunil's account. Doesn't sound like him. Or he is being ironic. Or Burnham is anti-train.
Labour will face their Waterloo in Makerfield on June 18th.
Or Reform, if Burnham wins it that would be equally disastrous for Farage given Reform won most council seats in the Makerfield area last week.
If Reform keep their local candidate from the last general election then I think they can brush off a loss. It only becomes make or break for them if they try to parachute in a big name.
Makerfield is in the top 50 Reform target seats at number 29, if they can't even win this by election it looks like curtains for Farage's chances of becoming PM.
Farage has to see his party win it as much as Burnham needs to win it
If Burnham, it will be reminiscent of past defeats of big Labour names at the hands of the SNP, and a sign that Labour's decline in England is a long-term political fact.
Maybe Reform need to find the equivalent of a Mhairi Black to stand for generational change.
G'day. I heard more today from my tory voting acquaintance in Manchester. He owns a pub and recently opened a restaurant.
He loves Andy Burnham and thinks he has "been brilliant for business" in the city. He loves that he gets things done. He was desperately hoping to hold onto Burnham as mayor of Manchester.
The last politician who cut through across the political divide like this was ... Boris.
This is why this guy is such a threat to a Reform or Tory-Reform Government.
Andy Burnham is the most odious little rat I think I've ever seen in British politics, which is saying something. A person utterly devoid of principles who would push anyone under a train to further his own ends.
I'm still seething with anger at this "Labour" Government for whom I so mistakenly and bitterly voted
Your not very good at spotting odious little rats are you?
Or persons utterly devoid of principles who would push anyone under a train to further their own ends.
Both SKS and your current MP fit the odious rats devoid of principles much more than the KoN
Is it true that Andy Burnham is merely SKS with mascara and a faux Northern accent?
What's really fascinating about that graph is the extent that when folk get sick of a Tory government they can get quite extraordinarily sick of them.
Too long in power and everything starts to smell. My conterfactual is what would have happened if Labour had won a narrow victory in 1992?
Look at the Senedd last week where labour won just 9 seats out of 96
I did say how bad Wales looked for labour but the reality is they are years away from recovery in Wales
Depends how Plaid do. If they become very unpopular it is more likely that Wales would revert back to Labour than give the Tories or Reform a majority.
I think they will be generous to plaid timewise as labour did have nearly 30 years.
On a human level I thought Starmer looked forlorn, even haunted today, and I did feel a bit for him
But politics is politics and he simply is not suited to be PM
Funnily enough I always felt most sad for Theresa May. Much as I disagreed with her political stance she did always give the impression she was trying to do her best for the country but events, and her colleagues, were too much for her.
The others since haven't provoked much sympathy from me. Starmer had a wonderful opportunity and has wasted it. Sadly.
I remember feeling, to my surprise, great sympathy for Gordon Brown when the bigoted woman tape was plated back to him. I found Gordon Brown an unpleasant PM. And I am riled by the knee jerk reaction of people like him that people whi disagree with them are bigots. But we've all had bad days at work - and for most of us, it doesn't get played out on the national news.
The worst example is Charles and his fantasy about Camilla.
On a human level I thought Starmer looked forlorn, even haunted today, and I did feel a bit for him
But politics is politics and he simply is not suited to be PM
Funnily enough I always felt most sad for Theresa May. Much as I disagreed with her political stance she did always give the impression she was trying to do her best for the country but events, and her colleagues, were too much for her.
The others since haven't provoked much sympathy from me. Starmer had a wonderful opportunity and has wasted it. Sadly.
I remember feeling, to my surprise, great sympathy for Gordon Brown when the bigoted woman tape was plated back to him. I found Gordon Brown an unpleasant PM. And I am riled by the knee jerk reaction of people like him that people whi disagree with them are bigots. But we've all had bad days at work - and for most of us, it doesn't get played out on the national news.
The worst example is Charles and his fantasy about Camilla.
Labour will face their Waterloo in Makerfield on June 18th.
Or Reform, if Burnham wins it that would be equally disastrous for Farage given Reform won most council seats in the Makerfield area last week.
If Reform keep their local candidate from the last general election then I think they can brush off a loss. It only becomes make or break for them if they try to parachute in a big name.
Makerfield is in the top 50 Reform target seats at number 29, if they can't even win this by election it looks like curtains for Farage's chances of becoming PM.
Farage has to see his party win it as much as Burnham needs to win it
If Burnham, it will be reminiscent of past defeats of big Labour names at the hands of the SNP, and a sign that Labour's decline in England is a long-term political fact.
Maybe Reform need to find the equivalent of a Mhairi Black to stand for generational change.
If it wasn't for Burnham, Labour would have a 95% chance of losing this seat to Reform as Curtice said today. Reform should win Makerfield on current polls comfortably, if they don't and Burnham wins it would show Burnham would likely defeat Farage if he replaced Starmer as Labour leader at the next GE.
Who Reform picks is therefore important for Farage
'Millions' of pounds saved by replacing Palantir tech in refugee system ... The report notes the Government's chief commercial officer informed Palantir of his concern about the firm's practice of offering a zero- or nominal-cost initial offer to gain a commercial foothold. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2l2j1lxdk5o
Speaking of sharing data across systems, Palantir has recently been awarded contracts by the NHS and Metropolitan Police among other public bodies.
Which goes back to having real expertise in contract negotiation.
The “initial freebie to lock you in” is junior stuff in the world of commercial contracts.
EXCL: Senior Labour figures are concerned that the party will be dragged towards “bankruptcy” if Andy Burnham successfully stands as its candidate in the Makerfield by-election, triggering a mayoral by-election and possibly a leadership contest
EXCL: Senior Labour figures are concerned that the party will be dragged towards “bankruptcy” if Andy Burnham successfully stands as its candidate in the Makerfield by-election, triggering a mayoral by-election and possibly a leadership contest
I think a great leader of the opposition should have a plan for governing. One that doesn't involve turning the country into an impoverished Stalinist hellscape I mean.
This is something that has got my goat about the resignations of Wes Streeting and Jess Phillips. Commentators have been saying 'Ooooh, they pulled no punches' - but they did. They pulled the punch of what different policies they think should have been pursued. It was their own version of the ming vase. Both their critiques left room for any policies they care to dream up. That's not good enough any more.
On a similar note, I find it very annoying when commentators insist, "People need to feeeeel better off" - as if we need to give the electorate some shiny lego coins or put prozac in the drinking water. People don't 'feel' poorer, they are poorer. Money doesn't 'feel like' it's all going to the Treasury and the big corporations, it is. Energy is a good example - we used to pay for coal and gas generation, a little above wholesale prices, and mainly British energy companies made good profits for mainly British shareholders. Now we have Net Zero, and it's a profit feeding frenzy for the world's pension funds, and the poor are paying for it. Anyone who tries to deal with it is going to need to be brave and resourceful, because you have effectively to take money away from the powerful and well-resourced (not in tax but in opportunity cost) and give it back to taxpayers. And they will use every smear and connivance to retain those profits.
Kemi sacking Worcestershire Tory Leader for supporting progressive alliance against Reform will alarm a large swathe of moderate Tory Members and Voters.
Caroline Lucas strongly suggesting Greens should not field a candidate in Makers field if Burnham stands, specifically because Burnham is a long term supporter of Proportional Representation.
Both very very significant and potentially important pointers for the future travel of right wing and progressive wing alliances in the medium term future.
It was the Worcestershire Tory Leader agreeing to make a Green Leader of the county council that Kemi rightly ruled unacceptable, it would have meant Reform could now say 'Vote Tory, get Green' had Kemi not told CCHQ to suspend his party membership
Better than' Vote Tory get Reform' imo.
(Although we all know that's what will happen next time.)
Depends, the Tories could abstain in a hung parliament on a confidence vote and just vote bill by bill.
Kemi didn't tell Worcestershire Tories to do a deal with Reform either, she just rightly decided the Tories forming an administration with a Green leader was unacceptable
That seems to be their position in the Senedd
Despite having a great Thursday, if Kemi had got another dozen seats in the Senedd we would have seen how the land actually lies.
On a human level I thought Starmer looked forlorn, even haunted today, and I did feel a bit for him
But politics is politics and he simply is not suited to be PM
Curiously, I had said exactly the same before I read your post. Yesterday morning he was full of vim ready to take on all comers with all the advantages of office. But, firstly with Wes and then with Burnham’s moves, it all fizzled away. He has weeks left as PM but the power has gone already. He cuts a sorry figure. If he wasn’t such a shit I would feel sorry for him.
On a human level I thought Starmer looked forlorn, even haunted today, and I did feel a bit for him
But politics is politics and he simply is not suited to be PM
Curiously, I had said exactly the same before I read your post. Yesterday morning he was full of vim ready to take on all comers with all the advantages of office. But, firstly with Wes and then with Burnham’s moves, it all fizzled away. He has weeks left as PM but the power has gone already. He cuts a sorry figure. If he wasn’t such a shit I would feel sorry for him.
On the other hand, think of Lord Hermer, Philip Sands and the Mauritian government. Surely whoever takes over will ditch the Chagos deal on day 1 as it is a dangerous and treacherous disaster (and insanely expensive)
On a human level I thought Starmer looked forlorn, even haunted today, and I did feel a bit for him
But politics is politics and he simply is not suited to be PM
Curiously, I had said exactly the same before I read your post. Yesterday morning he was full of vim ready to take on all comers with all the advantages of office. But, firstly with Wes and then with Burnham’s moves, it all fizzled away. He has weeks left as PM but the power has gone already. He cuts a sorry figure. If he wasn’t such a shit I would feel sorry for him.
On the other hand, think of Lord Hermer, Philip Sands and the Mauritian government. Surely whoever takes over will ditch the Chagos deal on day 1 as it is a dangerous and treacherous disaster (and insanely expensive)
Hermer will be sacked instantly
Every cloud…
Sacking should frankly be the least of Hermer’s worries.
G'day. I heard more today from my tory voting acquaintance in Manchester. He owns a pub and recently opened a restaurant.
He loves Andy Burnham and thinks he has "been brilliant for business" in the city. He loves that he gets things done. He was desperately hoping to hold onto Burnham as mayor of Manchester.
The last politician who cut through across the political divide like this was ... Boris.
This is why this guy is such a threat to a Reform or Tory-Reform Government.
Andy Burnham is the most odious little rat I think I've ever seen in British politics, which is saying something. A person utterly devoid of principles who would push anyone under a train to further his own ends.
I'm still seething with anger at this "Labour" Government for whom I so mistakenly and bitterly voted
Your not very good at spotting odious little rats are you?
Or persons utterly devoid of principles who would push anyone under a train to further their own ends.
Both SKS and your current MP fit the odious rats devoid of principles much more than the KoN
Is it true that Andy Burnham is merely SKS with mascara and a faux Northern accent?
What's really fascinating about that graph is the extent that when folk get sick of a Tory government they can get quite extraordinarily sick of them.
Too long in power and everything starts to smell. My conterfactual is what would have happened if Labour had won a narrow victory in 1992?
Look at the Senedd last week where labour won just 9 seats out of 96
I did say how bad Wales looked for labour but the reality is they are years away from recovery in Wales
Depends how Plaid do. If they become very unpopular it is more likely that Wales would revert back to Labour than give the Tories or Reform a majority.
I think they will be generous to plaid timewise as labour did have nearly 30 years.
You might be right, in many ways are Plaid are more left of centre than Labour. Interesting that neither Scotland nor Wales turned rightwards when Labour was ousted.
(It's notable that it's a clarification not an explanation, and there is no indication that they will be doing what they should actually be doing - which is a 20mph limit on the roadworks, or a signposted diversion. But the key points are there.)
'Millions' of pounds saved by replacing Palantir tech in refugee system ... The report notes the Government's chief commercial officer informed Palantir of his concern about the firm's practice of offering a zero- or nominal-cost initial offer to gain a commercial foothold. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2l2j1lxdk5o
Speaking of sharing data across systems, Palantir has recently been awarded contracts by the NHS and Metropolitan Police among other public bodies.
Which goes back to having real expertise in contract negotiation.
The “initial freebie to lock you in” is junior stuff in the world of commercial contracts.
And drug dealing.
If any fentanyl-laced-weed sellers decide to sue you for likening them to Peter Thiel....
Evening all. The world of not-interested-in-politics seems to be catching up with the current jollities, judging by my timeline. AFAICT no-one has a clue what's going on.
On a human level I thought Starmer looked forlorn, even haunted today, and I did feel a bit for him
But politics is politics and he simply is not suited to be PM
Curiously, I had said exactly the same before I read your post. Yesterday morning he was full of vim ready to take on all comers with all the advantages of office. But, firstly with Wes and then with Burnham’s moves, it all fizzled away. He has weeks left as PM but the power has gone already. He cuts a sorry figure. If he wasn’t such a shit I would feel sorry for him.
Where’s that vitriol come from? Disagree with his politics, lament his ineptitude, but a bit like Theresa May I don’t think he’s an unnecessarily cruel individual.
The internet is a pretty nasty place sometimes and I think that is influencing how people feel about Starmer. Frankly if he did possess the kind of malice people suggest then he might have been a much better PM.
On a human level I thought Starmer looked forlorn, even haunted today, and I did feel a bit for him
But politics is politics and he simply is not suited to be PM
Curiously, I had said exactly the same before I read your post. Yesterday morning he was full of vim ready to take on all comers with all the advantages of office. But, firstly with Wes and then with Burnham’s moves, it all fizzled away. He has weeks left as PM but the power has gone already. He cuts a sorry figure. If he wasn’t such a shit I would feel sorry for him.
Where’s that vitriol come from? Disagree with his politics, lament his ineptitude, but a bit like Theresa May I don’t think he’s an unnecessarily cruel individual.
The internet is a pretty nasty place sometimes and I think that is influencing how people feel about Starmer. Frankly if he did possess the kind of malice people suggest then he might have been a much better PM.
The way he had treated those working for him and his willingness to sack them to protect his own skin sickened me. Sir Olly Robbins in particular. Disgraceful behaviour.
Comments
And yet, within weeks he was walking around in clothes bought for him, with freebies and even glasses, then embarked on catastrophic decisions starting with the WFA and then followed by 16+ u turns
But far and away his worst failure was the appointment of Mandelson and then sacking anyone and everyone but himself
His behaviour towards Johnson in demanding resignation after resignation has now returned to bite him and his breathtaking hypocrisy by not doing the right thing is unedyfing
All the Tories I speak to say if Andy Burnham wins the Tories will never win again.
He's being massively underestimated. He's a force of nature.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-39940006
And, I mean, who am I going to trust on this issue, Claude or you?
I doubt many are in Portsmouth either
Apparently not though and Streeting cant even count to 81
Which of us are completely and utterly deluded.
The 550 of us it the tone deaf arrogant one in charge.
Plenty of us on the liberal side of the fence would argue the the US Supreme Court (for example) has in recent years abrogated power to itself that more properly belongs to the legislature.
While what we're talking about here is far less blatant, I don't think we can automatically dismiss complaints for the less liberal side of the political spectrum that the ECHR has, in recent years, shown something of a tendency to intrude on the preserve of the members' own governments.
https://x.com/scottishfa/status/2055302936142680337?s=61&t=LYVEHh2mqFy1oUJAdCfe-Q
https://x.com/laura_pollock_/status/2055195389897138286?s=61&t=LYVEHh2mqFy1oUJAdCfe-Q
https://x.com/humzayousaf/status/2055251402616696965?s=61&t=LYVEHh2mqFy1oUJAdCfe-Q
Kemi will be the one to watch this year, and last wednesday's humilation of the labour party by her and across our television screens must have been terrible for you
Reform 257k, 30.7%
Labour 198k, 23.6%
Green 160k, 19.1%
Conservative 85k, 10.2%
LD 79k, 9.5%
Ind/Others 58k, 6.9%
I honestly think in the post glow of Burnham going into parliament, the mayoralty would be Labour's to lose, with enough drift back from the other left parties and from the Conservatives to get Labour over the line.
This is not so much the baseline hardcore Green vote of 400ish in each ward, but rather the "defeat Reform" vote in Green leaning wards and the LD vote in Stockport (at the last mayoral election the LD split in Stockport was barely higher than elsewhere).
I don't think the chain of events here ends with a Reform mayor running Greater Manchester, even back under FPTP.
Maybe things will change.
But until they do I file under the kind of opposition leader that loves the party and appeals to and comforts the core.
More Hague & Milliband, less Cameron and Blair.
It is a form of silly blackmail to try to stop Burnham, and everything that is wrong with some senior labour politicians
I'm still seething with anger at this "Labour" Government for whom I so mistakenly and bitterly voted
NEC approve Burnham standing
Now get on with it
If Burnham loses the by election, Streeting still challenges Starmer anyway and blames Starmer for the Labour by election loss
Also the greatest Prime minister since Rishi Sunak.
But politics is politics and he simply is not suited to be PM
Or a typo/autocorrect...
If he wins could be a Coronation by end of June or if a contest could be Labour Conference
You have my sympathies - it’s hard to find that your hoped for leaders have feet of clay.
The others since haven't provoked much sympathy from me. Starmer had a wonderful opportunity and has wasted it. Sadly.
fwiw, as a Boro fan I think they should still be allowed to proceed to the final, even if found guilty. I can't really see how any information they gleaned from their spying helped contribute to their victory. The right punishment would be a points deduction for next season (which they could ask the Premier League to impose should they be promoted).
I found Gordon Brown an unpleasant PM. And I am riled by the knee jerk reaction of people like him that people whi disagree with them are bigots. But we've all had bad days at work - and for most of us, it doesn't get played out on the national news.
https://x.com/DeathlyAcorn/status/2055205682450743787/photo/1
Can he not just shut up ?
Not helpful to Burnham's chances that comment I think
Or persons utterly devoid of principles who would push anyone under a train to further their own ends.
Both SKS and your current MP fit the odious rats devoid of principles much more than the KoN
1. Sanjay and Dheeraj Hinduja and family (£38bn)
2. David and Simon Reuben and family (£27.9bn)
3. Sir Leonard Blavatnik (£26.8bn)
4. Idan Ofer (£24.4bn)
5. Guy, George, Alannah and Galen Weston and family (£18.9bn)
6. Christopher Harborne (£18.1bn)
7. Nik Storonsky (£16.4bn)
8. Alex Gerko (£16bn)
9. Sir Jim Ratcliffe: (£15.1bn)
10. Igor and Dmitry Bukhman: (£14.2bn)
"The Sunday Times Rich List calculates that there are now 157 UK billionaires, 20 less [sic] than four years ago."
1 USA
2 China
3 India
4 Germany
5 Russia
6 Italy
7 Canada
8 Hong Kong
9 Brazil
10 Taiwan
https://www.forbes.com/sites/samellefson/2026/03/11/the-countries-with-the-most-billionaires/
Farage has to see his party win it as much as Burnham needs to win it
https://www.electionpolling.co.uk/battleground/targets/reform-uk#google_vignette
Ah I see. 6:03pm
Seriously if Burnham becomes PM although i would likely stay in Greens would vote Lab in GE 2029 to stop Reform
Maybe Reform need to find the equivalent of a Mhairi Black to stand for generational change.
"Starmer met with a select group of cabinet ministers this evening and branded Wes Streeting 'a complete bastard'"
LOL
The story will change again tomorrow.
Who Reform picks is therefore important for Farage
Presume they mean a child? And murdered? as he was 14
This is something that has got my goat about the resignations of Wes Streeting and Jess Phillips. Commentators have been saying 'Ooooh, they pulled no punches' - but they did. They pulled the punch of what different policies they think should have been pursued. It was their own version of the ming vase. Both their critiques left room for any policies they care to dream up. That's not good enough any more.
On a similar note, I find it very annoying when commentators insist, "People need to feeeeel better off" - as if we need to give the electorate some shiny lego coins or put prozac in the drinking water. People don't 'feel' poorer, they are poorer. Money doesn't 'feel like' it's all going to the Treasury and the big corporations, it is. Energy is a good example - we used to pay for coal and gas generation, a little above wholesale prices, and mainly British energy companies made good profits for mainly British shareholders. Now we have Net Zero, and it's a profit feeding frenzy for the world's pension funds, and the poor are paying for it. Anyone who tries to deal with it is going to need to be brave and resourceful, because you have effectively to take money away from the powerful and well-resourced (not in tax but in opportunity cost) and give it back to taxpayers. And they will use every smear and connivance to retain those profits.
He cuts a sorry figure. If he wasn’t such a shit I would feel sorry for him.
Hermer will be sacked instantly
Every cloud…
Quoted in the .. er .. Northwich Guardian.
https://www.northwichguardian.co.uk/news/26104722.update-concerning-three-month-middlewich-cycling-ban/
(It's notable that it's a clarification not an explanation, and there is no indication that they will be doing what they should actually be doing - which is a 20mph limit on the roadworks, or a signposted diversion. But the key points are there.)
It goes from bad to worse for WS!!
The internet is a pretty nasty place sometimes and I think that is influencing how people feel about Starmer. Frankly if he did possess the kind of malice people suggest then he might have been a much better PM.
I doubt anyone on his list of “far right agitators” is remotely in that league, as a danger to the British public
The hypocrisy is as breathtaking as it is self harming. We can all see it now