Good thread on what a Burnham premiership might actually do
1/ Thought experiment doing the rounds in my head this morning. Burnham replaces Starmer. He walks into Number 10 with the Manchester accent and the real Labour framing. He announces the renationalisation of water, energy, rail, and grid. All of it. Funded by, well, vibes mostly. Here’s how the next twelve months actually play out.
1. Burnham PROBABLY wouldn’t go this far left. He’d like to, but the gilt market would crush him before he even started
2. I’m increasingly skeptical he will win Makerfield. The opportunity to give Labour - and the powers-that-be - an almighty kicking, will be too hard to resist. I agree with the Labour pols in the Guardian who give him a ‘45%’ chance
I am shocked to see you sharing a Twitter account of an antivaxxer and Tommy Robinson fan.
Andy Burnham’s allies have accused Wes Streeting of trying to derail the mayor’s campaign for No 10 by reopening Labour’s Brexit battles and playing into the hands of Reform UK
His intervention prompted a furious response from Burnham’s supporters, who said it was a deliberate attempt to elevate Brexit as an issue in the Leave-voting seat of Makerfield, which the mayor of Greater Manchester must win to contest the party leadership
One Burnham ally said: “Wes’s only hope at becoming the next leader is for Andy to lose the by-election. [Streeting’s] comments … are counterproductive to Labour winning this by-election. It’s very transparent.”
An MP close to Burnham said it was a “a roll of the dice” by Streeting because “he can see the writing is on the wall”. A friend of Burnham said Streeting was “clearly trying to create a dividing line.”
Please please please let's not talk about Brexit until after I've won.
Andy Burnham must be the most disingenuous candidate out there.
It’s an unusual situation. Normally, a politician has to win over their party before winning over the public. This is the reverse.
The public really don’t like being told what to think by the politicians. Burnham, like Starmer, is tying himself in knots to say one thing nationally and the opposite locally.
I think I could probably be persuaded to vote Reform if I lived in Makerfield, it will be interesting to see how much of a paper candidate the Tories put up.
Nationally, Kemi will want to give the impression of fighting hard for every seat, but locally I suspect they lose their deposit and don’t care much if it keeps Burnham out of the Commons.
Could Burnham’s campaign for the top job be the biggest instant failure since Ron DeSantis?
It’s an interesting question what is in the Tories’ best long term interests. Remember there’s also the question of Reform winning the by-election, which is bad news for them, compared to Reform’s bubble continuing to slowly leak. With a Labour winner, the Tories would prefer Starmer staying to getting Burnham, but maybe they’d rather Burnham than Streeting? Whereas they wouldn’t mind Ange. Burnham also puts PR back on the agenda, which instinctively the Tories hate, yet might actually be in their best interests.
I think it's in the Tories' interests for Reform to win following a calamitous campaign by Burnham in which the Labour Party is clearly split.
Yes that was my thinking.
Tories got just shy of 11% at the last election, as Reform got more than 30%.
So the obvious move from the Tories is to run a paper candidate - assuming that Reform run a properly-vetted local candidate who doesn’t turn out to be one of Tommy Robinson’s football hooligan mates
Big G sees it the other way round, that from the country’s point of view Burnham’s better than Rayner or Streeting; that Reform are the Tories’ main rivals, so the Tories should campaign hard and split the right-of-centre vote.
I think both are valid, but given the seat demographics the Tory soft-pedal is the better option here.
I think its strategic against tactical and the strategic position supports @Big_G_NorthWales. Reform is a threat to the very existence of the Tory party. Labour isn't. A win for Reform here would throw Labour into total chaos and undermine the Labour government but it would make Reform, not the Tories, the threat to that government. The price for the Tories of a Reform win is too high a price to pay and they should do what they can to encourage their supporters not to back Reform.
I agree on strategy v tactics, but would save strategy for the general election, use the tactics for a by-election which is only happening as a vanity project for the Labour candidate.
If Reform win then they are going to have all the momentum and will be the next Government. Which I suspect would reduce the incentive for people to vote Tory, if you want a right wing party vote for the winner (Reform), if you don't vote Lib Dem / Labour as appropriate.
Whilst I think the Burnham factor should be taken into account, Reform really ought to win this by election. I don't think it does the Tories much harm if they do.
The best scenario for the Tories is if Labour goes left. They need the Lib Dems and their voters to be in a tricky position.
The Tories have lost most votes to Reform. Badenoch is campaigning nationally on the line that only the Tories can beat Labour. The better Reform do, the less Badenoch’s line works, the worse it is for the Tories. Labour winning a Labour seat doesn’t hurt the Tories; Reform winning is very bad for them.
Yes, as a Tory I want Burnham to win the by election. Burnham polls best in the North, Wales and Midlands and would take votes from Reform and the Greens. However he polls worst in the South so would not take many votes from the Tories and would enable Kemi to put clear blue low tax, controlled spending water with a high tax, high spend Burnham led Labour
Then you’re not a true patriot and you’re certainly not right wing. If Reform wins here that could actually be the end of Labour - forever. Given what damage they’ve done to the country surely that is overwhelmingly desirable? Yes it might mean the end of your party too, but who cares. It’s just a party
It’s the country that matters. Britain. The British people. Ending Labour would be brilliant for GREAT BRITAIN
I’m afraid this is final proof that in the end you’re not a patriot and you’re not even that political. You support the Tory party out of sheer tribalism. Like a mindless oaf supporting Millwall
I am a Tory, not hard right. If the Tory party didn’t exist I would be a swing voter between LD and Reform, I wouldn’t join Reform.
I don’t especially want to see the end of Labour either, they are certainly better than the Polanski Greens.
Reform would destroy the UK and could end the Union, the Greens would destroy the economy and end the monarchy.
So on the one hand you firmly believe Reform would “destroy the UK” but on the other you might vote for them at a push
Tell me, how do you reckon they would “destroy the UK”?
Good thread on what a Burnham premiership might actually do
1/ Thought experiment doing the rounds in my head this morning. Burnham replaces Starmer. He walks into Number 10 with the Manchester accent and the real Labour framing. He announces the renationalisation of water, energy, rail, and grid. All of it. Funded by, well, vibes mostly. Here’s how the next twelve months actually play out.
1. Burnham PROBABLY wouldn’t go this far left. He’d like to, but the gilt market would crush him before he even started
2. I’m increasingly skeptical he will win Makerfield. The opportunity to give Labour - and the powers-that-be - an almighty kicking, will be too hard to resist. I agree with the Labour pols in the Guardian who give him a ‘45%’ chance
Other than Jezza up is a life long true believer, all Labour leadership candidates have shown lots of left wing ankle. Starmer bid was basically I am the most lefty lefty that has ever lived, Jezza wasn't go anywhere near far enough in his left wingness. Then when they have won the leadership they have normally gone well I would love to do that but....
The difference is that normally you get a new leader when in opposition so it gives you 4-5 years to slowly U-turn on every super lefty promise such that we got Starmer's manifest in 2024 that was nothing like his leadership bid.
The Brexit/EU issue was bound to be raised in the Makerfield by-election, if not by Labour then by Reform, obviously. I suspect it's rather helpful to Burnham that it's been raised so early in the campaign, as it's given him/Labour plenty of time to deal with it and move on to other issues as the campaign gets properly underway. Its salience will fade, I think.
I don't think so. The byelection is likely to be mid to late June, the 10th anniversary of the Brexit vote. There will be lots of press analysis and coverage of that anniversary.
The Burnham approach should be pretty much the same as Starmers current one. Small deals to reduce barriers to trade and increase cooperation with our EU allies, but no move to Rejoin within this Parliament. What goes in the 2029 manifesto may be closer still, but voters will have another chance to vote on it then.
Far-right influencer EDobbin went to Tommy Robinson’s march and filmed himself harassing a 15-year-old girl in front of her mum. Even after they told him her age and walked away, he followed her, asking for her “details” and said she should have a “warning sign” on her.
What is the word for "horrible and inevitable in the way that gravity is inevitable" ?
If you want to donate to charity, do so. If you think MPs are paid too much (they are not). then say so.
I said this the other day, I imagine a lot of MPs quietly donate 10-15% of their salary to charity / unions. I think it is only worth mentioning if you are going to forego your entire salary, and I don't see MPs any lesser who don't, even if they are wealthy e.g. Sunak taking his salary or not, doesn't impact my view of him.
Looks like Kerch Bridge has been closed since yesterday evening too.
The Ukrainians say they have nothing to do with the fire under the bridge in Moscow. Seems like it genuinely was a cigarette this time.
There was a big thing a few years back about, in the UK, about the hazards of storage under infrastructure. Think it might have been out of the post 9/11 reviews.
They used to rent out arches under the South end of Tower Bridge, for example. A company was storing large quantities of painting material there....
Andy Burnham’s allies have accused Wes Streeting of trying to derail the mayor’s campaign for No 10 by reopening Labour’s Brexit battles and playing into the hands of Reform UK
His intervention prompted a furious response from Burnham’s supporters, who said it was a deliberate attempt to elevate Brexit as an issue in the Leave-voting seat of Makerfield, which the mayor of Greater Manchester must win to contest the party leadership
One Burnham ally said: “Wes’s only hope at becoming the next leader is for Andy to lose the by-election. [Streeting’s] comments … are counterproductive to Labour winning this by-election. It’s very transparent.”
An MP close to Burnham said it was a “a roll of the dice” by Streeting because “he can see the writing is on the wall”. A friend of Burnham said Streeting was “clearly trying to create a dividing line.”
Please please please let's not talk about Brexit until after I've won.
Andy Burnham must be the most disingenuous candidate out there.
It’s an unusual situation. Normally, a politician has to win over their party before winning over the public. This is the reverse.
The public really don’t like being told what to think by the politicians. Burnham, like Starmer, is tying himself in knots to say one thing nationally and the opposite locally.
I think I could probably be persuaded to vote Reform if I lived in Makerfield, it will be interesting to see how much of a paper candidate the Tories put up.
Nationally, Kemi will want to give the impression of fighting hard for every seat, but locally I suspect they lose their deposit and don’t care much if it keeps Burnham out of the Commons.
Could Burnham’s campaign for the top job be the biggest instant failure since Ron DeSantis?
It’s an interesting question what is in the Tories’ best long term interests. Remember there’s also the question of Reform winning the by-election, which is bad news for them, compared to Reform’s bubble continuing to slowly leak. With a Labour winner, the Tories would prefer Starmer staying to getting Burnham, but maybe they’d rather Burnham than Streeting? Whereas they wouldn’t mind Ange. Burnham also puts PR back on the agenda, which instinctively the Tories hate, yet might actually be in their best interests.
I think it's in the Tories' interests for Reform to win following a calamitous campaign by Burnham in which the Labour Party is clearly split.
Yes that was my thinking.
Tories got just shy of 11% at the last election, as Reform got more than 30%.
So the obvious move from the Tories is to run a paper candidate - assuming that Reform run a properly-vetted local candidate who doesn’t turn out to be one of Tommy Robinson’s football hooligan mates
Big G sees it the other way round, that from the country’s point of view Burnham’s better than Rayner or Streeting; that Reform are the Tories’ main rivals, so the Tories should campaign hard and split the right-of-centre vote.
I think both are valid, but given the seat demographics the Tory soft-pedal is the better option here.
I think its strategic against tactical and the strategic position supports @Big_G_NorthWales. Reform is a threat to the very existence of the Tory party. Labour isn't. A win for Reform here would throw Labour into total chaos and undermine the Labour government but it would make Reform, not the Tories, the threat to that government. The price for the Tories of a Reform win is too high a price to pay and they should do what they can to encourage their supporters not to back Reform.
I agree on strategy v tactics, but would save strategy for the general election, use the tactics for a by-election which is only happening as a vanity project for the Labour candidate.
If Reform win then they are going to have all the momentum and will be the next Government. Which I suspect would reduce the incentive for people to vote Tory, if you want a right wing party vote for the winner (Reform), if you don't vote Lib Dem / Labour as appropriate.
Whilst I think the Burnham factor should be taken into account, Reform really ought to win this by election. I don't think it does the Tories much harm if they do.
The best scenario for the Tories is if Labour goes left. They need the Lib Dems and their voters to be in a tricky position.
The Tories have lost most votes to Reform. Badenoch is campaigning nationally on the line that only the Tories can beat Labour. The better Reform do, the less Badenoch’s line works, the worse it is for the Tories. Labour winning a Labour seat doesn’t hurt the Tories; Reform winning is very bad for them.
Yes, as a Tory I want Burnham to win the by election. Burnham polls best in the North, Wales and Midlands and would take votes from Reform and the Greens. However he polls worst in the South so would not take many votes from the Tories and would enable Kemi to put clear blue low tax, controlled spending water with a high tax, high spend Burnham led Labour
Then you’re not a true patriot and you’re certainly not right wing. If Reform wins here that could actually be the end of Labour - forever. Given what damage they’ve done to the country surely that is overwhelmingly desirable? Yes it might mean the end of your party too, but who cares. It’s just a party
It’s the country that matters. Britain. The British people. Ending Labour would be brilliant for GREAT BRITAIN
I’m afraid this is final proof that in the end you’re not a patriot and you’re not even that political. You support the Tory party out of sheer tribalism. Like a mindless oaf supporting Millwall
Millwall are a great local team and its supporters are not mindless oafs. Typical sneering Primrose Hill prejudice against the good hard working people of SE London.
Checking on hood maps I see that you live in “liberal elite ground zero” but not far from “dog’s poo” and “shankville”
No, Skehans, epicenter of hipness and yummy mummies.
Indeed. Essentially I have no idea where you live as the whole of South London is like Siberia to me. As in: I’ve voluntarily been to Siberia twice and I’ve got a rough idea where Lake Baikal is but that’s it
The only time I lived south of the river was when I was in HMP Brixton on a rape charge. I was basically cool with the whole rape charge thing, but I was mortified by the address
South London defies categorisation. Every time you think you understand it, it surprises you.
Far-right influencer EDobbin went to Tommy Robinson’s march and filmed himself harassing a 15-year-old girl in front of her mum. Even after they told him her age and walked away, he followed her, asking for her “details” and said she should have a “warning sign” on her.
If you want to donate to charity, do so. If you think MPs are paid too much (they are not). then say so.
Burnham's current salary is £20k higher than an MP's salary, so presumably he's already giving lots of money to charity.
And indeed he is. There are stories from 2024 of Burnham donating 15% of his salary to the charity A Bed Every Night ever since he was elected Mayor in 2017.
So I don't think this is particularly performative. I think it's generally a good idea for people to talk about this as a way of encouraging others to do likewise, particularly when it's a high-income person giving more than a nominal share of their income.
Although, the charity will be taking a drop in income if Burnham becomes an MP, but not PM.
The MoD do seem to be capable of getting things done during a crisis.
There’s quite the innovation going on behind the scenes, especially systems aimed at defeating those cheap Shahed drones.
Interestingly it’s mostly startup companies, with the Big Boys and their Big Toys very much left out of it.
As some of us might have said more than once, wartime procurement looks very different to peacetime procurement, and right now it’s wartime.
APKWS is designed and manufactured by BAE in Texas. Don't worry about the Big Five (or BAE) they'll be just fine because their lobbying operations, in the UK and US, are a source of sustainable competitive advantage.
They say we get the politicians we deserve so heaven knows what we did to deserve this lot.
Without exception our political class spend more of their time plotting and jostling for their own benefit rather than actually doing the job they are paid for. I am disgusted with the current Labour shenanigans and the Tories are absolutely no better. Farage & Polanski would be worse.
Is it too much to ask that one day we might get a leader who puts the country ahead of themselves, tells the electorate a few home truths and actually sets about arresting our decline. I Doubt I will live to see it!
Far-right influencer EDobbin went to Tommy Robinson’s march and filmed himself harassing a 15-year-old girl in front of her mum. Even after they told him her age and walked away, he followed her, asking for her “details” and said she should have a “warning sign” on her.
"Protecting our women and girls"
Now let’s replace this man with a Muslim and see if this chap would be happy with what’s occurred.
Looks like Kerch Bridge has been closed since yesterday evening too.
The Ukrainians say they have nothing to do with the fire under the bridge in Moscow. Seems like it genuinely was a cigarette this time.
There was a big thing a few years back about, in the UK, about the hazards of storage under infrastructure. Think it might have been out of the post 9/11 reviews.
They used to rent out arches under the South end of Tower Bridge, for example. A company was storing large quantities of painting material there....
I’d go probably higher than that, but I would massively reduce the number of spads and lords to pay for it. A general reduction of the civil service by about 50% is also required. Elon did it at Twitter and it works just fine despite all the pathetic Bluesky bitching (even as Bluesky fades away into its own echo)
If you want to donate to charity, do so. If you think MPs are paid too much (they are not). then say so.
I said this the other day, I imagine a lot of MPs quietly donate 10-15% of their salary to charity / unions. I think it is only worth mentioning if you are going to forego your entire salary, and I don't see MPs any lesser who don't, even if they are wealthy e.g. Sunak taking his salary or not, doesn't impact my view of him.
I didn’t really understand this story. He got in his car, drove somewhere, went for a run and then got back in his car? I used to do this all of the time.
We can also look at other pieces of evidence, like he has run two marathons (you can find the times), he uses a heel lock on his laces (which I bet nobody here who isn’t a runner knows what that is), those are proper running shoes.
Singapore pays for instance its Foreign Minister around US$800,000. The salary is benchmarked to 60% of the median income of the top 1,000 Singaporean earners.
But Singapore takes any form of dodgyness / corruption incredibly serious. So we pay you a lot of money, but we don't play the silly game of slap of the wrist, sob story to Beth Rigby, come back in 6 months. You are done done.
If you want to donate to charity, do so. If you think MPs are paid too much (they are not). then say so.
I said this the other day, I imagine a lot of MPs quietly donate 10-15% of their salary to charity / unions. I think it is only worth mentioning if you are going to forego your entire salary, and I don't see MPs any lesser who don't, even if they are wealthy e.g. Sunak taking his salary or not, doesn't impact my view of him.
I didn’t really understand this story. He got in his car, drove somewhere, went for a run and then got back in his car? I used to do this all of the time.
We can also look at other pieces of evidence, like he has run two marathons (you can find the times), he uses a heel lock on his laces (which I bet nobody here who isn’t a runner knows what that is), those are proper running shoes.
No he didn't, he ran from his house (we have all seen the infamous picture now) to the cameras waiting on the dual carraigeway, then got in his car and drove home.
Its poltician does setup photoshoot shocker story....
Looks like Kerch Bridge has been closed since yesterday evening too.
The Ukrainians say they have nothing to do with the fire under the bridge in Moscow. Seems like it genuinely was a cigarette this time.
There was a big thing a few years back about, in the UK, about the hazards of storage under infrastructure. Think it might have been out of the post 9/11 reviews.
They used to rent out arches under the South end of Tower Bridge, for example. A company was storing large quantities of painting material there....
That’s was a known issue in 1605
1567 - you really need to watch what happens with the basement.
If you want to donate to charity, do so. If you think MPs are paid too much (they are not). then say so.
I said this the other day, I imagine a lot of MPs quietly donate 10-15% of their salary to charity / unions. I think it is only worth mentioning if you are going to forego your entire salary, and I don't see MPs any lesser who don't, even if they are wealthy e.g. Sunak taking his salary or not, doesn't impact my view of him.
I didn’t really understand this story. He got in his car, drove somewhere, went for a run and then got back in his car? I used to do this all of the time.
We can also look at other pieces of evidence, like he has run two marathons (you can find the times), he uses a heel lock on his laces (which I bet nobody here who isn’t a runner knows what that is), those are proper running shoes.
Because he started the run from his house, and then came back in his car. So he didn't "...get in his car, drive somewhere, go for a run and then get back in his car?" (sic).
I have no doubt he goes running. But its fair game to point out the oddness of this.
If you want to donate to charity, do so. If you think MPs are paid too much (they are not). then say so.
MPs aren't overpaid ?!?
Best of luck making that argument in Makerfield.
True, but he’d be taking a pay cut to be an MP (but obviously not as a minister).
Personally I’d pay MPs more, but hold them to much higher standards; for example limiting outside work to the minimum required to maintain professional standing, no newspaper column or TV appearance fees allowed. If you’re e.g. a doctor or a pilot, you’re allowed to keep working to avoid losing your licence.
If you want to donate to charity, do so. If you think MPs are paid too much (they are not). then say so.
I said this the other day, I imagine a lot of MPs quietly donate 10-15% of their salary to charity / unions. I think it is only worth mentioning if you are going to forego your entire salary, and I don't see MPs any lesser who don't, even if they are wealthy e.g. Sunak taking his salary or not, doesn't impact my view of him.
I didn’t really understand this story. He got in his car, drove somewhere, went for a run and then got back in his car? I used to do this all of the time.
We can also look at other pieces of evidence, like he has run two marathons (you can find the times), he uses a heel lock on his laces (which I bet nobody here who isn’t a runner knows what that is), those are proper running shoes.
Because he started the run from his house, and then came back in his car. So he didn't "...get in his car, drive somewhere, go for a run and then get back in his car?" (sic).
I have no doubt he goes running. But its fair game to point out the oddness of this.
The only time I've ever done this was when I went out drinking the previous night at a friend's house which was across the village we used to live in.
Singapore pays for instance its Foreign Minister around US$800,000. The salary is benchmarked to 60% of the median income of the top 1,000 Singaporean earners.
But Singapore takes any form of dodgyness / corruption incredibly serious. So we pay you a lot of money, but we don't play the silly game of slap of the wrist, sob story to Beth Rigby, come back in 6 months. You are done done.
Okay but that’s a wage cap, something people here have resoundingly rejected before.
If you want to donate to charity, do so. If you think MPs are paid too much (they are not). then say so.
I said this the other day, I imagine a lot of MPs quietly donate 10-15% of their salary to charity / unions. I think it is only worth mentioning if you are going to forego your entire salary, and I don't see MPs any lesser who don't, even if they are wealthy e.g. Sunak taking his salary or not, doesn't impact my view of him.
I didn’t really understand this story. He got in his car, drove somewhere, went for a run and then got back in his car? I used to do this all of the time.
We can also look at other pieces of evidence, like he has run two marathons (you can find the times), he uses a heel lock on his laces (which I bet nobody here who isn’t a runner knows what that is), those are proper running shoes.
Because he started the run from his house, and then came back in his car. So he didn't "...get in his car, drive somewhere, go for a run and then get back in his car?" (sic).
I have no doubt he goes running. But its fair game to point out the oddness of this.
If you want to donate to charity, do so. If you think MPs are paid too much (they are not). then say so.
I said this the other day, I imagine a lot of MPs quietly donate 10-15% of their salary to charity / unions. I think it is only worth mentioning if you are going to forego your entire salary, and I don't see MPs any lesser who don't, even if they are wealthy e.g. Sunak taking his salary or not, doesn't impact my view of him.
I didn’t really understand this story. He got in his car, drove somewhere, went for a run and then got back in his car? I used to do this all of the time.
We can also look at other pieces of evidence, like he has run two marathons (you can find the times), he uses a heel lock on his laces (which I bet nobody here who isn’t a runner knows what that is), those are proper running shoes.
No he didn't, he ran from his house (we have all seen the infamous picture now) to the cameras waiting on the dual carraigeway, then got in his car and drove home.
Its poltician does setup photoshoot shocker story....
So when I used to park my car somewhere, run home, then go and get my car later, I was doing it for a photo?
Thought: Would it be better to make Burnham actually the King of the North (i.e. first minister of a North of England region with around Scotland levels of devolution, so that Northern Transport infrastructure can be improved without begging the Treasury, etc), rather than drag him down south to replace the hapless Starmer and fail as PM in similar or new and exciting ways?
If you want to donate to charity, do so. If you think MPs are paid too much (they are not). then say so.
MPs aren't overpaid ?!?
Best of luck making that argument in Makerfield.
True, but he’d be taking a pay cut to be an MP (but obviously not as a minister).
Personally I’d pay MPs more, but hold them to much higher standards; for example limiting outside work to the minimum required to maintain professional standing, no newspaper column or TV appearance fees allowed.
I don't know when it stopped being a thing, but all ministers assets into blind trust. Then we don't get things like Big Ange stamp duty issues or Rachel Reeves not having a licence to rent out a home, as proper legal tax advice will be being implemented and if they f##k up its nothing to do with the minister..
Andy Burnham’s allies have accused Wes Streeting of trying to derail the mayor’s campaign for No 10 by reopening Labour’s Brexit battles and playing into the hands of Reform UK
His intervention prompted a furious response from Burnham’s supporters, who said it was a deliberate attempt to elevate Brexit as an issue in the Leave-voting seat of Makerfield, which the mayor of Greater Manchester must win to contest the party leadership
One Burnham ally said: “Wes’s only hope at becoming the next leader is for Andy to lose the by-election. [Streeting’s] comments … are counterproductive to Labour winning this by-election. It’s very transparent.”
An MP close to Burnham said it was a “a roll of the dice” by Streeting because “he can see the writing is on the wall”. A friend of Burnham said Streeting was “clearly trying to create a dividing line.”
Please please please let's not talk about Brexit until after I've won.
Andy Burnham must be the most disingenuous candidate out there.
It’s an unusual situation. Normally, a politician has to win over their party before winning over the public. This is the reverse.
The public really don’t like being told what to think by the politicians. Burnham, like Starmer, is tying himself in knots to say one thing nationally and the opposite locally.
I think I could probably be persuaded to vote Reform if I lived in Makerfield, it will be interesting to see how much of a paper candidate the Tories put up.
Nationally, Kemi will want to give the impression of fighting hard for every seat, but locally I suspect they lose their deposit and don’t care much if it keeps Burnham out of the Commons.
Could Burnham’s campaign for the top job be the biggest instant failure since Ron DeSantis?
It’s an interesting question what is in the Tories’ best long term interests. Remember there’s also the question of Reform winning the by-election, which is bad news for them, compared to Reform’s bubble continuing to slowly leak. With a Labour winner, the Tories would prefer Starmer staying to getting Burnham, but maybe they’d rather Burnham than Streeting? Whereas they wouldn’t mind Ange. Burnham also puts PR back on the agenda, which instinctively the Tories hate, yet might actually be in their best interests.
I think it's in the Tories' interests for Reform to win following a calamitous campaign by Burnham in which the Labour Party is clearly split.
Yes that was my thinking.
Tories got just shy of 11% at the last election, as Reform got more than 30%.
So the obvious move from the Tories is to run a paper candidate - assuming that Reform run a properly-vetted local candidate who doesn’t turn out to be one of Tommy Robinson’s football hooligan mates
Big G sees it the other way round, that from the country’s point of view Burnham’s better than Rayner or Streeting; that Reform are the Tories’ main rivals, so the Tories should campaign hard and split the right-of-centre vote.
I think both are valid, but given the seat demographics the Tory soft-pedal is the better option here.
I think its strategic against tactical and the strategic position supports @Big_G_NorthWales. Reform is a threat to the very existence of the Tory party. Labour isn't. A win for Reform here would throw Labour into total chaos and undermine the Labour government but it would make Reform, not the Tories, the threat to that government. The price for the Tories of a Reform win is too high a price to pay and they should do what they can to encourage their supporters not to back Reform.
I agree on strategy v tactics, but would save strategy for the general election, use the tactics for a by-election which is only happening as a vanity project for the Labour candidate.
If Reform win then they are going to have all the momentum and will be the next Government. Which I suspect would reduce the incentive for people to vote Tory, if you want a right wing party vote for the winner (Reform), if you don't vote Lib Dem / Labour as appropriate.
Whilst I think the Burnham factor should be taken into account, Reform really ought to win this by election. I don't think it does the Tories much harm if they do.
The best scenario for the Tories is if Labour goes left. They need the Lib Dems and their voters to be in a tricky position.
The Tories have lost most votes to Reform. Badenoch is campaigning nationally on the line that only the Tories can beat Labour. The better Reform do, the less Badenoch’s line works, the worse it is for the Tories. Labour winning a Labour seat doesn’t hurt the Tories; Reform winning is very bad for them.
I don't think it really matters in the same way it didn't matter that the Lib Dems didn't win Gorton and Denton.
If the Tories lose 3 more deposits in these byelections then it really does look bad for an official opposition. Couple that with a set of dismal results in next years Shire elections and we are looking at the imminent extinction of our oldest political party.
Look at how the Populist right have destroyed traditional conservative parties elsewhere, notably France and USA. It is very possible.
In the US Trump has just taken over the Republican Party rather than destroyed it.
In France Les Républicains still exist but divided between those like Barnier who have served in Macron’s governments and those like Ciotti who have set up a group in alliance with Le Pen, Bardella and RN
French politics is strange, and pretty unusual in the Western world. The leader is more important than the party. Parties come and go, rename themselves constantly, whereas individual politicians (Le Pen pere et fille, Macron, Bayrou, Melenchon etc) can go on for decades.
This will hardly cost Burnham the by-election but of course he could have done without it. I have no problem with Streeting doing a leadership pitch of a speech now and including a strong Rejoin message. It's fine to get that in before the by-election gets going. He's positioning himself. He doesn't want to be forgotten and swamped by Andy mania. He's saying, "hey I'm here remember, it's not all about him". That's good. It's why he is what he is - Wes Streeting. I will have a problem if he bangs on about Europe during the Mac campaign. That would merit a metaphysical slap around the chops. But I'm sure he won't do that because it would piss off the whole party and that.is not what 'positioning himself' entails.
As for Andy Burnham I don't for the life of me understand why 'allies of' are leaking their and his annoyance. All that has done is pushed it forward as a story. It's all over the place now. The lead on Today this morning, no less, as well as here on PB.com. That's the two most influential platforms in the country majoring on it. Not great. Far better for Team AB to have just ignored it and cracked on. In fact this would be my general message for Labour atm. The media and political opponents (which amount to the same thing when we're talking about Labour) are captain keen for tales of grief and division within the party. Stop obliging them.
Andy Burnham’s allies have accused Wes Streeting of trying to derail the mayor’s campaign for No 10 by reopening Labour’s Brexit battles and playing into the hands of Reform UK
His intervention prompted a furious response from Burnham’s supporters, who said it was a deliberate attempt to elevate Brexit as an issue in the Leave-voting seat of Makerfield, which the mayor of Greater Manchester must win to contest the party leadership
One Burnham ally said: “Wes’s only hope at becoming the next leader is for Andy to lose the by-election. [Streeting’s] comments … are counterproductive to Labour winning this by-election. It’s very transparent.”
An MP close to Burnham said it was a “a roll of the dice” by Streeting because “he can see the writing is on the wall”. A friend of Burnham said Streeting was “clearly trying to create a dividing line.”
Please please please let's not talk about Brexit until after I've won.
Andy Burnham must be the most disingenuous candidate out there.
It’s an unusual situation. Normally, a politician has to win over their party before winning over the public. This is the reverse.
The public really don’t like being told what to think by the politicians. Burnham, like Starmer, is tying himself in knots to say one thing nationally and the opposite locally.
I think I could probably be persuaded to vote Reform if I lived in Makerfield, it will be interesting to see how much of a paper candidate the Tories put up.
Nationally, Kemi will want to give the impression of fighting hard for every seat, but locally I suspect they lose their deposit and don’t care much if it keeps Burnham out of the Commons.
Could Burnham’s campaign for the top job be the biggest instant failure since Ron DeSantis?
It’s an interesting question what is in the Tories’ best long term interests. Remember there’s also the question of Reform winning the by-election, which is bad news for them, compared to Reform’s bubble continuing to slowly leak. With a Labour winner, the Tories would prefer Starmer staying to getting Burnham, but maybe they’d rather Burnham than Streeting? Whereas they wouldn’t mind Ange. Burnham also puts PR back on the agenda, which instinctively the Tories hate, yet might actually be in their best interests.
I think it's in the Tories' interests for Reform to win following a calamitous campaign by Burnham in which the Labour Party is clearly split.
Yes that was my thinking.
Tories got just shy of 11% at the last election, as Reform got more than 30%.
So the obvious move from the Tories is to run a paper candidate - assuming that Reform run a properly-vetted local candidate who doesn’t turn out to be one of Tommy Robinson’s football hooligan mates
Big G sees it the other way round, that from the country’s point of view Burnham’s better than Rayner or Streeting; that Reform are the Tories’ main rivals, so the Tories should campaign hard and split the right-of-centre vote.
I think both are valid, but given the seat demographics the Tory soft-pedal is the better option here.
I think its strategic against tactical and the strategic position supports @Big_G_NorthWales. Reform is a threat to the very existence of the Tory party. Labour isn't. A win for Reform here would throw Labour into total chaos and undermine the Labour government but it would make Reform, not the Tories, the threat to that government. The price for the Tories of a Reform win is too high a price to pay and they should do what they can to encourage their supporters not to back Reform.
I agree on strategy v tactics, but would save strategy for the general election, use the tactics for a by-election which is only happening as a vanity project for the Labour candidate.
If Reform win then they are going to have all the momentum and will be the next Government. Which I suspect would reduce the incentive for people to vote Tory, if you want a right wing party vote for the winner (Reform), if you don't vote Lib Dem / Labour as appropriate.
Whilst I think the Burnham factor should be taken into account, Reform really ought to win this by election. I don't think it does the Tories much harm if they do.
The best scenario for the Tories is if Labour goes left. They need the Lib Dems and their voters to be in a tricky position.
The Tories have lost most votes to Reform. Badenoch is campaigning nationally on the line that only the Tories can beat Labour. The better Reform do, the less Badenoch’s line works, the worse it is for the Tories. Labour winning a Labour seat doesn’t hurt the Tories; Reform winning is very bad for them.
Yes, as a Tory I want Burnham to win the by election. Burnham polls best in the North, Wales and Midlands and would take votes from Reform and the Greens. However he polls worst in the South so would not take many votes from the Tories and would enable Kemi to put clear blue low tax, controlled spending water with a high tax, high spend Burnham led Labour
Then you’re not a true patriot and you’re certainly not right wing. If Reform wins here that could actually be the end of Labour - forever. Given what damage they’ve done to the country surely that is overwhelmingly desirable? Yes it might mean the end of your party too, but who cares. It’s just a party
It’s the country that matters. Britain. The British people. Ending Labour would be brilliant for GREAT BRITAIN
I’m afraid this is final proof that in the end you’re not a patriot and you’re not even that political. You support the Tory party out of sheer tribalism. Like a mindless oaf supporting Millwall
I am a Tory, not hard right. If the Tory party didn’t exist I would be a swing voter between LD and Reform, I wouldn’t join Reform.
I don’t especially want to see the end of Labour either, they are certainly better than the Polanski Greens.
Reform would destroy the UK and could end the Union, the Greens would destroy the economy and end the monarchy.
So on the one hand you firmly believe Reform would “destroy the UK” but on the other you might vote for them at a push
Tell me, how do you reckon they would “destroy the UK”?
If Farage became PM, 60%+ of Scots would back independence and most Northern Irish voters would back a united Ireland. Even 40%+ of Welsh voters would back going their own way.
Farage would not be willing to resist the SNP and Sinn Fein and Plaid hard enough. Indeed if he was PM he would likely need the military to stop Scotland and most of Northern Ireland bar Antrim breaking away and he has not ruled out indyref2 forever
If you want to donate to charity, do so. If you think MPs are paid too much (they are not). then say so.
I said this the other day, I imagine a lot of MPs quietly donate 10-15% of their salary to charity / unions. I think it is only worth mentioning if you are going to forego your entire salary, and I don't see MPs any lesser who don't, even if they are wealthy e.g. Sunak taking his salary or not, doesn't impact my view of him.
I didn’t really understand this story. He got in his car, drove somewhere, went for a run and then got back in his car? I used to do this all of the time.
We can also look at other pieces of evidence, like he has run two marathons (you can find the times), he uses a heel lock on his laces (which I bet nobody here who isn’t a runner knows what that is), those are proper running shoes.
No he didn't, he ran from his house (we have all seen the infamous picture now) to the cameras waiting on the dual carraigeway, then got in his car and drove home.
Its poltician does setup photoshoot shocker story....
So when I used to park my car somewhere, run home, then go and get my car later, I was doing it for a photo?
Oh come on you are being ridicilious now. I know he is your guy, but he did a PR stunt (that isn't to say he goes jogging or not), politicians do it all the time. He wanted the "Andy's is Running", which is the headline which he got.
Well done him on being able to do a bit of simple PR, unlike Starmer who somehow manages to look inauthetic even when he is actually authetic e.g. his love of Arsenal football club.
I have no comment on the policies proposed, except that I hope they will work, but thought that there was a failure of logic worth bringing to everyone's attention.
"The reforms announced today are backed by figures which show more than two-thirds of children released from custody reoffend within a year, but just over one-third of children sentenced to community sentences reoffended."
If you want to donate to charity, do so. If you think MPs are paid too much (they are not). then say so.
I said this the other day, I imagine a lot of MPs quietly donate 10-15% of their salary to charity / unions. I think it is only worth mentioning if you are going to forego your entire salary, and I don't see MPs any lesser who don't, even if they are wealthy e.g. Sunak taking his salary or not, doesn't impact my view of him.
I didn’t really understand this story. He got in his car, drove somewhere, went for a run and then got back in his car? I used to do this all of the time.
We can also look at other pieces of evidence, like he has run two marathons (you can find the times), he uses a heel lock on his laces (which I bet nobody here who isn’t a runner knows what that is), those are proper running shoes.
No he didn't, he ran from his house (we have all seen the infamous picture now) to the cameras waiting on the dual carraigeway, then got in his car and drove home.
Its poltician does setup photoshoot shocker story....
So when I used to park my car somewhere, run home, then go and get my car later, I was doing it for a photo?
Oh come on you are being ridicilious now. I know he is your guy, but he did a PR stunt (that isn't to say he goes jogging or not), politicians do it all the time. He wanted the "Andy's is Running" is the headline which he got.
He’s not my guy, I don’t particularly like him.
Just as a runner of 10 years, I can see how it wasn’t staged for a photo. On the balance of probabilities it probably was, however I can see the case that it might not have been.
Just out of interest, did you used to say the same about Johnson?
If you want to donate to charity, do so. If you think MPs are paid too much (they are not). then say so.
MPs aren't overpaid ?!?
Best of luck making that argument in Makerfield.
True, but he’d be taking a pay cut to be an MP (but obviously not as a minister).
Personally I’d pay MPs more, but hold them to much higher standards; for example limiting outside work to the minimum required to maintain professional standing, no newspaper column or TV appearance fees allowed.
I don't know when it stopped being a thing, but all ministers assets into blind trust. Then we don't get things like Big Ange stamp duty issues or Rachel Reeves not having a licence to rent out a home, as proper legal tax advice will be being implemented and if they f##k up its nothing to do with the minister..
We could have a system like this....no it's not a soap from the 70's it's last week on Fox News....
Andy Burnham’s allies have accused Wes Streeting of trying to derail the mayor’s campaign for No 10 by reopening Labour’s Brexit battles and playing into the hands of Reform UK
His intervention prompted a furious response from Burnham’s supporters, who said it was a deliberate attempt to elevate Brexit as an issue in the Leave-voting seat of Makerfield, which the mayor of Greater Manchester must win to contest the party leadership
One Burnham ally said: “Wes’s only hope at becoming the next leader is for Andy to lose the by-election. [Streeting’s] comments … are counterproductive to Labour winning this by-election. It’s very transparent.”
An MP close to Burnham said it was a “a roll of the dice” by Streeting because “he can see the writing is on the wall”. A friend of Burnham said Streeting was “clearly trying to create a dividing line.”
Please please please let's not talk about Brexit until after I've won.
Andy Burnham must be the most disingenuous candidate out there.
It’s an unusual situation. Normally, a politician has to win over their party before winning over the public. This is the reverse.
The public really don’t like being told what to think by the politicians. Burnham, like Starmer, is tying himself in knots to say one thing nationally and the opposite locally.
I think I could probably be persuaded to vote Reform if I lived in Makerfield, it will be interesting to see how much of a paper candidate the Tories put up.
Nationally, Kemi will want to give the impression of fighting hard for every seat, but locally I suspect they lose their deposit and don’t care much if it keeps Burnham out of the Commons.
Could Burnham’s campaign for the top job be the biggest instant failure since Ron DeSantis?
It’s an interesting question what is in the Tories’ best long term interests. Remember there’s also the question of Reform winning the by-election, which is bad news for them, compared to Reform’s bubble continuing to slowly leak. With a Labour winner, the Tories would prefer Starmer staying to getting Burnham, but maybe they’d rather Burnham than Streeting? Whereas they wouldn’t mind Ange. Burnham also puts PR back on the agenda, which instinctively the Tories hate, yet might actually be in their best interests.
I think it's in the Tories' interests for Reform to win following a calamitous campaign by Burnham in which the Labour Party is clearly split.
Yes that was my thinking.
Tories got just shy of 11% at the last election, as Reform got more than 30%.
So the obvious move from the Tories is to run a paper candidate - assuming that Reform run a properly-vetted local candidate who doesn’t turn out to be one of Tommy Robinson’s football hooligan mates
Big G sees it the other way round, that from the country’s point of view Burnham’s better than Rayner or Streeting; that Reform are the Tories’ main rivals, so the Tories should campaign hard and split the right-of-centre vote.
I think both are valid, but given the seat demographics the Tory soft-pedal is the better option here.
I think its strategic against tactical and the strategic position supports @Big_G_NorthWales. Reform is a threat to the very existence of the Tory party. Labour isn't. A win for Reform here would throw Labour into total chaos and undermine the Labour government but it would make Reform, not the Tories, the threat to that government. The price for the Tories of a Reform win is too high a price to pay and they should do what they can to encourage their supporters not to back Reform.
I agree on strategy v tactics, but would save strategy for the general election, use the tactics for a by-election which is only happening as a vanity project for the Labour candidate.
If Reform win then they are going to have all the momentum and will be the next Government. Which I suspect would reduce the incentive for people to vote Tory, if you want a right wing party vote for the winner (Reform), if you don't vote Lib Dem / Labour as appropriate.
Whilst I think the Burnham factor should be taken into account, Reform really ought to win this by election. I don't think it does the Tories much harm if they do.
The best scenario for the Tories is if Labour goes left. They need the Lib Dems and their voters to be in a tricky position.
The Tories have lost most votes to Reform. Badenoch is campaigning nationally on the line that only the Tories can beat Labour. The better Reform do, the less Badenoch’s line works, the worse it is for the Tories. Labour winning a Labour seat doesn’t hurt the Tories; Reform winning is very bad for them.
I don't think it really matters in the same way it didn't matter that the Lib Dems didn't win Gorton and Denton.
If the Tories lose 3 more deposits in these byelections then it really does look bad for an official opposition. Couple that with a set of dismal results in next years Shire elections and we are looking at the imminent extinction of our oldest political party.
Look at how the Populist right have destroyed traditional conservative parties elsewhere, notably France and USA. It is very possible.
In the US Trump has just taken over the Republican Party rather than destroyed it.
In France Les Républicains still exist but divided between those like Barnier who have served in Macron’s governments and those like Ciotti who have set up a group in alliance with Le Pen, Bardella and RN
French politics is strange, and pretty unusual in the Western world. The leader is more important than the party. Parties come and go, rename themselves constantly, whereas individual politicians (Le Pen pere et fille, Macron, Bayrou, Melenchon etc) can go on for decades.
If you want to donate to charity, do so. If you think MPs are paid too much (they are not). then say so.
I said this the other day, I imagine a lot of MPs quietly donate 10-15% of their salary to charity / unions. I think it is only worth mentioning if you are going to forego your entire salary, and I don't see MPs any lesser who don't, even if they are wealthy e.g. Sunak taking his salary or not, doesn't impact my view of him.
I didn’t really understand this story. He got in his car, drove somewhere, went for a run and then got back in his car? I used to do this all of the time.
We can also look at other pieces of evidence, like he has run two marathons (you can find the times), he uses a heel lock on his laces (which I bet nobody here who isn’t a runner knows what that is), those are proper running shoes.
No he didn't, he ran from his house (we have all seen the infamous picture now) to the cameras waiting on the dual carraigeway, then got in his car and drove home.
Its poltician does setup photoshoot shocker story....
So when I used to park my car somewhere, run home, then go and get my car later, I was doing it for a photo?
Oh come on you are being ridicilious now. I know he is your guy, but he did a PR stunt (that isn't to say he goes jogging or not), politicians do it all the time. He wanted the "Andy's is Running" is the headline which he got.
He’s not my guy, I don’t particularly like him.
Just as a runner of 10 years, I can see how it wasn’t staged for a photo. On the balance of probabilities it probably was, however I can see the case that it might not have been.
Just out of interest, did you used to say the same about Johnson?
Johnson was through and through shameless rogue in his use of the media stunts. and the media loved to play along.
If you want to donate to charity, do so. If you think MPs are paid too much (they are not). then say so.
I said this the other day, I imagine a lot of MPs quietly donate 10-15% of their salary to charity / unions. I think it is only worth mentioning if you are going to forego your entire salary, and I don't see MPs any lesser who don't, even if they are wealthy e.g. Sunak taking his salary or not, doesn't impact my view of him.
I didn’t really understand this story. He got in his car, drove somewhere, went for a run and then got back in his car? I used to do this all of the time.
We can also look at other pieces of evidence, like he has run two marathons (you can find the times), he uses a heel lock on his laces (which I bet nobody here who isn’t a runner knows what that is), those are proper running shoes.
Because he started the run from his house, and then came back in his car. So he didn't "...get in his car, drive somewhere, go for a run and then get back in his car?" (sic).
I have no doubt he goes running. But its fair game to point out the oddness of this.
He ran to his car? Again, I’ve also done that.
Has he still got his Mark 6 Golf? The ubiquitous anodyne europäisches Auto.
If you want to donate to charity, do so. If you think MPs are paid too much (they are not). then say so.
I said this the other day, I imagine a lot of MPs quietly donate 10-15% of their salary to charity / unions. I think it is only worth mentioning if you are going to forego your entire salary, and I don't see MPs any lesser who don't, even if they are wealthy e.g. Sunak taking his salary or not, doesn't impact my view of him.
I didn’t really understand this story. He got in his car, drove somewhere, went for a run and then got back in his car? I used to do this all of the time.
We can also look at other pieces of evidence, like he has run two marathons (you can find the times), he uses a heel lock on his laces (which I bet nobody here who isn’t a runner knows what that is), those are proper running shoes.
Because he started the run from his house, and then came back in his car. So he didn't "...get in his car, drive somewhere, go for a run and then get back in his car?" (sic).
I have no doubt he goes running. But its fair game to point out the oddness of this.
The only time I've ever done this was when I went out drinking the previous night at a friend's house which was across the village we used to live in.
I wonder if that was exactly what he was doing, going out to retrieve his car from whichever house or pub he’d left it parked the night before? It’s the only obvious explanation as to why he left his house on foot and returned in his own car.
Any other reason makes no sense at all. For official duties as mayor he presumably has a car service provided.
Thought: Would it be better to make Burnham actually the King of the North (i.e. first minister of a North of England region with around Scotland levels of devolution, so that Northern Transport infrastructure can be improved without begging the Treasury, etc), rather than drag him down south to replace the hapless Starmer and fail as PM in similar or new and exciting ways?
Duke of the Midlands would be the classic solution.
"Chaos broke out at shopping centres across the country on Saturday as crowds of people tried to get their hands on a limited-edition watch.
Swatch stores across London, and cities including Manchester, Cardiff and Glasgow were unable to open after unruly shoppers flocked to get hold of the new timepiece.
Footage circulating online showed police dogs at shopping centres as crowds tried to force their way into stores.
People reportedly queued overnight to get their hands on the Royal Pop watch – a collaboration between Swatch and Luxury Swiss watch designer Audemars Piguet – which retails for £335."
"Chaos broke out at shopping centres across the country on Saturday as crowds of people tried to get their hands on a limited-edition watch.
Swatch stores across London, and cities including Manchester, Cardiff and Glasgow were unable to open after unruly shoppers flocked to get hold of the new timepiece.
Footage circulating online showed police dogs at shopping centres as crowds tried to force their way into stores.
People reportedly queued overnight to get their hands on the Royal Pop watch – a collaboration between Swatch and Luxury Swiss watch designer Audemars Piguet – which retails for £335."
If you want to donate to charity, do so. If you think MPs are paid too much (they are not). then say so.
I said this the other day, I imagine a lot of MPs quietly donate 10-15% of their salary to charity / unions. I think it is only worth mentioning if you are going to forego your entire salary, and I don't see MPs any lesser who don't, even if they are wealthy e.g. Sunak taking his salary or not, doesn't impact my view of him.
I didn’t really understand this story. He got in his car, drove somewhere, went for a run and then got back in his car? I used to do this all of the time.
We can also look at other pieces of evidence, like he has run two marathons (you can find the times), he uses a heel lock on his laces (which I bet nobody here who isn’t a runner knows what that is), those are proper running shoes.
Because he started the run from his house, and then came back in his car. So he didn't "...get in his car, drive somewhere, go for a run and then get back in his car?" (sic).
I have no doubt he goes running. But its fair game to point out the oddness of this.
The only time I've ever done this was when I went out drinking the previous night at a friend's house which was across the village we used to live in.
I wonder if that was exactly what he was doing, going out to retrieve his car from whichever house or pub he’d left it parked the night before? It’s the only obvious explanation as to why he left his house on foot and returned in his own car.
Any other reason makes no sense at all. For official duties as mayor he presumably has a car service provided.
Because of a mix of private and public stuff, his car got left at X, while he was dropped off at home by an official car? So he had to go and get his car?
Andy Burnham’s allies have accused Wes Streeting of trying to derail the mayor’s campaign for No 10 by reopening Labour’s Brexit battles and playing into the hands of Reform UK
His intervention prompted a furious response from Burnham’s supporters, who said it was a deliberate attempt to elevate Brexit as an issue in the Leave-voting seat of Makerfield, which the mayor of Greater Manchester must win to contest the party leadership
One Burnham ally said: “Wes’s only hope at becoming the next leader is for Andy to lose the by-election. [Streeting’s] comments … are counterproductive to Labour winning this by-election. It’s very transparent.”
An MP close to Burnham said it was a “a roll of the dice” by Streeting because “he can see the writing is on the wall”. A friend of Burnham said Streeting was “clearly trying to create a dividing line.”
Please please please let's not talk about Brexit until after I've won.
Andy Burnham must be the most disingenuous candidate out there.
It’s an unusual situation. Normally, a politician has to win over their party before winning over the public. This is the reverse.
The public really don’t like being told what to think by the politicians. Burnham, like Starmer, is tying himself in knots to say one thing nationally and the opposite locally.
I think I could probably be persuaded to vote Reform if I lived in Makerfield, it will be interesting to see how much of a paper candidate the Tories put up.
Nationally, Kemi will want to give the impression of fighting hard for every seat, but locally I suspect they lose their deposit and don’t care much if it keeps Burnham out of the Commons.
Could Burnham’s campaign for the top job be the biggest instant failure since Ron DeSantis?
It’s an interesting question what is in the Tories’ best long term interests. Remember there’s also the question of Reform winning the by-election, which is bad news for them, compared to Reform’s bubble continuing to slowly leak. With a Labour winner, the Tories would prefer Starmer staying to getting Burnham, but maybe they’d rather Burnham than Streeting? Whereas they wouldn’t mind Ange. Burnham also puts PR back on the agenda, which instinctively the Tories hate, yet might actually be in their best interests.
I think it's in the Tories' interests for Reform to win following a calamitous campaign by Burnham in which the Labour Party is clearly split.
Yes that was my thinking.
Tories got just shy of 11% at the last election, as Reform got more than 30%.
So the obvious move from the Tories is to run a paper candidate - assuming that Reform run a properly-vetted local candidate who doesn’t turn out to be one of Tommy Robinson’s football hooligan mates
Big G sees it the other way round, that from the country’s point of view Burnham’s better than Rayner or Streeting; that Reform are the Tories’ main rivals, so the Tories should campaign hard and split the right-of-centre vote.
I think both are valid, but given the seat demographics the Tory soft-pedal is the better option here.
I think its strategic against tactical and the strategic position supports @Big_G_NorthWales. Reform is a threat to the very existence of the Tory party. Labour isn't. A win for Reform here would throw Labour into total chaos and undermine the Labour government but it would make Reform, not the Tories, the threat to that government. The price for the Tories of a Reform win is too high a price to pay and they should do what they can to encourage their supporters not to back Reform.
I agree on strategy v tactics, but would save strategy for the general election, use the tactics for a by-election which is only happening as a vanity project for the Labour candidate.
If Reform win then they are going to have all the momentum and will be the next Government. Which I suspect would reduce the incentive for people to vote Tory, if you want a right wing party vote for the winner (Reform), if you don't vote Lib Dem / Labour as appropriate.
Whilst I think the Burnham factor should be taken into account, Reform really ought to win this by election. I don't think it does the Tories much harm if they do.
The best scenario for the Tories is if Labour goes left. They need the Lib Dems and their voters to be in a tricky position.
The Tories have lost most votes to Reform. Badenoch is campaigning nationally on the line that only the Tories can beat Labour. The better Reform do, the less Badenoch’s line works, the worse it is for the Tories. Labour winning a Labour seat doesn’t hurt the Tories; Reform winning is very bad for them.
Yes, as a Tory I want Burnham to win the by election. Burnham polls best in the North, Wales and Midlands and would take votes from Reform and the Greens. However he polls worst in the South so would not take many votes from the Tories and would enable Kemi to put clear blue low tax, controlled spending water with a high tax, high spend Burnham led Labour
Then you’re not a true patriot and you’re certainly not right wing. If Reform wins here that could actually be the end of Labour - forever. Given what damage they’ve done to the country surely that is overwhelmingly desirable? Yes it might mean the end of your party too, but who cares. It’s just a party
It’s the country that matters. Britain. The British people. Ending Labour would be brilliant for GREAT BRITAIN
I’m afraid this is final proof that in the end you’re not a patriot and you’re not even that political. You support the Tory party out of sheer tribalism. Like a mindless oaf supporting Millwall
I am a Tory, not hard right. If the Tory party didn’t exist I would be a swing voter between LD and Reform, I wouldn’t join Reform.
I don’t especially want to see the end of Labour either, they are certainly better than the Polanski Greens.
Reform would destroy the UK and could end the Union, the Greens would destroy the economy and end the monarchy.
So on the one hand you firmly believe Reform would “destroy the UK” but on the other you might vote for them at a push
Tell me, how do you reckon they would “destroy the UK”?
If Farage became PM, 60%+ of Scots would back independence and most Northern Irish voters would back a united Ireland. Even 40%+ of Welsh voters would back going their own way.
Farage would not be willing to resist the SNP and Sinn Fein and Plaid hard enough. Indeed if he was PM he would likely need the military to stop Scotland and most of Northern Ireland bar Antrim breaking away and he has not ruled out indyref2 forever
If that happened, it wouldn't be Farage's "fault". It would be the decision of Scottish and Welsh voters and no-one else.
If you want to donate to charity, do so. If you think MPs are paid too much (they are not). then say so.
I said this the other day, I imagine a lot of MPs quietly donate 10-15% of their salary to charity / unions. I think it is only worth mentioning if you are going to forego your entire salary, and I don't see MPs any lesser who don't, even if they are wealthy e.g. Sunak taking his salary or not, doesn't impact my view of him.
I didn’t really understand this story. He got in his car, drove somewhere, went for a run and then got back in his car? I used to do this all of the time.
We can also look at other pieces of evidence, like he has run two marathons (you can find the times), he uses a heel lock on his laces (which I bet nobody here who isn’t a runner knows what that is), those are proper running shoes.
No he didn't, he ran from his house (we have all seen the infamous picture now) to the cameras waiting on the dual carraigeway, then got in his car and drove home.
Its poltician does setup photoshoot shocker story....
So when I used to park my car somewhere, run home, then go and get my car later, I was doing it for a photo?
Oh come on you are being ridicilious now. I know he is your guy, but he did a PR stunt (that isn't to say he goes jogging or not), politicians do it all the time. He wanted the "Andy's is Running" is the headline which he got.
He’s not my guy, I don’t particularly like him.
Just as a runner of 10 years, I can see how it wasn’t staged for a photo. On the balance of probabilities it probably was, however I can see the case that it might not have been.
Just out of interest, did you used to say the same about Johnson?
Johnson was through and through shameless rogue in his use of the media stunts. and the media loved to play along.
Johnson used to get out of the car 100m round the corner and then run. Fairly obvious as he'd have been a shambling mess if he'd run any further
If you want to donate to charity, do so. If you think MPs are paid too much (they are not). then say so.
I said this the other day, I imagine a lot of MPs quietly donate 10-15% of their salary to charity / unions. I think it is only worth mentioning if you are going to forego your entire salary, and I don't see MPs any lesser who don't, even if they are wealthy e.g. Sunak taking his salary or not, doesn't impact my view of him.
I didn’t really understand this story. He got in his car, drove somewhere, went for a run and then got back in his car? I used to do this all of the time.
We can also look at other pieces of evidence, like he has run two marathons (you can find the times), he uses a heel lock on his laces (which I bet nobody here who isn’t a runner knows what that is), those are proper running shoes.
No he didn't, he ran from his house (we have all seen the infamous picture now) to the cameras waiting on the dual carraigeway, then got in his car and drove home.
Its poltician does setup photoshoot shocker story....
So when I used to park my car somewhere, run home, then go and get my car later, I was doing it for a photo?
Oh come on you are being ridicilious now. I know he is your guy, but he did a PR stunt (that isn't to say he goes jogging or not), politicians do it all the time. He wanted the "Andy's is Running" is the headline which he got.
He’s not my guy, I don’t particularly like him.
Just as a runner of 10 years, I can see how it wasn’t staged for a photo. On the balance of probabilities it probably was, however I can see the case that it might not have been.
Just out of interest, did you used to say the same about Johnson?
Johnson was through and through shameless rogue in his use of the media stunts. and the media loved to play along.
Johnson used to get out of the car 100m round the corner and then run. Fairly obvious as he'd have been a shambling mess if he'd run any further
If you want to donate to charity, do so. If you think MPs are paid too much (they are not). then say so.
MPs aren't overpaid ?!?
Best of luck making that argument in Makerfield.
True, but he’d be taking a pay cut to be an MP (but obviously not as a minister).
Personally I’d pay MPs more, but hold them to much higher standards; for example limiting outside work to the minimum required to maintain professional standing, no newspaper column or TV appearance fees allowed.
I don't know when it stopped being a thing, but all ministers assets into blind trust. Then we don't get things like Big Ange stamp duty issues or Rachel Reeves not having a licence to rent out a home, as proper legal tax advice will be being implemented and if they f##k up its nothing to do with the minister..
Have we ever had that? It sounds American and maybe presidential.
ETA a policy of Google First, Post Later would have found this on blind trusts here, so the answer to my question is yes.
This will hardly cost Burnham the by-election but of course he could have done without it. I have no problem with Streeting doing a leadership pitch of a speech now and including a strong Rejoin message. It's fine to get that in before the by-election gets going. He's positioning himself. He doesn't want to be forgotten and swamped by Andy mania. He's saying, "hey I'm here remember, it's not all about him". That's good. It's why he is what he is - Wes Streeting. I will have a problem if he bangs on about Europe during the Mac campaign. That would merit a metaphysical slap around the chops. But I'm sure he won't do that because it would piss off the whole party and that.is not what 'positioning himself' entails.
As for Andy Burnham I don't for the life of me understand why 'allies of' are leaking their and his annoyance. All that has done is pushed it forward as a story. It's all over the place now. The lead on Today this morning, no less, as well as here on PB.com. That's the two most influential platforms in the country majoring on it. Not great. Far better for Team AB to have just ignored it and cracked on. In fact this would be my general message for Labour atm. The media and political opponents (which amount to the same thing when we're talking about Labour) are captain keen for tales of grief and division within the party. Stop obliging them.
You make a very sound point: this is obvs what the Salford Saviour and the Labour Party should do; but they aren't doing it. In fact it's getting worse. If this drags on it really COULD cost him the byelection
"Quite the intervention from Jonathan Hinder, the Labour MP for Pender and Clitheroe, on Wes Streeting and Andy Burnham calling for Britain to rejoin the EU
'We are just over a week after we took a real beating in our working-class heartlands
'It’s a very long list - we’re talking about the Hartlepools, the Grimsbys, Barnsley, places like Wigan, where this by-election is going to be, and we were losing to a party which until recently was called the Brexit Party
'And to suggest the solution now is for us to reopen that debate is just staggering, and the Labour Party is in an existential crisis, it really is, and the idea that we can reconnect to our working-class base by reopening this debate is just a staggering level of out of touch.'"
"Chaos broke out at shopping centres across the country on Saturday as crowds of people tried to get their hands on a limited-edition watch.
Swatch stores across London, and cities including Manchester, Cardiff and Glasgow were unable to open after unruly shoppers flocked to get hold of the new timepiece.
Footage circulating online showed police dogs at shopping centres as crowds tried to force their way into stores.
People reportedly queued overnight to get their hands on the Royal Pop watch – a collaboration between Swatch and Luxury Swiss watch designer Audemars Piguet – which retails for £335."
If you want to donate to charity, do so. If you think MPs are paid too much (they are not). then say so.
MPs aren't overpaid ?!?
Best of luck making that argument in Makerfield.
True, but he’d be taking a pay cut to be an MP (but obviously not as a minister).
Personally I’d pay MPs more, but hold them to much higher standards; for example limiting outside work to the minimum required to maintain professional standing, no newspaper column or TV appearance fees allowed.
I don't know when it stopped being a thing, but all ministers assets into blind trust. Then we don't get things like Big Ange stamp duty issues or Rachel Reeves not having a licence to rent out a home, as proper legal tax advice will be being implemented and if they f##k up its nothing to do with the minister..
Have we ever had that? It sounds American and maybe presidential.
If I remember correctly, Tony Blair first cabinet were all told to do this.
"Chaos broke out at shopping centres across the country on Saturday as crowds of people tried to get their hands on a limited-edition watch.
Swatch stores across London, and cities including Manchester, Cardiff and Glasgow were unable to open after unruly shoppers flocked to get hold of the new timepiece.
Footage circulating online showed police dogs at shopping centres as crowds tried to force their way into stores.
People reportedly queued overnight to get their hands on the Royal Pop watch – a collaboration between Swatch and Luxury Swiss watch designer Audemars Piguet – which retails for £335."
"Chaos broke out at shopping centres across the country on Saturday as crowds of people tried to get their hands on a limited-edition watch.
Swatch stores across London, and cities including Manchester, Cardiff and Glasgow were unable to open after unruly shoppers flocked to get hold of the new timepiece.
Footage circulating online showed police dogs at shopping centres as crowds tried to force their way into stores.
People reportedly queued overnight to get their hands on the Royal Pop watch – a collaboration between Swatch and Luxury Swiss watch designer Audemars Piguet – which retails for £335."
"Chaos broke out at shopping centres across the country on Saturday as crowds of people tried to get their hands on a limited-edition watch.
Swatch stores across London, and cities including Manchester, Cardiff and Glasgow were unable to open after unruly shoppers flocked to get hold of the new timepiece.
Footage circulating online showed police dogs at shopping centres as crowds tried to force their way into stores.
People reportedly queued overnight to get their hands on the Royal Pop watch – a collaboration between Swatch and Luxury Swiss watch designer Audemars Piguet – which retails for £335."
If you want to donate to charity, do so. If you think MPs are paid too much (they are not). then say so.
I said this the other day, I imagine a lot of MPs quietly donate 10-15% of their salary to charity / unions. I think it is only worth mentioning if you are going to forego your entire salary, and I don't see MPs any lesser who don't, even if they are wealthy e.g. Sunak taking his salary or not, doesn't impact my view of him.
I didn’t really understand this story. He got in his car, drove somewhere, went for a run and then got back in his car? I used to do this all of the time.
We can also look at other pieces of evidence, like he has run two marathons (you can find the times), he uses a heel lock on his laces (which I bet nobody here who isn’t a runner knows what that is), those are proper running shoes.
No he didn't, he ran from his house (we have all seen the infamous picture now) to the cameras waiting on the dual carraigeway, then got in his car and drove home.
Its poltician does setup photoshoot shocker story....
So when I used to park my car somewhere, run home, then go and get my car later, I was doing it for a photo?
You're not standing to be MP/PM. Two things can be true. (1) He goes running (and I don't think anyone is saying he doesn't) and (2) this was a bit staged.
"Chaos broke out at shopping centres across the country on Saturday as crowds of people tried to get their hands on a limited-edition watch.
Swatch stores across London, and cities including Manchester, Cardiff and Glasgow were unable to open after unruly shoppers flocked to get hold of the new timepiece.
Footage circulating online showed police dogs at shopping centres as crowds tried to force their way into stores.
People reportedly queued overnight to get their hands on the Royal Pop watch – a collaboration between Swatch and Luxury Swiss watch designer Audemars Piguet – which retails for £335."
If you want to donate to charity, do so. If you think MPs are paid too much (they are not). then say so.
MPs aren't overpaid ?!?
Best of luck making that argument in Makerfield.
True, but he’d be taking a pay cut to be an MP (but obviously not as a minister).
Personally I’d pay MPs more, but hold them to much higher standards; for example limiting outside work to the minimum required to maintain professional standing, no newspaper column or TV appearance fees allowed.
I don't know when it stopped being a thing, but all ministers assets into blind trust. Then we don't get things like Big Ange stamp duty issues or Rachel Reeves not having a licence to rent out a home, as proper legal tax advice will be being implemented and if they f##k up its nothing to do with the minister..
Have we ever had that? It sounds American and maybe presidential.
If I remember correctly, Tony Blair first cabinet were all told to do this.
Here's a story about Geoffrey Robinson - rich enough to be involved in Mandelson's first resignation - having his assets put into a blind trust just after the 1997 GE.
Andy Burnham’s allies have accused Wes Streeting of trying to derail the mayor’s campaign for No 10 by reopening Labour’s Brexit battles and playing into the hands of Reform UK
His intervention prompted a furious response from Burnham’s supporters, who said it was a deliberate attempt to elevate Brexit as an issue in the Leave-voting seat of Makerfield, which the mayor of Greater Manchester must win to contest the party leadership
One Burnham ally said: “Wes’s only hope at becoming the next leader is for Andy to lose the by-election. [Streeting’s] comments … are counterproductive to Labour winning this by-election. It’s very transparent.”
An MP close to Burnham said it was a “a roll of the dice” by Streeting because “he can see the writing is on the wall”. A friend of Burnham said Streeting was “clearly trying to create a dividing line.”
Please please please let's not talk about Brexit until after I've won.
Andy Burnham must be the most disingenuous candidate out there.
It’s an unusual situation. Normally, a politician has to win over their party before winning over the public. This is the reverse.
The public really don’t like being told what to think by the politicians. Burnham, like Starmer, is tying himself in knots to say one thing nationally and the opposite locally.
I think I could probably be persuaded to vote Reform if I lived in Makerfield, it will be interesting to see how much of a paper candidate the Tories put up.
Nationally, Kemi will want to give the impression of fighting hard for every seat, but locally I suspect they lose their deposit and don’t care much if it keeps Burnham out of the Commons.
Could Burnham’s campaign for the top job be the biggest instant failure since Ron DeSantis?
It’s an interesting question what is in the Tories’ best long term interests. Remember there’s also the question of Reform winning the by-election, which is bad news for them, compared to Reform’s bubble continuing to slowly leak. With a Labour winner, the Tories would prefer Starmer staying to getting Burnham, but maybe they’d rather Burnham than Streeting? Whereas they wouldn’t mind Ange. Burnham also puts PR back on the agenda, which instinctively the Tories hate, yet might actually be in their best interests.
I think it's in the Tories' interests for Reform to win following a calamitous campaign by Burnham in which the Labour Party is clearly split.
Yes that was my thinking.
Tories got just shy of 11% at the last election, as Reform got more than 30%.
So the obvious move from the Tories is to run a paper candidate - assuming that Reform run a properly-vetted local candidate who doesn’t turn out to be one of Tommy Robinson’s football hooligan mates
Big G sees it the other way round, that from the country’s point of view Burnham’s better than Rayner or Streeting; that Reform are the Tories’ main rivals, so the Tories should campaign hard and split the right-of-centre vote.
I think both are valid, but given the seat demographics the Tory soft-pedal is the better option here.
I think its strategic against tactical and the strategic position supports @Big_G_NorthWales. Reform is a threat to the very existence of the Tory party. Labour isn't. A win for Reform here would throw Labour into total chaos and undermine the Labour government but it would make Reform, not the Tories, the threat to that government. The price for the Tories of a Reform win is too high a price to pay and they should do what they can to encourage their supporters not to back Reform.
I agree on strategy v tactics, but would save strategy for the general election, use the tactics for a by-election which is only happening as a vanity project for the Labour candidate.
If Reform win then they are going to have all the momentum and will be the next Government. Which I suspect would reduce the incentive for people to vote Tory, if you want a right wing party vote for the winner (Reform), if you don't vote Lib Dem / Labour as appropriate.
Whilst I think the Burnham factor should be taken into account, Reform really ought to win this by election. I don't think it does the Tories much harm if they do.
The best scenario for the Tories is if Labour goes left. They need the Lib Dems and their voters to be in a tricky position.
The Tories have lost most votes to Reform. Badenoch is campaigning nationally on the line that only the Tories can beat Labour. The better Reform do, the less Badenoch’s line works, the worse it is for the Tories. Labour winning a Labour seat doesn’t hurt the Tories; Reform winning is very bad for them.
Quite funny and transparent.
You want the Tories to split the Reform vote so Burnham safely gets home, so he can then perform his Jiu-Jitsu moves to get us locked in with the EU.
I'd vote Reform in this by election.
On the last thread that was "might be persuaded to vote Reform". At this rate, you'll be joining the party.
I'd 100% be voting Reform in this by election.
I'd sit it out, but Reform is clearly the "How can we best fuck up Labour?" candidate.
If Burnham were to fail, the Plan B will be chaotic.
People smugglers are directing migrants to pay for illegal Channel crossings using a network of UK-registered businesses, a BBC investigation has found. We secretly filmed staff at a shop in south-east London telling an undercover researcher that nearly £3,000 in cash could be deposited with them and sent to a smuggler in France.
All those shops everybody knows are dodgy are like well dodgy.....Its the fact these dodgy shops are even starting to have a franchise model is mind blowing that the authorities have totally lost control of the situation.
Rebecca is particularly passionate about improving SEND access and support across the local area. Her interest in SEND-friendly activities comes through the work she does within her Community Interest Company, where she has seen first-hand the importance of opportunities, practical support, and activities for people with additional needs.
People smugglers are directing migrants to pay for illegal Channel crossings using a network of UK-registered businesses, a BBC investigation has found. We secretly filmed staff at a shop in south-east London telling an undercover researcher that nearly £3,000 in cash could be deposited with them and sent to a smuggler in France.
All those shops everybody knows are dodgy are like well dodgy.....Its the fact these dodgy shops are even starting to have a franchise model is mind blowing that the authorities have totally lost control of the situation.
It's a shame that "smash the gangs" was just empty rhetoric.
Rebecca is particularly passionate about improving SEND access and support across the local area. Her interest in SEND-friendly activities comes through the work she does within her Community Interest Company, where she has seen first-hand the importance of opportunities, practical support, and activities for people with additional needs.
Shall we just say that a properly run CIC money can provide the directors with a significant income...
People smugglers are directing migrants to pay for illegal Channel crossings using a network of UK-registered businesses, a BBC investigation has found. We secretly filmed staff at a shop in south-east London telling an undercover researcher that nearly £3,000 in cash could be deposited with them and sent to a smuggler in France.
All those shops everybody knows are dodgy are like well dodgy.....Its the fact these dodgy shops are even starting to have a franchise model is mind blowing that the authorities have totally lost control of the situation.
Quite so. It's also mind-boggling that a couple of BBC reporters are able to do in a few weeks what, apparently, the Home Office, the CPS and UK police cannot do in years
People smugglers are directing migrants to pay for illegal Channel crossings using a network of UK-registered businesses, a BBC investigation has found. We secretly filmed staff at a shop in south-east London telling an undercover researcher that nearly £3,000 in cash could be deposited with them and sent to a smuggler in France.
All those shops everybody knows are dodgy are like well dodgy.....Its the fact these dodgy shops are even starting to have a franchise model is mind blowing that the authorities have totally lost control of the situation.
Why are the BBC finding all this out yet Immigration/the Police don't seem able to?
If you want to donate to charity, do so. If you think MPs are paid too much (they are not). then say so.
MPs aren't overpaid ?!?
Best of luck making that argument in Makerfield.
True, but he’d be taking a pay cut to be an MP (but obviously not as a minister).
Personally I’d pay MPs more, but hold them to much higher standards; for example limiting outside work to the minimum required to maintain professional standing, no newspaper column or TV appearance fees allowed.
I don't know when it stopped being a thing, but all ministers assets into blind trust. Then we don't get things like Big Ange stamp duty issues or Rachel Reeves not having a licence to rent out a home, as proper legal tax advice will be being implemented and if they f##k up its nothing to do with the minister..
Have we ever had that? It sounds American and maybe presidential.
If I remember correctly, Tony Blair first cabinet were all told to do this.
Here's a story about Geoffrey Robinson - rich enough to be involved in Mandelson's first resignation - having his assets put into a blind trust just after the 1997 GE.
It should be the absolute norm. It a) insulates ministers against appearance of dodgy asset dealings and also genuine cock-ups and b) stops the temptation of ministers doing dodgy asset dealings. And I would obviously put in place if you are found trying to lean on controller of blind trust etc super serious offence.
If you want to donate to charity, do so. If you think MPs are paid too much (they are not). then say so.
I said this the other day, I imagine a lot of MPs quietly donate 10-15% of their salary to charity / unions. I think it is only worth mentioning if you are going to forego your entire salary, and I don't see MPs any lesser who don't, even if they are wealthy e.g. Sunak taking his salary or not, doesn't impact my view of him.
I didn’t really understand this story. He got in his car, drove somewhere, went for a run and then got back in his car? I used to do this all of the time.
We can also look at other pieces of evidence, like he has run two marathons (you can find the times), he uses a heel lock on his laces (which I bet nobody here who isn’t a runner knows what that is), those are proper running shoes.
No he didn't, he ran from his house (we have all seen the infamous picture now) to the cameras waiting on the dual carraigeway, then got in his car and drove home.
Its poltician does setup photoshoot shocker story....
So when I used to park my car somewhere, run home, then go and get my car later, I was doing it for a photo?
Oh come on you are being ridicilious now. I know he is your guy, but he did a PR stunt (that isn't to say he goes jogging or not), politicians do it all the time. He wanted the "Andy's is Running" is the headline which he got.
He’s not my guy, I don’t particularly like him.
Just as a runner of 10 years, I can see how it wasn’t staged for a photo. On the balance of probabilities it probably was, however I can see the case that it might not have been.
Just out of interest, did you used to say the same about Johnson?
Johnson was through and through shameless rogue in his use of the media stunts. and the media loved to play along.
Lee Anderson did a "all pay rises will go to charity" pledge.
I see no reason to doubt that he has done it, but I think he probably rebases it at each election.
He gets more from GB News than he does from Parliament.
Rebecca is particularly passionate about improving SEND access and support across the local area. Her interest in SEND-friendly activities comes through the work she does within her Community Interest Company, where she has seen first-hand the importance of opportunities, practical support, and activities for people with additional needs.
Is that SEND only for white kids ? She can sound as Mary Poppins as she likes but it’s not fooling anyone !
People smugglers are directing migrants to pay for illegal Channel crossings using a network of UK-registered businesses, a BBC investigation has found. We secretly filmed staff at a shop in south-east London telling an undercover researcher that nearly £3,000 in cash could be deposited with them and sent to a smuggler in France.
All those shops everybody knows are dodgy are like well dodgy.....Its the fact these dodgy shops are even starting to have a franchise model is mind blowing that the authorities have totally lost control of the situation.
Quite so. It's also mind-boggling that a couple of BBC reporters are able to do in a few weeks what, apparently, the Home Office, the CPS and UK police cannot do in years
Good on the BBC doing a bit of investigative journalism for once, but I think everybody on here knows of at least a handful of places they are 99% certain are dodgy. Its that widespread.
Rebecca is particularly passionate about improving SEND access and support across the local area. Her interest in SEND-friendly activities comes through the work she does within her Community Interest Company, where she has seen first-hand the importance of opportunities, practical support, and activities for people with additional needs.
A much better and more interesting candidate than Reform's choice of Matt Goodwin for Gorton and Denton.
It's also revealing that she's a candidate for Restore rather than Labour or the Tories.
This will hardly cost Burnham the by-election but of course he could have done without it. I have no problem with Streeting doing a leadership pitch of a speech now and including a strong Rejoin message. It's fine to get that in before the by-election gets going. He's positioning himself. He doesn't want to be forgotten and swamped by Andy mania. He's saying, "hey I'm here remember, it's not all about him". That's good. It's why he is what he is - Wes Streeting. I will have a problem if he bangs on about Europe during the Mac campaign. That would merit a metaphysical slap around the chops. But I'm sure he won't do that because it would piss off the whole party and that.is not what 'positioning himself' entails.
As for Andy Burnham I don't for the life of me understand why 'allies of' are leaking their and his annoyance. All that has done is pushed it forward as a story. It's all over the place now. The lead on Today this morning, no less, as well as here on PB.com. That's the two most influential platforms in the country majoring on it. Not great. Far better for Team AB to have just ignored it and cracked on. In fact this would be my general message for Labour atm. The media and political opponents (which amount to the same thing when we're talking about Labour) are captain keen for tales of grief and division within the party. Stop obliging them.
You make a very sound point: this is obvs what the Salford Saviour and the Labour Party should do; but they aren't doing it. In fact it's getting worse. If this drags on it really COULD cost him the byelection
"Quite the intervention from Jonathan Hinder, the Labour MP for Pender and Clitheroe, on Wes Streeting and Andy Burnham calling for Britain to rejoin the EU
'We are just over a week after we took a real beating in our working-class heartlands
'It’s a very long list - we’re talking about the Hartlepools, the Grimsbys, Barnsley, places like Wigan, where this by-election is going to be, and we were losing to a party which until recently was called the Brexit Party
'And to suggest the solution now is for us to reopen that debate is just staggering, and the Labour Party is in an existential crisis, it really is, and the idea that we can reconnect to our working-class base by reopening this debate is just a staggering level of out of touch.'"
The debate can be had post Mac. Esp if there's an Andy v Wes contest. In fact it has to be had (then) and Europe must feature. We hear plenty (rightly) about the loss of the 'old' (in both senses) WWC base and the need to reconnect there. But there's another base remember. The one that is younger, educated, diverse, socially liberal, and overwhelmingly on the Remain side of that (still very relevant) split. Any Labour leader who manages to enthuse one without repelling the other will succeed. It doesn't matter which one you're enthusing and which one you're just not repelling. Either way works.
People smugglers are directing migrants to pay for illegal Channel crossings using a network of UK-registered businesses, a BBC investigation has found. We secretly filmed staff at a shop in south-east London telling an undercover researcher that nearly £3,000 in cash could be deposited with them and sent to a smuggler in France.
All those shops everybody knows are dodgy are like well dodgy.....Its the fact these dodgy shops are even starting to have a franchise model is mind blowing that the authorities have totally lost control of the situation.
Why are the BBC finding all this out yet Immigration/the Police don't seem able to?
Remember when Sir Keir "gang smasher" Starmer was gonna "smash the gangs"? How's that going? The gangs are literally operating in phone shops up and down the country. If you asked anyone in Britain where dodgy stuff might be going on, they would say "check all the dodgy phone and vape shops. And the cake shops". Et voila
Either Starmer, the Labour government, and all who work for them are the most incompetent circus in the history of clown shows, OR they lied. They can't be bothered to smash the gangs, they don't mind people coming over in boats
"Chaos broke out at shopping centres across the country on Saturday as crowds of people tried to get their hands on a limited-edition watch.
Swatch stores across London, and cities including Manchester, Cardiff and Glasgow were unable to open after unruly shoppers flocked to get hold of the new timepiece.
Footage circulating online showed police dogs at shopping centres as crowds tried to force their way into stores.
People reportedly queued overnight to get their hands on the Royal Pop watch – a collaboration between Swatch and Luxury Swiss watch designer Audemars Piguet – which retails for £335."
Rebecca is particularly passionate about improving SEND access and support across the local area. Her interest in SEND-friendly activities comes through the work she does within her Community Interest Company, where she has seen first-hand the importance of opportunities, practical support, and activities for people with additional needs.
Good luck to Mr Eagles and the moderators, when the banned subject is likely to feature extensively in this by-election.
If you want to donate to charity, do so. If you think MPs are paid too much (they are not). then say so.
I said this the other day, I imagine a lot of MPs quietly donate 10-15% of their salary to charity / unions. I think it is only worth mentioning if you are going to forego your entire salary, and I don't see MPs any lesser who don't, even if they are wealthy e.g. Sunak taking his salary or not, doesn't impact my view of him.
I didn’t really understand this story. He got in his car, drove somewhere, went for a run and then got back in his car? I used to do this all of the time.
We can also look at other pieces of evidence, like he has run two marathons (you can find the times), he uses a heel lock on his laces (which I bet nobody here who isn’t a runner knows what that is), those are proper running shoes.
No he didn't, he ran from his house (we have all seen the infamous picture now) to the cameras waiting on the dual carraigeway, then got in his car and drove home.
Its poltician does setup photoshoot shocker story....
So when I used to park my car somewhere, run home, then go and get my car later, I was doing it for a photo?
Oh come on you are being ridicilious now. I know he is your guy, but he did a PR stunt (that isn't to say he goes jogging or not), politicians do it all the time. He wanted the "Andy's is Running" is the headline which he got.
He’s not my guy, I don’t particularly like him.
Just as a runner of 10 years, I can see how it wasn’t staged for a photo. On the balance of probabilities it probably was, however I can see the case that it might not have been.
Just out of interest, did you used to say the same about Johnson?
Johnson was through and through shameless rogue in his use of the media stunts. and the media loved to play along.
Lee Anderson did a "all pay rises will go to charity" pledge.
I see no reason to doubt that he has done it, but I think he probably rebases it at each election.
He gets more from GB News than he does from Parliament.
Performative nonsense from PMs like Mrs Thatcher and David Cameron who had millions in the bank. Done best by Gordon Brown who cut the PM's salary without telling the papers and also forgot to tell Cameron for the lols.
Didn't someone famous use to decline pay increases between elections? Enoch Powell maybe or Tony Benn?
People smugglers are directing migrants to pay for illegal Channel crossings using a network of UK-registered businesses, a BBC investigation has found. We secretly filmed staff at a shop in south-east London telling an undercover researcher that nearly £3,000 in cash could be deposited with them and sent to a smuggler in France.
All those shops everybody knows are dodgy are like well dodgy.....Its the fact these dodgy shops are even starting to have a franchise model is mind blowing that the authorities have totally lost control of the situation.
Why are the BBC finding all this out yet Immigration/the Police don't seem able to?
Remember when Sir Keir "gang smasher" Starmer was gonna "smash the gangs"? How's that going? The gangs are literally operating in phone shops up and down the country. If you asked anyone in Britain where dodgy stuff might be going on, they would say "check all the dodgy phone and vape shops. And the cake shops". Et voila
Either Starmer, the Labour government, and all who work for them are the most incompetent circus in the history of clown shows, OR they lied. They can't be bothered to smash the gangs, they don't mind people coming over in boats
It's one or t'other
Stolen goods at car boots is the another one. Somebody rocking up every week with £10k in power tools, they ain't exactly just found those in the garage and realised they don't need them anymore.
Its pretty bloody obvious that organised crime has got into the shop lifting game and they use car boots to fence it through.
Restore have announce they candidate for Makerfield.
A Photogenic woman who runs some small business within Wigan..
I suspect she is everything that Reform didn't want as a competing candidate.
Old Testament forename, perfect as the British right goes a bit God Squad. ✅ Doughty, traditional Anglo-Saxon surname, no trace of continental, or worse trans-Bosphorus, heritage.✅ Well groomed QVC presenter look. ✅ Owns a small business that's not a kebab shop.✅
As long as there's no social media murkiness where she advocates Friedlaender-Prechtl's Sofortprogramm or similar radgeness then she's going to be a handful for the Fukkers.
If you want to donate to charity, do so. If you think MPs are paid too much (they are not). then say so.
I said this the other day, I imagine a lot of MPs quietly donate 10-15% of their salary to charity / unions. I think it is only worth mentioning if you are going to forego your entire salary, and I don't see MPs any lesser who don't, even if they are wealthy e.g. Sunak taking his salary or not, doesn't impact my view of him.
I didn’t really understand this story. He got in his car, drove somewhere, went for a run and then got back in his car? I used to do this all of the time.
We can also look at other pieces of evidence, like he has run two marathons (you can find the times), he uses a heel lock on his laces (which I bet nobody here who isn’t a runner knows what that is), those are proper running shoes.
No he didn't, he ran from his house (we have all seen the infamous picture now) to the cameras waiting on the dual carraigeway, then got in his car and drove home.
Its poltician does setup photoshoot shocker story....
So when I used to park my car somewhere, run home, then go and get my car later, I was doing it for a photo?
Oh come on you are being ridicilious now. I know he is your guy, but he did a PR stunt (that isn't to say he goes jogging or not), politicians do it all the time. He wanted the "Andy's is Running" is the headline which he got.
He’s not my guy, I don’t particularly like him.
Just as a runner of 10 years, I can see how it wasn’t staged for a photo. On the balance of probabilities it probably was, however I can see the case that it might not have been.
Just out of interest, did you used to say the same about Johnson?
Johnson was through and through shameless rogue in his use of the media stunts. and the media loved to play along.
Johnson used to get out of the car 100m round the corner and then run. Fairly obvious as he'd have been a shambling mess if he'd run any further
Johnson is a near neighbour in my Oxfordshire village - regularly see him shambling about with miscellaneous kids, and get an amiable greeting from him. A friend who hadn't recognised him was concerned at his apparently decrepit appearance and asked if he could help him at all. That said, he doesn't seem to get any worse, and he's running the auction for the local church. Indignant LibDem friends are boycotting the event, but I feel he might as well use his talents for something useful - they'd be indignant if he just sat at home and watched telly.
"Chaos broke out at shopping centres across the country on Saturday as crowds of people tried to get their hands on a limited-edition watch.
Swatch stores across London, and cities including Manchester, Cardiff and Glasgow were unable to open after unruly shoppers flocked to get hold of the new timepiece.
Footage circulating online showed police dogs at shopping centres as crowds tried to force their way into stores.
People reportedly queued overnight to get their hands on the Royal Pop watch – a collaboration between Swatch and Luxury Swiss watch designer Audemars Piguet – which retails for £335."
Far-right influencer EDobbin went to Tommy Robinson’s march and filmed himself harassing a 15-year-old girl in front of her mum. Even after they told him her age and walked away, he followed her, asking for her “details” and said she should have a “warning sign” on her.
People smugglers are directing migrants to pay for illegal Channel crossings using a network of UK-registered businesses, a BBC investigation has found. We secretly filmed staff at a shop in south-east London telling an undercover researcher that nearly £3,000 in cash could be deposited with them and sent to a smuggler in France.
All those shops everybody knows are dodgy are like well dodgy.....Its the fact these dodgy shops are even starting to have a franchise model is mind blowing that the authorities have totally lost control of the situation.
Why are the BBC finding all this out yet Immigration/the Police don't seem able to?
Remember when Sir Keir "gang smasher" Starmer was gonna "smash the gangs"? How's that going? The gangs are literally operating in phone shops up and down the country. If you asked anyone in Britain where dodgy stuff might be going on, they would say "check all the dodgy phone and vape shops. And the cake shops". Et voila
Either Starmer, the Labour government, and all who work for them are the most incompetent circus in the history of clown shows, OR they lied. They can't be bothered to smash the gangs, they don't mind people coming over in boats
It's one or t'other
The foundational belief of Blairism is that winning elections is much more important than what you do once you've won the election, because you can't do anything if you don't win the election.
Starmer took that to the logical conclusion of being 100% word salad rhetoric and no policy at all.
It's not that he's in favour of people coming over in boats, it's just that talking superficially convincing cobblers about it is much more important than doing anything about it to Starmer.
People smugglers are directing migrants to pay for illegal Channel crossings using a network of UK-registered businesses, a BBC investigation has found. We secretly filmed staff at a shop in south-east London telling an undercover researcher that nearly £3,000 in cash could be deposited with them and sent to a smuggler in France.
All those shops everybody knows are dodgy are like well dodgy.....Its the fact these dodgy shops are even starting to have a franchise model is mind blowing that the authorities have totally lost control of the situation.
Why are the BBC finding all this out yet Immigration/the Police don't seem able to?
Remember when Sir Keir "gang smasher" Starmer was gonna "smash the gangs"? How's that going? The gangs are literally operating in phone shops up and down the country. If you asked anyone in Britain where dodgy stuff might be going on, they would say "check all the dodgy phone and vape shops. And the cake shops". Et voila
Either Starmer, the Labour government, and all who work for them are the most incompetent circus in the history of clown shows, OR they lied. They can't be bothered to smash the gangs, they don't mind people coming over in boats
It's one or t'other
Stolen goods at car boots is the another one. Somebody rocking up every week with £10k in power tools, they ain't exactly just found those in the garage and realised they don't need them anymore.
Anarcho-tyranny. It's here. This is what it's like
The other day I had to pay a £1000 fine for fly tipping. That "fly tipping" was me taking a tied bin bag down to Parkway and putting it with all the other rubbish in bin bags from the restaurants, which get carted off every night. And I did that because the council haven't given us enough bins and they were full
£1000 fine. No joke. But of course I'm a law abiding citoyen so they know I will pay it, like a mug
Meanwhile the roads around here are full of obviously dodgy shops laundering money, and people openly drug dealing near the Tube, and homeless nutters menacing tourists, and the council does nothing
If you want to donate to charity, do so. If you think MPs are paid too much (they are not). then say so.
I said this the other day, I imagine a lot of MPs quietly donate 10-15% of their salary to charity / unions. I think it is only worth mentioning if you are going to forego your entire salary, and I don't see MPs any lesser who don't, even if they are wealthy e.g. Sunak taking his salary or not, doesn't impact my view of him.
I didn’t really understand this story. He got in his car, drove somewhere, went for a run and then got back in his car? I used to do this all of the time.
We can also look at other pieces of evidence, like he has run two marathons (you can find the times), he uses a heel lock on his laces (which I bet nobody here who isn’t a runner knows what that is), those are proper running shoes.
No he didn't, he ran from his house (we have all seen the infamous picture now) to the cameras waiting on the dual carraigeway, then got in his car and drove home.
Its poltician does setup photoshoot shocker story....
So when I used to park my car somewhere, run home, then go and get my car later, I was doing it for a photo?
Oh come on you are being ridicilious now. I know he is your guy, but he did a PR stunt (that isn't to say he goes jogging or not), politicians do it all the time. He wanted the "Andy's is Running" is the headline which he got.
He’s not my guy, I don’t particularly like him.
Just as a runner of 10 years, I can see how it wasn’t staged for a photo. On the balance of probabilities it probably was, however I can see the case that it might not have been.
Just out of interest, did you used to say the same about Johnson?
Johnson was through and through shameless rogue in his use of the media stunts. and the media loved to play along.
Fair enough. As I’ve said on the balance of probabilities I suspect a setup as you said.
Andy Burnham’s allies have accused Wes Streeting of trying to derail the mayor’s campaign for No 10 by reopening Labour’s Brexit battles and playing into the hands of Reform UK
His intervention prompted a furious response from Burnham’s supporters, who said it was a deliberate attempt to elevate Brexit as an issue in the Leave-voting seat of Makerfield, which the mayor of Greater Manchester must win to contest the party leadership
One Burnham ally said: “Wes’s only hope at becoming the next leader is for Andy to lose the by-election. [Streeting’s] comments … are counterproductive to Labour winning this by-election. It’s very transparent.”
An MP close to Burnham said it was a “a roll of the dice” by Streeting because “he can see the writing is on the wall”. A friend of Burnham said Streeting was “clearly trying to create a dividing line.”
Please please please let's not talk about Brexit until after I've won.
Andy Burnham must be the most disingenuous candidate out there.
It’s an unusual situation. Normally, a politician has to win over their party before winning over the public. This is the reverse.
The public really don’t like being told what to think by the politicians. Burnham, like Starmer, is tying himself in knots to say one thing nationally and the opposite locally.
I think I could probably be persuaded to vote Reform if I lived in Makerfield, it will be interesting to see how much of a paper candidate the Tories put up.
Nationally, Kemi will want to give the impression of fighting hard for every seat, but locally I suspect they lose their deposit and don’t care much if it keeps Burnham out of the Commons.
Could Burnham’s campaign for the top job be the biggest instant failure since Ron DeSantis?
It’s an interesting question what is in the Tories’ best long term interests. Remember there’s also the question of Reform winning the by-election, which is bad news for them, compared to Reform’s bubble continuing to slowly leak. With a Labour winner, the Tories would prefer Starmer staying to getting Burnham, but maybe they’d rather Burnham than Streeting? Whereas they wouldn’t mind Ange. Burnham also puts PR back on the agenda, which instinctively the Tories hate, yet might actually be in their best interests.
I think it's in the Tories' interests for Reform to win following a calamitous campaign by Burnham in which the Labour Party is clearly split.
Yes that was my thinking.
Tories got just shy of 11% at the last election, as Reform got more than 30%.
So the obvious move from the Tories is to run a paper candidate - assuming that Reform run a properly-vetted local candidate who doesn’t turn out to be one of Tommy Robinson’s football hooligan mates
Big G sees it the other way round, that from the country’s point of view Burnham’s better than Rayner or Streeting; that Reform are the Tories’ main rivals, so the Tories should campaign hard and split the right-of-centre vote.
I think both are valid, but given the seat demographics the Tory soft-pedal is the better option here.
I think its strategic against tactical and the strategic position supports @Big_G_NorthWales. Reform is a threat to the very existence of the Tory party. Labour isn't. A win for Reform here would throw Labour into total chaos and undermine the Labour government but it would make Reform, not the Tories, the threat to that government. The price for the Tories of a Reform win is too high a price to pay and they should do what they can to encourage their supporters not to back Reform.
I agree on strategy v tactics, but would save strategy for the general election, use the tactics for a by-election which is only happening as a vanity project for the Labour candidate.
If Reform win then they are going to have all the momentum and will be the next Government. Which I suspect would reduce the incentive for people to vote Tory, if you want a right wing party vote for the winner (Reform), if you don't vote Lib Dem / Labour as appropriate.
Whilst I think the Burnham factor should be taken into account, Reform really ought to win this by election. I don't think it does the Tories much harm if they do.
The best scenario for the Tories is if Labour goes left. They need the Lib Dems and their voters to be in a tricky position.
The Tories have lost most votes to Reform. Badenoch is campaigning nationally on the line that only the Tories can beat Labour. The better Reform do, the less Badenoch’s line works, the worse it is for the Tories. Labour winning a Labour seat doesn’t hurt the Tories; Reform winning is very bad for them.
Yes, as a Tory I want Burnham to win the by election. Burnham polls best in the North, Wales and Midlands and would take votes from Reform and the Greens. However he polls worst in the South so would not take many votes from the Tories and would enable Kemi to put clear blue low tax, controlled spending water with a high tax, high spend Burnham led Labour
Then you’re not a true patriot and you’re certainly not right wing. If Reform wins here that could actually be the end of Labour - forever. Given what damage they’ve done to the country surely that is overwhelmingly desirable? Yes it might mean the end of your party too, but who cares. It’s just a party
It’s the country that matters. Britain. The British people. Ending Labour would be brilliant for GREAT BRITAIN
I’m afraid this is final proof that in the end you’re not a patriot and you’re not even that political. You support the Tory party out of sheer tribalism. Like a mindless oaf supporting Millwall
I am a Tory, not hard right. If the Tory party didn’t exist I would be a swing voter between LD and Reform, I wouldn’t join Reform.
I don’t especially want to see the end of Labour either, they are certainly better than the Polanski Greens.
Reform would destroy the UK and could end the Union, the Greens would destroy the economy and end the monarchy.
So on the one hand you firmly believe Reform would “destroy the UK” but on the other you might vote for them at a push
Tell me, how do you reckon they would “destroy the UK”?
I remember talking to an SNP MSP who was beside himself with joy at the prospect of Boris becoming PM. In the event his joy proved misplaced.
But Farage is a different prospect. He's really an English nationalist and, even if he isn't, comes across like one. Reform has a much lower ceiling of support in Scotland, and there's a reason for that. He is a threat to the union. It's pretty obvious to anyone in Scotland who's the least politically sensitive.
Comments
Tell me, how do you reckon they would “destroy the UK”?
The difference is that normally you get a new leader when in opposition so it gives you 4-5 years to slowly U-turn on every super lefty promise such that we got Starmer's manifest in 2024 that was nothing like his leadership bid.
The Burnham approach should be pretty much the same as Starmers current one. Small deals to reduce barriers to trade and increase cooperation with our EU allies, but no move to Rejoin within this Parliament. What goes in the 2029 manifesto may be closer still, but voters will have another chance to vote on it then.
Andy Burnham has pledged to donate 15% of his salary if he’s elected as the MP for Makerfield
https://x.com/PolitlcsUK/status/2055709778895139323
If you want to donate to charity, do so.
If you think MPs are paid too much (they are not). then say so.
I see you can respond to the substantive part of the header.
Best of luck making that argument in Makerfield.
Talking of permformative....
surprised onlookers when he returned 45 minutes later not out of puff on foot, but instead behind the wheel of his VW Golf
https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-15826037/Burnham-running.html
They used to rent out arches under the South end of Tower Bridge, for example. A company was storing large quantities of painting material there....
Interestingly it’s mostly startup companies, with the Big Boys and their Big Toys very much left out of it.
As some of us might have said more than once, wartime procurement looks very different to peacetime procurement, and right now it’s wartime.
And indeed he is. There are stories from 2024 of Burnham donating 15% of his salary to the charity A Bed Every Night ever since he was elected Mayor in 2017.
https://www.joe.co.uk/politics/andy-burnham-has-been-donating-15-of-his-salary-to-a-homeless-charity-since-2017-449755
So I don't think this is particularly performative. I think it's generally a good idea for people to talk about this as a way of encouraging others to do likewise, particularly when it's a high-income person giving more than a nominal share of their income.
Although, the charity will be taking a drop in income if Burnham becomes an MP, but not PM.
Without exception our political class spend more of their time plotting and jostling for their own benefit rather than actually doing the job they are paid for. I am disgusted with the current Labour shenanigans and the Tories are absolutely no better. Farage & Polanski would be worse.
Is it too much to ask that one day we might get a leader who puts the country ahead of themselves, tells the electorate a few home truths and actually sets about arresting our decline. I Doubt I will live to see it!
She is FIFTEEN years old. Jesus Christ.
MPs £75K
Junior Ministers (Max 90) £150K (90)
Cabinet ex Great Offices £250K (Max 16)
Chancellor, Home, Foreign £350K (3)
PM £500K (1)
We can also look at other pieces of evidence, like he has run two marathons (you can find the times), he uses a heel lock on his laces (which I bet nobody here who isn’t a runner knows what that is), those are proper running shoes.
But Singapore takes any form of dodgyness / corruption incredibly serious. So we pay you a lot of money, but we don't play the silly game of slap of the wrist, sob story to Beth Rigby, come back in 6 months. You are done done.
Look at this quite literal sh!t fountain from the other day, a fractured sewage pipe.
https://x.com/churchillfella/status/2055955233810112578
Its poltician does setup photoshoot shocker story....
I have no doubt he goes running. But its fair game to point out the oddness of this.
Personally I’d pay MPs more, but hold them to much higher standards; for example limiting outside work to the minimum required to maintain professional standing, no newspaper column or TV appearance fees allowed. If you’re e.g. a doctor or a pilot, you’re allowed to keep working to avoid losing your licence.
As for Andy Burnham I don't for the life of me understand why 'allies of' are leaking their and his annoyance. All that has done is pushed it forward as a story. It's all over the place now. The lead on Today this morning, no less, as well as here on PB.com. That's the two most influential platforms in the country majoring on it. Not great. Far better for Team AB to have just ignored it and cracked on. In fact this would be my general message for Labour atm. The media and political opponents (which amount to the same thing when we're talking about Labour) are captain keen for tales of grief and division within the party. Stop obliging them.
Farage would not be willing to resist the SNP and Sinn Fein and Plaid hard enough. Indeed if he was PM he would likely need the military to stop Scotland and most of Northern Ireland bar Antrim breaking away and he has not ruled out indyref2 forever
Well done him on being able to do a bit of simple PR, unlike Starmer who somehow manages to look inauthetic even when he is actually authetic e.g. his love of Arsenal football club.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/youth-justice-overhaul-to-keep-streets-safer
"The reforms announced today are backed by figures which show more than two-thirds of children released from custody reoffend within a year, but just over one-third of children sentenced to community sentences reoffended."
Just as a runner of 10 years, I can see how it wasn’t staged for a photo. On the balance of probabilities it probably was, however I can see the case that it might not have been.
Just out of interest, did you used to say the same about Johnson?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfpasrVHUOo
Any other reason makes no sense at all. For official duties as mayor he presumably has a car service provided.
Swatch stores across London, and cities including Manchester, Cardiff and Glasgow were unable to open after unruly shoppers flocked to get hold of the new timepiece.
Footage circulating online showed police dogs at shopping centres as crowds tried to force their way into stores.
People reportedly queued overnight to get their hands on the Royal Pop watch – a collaboration between Swatch and Luxury Swiss watch designer Audemars Piguet – which retails for £335."
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/05/17/crowds-rampage-shopping-centre-over-limited-edition-watch/
Fairly obvious as he'd have been a shambling mess if he'd run any further
ETA a policy of Google First, Post Later would have found this on blind trusts here, so the answer to my question is yes.
Do blind trusts for UK ministers really prevent conflicts of interest?
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2023/dec/14/are-blind-trusts-more-than-uk-tool-that-gives-perception-of-probity
"Quite the intervention from Jonathan Hinder, the Labour MP for Pender and Clitheroe, on Wes Streeting and Andy Burnham calling for Britain to rejoin the EU
'We are just over a week after we took a real beating in our working-class heartlands
'It’s a very long list - we’re talking about the Hartlepools, the Grimsbys, Barnsley, places like Wigan, where this by-election is going to be, and we were losing to a party which until recently was called the Brexit Party
'And to suggest the solution now is for us to reopen that debate is just staggering, and the Labour Party is in an existential crisis, it really is, and the idea that we can reconnect to our working-class base by reopening this debate is just a staggering level of out of touch.'"
https://x.com/Steven_Swinford/status/2056291066488185314?s=20
A Photogenic woman who runs some small business within Wigan..
I suspect she is everything that Reform didn't want as a competing candidate.
It is, and always was, a crock of shite.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk/politics/35759.stm
If Burnham were to fail, the Plan B will be chaotic.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c626znvne0xo
All those shops everybody knows are dodgy are like well dodgy.....Its the fact these dodgy shops are even starting to have a franchise model is mind blowing that the authorities have totally lost control of the situation.
https://x.com/RupertLowe10/status/2056288810216956163
Rebecca is particularly passionate about improving SEND access and support across the local area. Her interest in SEND-friendly activities comes through the work she does within her Community Interest Company, where she has seen first-hand the importance of opportunities, practical support, and activities for people with additional needs.
I see no reason to doubt that he has done it, but I think he probably rebases it at each election.
He gets more from GB News than he does from Parliament.
It's also revealing that she's a candidate for Restore rather than Labour or the Tories.
Either Starmer, the Labour government, and all who work for them are the most incompetent circus in the history of clown shows, OR they lied. They can't be bothered to smash the gangs, they don't mind people coming over in boats
It's one or t'other
A foundational belief is that in the long run, markets will tend to optimise for the actors in the market.
Things like Tulip (and other bubbles) are much studied and analysed.
Whole industries are based on the power of branding to overcome price, utility etc.
Didn't someone famous use to decline pay increases between elections? Enoch Powell maybe or Tony Benn?
Its pretty bloody obvious that organised crime has got into the shop lifting game and they use car boots to fence it through.
Doughty, traditional Anglo-Saxon surname, no trace of continental, or worse trans-Bosphorus, heritage.✅
Well groomed QVC presenter look. ✅
Owns a small business that's not a kebab shop.✅
As long as there's no social media murkiness where she advocates Friedlaender-Prechtl's Sofortprogramm or similar radgeness then she's going to be a handful for the Fukkers.
Bien joué, Big Roop, bien joué.
My favourite is Lee Twamley (really), the one with a previous 20 months in prison for trying to smuggle Vietnamese immigrants through the Channel Tunnel in hired vans:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/salford-gang-jailed-for-failed-smuggling-bids
He's been leading "Marches for Remigration", and is one of Manchester's more prominent flag-waggers:
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/organiser-of-campaign-to-fly-england-flags-was-jailed-for-bid-to-smuggle-illegal-migrants/ar-AA1LJAC5
Presumably he's trying to create his personal "circular economy".
Starmer took that to the logical conclusion of being 100% word salad rhetoric and no policy at all.
It's not that he's in favour of people coming over in boats, it's just that talking superficially convincing cobblers about it is much more important than doing anything about it to Starmer.
The other day I had to pay a £1000 fine for fly tipping. That "fly tipping" was me taking a tied bin bag down to Parkway and putting it with all the other rubbish in bin bags from the restaurants, which get carted off every night. And I did that because the council haven't given us enough bins and they were full
£1000 fine. No joke. But of course I'm a law abiding citoyen so they know I will pay it, like a mug
Meanwhile the roads around here are full of obviously dodgy shops laundering money, and people openly drug dealing near the Tube, and homeless nutters menacing tourists, and the council does nothing
Well done! And you don't lay back, do you, so that's a grand for £3. Fabulous punting effort
I had a poor one. I thought Spaun would do well but he missed the cut.
But Farage is a different prospect. He's really an English nationalist and, even if he isn't, comes across like one. Reform has a much lower ceiling of support in Scotland, and there's a reason for that. He is a threat to the union. It's pretty obvious to anyone in Scotland who's the least politically sensitive.
‘Everything’ is the third most common word when asked for his ‘greatest mistake’."
lol
https://x.com/JAHeale/status/2056279143449297084?s=20