Much as I loathe Reform and Farage I'd be tempted by them if they find a sensible candidate just to shake it up a bit and be rid of the pro bus, anti car and anti green belt Burnhamism for a bit. But with SV now in place, it's going to be Bev and more bike lanes.
18 sexual offences against two victims who were children at the time of the abuse: one count of rape, 13 counts of indecent assault and four counts of gross indecency.
Hopefully a long sentence awaits.
I also assume he will be stripped of his knighthood and Privy Council position. Quickly hopefully.
No guilty plea, but no previous offences. Sentencing guidelines would suggest a starting point of 8 years, I think.
I'd like to apply to be a professional Northerner. What's the salary?
All the black pudding you can eat. And a whippet.
My three year old son loves black pudding, although disturbingly he calls it black willy.
Tell him what it is made out of. He'll never touch it again.
Who wouldn't want a breakfast including: Chicken ovulation. Slices of coagulated pig blood mixed with fat and oats. Ground-up pig scraps stuffed into cleaned-out intestine. Salt-cured pig abdomen. Fungi fried in animal fat.
I'd like to apply to be a professional Northerner. What's the salary?
All the black pudding you can eat. And a whippet.
My three year old son loves black pudding, although disturbingly he calls it black willy.
Tell him what it is made out of. He'll never touch it again.
Who wouldn't want a breakfast including: Chicken ovulation. Slices of coagulated pig blood mixed with fat and oats. Ground-up pig scraps stuffed into cleaned-out intestine. Salt-cured pig abdomen. Fungi fried in animal fat.
And a tomato
Probably the weirdest ingredient on the plate, albeit necessary.
Much as I loathe Reform and Farage I'd be tempted by them if they find a sensible candidate just to shake it up a bit and be rid of the pro bus, anti car and anti green belt Burnhamism for a bit. But with SV now in place, it's going to be Bev and more bike lanes.
I'd like to apply to be a professional Northerner. What's the salary?
All the black pudding you can eat. And a whippet.
My three year old son loves black pudding, although disturbingly he calls it black willy.
Tell him what it is made out of. He'll never touch it again.
Who wouldn't want a breakfast including: Chicken ovulation. Slices of coagulated pig blood mixed with fat and oats. Ground-up pig scraps stuffed into cleaned-out intestine. Salt-cured pig abdomen. Fungi fried in animal fat.
And a tomato
Probably the weirdest ingredient on the plate, albeit necessary.
A fruit used as a vegetable from the Nightshade family.
I'd like to apply to be a professional Northerner. What's the salary?
All the black pudding you can eat. And a whippet.
My three year old son loves black pudding, although disturbingly he calls it black willy.
Tell him what it is made out of. He'll never touch it again.
Who wouldn't want a breakfast including: Chicken ovulation. Slices of coagulated pig blood mixed with fat and oats. Ground-up pig scraps stuffed into cleaned-out intestine. Salt-cured pig abdomen. Fungi fried in animal fat.
When I was in China, pig intensines and chicken gizzards were very common and proudly advertised as such. The places you had to worry about were they simply labelled things "meat".
I'd like to apply to be a professional Northerner. What's the salary?
All the black pudding you can eat. And a whippet.
My three year old son loves black pudding, although disturbingly he calls it black willy.
Tell him what it is made out of. He'll never touch it again.
He's just starting to ask where meat comes from. Loves his animals. Also loves chicken and pork...
My kids were quite happy with the description of where bacon comes from. It was only when we got on to chicken and my second asked, "how can they even live if you cut that much off?", that the penny slowly dropped. In their minds, harvesting meat was a bit like shearing a sheep!
They're still meat eaters though. Heartless little sods.
I'd like to apply to be a professional Northerner. What's the salary?
All the black pudding you can eat. And a whippet.
My three year old son loves black pudding, although disturbingly he calls it black willy.
Tell him what it is made out of. He'll never touch it again.
Who wouldn't want a breakfast including: Chicken ovulation. Slices of coagulated pig blood mixed with fat and oats. Ground-up pig scraps stuffed into cleaned-out intestine. Salt-cured pig abdomen. Fungi fried in animal fat.
If Burnham gets above 30% of the vote, he'll have to be tempted by a GE surely? Even if he loses 50 seats, he'll have his own mandate into the 2030s.
Most hypothetical polls give a Burnham led Labour only a 2 to 3% lead over Reform. Even if Labour still won most seats over 100 Labour MPs would lose their seats so he won’t unless polls suggest a much bigger bounce
Former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova has been banned for four years for refusing an anti-doping test last year.
Vondrousova, 26, was charged by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) after denying a doping control officer entry to her home to conduct the test in December 2025. The Czech player said in April she feared for her safety when the officer called and said they failed to follow "protocol".
18 sexual offences against two victims who were children at the time of the abuse: one count of rape, 13 counts of indecent assault and four counts of gross indecency.
Hopefully a long sentence awaits.
I also assume he will be stripped of his knighthood and Privy Council position. Quickly hopefully.
No guilty plea, but no previous offences. Sentencing guidelines would suggest a starting point of 8 years, I think.
Donaldson worked for Enoch Powell, was elected for the UUP but fell out with David Trimble over the Good Friday Agreement and defected to the harder line DUP who he led at Westminster for a period. Now a lengthy prison sentence I suspect awaits, perhaps the longest for a former MP given a jail term
I'd like to apply to be a professional Northerner. What's the salary?
All the black pudding you can eat. And a whippet.
My three year old son loves black pudding, although disturbingly he calls it black willy.
Tell him what it is made out of. He'll never touch it again.
Who wouldn't want a breakfast including: Chicken ovulation. Slices of coagulated pig blood mixed with fat and oats. Ground-up pig scraps stuffed into cleaned-out intestine. Salt-cured pig abdomen. Fungi fried in animal fat.
When I was in China, pig intensines and chicken gizzards were very common and proudly advertised as such. The places you had to worry about were they simply labelled things "meat".
Like the Curry Gardens menu: Curry with Vegetable 8p Curry with Sweet and Sore Balls of Pig 10p Curry with Sweer and Sour Ball of Fish 10p Curry with Meat 10p Curry with Named Meat 15p Extra Curry 5p
18 sexual offences against two victims who were children at the time of the abuse: one count of rape, 13 counts of indecent assault and four counts of gross indecency.
Hopefully a long sentence awaits.
I also assume he will be stripped of his knighthood and Privy Council position. Quickly hopefully.
No guilty plea, but no previous offences. Sentencing guidelines would suggest a starting point of 8 years, I think.
Donaldson worked for Enoch Powell, was elected for the UUP but fell out with David Trimble over the Good Friday Agreement and defected to the harder line DUP who he led at Westminster for a period. Now a lengthy prison sentence I suspect awaits, perhaps the longest for a former MP given a jail term
IIRC John stonehouse holds the record at 7 and a half years.
I have heard the Starmer speech several times over the past 5 hours.
One thing that stood out was his repeated use of the first person - I, me, my. My party. My decisions and so forth.
If he had been more collegiate, he might have had more support from the Party he was elected to lead. He didn't own the Party. He was there to serve it as well as lead. And leadership is about working with your team.
But he was too willing to only accept responsibility when things went well and to throw his team under the bus when things went wrong.
Isn't that just a feature of how Presidential we have become.
Maybe my recollection is wrong but I think Heath is the first PM I can think of who was fairly collegiate, with Wilson being the first I can really remember.
Thatcher certainly wasn't. Major tried to be but had his bastards. Blair had his Kitchen Cabinet! Brown his own reflection in the mirror! Cameron was I think the most colleigate recently. May decided off her own bat to just to call and election which as I recall her cabinet didn't even expect. Boris was as self obsessed as Brown. Sunak I don't think I ever got a handle on so maybe he was but not googd at it; Truss , well she talked to her mirror. Now Starmer with Me, Me, Me.
As for Scotland we haven't been as bad but that's not saying much.
Dewar was a figure head aas wellas collegiate but had his inner circle. I think McConnell and McLeish were both fairly good. Salmond was about the same as Thatcher. Sturgeon, better than Salmond but that didn't take much and again had an inner circle. Yousaf, made Mays msitake; making a decison out of the blue. Sweeny is far more colliegate that any of those three and probably more akin to McConnel.
We have a politics and media that focus everything on the Leader where consultaion and deliberation are portrayed as a lack of leadership and weakness, so we get leaders who concentrate power and try to control from above.
We reap what we sow.
Now we have a situation where we seem to want if not expect, the next great leader to solve everything.
I'd like to apply to be a professional Northerner. What's the salary?
All the black pudding you can eat. And a whippet.
My three year old son loves black pudding, although disturbingly he calls it black willy.
Tell him what it is made out of. He'll never touch it again.
He's just starting to ask where meat comes from. Loves his animals. Also loves chicken and pork...
My kids were quite happy with the description of where bacon comes from. It was only when we got on to chicken and my second asked, "how can they even live if you cut that much off?", that the penny slowly dropped. In their minds, harvesting meat was a bit like shearing a sheep!
They're still meat eaters though. Heartless little sods.
You did the right thing. You hooked them on bacon first.
I'd like to apply to be a professional Northerner. What's the salary?
All the black pudding you can eat. And a whippet.
My three year old son loves black pudding, although disturbingly he calls it black willy.
Tell him what it is made out of. He'll never touch it again.
Who wouldn't want a breakfast including: Chicken ovulation. Slices of coagulated pig blood mixed with fat and oats. Ground-up pig scraps stuffed into cleaned-out intestine. Salt-cured pig abdomen. Fungi fried in animal fat.
Mmmmmm. Yes please.
I'll have his. Couple of extra chicken ovulations for me.
Much as I loathe Reform and Farage I'd be tempted by them if they find a sensible candidate just to shake it up a bit and be rid of the pro bus, anti car and anti green belt Burnhamism for a bit. But with SV now in place, it's going to be Bev and more bike lanes.
I am voting tactically in the election,
Tories first then Labour get my second vote.
Think of house prices if there's a Reform mayor.
Also I am not keen on Reform overseeing GMP.
Actually the house prices thing is perhaps the only reason to vote for Reform (I still won't of course).
A big readjustment of house prices is desperately needed. A decade of no growth in house prices as a minimum.
Andrew Neill made the point about how Bray must be breaking noise laws and there are umpteen police just standing there outside Downing Street. Another example of not being a serious country that we don't do anything about Bray.
If Bray was a pro-Brexit campaigner, would he get the same soft treatment?
Soft treatment ? See Nigel Farage.
Although the Farage example is more pernicious. Starmer gets free glasses from a Labour Peer and generates a national media scandal. Farage takes £5m from a crypto billionaire, speaks in favour of crypto and not a sausage. Two tier media.
Not a sausage? Not true. Are there any serious media outlets that have not covered this? Even the Daily Mail has. And have you ever listened to James O'Brien on the subject? (Though he too, while giving massive coverage to subjects like this on mass media also sometimes falls into the ludicrous trope of 'this isn't being mentioned by anyone'.
I'd like to apply to be a professional Northerner. What's the salary?
All the black pudding you can eat. And a whippet.
My three year old son loves black pudding, although disturbingly he calls it black willy.
Tell him what it is made out of. He'll never touch it again.
Who wouldn't want a breakfast including: Chicken ovulation. Slices of coagulated pig blood mixed with fat and oats. Ground-up pig scraps stuffed into cleaned-out intestine. Salt-cured pig abdomen. Fungi fried in animal fat.
Mmmmmm. Yes please.
I'll have his. Couple of extra chicken ovulations for me.
I'm not saying I don't like it. I like my chicken ovulation lightly poached.
To state the obvious, it would be a pretty disappointing start to Burnham's time as PM if Labour loses a Holborn & St Pancras by-election to whoever it might be.
It has been suggested Burnham will introduce a 10% IHT care levy on all estates
Seems a sensible suggestion but the entitled children of estates may kick and scream
Why is it more selfish to make money in order to provide for your family than to simply make money to spend on yourself? That seems more selfish to me.
It has been suggested Burnham will introduce a 10% IHT care levy on all estates
Seems a sensible suggestion but the entitled children of estates may kick and scream
Taxes on death are famously popular with voters.
A universal 10% inheritance tax would raise many billions more pounds than the current 40% inheritance tax, that most people with actual money do an awful lot to avoid.
It just shows that you can never predict anything with politics especially in recent years .
But Starmer and Reeves managed to start kicking the foundations away when they decided to burn so much political capital on one of the biggest political own goals of all time.
Quite how neither saw the utter stupidity of the WFA decision is beyond me !
And you can trace back to the implosion in Starmers approval ratings from there .
To state the obvious, it would be a pretty disappointing start to Burnham's time as PM if Labour loses a Holborn & St Pancras by-election to whoever it might be.
Burnham could resign from Makerfield and fight, and win, Holborn & St Pancras. It's a much safer seat.
You have to hope Burnham manages to file his Election Expenses within the statutory 35 days. All this money which we are led to believe is sloshing around on the right. Surely for someone who can give Nigel £5M or someone else some equally extravagant packet of small change it would be worth a few £10ks to go to the High Court and ask for a writ of undue election, just for the sheer hell of it.
Was the BBC Question Time lawful or not ? Did every candidate get exactly the same airtime - well clearly not as half of them weren't even invited ! Seems to me Fiona Bruce was not a fair arbitress.
I do think the peerage for the MP who stood aside would be very challengable. Seems to me he was offered an inducement to seek an office of profit under the Crown, not sure which one he took, but that would seem to be contrary to some very early eighteenth century legislation about malfeasance.
It just shows that you can never predict anything with politics especially in recent years .
But Starmer and Reeves managed to start kicking the foundations away when they decided to burn so much political capital on one of the biggest political own goals of all time.
Quite how neither saw the utter stupidity of the WFA decision is beyond me !
And you can trace back to the implosion in Starmers approval ratings from there .
That's easy to argue with hindsight. But at the time, the state pension had risen by quite a lot (around £800 in the previous year, I think), and they didn't foresee that there'd be such a negative reaction to the withdrawal of a couple of hundred quid WFA. And, to be honest, I can't quite see why it provoked the visceral reaction it did, including from people who are keen to abandon the triple lock.
It has been suggested Burnham will introduce a 10% IHT care levy on all estates
Seems a sensible suggestion but the entitled children of estates may kick and scream
Why is it more selfish to make money in order to provide for your family than to simply make money to spend on yourself? That seems more selfish to me.
IHT - Why would Burnham waste his political capital on this? It’s politically explosive, economically distortive and raises a relatively small share of total revenue.
I'd like to apply to be a professional Northerner. What's the salary?
All the black pudding you can eat. And a whippet.
My three year old son loves black pudding, although disturbingly he calls it black willy.
Tell him what it is made out of. He'll never touch it again.
He's just starting to ask where meat comes from. Loves his animals. Also loves chicken and pork...
My kids were quite happy with the description of where bacon comes from. It was only when we got on to chicken and my second asked, "how can they even live if you cut that much off?", that the penny slowly dropped. In their minds, harvesting meat was a bit like shearing a sheep!
They're still meat eaters though. Heartless little sods.
I hope you showed they YouTube videos of salamanders regenerating limbs.
Just dawned on me that only 13 days after Burnham becomes PM he'll have a huge test of popularity at the Greater Manchester mayoral election, and then at a Holborn and St Pancras by-election assuming Starmer stands down. Interesting politics ahead.
It has been suggested Burnham will introduce a 10% IHT care levy on all estates
Seems a sensible suggestion but the entitled children of estates may kick and scream
Taxes on death are famously popular with voters.
A universal 10% inheritance tax would raise many billions more pounds than the current 40% inheritance tax, that most people with actual money do an awful lot to avoid.
Arthur Laffer was right.
You’re describing tax avoidance, not the Laffer effect. Common mistake.
Unless you’re suggesting rich people aren’t dying as a result of IHT?
It has been suggested Burnham will introduce a 10% IHT care levy on all estates
Seems a sensible suggestion but the entitled children of estates may kick and scream
Why is it more selfish to make money in order to provide for your family than to simply make money to spend on yourself? That seems more selfish to me.
IHT - Why would Burnham waste his political capital on this? It’s politically explosive, economically distortive and raises a relatively small share of total revenue.
Red meat for the left while he quietly kills a lot of other sacred cows?
You have to hope Burnham manages to file his Election Expenses within the statutory 35 days. All this money which we are led to believe is sloshing around on the right. Surely for someone who can give Nigel £5M or someone else some equally extravagant packet of small change it would be worth a few £10ks to go to the High Court and ask for a writ of undue election, just for the sheer hell of it.
Was the BBC Question Time lawful or not ? Did every candidate get exactly the same airtime - well clearly not as half of them weren't even invited ! Seems to me Fiona Bruce was not a fair arbitress.
I do think the peerage for the MP who stood aside would be very challengable. Seems to me he was offered an inducement to seek an office of profit under the Crown, not sure which one he took, but that would seem to be contrary to some very early eighteenth century legislation about malfeasance.
It has been suggested Burnham will introduce a 10% IHT care levy on all estates
Seems a sensible suggestion but the entitled children of estates may kick and scream
Taxes on death are famously popular with voters.
A universal 10% inheritance tax would raise many billions more pounds than the current 40% inheritance tax, that most people with actual money do an awful lot to avoid.
Arthur Laffer was right.
You’re describing tax avoidance, not the Laffer effect. Common mistake.
Unless you’re suggesting rich people aren’t dying as a result of IHT?
Can you not use pejorative terms like 'tax avoidance' and use the neutral term 'tax minimisation strategies.'
Andrew Neill made the point about how Bray must be breaking noise laws and there are umpteen police just standing there outside Downing Street. Another example of not being a serious country that we don't do anything about Bray.
If Bray was a pro-Brexit campaigner, would he get the same soft treatment?
Who funds this piece of crap ?
Last time the Met nicked him for noise issues they lost. Why would they do it again and paint a target on their backs?
You have to hope Burnham manages to file his Election Expenses within the statutory 35 days. All this money which we are led to believe is sloshing around on the right. Surely for someone who can give Nigel £5M or someone else some equally extravagant packet of small change it would be worth a few £10ks to go to the High Court and ask for a writ of undue election, just for the sheer hell of it.
Was the BBC Question Time lawful or not ? Did every candidate get exactly the same airtime - well clearly not as half of them weren't even invited ! Seems to me Fiona Bruce was not a fair arbitress.
I do think the peerage for the MP who stood aside would be very challengable. Seems to me he was offered an inducement to seek an office of profit under the Crown, not sure which one he took, but that would seem to be contrary to some very early eighteenth century legislation about malfeasance.
Your sour grapes would be better if your last paragraph had any merit. Josh Simons doesn't have a peerage.
It has been suggested Burnham will introduce a 10% IHT care levy on all estates
Seems a sensible suggestion but the entitled children of estates may kick and scream
He is going to call an election, isn't he?
He be a complete imbecile if he does.
Within 2 years Farage will have given up, the Tories will have had two more leaders and Ed will be stunted out and the Greens decidedly brown
Given the current polling it's highly unlikely that anything like the current number of Labour MP's would be returned so The Turkeys may well have lined up to cheer him today, but they won't want Christmas for as long as possible.
Burnham may want it, but the Labour back benches won't.
My guess they will be lining up with there warnings of;
"Nows not the time Andy!" and
"Andy can I have a new Hospital/Bridge/School/Datacentre* in my Constituency!"
They will want to see him deliver something first and have at least a sustain high boost in polls numbers before conference season
I'd like to apply to be a professional Northerner. What's the salary?
All the black pudding you can eat. And a whippet.
My three year old son loves black pudding, although disturbingly he calls it black willy.
Tell him what it is made out of. He'll never touch it again.
He's just starting to ask where meat comes from. Loves his animals. Also loves chicken and pork...
My kids were quite happy with the description of where bacon comes from. It was only when we got on to chicken and my second asked, "how can they even live if you cut that much off?", that the penny slowly dropped. In their minds, harvesting meat was a bit like shearing a sheep!
They're still meat eaters though. Heartless little sods.
I hope you showed they YouTube videos of salamanders regenerating limbs.
You have to hope Burnham manages to file his Election Expenses within the statutory 35 days. All this money which we are led to believe is sloshing around on the right. Surely for someone who can give Nigel £5M or someone else some equally extravagant packet of small change it would be worth a few £10ks to go to the High Court and ask for a writ of undue election, just for the sheer hell of it.
Was the BBC Question Time lawful or not ? Did every candidate get exactly the same airtime - well clearly not as half of them weren't even invited ! Seems to me Fiona Bruce was not a fair arbitress.
I do think the peerage for the MP who stood aside would be very challengable. Seems to me he was offered an inducement to seek an office of profit under the Crown, not sure which one he took, but that would seem to be contrary to some very early eighteenth century legislation about malfeasance.
Your sour grapes would be better if your last paragraph had any merit. Josh Simons doesn't have a peerage.
Be funny if Starmer gave him one as part of his resignation honours.
Forcing people to sell family homes on the death of a partner is not a good look. Most families don't hold 10% of the value their assets in easily accessible cash so would either have to sell or take out a loan.
It has been suggested Burnham will introduce a 10% IHT care levy on all estates
Seems a sensible suggestion but the entitled children of estates may kick and scream
Why is it more selfish to make money in order to provide for your family than to simply make money to spend on yourself? That seems more selfish to me.
IHT - Why would Burnham waste his political capital on this? It’s politically explosive, economically distortive and raises a relatively small share of total revenue.
Red meat for the left while he quietly kills a lot of other sacred cows?
Killing a lot of sacred cows should provide plenty of red meat.
It has been suggested Burnham will introduce a 10% IHT care levy on all estates
Seems a sensible suggestion but the entitled children of estates may kick and scream
Taxes on death are famously popular with voters.
A universal 10% inheritance tax would raise many billions more pounds than the current 40% inheritance tax, that most people with actual money do an awful lot to avoid.
Arthur Laffer was right.
You’re describing tax avoidance, not the Laffer effect. Common mistake.
Unless you’re suggesting rich people aren’t dying as a result of IHT?
Can you not use pejorative terms like 'tax avoidance' and use the neutral term 'tax minimisation strategies.'
It has been suggested Burnham will introduce a 10% IHT care levy on all estates
Seems a sensible suggestion but the entitled children of estates may kick and scream
Taxes on death are famously popular with voters.
A universal 10% inheritance tax would raise many billions more pounds than the current 40% inheritance tax, that most people with actual money do an awful lot to avoid.
Arthur Laffer was right.
You’re describing tax avoidance, not the Laffer effect. Common mistake.
Unless you’re suggesting rich people aren’t dying as a result of IHT?
Can you not use pejorative terms like 'tax avoidance' and use the neutral term 'tax minimisation strategies.'
If you implement a one week moratorium on links to the Telegraph we have a deal. The 0.01ppt movement in borrowing costs histrionics earlier today (and posted by some gullible PBer) was just ridiculous.
Andrew Neill made the point about how Bray must be breaking noise laws and there are umpteen police just standing there outside Downing Street. Another example of not being a serious country that we don't do anything about Bray.
If Bray was a pro-Brexit campaigner, would he get the same soft treatment?
Soft treatment ? See Nigel Farage.
Although the Farage example is more pernicious. Starmer gets free glasses from a Labour Peer and generates a national media scandal. Farage takes £5m from a crypto billionaire, speaks in favour of crypto and not a sausage. Two tier media.
Not a sausage? Not true. Are there any serious media outlets that have not covered this? Even the Daily Mail has. And have you ever listened to James O'Brien on the subject? (Though he too, while giving massive coverage to subjects like this on mass media also sometimes falls into the ludicrous trope of 'this isn't being mentioned by anyone'.
O'Brexit's beef is only O'Brexit is interested in the Farage £5m. He castigated Kuennsberg for skirting around the subject when she interviewed Sir Nigel a few weeks ago.
The copy for Farage's 5 million is small potatoes compared to the copy for Rayner's mortgage. If you claim that isn't true, where have you been for the last two years?
You have to hope Burnham manages to file his Election Expenses within the statutory 35 days. All this money which we are led to believe is sloshing around on the right. Surely for someone who can give Nigel £5M or someone else some equally extravagant packet of small change it would be worth a few £10ks to go to the High Court and ask for a writ of undue election, just for the sheer hell of it.
Was the BBC Question Time lawful or not ? Did every candidate get exactly the same airtime - well clearly not as half of them weren't even invited ! Seems to me Fiona Bruce was not a fair arbitress.
I do think the peerage for the MP who stood aside would be very challengable. Seems to me he was offered an inducement to seek an office of profit under the Crown, not sure which one he took, but that would seem to be contrary to some very early eighteenth century legislation about malfeasance.
Your sour grapes would be better if your last paragraph had any merit. Josh Simons doesn't have a peerage.
Be funny if Starmer gave him one as part of his resignation honours.
For services to costing me my job!!
Josh Simons was very loyal to Sir Keir until Sir Keir rightly sacked him (but gave him the option to resign.)
You have to hope Burnham manages to file his Election Expenses within the statutory 35 days. All this money which we are led to believe is sloshing around on the right. Surely for someone who can give Nigel £5M or someone else some equally extravagant packet of small change it would be worth a few £10ks to go to the High Court and ask for a writ of undue election, just for the sheer hell of it.
Was the BBC Question Time lawful or not ? Did every candidate get exactly the same airtime - well clearly not as half of them weren't even invited ! Seems to me Fiona Bruce was not a fair arbitress.
I do think the peerage for the MP who stood aside would be very challengable. Seems to me he was offered an inducement to seek an office of profit under the Crown, not sure which one he took, but that would seem to be contrary to some very early eighteenth century legislation about malfeasance.
Your sour grapes would be better if your last paragraph had any merit. Josh Simons doesn't have a peerage.
Be funny if Starmer gave him one as part of his resignation honours.
For services to costing me my job!!
As some wag noted, if Simons got a peerage for resigning to help Burnham, it would give a new meaning to The Road to Wigan Peer.
You have to hope Burnham manages to file his Election Expenses within the statutory 35 days. All this money which we are led to believe is sloshing around on the right. Surely for someone who can give Nigel £5M or someone else some equally extravagant packet of small change it would be worth a few £10ks to go to the High Court and ask for a writ of undue election, just for the sheer hell of it.
Was the BBC Question Time lawful or not ? Did every candidate get exactly the same airtime - well clearly not as half of them weren't even invited ! Seems to me Fiona Bruce was not a fair arbitress.
I do think the peerage for the MP who stood aside would be very challengable. Seems to me he was offered an inducement to seek an office of profit under the Crown, not sure which one he took, but that would seem to be contrary to some very early eighteenth century legislation about malfeasance.
Your sour grapes would be better if your last paragraph had any merit. Josh Simons doesn't have a peerage.
Be funny if Starmer gave him one as part of his resignation honours.
For services to costing me my job!!
As some wag noted, if Simons got a peerage for resigning to help Burnham, it would give a new meaning to The Road to Wigan Peer.
It has been suggested Burnham will introduce a 10% IHT care levy on all estates
Seems a sensible suggestion but the entitled children of estates may kick and scream
He is going to call an election, isn't he?
He be a complete imbecile if he does.
Within 2 years Farage will have given up, the Tories will have had two more leaders and Ed will be stunted out and the Greens decidedly brown
Given the current polling it's highly unlikely that anything like the current number of Labour MP's would be returned so The Turkeys may well have lined up to cheer him today, but they won't want Christmas for as long as possible.
Burnham may want it, but the Labour back benches won't.
My guess they will be lining up with there warnings of;
"Nows not the time Andy!" and
"Andy can I have a new Hospital/Bridge/School/Datacentre* in my Constituency!"
They will want to see him deliver something first and have at least a sustain high boost in polls numbers before conference season
Peter.
*delete where applicable or just ask for all 4!
Datacentres won’t create many jobs outside of central London, and I bet those jobs will exist regardless of the location of the data centre
It has been suggested Burnham will introduce a 10% IHT care levy on all estates
Seems a sensible suggestion but the entitled children of estates may kick and scream
Taxes on death are famously popular with voters.
A universal 10% inheritance tax would raise many billions more pounds than the current 40% inheritance tax, that most people with actual money do an awful lot to avoid.
Arthur Laffer was right.
You’re describing tax avoidance, not the Laffer effect. Common mistake.
Unless you’re suggesting rich people aren’t dying as a result of IHT?
Can you not use pejorative terms like 'tax avoidance' and use the neutral term 'tax minimisation strategies.'
If you implement a one week moratorium on links to the Telegraph we have a deal. The 0.01ppt movement in borrowing costs histrionics earlier today (and posted by some gullible PBer) was just ridiculous.
The Telegraph produces great comedy, who can forget the cyclist doing 50mph.
Just dawned on me that only 13 days after Burnham becomes PM he'll have a huge test of popularity at the Greater Manchester mayoral election, and then at a Holborn and St Pancras by-election assuming Starmer stands down. Interesting politics ahead.
I think you might be running away with yourself re: Starmer.
It has been suggested Burnham will introduce a 10% IHT care levy on all estates
Seems a sensible suggestion but the entitled children of estates may kick and scream
Taxes on death are famously popular with voters.
A universal 10% inheritance tax would raise many billions more pounds than the current 40% inheritance tax, that most people with actual money do an awful lot to avoid.
Arthur Laffer was right.
You’re describing tax avoidance, not the Laffer effect. Common mistake.
Unless you’re suggesting rich people aren’t dying as a result of IHT?
I’m simply saying that a flat 10% tax raises more money than the current 40% arrangements, which mostly hit the middle-classes in the South East who have little more in assets than their own house.
The wealthy spend a lot of effort in setting up trusts and making early gifts to children, that simply wouldn’t occur under a 10% IHT regime.
The Brexit reset summit with the EU - which was scheduled for July 22nd - has been postponed
Antonia Costa, the president of the European Council, says that he hopes that Starmer's successor will provide 'continuity'
This was going to be a big moment for Starmer, but is now heading into the middle distance. Over to Andy Burnham...
He doesn't even get his big swansong legacy international summit. Politics is a tough game.
Starmer will get the NATO summit in Ankara.
And say what ? "I've failed to meet my commitments to NATO" ... or "talk to my successor" ?
Desperate prevarication on defence plans and funding decisions is one of the more solid charges against his government.
But in his head he thinks he did OK. In his resignation speech he said "restoring trust on the economy, defence and national security". He didn't. Not even close. Quite the opposite in fact. But he still put it in the speech. This was the fundamental problem with Starmerism: he confuses words with deeds and facts. He thinks if he says something it is true. It isn't.
The article is based on the conceit that you can parallel Dr Who and Labour post-WW2. And broadly, it works. But I'm beginning to think it's actually a Twilight Zone/Black Mirror episode...
"...as he turned the lights off and nestled into his bed, Keir fondly imagined how well the day had went. He was a decent man who had healed the country, made it invulnerable, safe, content and satisfied. All those bad boys who told him he was a liar, a bad man, and made the country poor and endangered were just WRONG WRONG WRONG. As the room faded, he was content. He was a decent man...
His wife: I think we've lost him The psychiatrist: Yes, I think we have. Can you sign the forms, please? We'll make sure he gets fed and rotated, in case he...comes back..."
Forcing people to sell family homes on the death of a partner is not a good look. Most families don't hold 10% of the value their assets in easily accessible cash so would either have to sell or take out a loan.
The special carve out for family homes is one of the main reasons the housing market is so ridiculously overpriced, and why pensioners cling onto family homes. We should tax them more than other assets, not the other way round.
But IHT is stupid tax in general. Replace it and CT with an annual 1% property tax.
It has been suggested Burnham will introduce a 10% IHT care levy on all estates
Seems a sensible suggestion but the entitled children of estates may kick and scream
Taxes on death are famously popular with voters.
A universal 10% inheritance tax would raise many billions more pounds than the current 40% inheritance tax, that most people with actual money do an awful lot to avoid.
Arthur Laffer was right.
You’re describing tax avoidance, not the Laffer effect. Common mistake.
Unless you’re suggesting rich people aren’t dying as a result of IHT?
Can you not use pejorative terms like 'tax avoidance' and use the neutral term 'tax minimisation strategies.'
I have an appointment with my accountant to discuss and agree our [checks the netral term] "tax minimisation strategies"
Andrew Neill made the point about how Bray must be breaking noise laws and there are umpteen police just standing there outside Downing Street. Another example of not being a serious country that we don't do anything about Bray.
If Bray was a pro-Brexit campaigner, would he get the same soft treatment?
Soft treatment ? See Nigel Farage.
Although the Farage example is more pernicious. Starmer gets free glasses from a Labour Peer and generates a national media scandal. Farage takes £5m from a crypto billionaire, speaks in favour of crypto and not a sausage. Two tier media.
Not a sausage? Not true. Are there any serious media outlets that have not covered this? Even the Daily Mail has. And have you ever listened to James O'Brien on the subject? (Though he too, while giving massive coverage to subjects like this on mass media also sometimes falls into the ludicrous trope of 'this isn't being mentioned by anyone'.
O'Brexit's beef is only O'Brexit is interested in the Farage £5m. He castigated Kuennsberg for skirting around the subject when she interviewed Sir Nigel a few weeks ago.
The copy for Farage's 5 million is small potatoes compared to the copy for Rayner's mortgage. If you claim that isn't true, where have you been for the last two years?
You often refer to Farage 5 million but this is subject to the Parliamentary Standards Commission so the matter will be featured once a ruling has been made
Forcing people to sell family homes on the death of a partner is not a good look. Most families don't hold 10% of the value their assets in easily accessible cash so would either have to sell or take out a loan.
Not really true. For example, if you fail to pay your Council Tax, the Council will put a charging order on the property and collect on sale of the property. Also if you are on UC for 9 months and have a mortgage you can apply for a loan to pay the mortgage (SMIR) which also puts a charge. There are methods of collecting without making people homeless. The irony of making people homeless to pay HMRC is that the cost would fall on the public purse.
It just shows that you can never predict anything with politics especially in recent years .
But Starmer and Reeves managed to start kicking the foundations away when they decided to burn so much political capital on one of the biggest political own goals of all time.
Quite how neither saw the utter stupidity of the WFA decision is beyond me !
And you can trace back to the implosion in Starmers approval ratings from there .
That's easy to argue with hindsight. But at the time, the state pension had risen by quite a lot (around £800 in the previous year, I think), and they didn't foresee that there'd be such a negative reaction to the withdrawal of a couple of hundred quid WFA. And, to be honest, I can't quite see why it provoked the visceral reaction it did, including from people who are keen to abandon the triple lock.
I think the Triple Lock should go but thought it was an idiotic political decision at the time . Both can be true at the same time.
This forum tends to have people who aren’t just swallowing headlines like clapping seals and are very much into their politics and think of the pros and cons of policies not just from a personal but more public perspective.
It has been suggested Burnham will introduce a 10% IHT care levy on all estates
Seems a sensible suggestion but the entitled children of estates may kick and scream
Taxes on death are famously popular with voters.
A universal 10% inheritance tax would raise many billions more pounds than the current 40% inheritance tax, that most people with actual money do an awful lot to avoid.
Arthur Laffer was right.
You’re describing tax avoidance, not the Laffer effect. Common mistake.
Unless you’re suggesting rich people aren’t dying as a result of IHT?
Can you not use pejorative terms like 'tax avoidance' and use the neutral term 'tax minimisation strategies.'
I have an appointment with my accountant to discuss and agree our [checks the netral term] "tax minimisation strategies"
The most foolproof strategy is not to make any money.
Comments
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bev_Craig
Much as I loathe Reform and Farage I'd be tempted by them if they find a sensible candidate just to shake it up a bit and be rid of the pro bus, anti car and anti green belt Burnhamism for a bit. But with SV now in place, it's going to be Bev and more bike lanes.
https://sentencingcouncil.org.uk/guidelines/rape-of-a-child-under-13/
Tories first then Labour get my second vote.
Think of house prices if there's a Reform mayor.
Also I am not keen on Reform overseeing GMP.
They're still meat eaters though. Heartless little sods.
Vondrousova, 26, was charged by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) after denying a doping control officer entry to her home to conduct the test in December 2025. The Czech player said in April she feared for her safety when the officer called and said they failed to follow "protocol".
Curry with Vegetable 8p
Curry with Sweet and Sore Balls of Pig 10p
Curry with Sweer and Sour Ball of Fish 10p
Curry with Meat 10p
Curry with Named Meat 15p
Extra Curry 5p
Was momentarily thrown by this image, for a split second I thought that was Liz Truss to Burnham's left!
ETA: And it almost looks badly Photoshopped*, given how tiny the people in the immediate background are.
*or do we say ChatGPTed/midjourneyed nowadays?
Or have I misunderstood?
Maybe my recollection is wrong but I think Heath is the first PM I can think of who was fairly collegiate, with Wilson being the first I can really remember.
Thatcher certainly wasn't.
Major tried to be but had his bastards.
Blair had his Kitchen Cabinet!
Brown his own reflection in the mirror!
Cameron was I think the most colleigate recently.
May decided off her own bat to just to call and election which as I recall her cabinet didn't even expect.
Boris was as self obsessed as Brown.
Sunak I don't think I ever got a handle on so maybe he was but not googd at it;
Truss , well she talked to her mirror.
Now Starmer with Me, Me, Me.
As for Scotland we haven't been as bad but that's not saying much.
Dewar was a figure head aas wellas collegiate but had his inner circle.
I think McConnell and McLeish were both fairly good.
Salmond was about the same as Thatcher.
Sturgeon, better than Salmond but that didn't take much and again had an inner circle.
Yousaf, made Mays msitake; making a decison out of the blue.
Sweeny is far more colliegate that any of those three and probably more akin to McConnel.
We have a politics and media that focus everything on the Leader where consultaion and deliberation are portrayed as a lack of leadership and weakness, so we get leaders who concentrate power and try to control from above.
We reap what we sow.
Now we have a situation where we seem to want if not expect, the next great leader to solve everything.
What could possibly go wrong.
Peter.
"Good" and "opportunist".
Haven't seen charismatic for Labour for a very long time
"I've failed to meet my commitments to NATO" ... or "talk to my successor" ?
Desperate prevarication on defence plans and funding decisions is one of the more solid charges against his government.
A big readjustment of house prices is desperately needed. A decade of no growth in house prices as a minimum.
Then reality hits her.
https://x.com/fbeyeee/status/2068916970867581148
Palpable anger from Keir Starmer's allies at what they see as his forced resignation today.
One MP says they're "sobbing" so much they "can't talk".
Another says: "Now we'll get tributes from the two-faced bastards who owe their job to him but gave him nothing but grief for months."
Sounds like a job for @Leon_VotedForStarmer
Seems a sensible suggestion but the entitled children of estates may kick and scream
Seems a sensible suggestion but the entitled children of estates may kick and scream
Will the ban be lifted, or is it terminal?
ETA: It's weird though, right? Voters love taxes on other people and if you're voting, you ain't dead (the odd postal vote excepted)
A lower rate and broader base would bring the UK much more closely into line with other countries. He'd need to introduce a gift tax too though.
Arthur Laffer was right.
Within 2 years Farage will have given up, the Tories will have had two more leaders and Ed will be stunted out and the Greens decidedly brown
But Starmer and Reeves managed to start kicking the foundations away when they decided to burn so much political capital on one of the biggest political own goals of all time.
Quite how neither saw the utter stupidity of the WFA decision is beyond me !
And you can trace back to the implosion in Starmers approval ratings from there .
No contest. Not with half the PLP lined up for your "Welcome to Westminster" photocall.
And Streeting as Chancellor I presume as the price of stepping aside.
Was the BBC Question Time lawful or not ? Did every candidate get exactly the same airtime - well clearly not as half of them weren't even invited ! Seems to me Fiona Bruce was not a fair arbitress.
I do think the peerage for the MP who stood aside would be very challengable. Seems to me he was offered an inducement to seek an office of profit under the Crown, not sure which one he took, but that would seem to be contrary to some very early eighteenth century legislation about malfeasance.
Unless you’re suggesting rich people aren’t dying as a result of IHT?
https://henrytapper.com/2026/06/14/burnhams-vision-for-pensions-and-pensioners-in-need-of-social-care/
He can’t have a proper job
Burnham may want it, but the Labour back benches won't.
My guess they will be lining up with there warnings of;
"Nows not the time Andy!" and
"Andy can I have a new Hospital/Bridge/School/Datacentre* in my Constituency!"
They will want to see him deliver something first and have at least a sustain high boost in polls numbers before conference season
Peter.
*delete where applicable or just ask for all 4!
For services to costing me my job!!
The copy for Farage's 5 million is small potatoes compared to the copy for Rayner's mortgage. If you claim that isn't true, where have you been for the last two years?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjer7x7yl12o
Peter.
The wealthy spend a lot of effort in setting up trusts and making early gifts to children, that simply wouldn’t occur under a 10% IHT regime.
The article is based on the conceit that you can parallel Dr Who and Labour post-WW2. And broadly, it works. But I'm beginning to think it's actually a Twilight Zone/Black Mirror episode...
"...as he turned the lights off and nestled into his bed, Keir fondly imagined how well the day had went. He was a decent man who had healed the country, made it invulnerable, safe, content and satisfied. All those bad boys who told him he was a liar, a bad man, and made the country poor and endangered were just WRONG WRONG WRONG. As the room faded, he was content. He was a decent man...
His wife: I think we've lost him
The psychiatrist: Yes, I think we have. Can you sign the forms, please? We'll make sure he gets fed and rotated, in case he...comes back..."
But IHT is stupid tax in general. Replace it and CT with an annual 1% property tax.
https://www.channel4.com/news/factcheck/factcheck-nigel-farages-5m-gift-timeline-investigation-and-what-happens-next
https://www.gov.uk/support-for-mortgage-interest
This forum tends to have people who aren’t just swallowing headlines like clapping seals and are very much into their politics and think of the pros and cons of policies not just from a personal but more public perspective.