I can confirm that I will be requesting the permission of the NEC to stand in the Makerfield by-election.
I grew up in this area and have lived here for 25 years. I care deeply about it and its people. I know they have been let down by national politics.
Ten years ago, I decided to leave Westminster. Why? Because, after 16 years, I came to the conclusion that our national political system does not work for areas like ours. I learnt this fighting its failure to invest in the Wigan borough, for justice for the Hillsborough families and against its treatment of Greater Manchester during the pandemic.
Over the last decade, I have been challenging this failure from the outside and building a new and better way of doing politics. We have built Greater Manchester into the fastest-growing city-region in the UK and put buses back under public control, introducing a £2 fare cap to help people with cost-of-living pressures.
However, there is only so much that can be done from Greater Manchester. Much bigger change is needed at a national level if everyday life is to be made more affordable again. This is why I now seek people’s support to return to Parliament: to bring the change we have brought to Greater Manchester to the whole of the UK and make politics work properly for people.
Millions are struggling and they need the Labour Government to succeed. It has already made changes to make life better for them in its first two years. After this week, we owe it to people to come back together as a Labour movement, giving the Prime Minister and the Government the space and stability they need as the by-election takes place.
I want to recognise the difficult decision taken by Josh Simons and the sacrifice he and his family are making. I have worked closely with him as Mayor on issues like flooding and illegal waste dumping and have seen first-hand how effective he has been. He has put the communities of Makerfield first, made a real difference for them and should take great pride in that.
Finally, I truly do not take a single vote for granted and will work hard to regain the trust of people in the Makerfield constituency, many of whom have long supported our party but lost faith in recent times. We will change Labour for the better and make it a party you can believe in again.
ENDS
@ALANMYERSMEDIA@Paul1971EFC keep Var for ''clear and obvious errors'' only. Lampards 'goal' that crossed the line for England and Thierry Henrys handball for France against the Irish as examples. Otherwise play on as we were.
It's been revealed that far-left Green party leader Zack Polanski is currently living in a £2m 5-bedroom Hackney townhouse.
Data says 0.5% of the population live in a house worth more than £2m.
He is part of the 1% he is constantly banging on about. You can't make it up.
@Hammers_HQ West Ham are up against many enemies as the season draws to a conclusion, hope they can defeat them. I fear losing one of the ‘sky so called super six’ is too much for them to pull through, but good luck.
In all the chaos today, you may have missed the fact, that jurors are now deliberating their decision on the outcome of the two filthbags who attacked armed officers at Manchester airport!!
Decision expected in the coming days!!
What are we expecting??
Jermain Defoe one of the few people in the media talking sense about the corruption we saw last night.
The favouritism towards Arsenal is clear and obvious.
Absolutely shameful stuff.
If you’re an Everton fan wanting DM next season giving him a transfer budget in the summer and expecting him to take us up the league by 5/6 places, tell me how you think that’s gonna happen? 👍
@Paddy_Boyland@KRay1807@TheAthleticFC Our centre back wouldn’t be selected by Burnley or Wolves. We missed chances but scored two goals. It should have been enough against a half interested Crystal Palace.
Lots of talk about missed chances/strikers this season but Everton's quest for Europe being undermined by other issues right now
“There have been bits where we’ve not quite shown the resilience (from before)," Moyes conceded post Palace
@TheAthleticFCnytimes.com/athletic/72682…
@henrywinter@ianfsher They make the rules up as they go along. Every week they tell us a load of nonsense. The supporters aren’t stupid, we can see it. This is the worst bunch of officials I can ever remember. No one knows what the rules of the game are. This leads to accusations of corruption.
The season of unpunished grappling at corners decided by a punished grappling at a corner. Pablo did have his arm across Raya. It was a foul. Along with three or four other fouls in the area from both sides, including by Rice (on Mavropanis) and Trossard, also Todibo. Raya most protected species, as a goalkeeper, so that foul punished. It is the correct decision, for all the howls of anguish. Pablo stops Raya gathering the ball.
But this controversy, and the proliferation of such incidents at corners, has been caused by officials’ failure to clamp down on grappling this season. It’s a joke, and a stain on the sport, that such grappling has been allowed to grip the game. West Ham have had holding offences on their players – Bowen mentioned Soucek being held against Brentford. All teams have.
Yet officials have not intervened consistently. Arsenal themselves have got away with a few this season. But there’s no conspiracy, as claimed by some online, just inconsistency by officials.
Did Arsenal deserve victory? Just about yes. Their nerves kicked in after scoring, have to guard against that, but they showed their hunger for the title. Arteta was bold in the second half. Subbing a sub (Zubimendi) was a big call. But never play Rice, Arsenal’s driving force, at right-back again. Odegaard’s arrival definitely helped.
Nobody can question the character of these Arsenal players. Some big blocks by Lewis-Skelly and Gabriel. Raya at 0-0. Arsenal now have relegated Burnley and Palace who may have an eye on their own Euro final. West Ham resilient but needed Wilson on earlier. If they do drop into the Championship, at least West Ham won’t have VAR to worry about. #WHUARS
@SteveReedMP Thanks for telling us what we want and don’t want. Looks to me like you dropped the ball in the Labour heartland, whilst you focused your attentions elsewhere. It’s Burnham or bust.
The last thing the country wants is the Labour Party to talk about the Labour Party.
The British public don’t want to hear about timelines, backroom deals and navel-gazing.
Let’s get on with the job.
I’m gutted by the results in Wales and across the country. We have to do some real soul searching to drive forward the kind of change our country so obviously desperately wants and needs. The PM is right these are areally tough set of results for Labour.
@AngelaRayner@ahmerwadee You personally let down the working class people of this country and you know it. Politicians can’t manage the economy but can always make themselves rich.
No matter what they say, Reform UK will only let down the working class.
They voted against our better deal for workers. With your support, we got it done.
Only Labour will work for working people.
Vote Labour 🌹
🚨🎙️| Micah Richards on why Barry’s goal against Manchester City should have been ruled out for offside under IFAB Law 11, points out a missed sending-off for a challenge on Doku:
🗣️ “I’m trying to stay calm here but I genuinely can’t understand how Manchester City have come out of this game empty-handed, because for me, this is two massive decisions, both wrong, and both going the same way.
Let’s start with the goal. People keep saying it’s ‘tight’ or ‘subjective’ no, it’s not. Under the IFAB Law 11, if you’re in an offside position and you’re interfering with an opponent, that includes impacting a defender’s ability to play the ball or gaining an advantage from a deflection or phase of play. That’s in black and white.
Barry is in that position, the defenders are reacting to him, there’s hesitation, there’s chaos and he benefits from it. That’s interfering. I don’t care if he doesn’t touch it first, he’s influencing the situation. That goal should not stand for Everton. Simple as that.
Now the second one… this is the one that really gets me.
Michael Keane on Jérémy Doku, how on earth is that not a red card? Honestly, explain it to me. Because when I look at it, I see a player going in late, with force, and he’s not in control. That’s serious foul play all day.
The law says if you endanger the safety of an opponent with excessive force, it’s a sending-off. There’s no grey area there. Doku’s planted, Keane comes through him, that’s dangerous. We’ve seen those given all season.
And this is where the frustration comes in, VAR is there to correct ‘clear and obvious’ errors. So if they’re not intervening for that, then what’s the point? What are we actually doing?
Because now you’ve got a situation where:
a goal that, by the law, should be ruled out… stands
a red card offence… gets waved away
And people will say ‘it evens out over the season’, no it doesn’t! Not at this level, not in a title race.
You’ve got Michael Oliver on the pitch, VAR in his ear, and between them they’ve still got both calls wrong. That’s not pressure, that’s poor officiating.
I’m telling you now, if that’s the standard, then we’re going to be having this same conversation every single week. And Professional Game Match Officials Limited have got to answer it, because right now, it just looks like inconsistency at the highest level.”