Tony Harley

Welcome the new day, as indeed, she welcomes you, and together we shall rise. Happy New Year everyone x #dartmoornationalpark #happynewyear2023

@donmcgowan Oh great. Just bloomin great.

🎆An interesting day in politics🎆 Farage on the ropes. Rayner in the clear. Starmer keeps calm and carries on while Streeting walks. But by far the most intriguing story, in my opinion, is the one of Josh Simons in Makerfield. This is at once a brave and potentially disastrous move by the 2024 intake, acting under Burnham's auspices. Results from local elections in Makerfield wards are overwhelmingly strong in Reform's favour. So Burnham will need to pull out all the stops just to win the seat. By no means a certainty. And in the wake of the pending by-election, the mayorship of Manchester could fall in the same direction — Reform UK. So we could potentially see Reform pick up a new MP and take over Greater Manchester in one fell swoop. Can you imagine the fall-out from that? The world's largest self-inflicted banana skin trip. We wait.

@GordonFielden @Peston Absolutely.

There is scarcely a political journalist, editor or Westminster correspondent remaining who is not presently engaged in advancing a narrative intended to undermine Sir Keir Starmer and force him from office as Prime Minister. Alongside this spectacle sits a coordinated cluster of Labour Members of Parliament, many of whom are still little more than apprentices within parliamentary life, parading letters and carefully choreographed photographs declaring their lack of confidence in the leadership. The public reaction has, however, been far more revealing than many within Westminster appear willing to acknowledge. Ordinary Labour supporters and constituents alike have responded with anger towards what they regard as naked disloyalty, vanity and remarkably poor judgement. At a moment demanding discipline, steadiness and seriousness from a governing party, certain individuals instead appear determined to indulge in theatrical displays of self importance. There also appears to exist a profound failure amongst sections of both the parliamentary party and the political media to comprehend the true nature of local elections. Local elections are precisely that, local elections. They are frequently fragmented, regionalised and driven by temporary frustrations, local grievances and protest voting. They have never served as an infallible measure of a government’s long term national standing. To elevate such results into declarations of impending political collapse is not sober analysis. It is the deliberate construction of a narrative. The Conservative Party spent years destroying itself through factional warfare, personal ambition and the extraordinary belief amongst individual Members of Parliament that their own agendas outweighed the collective stability of both party and country. Britain witnessed a governing party descend into paralysis because too many individuals convinced themselves that they stood above the institution they were elected to serve. Labour now risks wandering towards precisely the same abyss should discipline and perspective continue to erode. What is required now is political maturity, political understanding and a fundamental re evaluation of how democratic parties respond to temporary electoral reversals. Endless leadership speculation, media briefings and coordinated acts of internal destabilisation do not strengthen democracy. They corrode public confidence in politics itself. The electorate has grown weary of parties that appear permanently consumed by internal warfare and personal manoeuvring. Many of those now presenting themselves as ideological standard bearers have scarcely entered Parliament before presuming to lecture an entire movement upon its direction and purpose. Some would do well to remember that loyalty, patience, humility and collective responsibility were once regarded as virtues in public life. Before issuing grave declarations to the nation, perhaps they ought first to consult the very constituents who entrusted them with office, rather than assuming they possess some elevated moral authority of their own. More concerning still is the apparent inability of some within Westminster to recognise the broader geopolitical reality unfolding across the democratic world. Liberal democracies are increasingly confronted by the influence of immensely wealthy individuals, corporate power structures and ideological movements seeking to drag nations towards authoritarian and fascist forms of politics. Institutions that have defended democracy for generations now find themselves subjected to relentless campaigns of disinformation, division, manufactured outrage and the systematic erosion of public trust. It is precisely for this reason that acts of internal sabotage within democratic governing parties are so profoundly dangerous. Such behaviour demonstrates a failure to grasp the scale of the geopolitical contest now unfolding across Europe, North America and beyond. Those forces which seek to weaken democratic institutions flourish whenever political parties descend into instability, infighting and public disunity. Labour remains the elected government of the United Kingdom with a commanding parliamentary majority and an immense responsibility at a time of profound international uncertainty. Within days the attention of the world will once again turn towards the G8 discussions and the wider tensions shaping global affairs. This is hardly the hour for self indulgent theatrics driven by Westminster gossip, factional grievance and leadership manoeuvring. Ultimately, the electorate will not forgive a governing party that destroys itself from within. Should Labour lose the confidence of the country, it will not be because of temporary local election results or excitable political commentary. It will be because too many individuals placed personal ambition, ideological vanity and leadership aspirations above their collective duty to the movement and the nation they were elected to serve. Britain does not require another governing party consumed by sabotage, factionalism and perpetual grievance. It requires steadiness, competence, discipline and long term vision. Those incapable of recognising the damage inflicted by internal destabilisation may yet discover, far too late, that history is seldom kind to those who allow ego and ambition to eclipse responsibility and duty.

The cabinet ministers urging Keir Starmer to consider setting out an orderly timetable for his resignation include the home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, the foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, and the energy secretary, Ed Miliband - so holders of two of the great offices of state and a former Labour leader. Tomorrow’s cabinet meeting will be more than usually consequential. His allies tell me he can and will resist the pressure to quit. Quite the game of chicken.

Not often I agree with Tom, but there you go...

@implausibleblog I think Polanski is refreshingly direct, and correct.

Laura Kuenssberg, "Do you agree with Prime Minister that chanting globalise the intifada is racist?" Zack Polanski, "No, I don't think that is correct" "It's important we have freedom of speech and freedom of protest" "We've seen a genocide going on for years in Israel now, in which our Labour government is not just complicit but actually selling arms and intelligence" "I don't believe policing people's language is going to make Jewish safety any better in this country" Laura Kuenssberg, "But that phrase is considered by many Jews and non-Jews to inciting violence, as we were discussing with Labour's Heidi Alexander" Zack Polanski, "First, the occupation is still ongoing, these are people talking about ending the occupation" "Second, there are already laws for hate crimes against antisemitism. When people are committing a hate crime, they should be arrested for that" "I don't think we need to create new laws" "I think we should have freedom to protest in the appropriate way, that is a cornerstone of our democracy" "And that when people are protesting they make sure they are not antisemitic, and that they are very clear that they are protesting the actions of the Israeli government" Laura Kuenssberg, "Zohran Mamdani said he would discourage the use of that phrase, would you?" Zack Polanski, "It's not a phrase that I would use personally, because you can make your point a lot more effectively in other ways" "But the point is that if people are traumatised and they're really passionate about the injustices they're seeing, I don't think the conversation should be about the language people are using" "It should be about the people who are dying" Laura Kuenssberg, "Words matter" Zack Polanski, "Words matter, but the tens of thousands of Palestinians who have been murdered, the people in Lebanon who has been killed, these people matter too" "And if people want to protest that, it's important we defend their right to protest" "I'm not interested in policing people's language"

@patrickwintour There is no reason to believe any of the drivel dribbling from this orange carbuncle on the face of humanity.

This small attempt to drive a wedge between King Charles and his elected government on Iran is one reason why Trump is so disrespected. If what he intimates, based on a known private conversation, is true, it’s a betrayal of trust. If untrue, it suggests he will misuse anyone, including those he professes to respect, to justify his decisions.

Exactly.

Israel attacking Jews...

@Tom___Scott Bastardos!

65-year-old British woman in the US on the "trip of a lifetime", with a valid tourist visa, was arrested by ICE, shackled, transported & held for weeks on end. Do NOT travel to the US under any circumstances. theguardian.com/us-news/2026/f…

Oh

@BlokeOnWheels Right here with you, brother.

How many of my lovely fellow lefties are still here?

@SJP74 @Nigel_Farage Yep. Is he going to get better and better now he's without McSweeney?

@Nigel_Farage Piss Off Nige The Prime Minister is absolutely outstanding. He is correct to bring up the absolute failure brexit has been. You lied to the British People, it created the #FarageFlood of migrants risking their life coming across the channel ! You are a poison to the UK !

In a desperate attempt to save his job, Keir Starmer is attacking Reform UK today. This weak, unpatriotic Prime Minister caves in to China, gives away the Chagos Islands and refuses to properly fund our armed forces. He is on borrowed time.

@lunaperla @Ald19Dr @soniasodha I really hope Kier Starmer does not resign. I do hope he changes a few things. I think the media are trying to create a big story. The big Epstein scandal is that Donald Trump was definitely in the middle of it.

I’d be first to concede that lobby journalism is sometimes too concerned with political soap operas at expense of the substance but does Starmer *seriously* think the press ought to have dialled back on Mandelson to make way for the govt’s zillionth breakfast club press release?

@Bbmorg I really hope Kier Starmer does not resign. I do hope he changes a few things. I think the media are trying to create a big story. The big Epstein scandal is that Donald Trump was definitely in the middle of it.

@AndyGJBurge @bbclaurak @Nigel_Farage I thought that might happen so I haven't bothered to watch it. Thank you for watching it so I don't have to.

This is the bigger issue!

@Hepworthclare Yep. AMB and Mandy cases are reprehensible, but insignificant in terms of global affairs. Are they being used as a smokescreen for Trump?

Mandelson & Andrew Mountbatten Windsor have quite rightly paid-& will continue to pay - the price for their association with Epstein. But why is Trump (and others) getting off scot free ? And asking AMW to testify is pie in the sky. A (dangerous) rubicon he is unlikely to cross.

FOLKS! The X-algorithm is trying to hide the massive Minneapolis ICE OUT strike. Please share. SPREAD THE WORD! 👇🏾✊🏾

I prefer people working together

@OJoelsen Oh yes!

Open Letter to the President of the United States and His Administration As Mayor of Kommune Kujalleq – the region of Greenland where the majority of the country’s rare earth elements and strategic minerals are located – I feel a clear responsibility to speak plainly and without reservation. Greenland’s subsoil is not for sale through political pressure, dismissive rhetoric, or a lack of respect. Period. The interest shown by you and your administration in Greenland’s resources carries obligations – not only legal, but moral and political. When Greenland, our institutions, our allies, and our people are spoken of with disregard, trust is eroded. And without trust, there is no access. Not a single gram. As mayor, I will never accept that the citizens of my municipality should feel unsafe or uncertain about what is taking place in their own backyard – politically, economically, or in terms of security. Our land and our communities are not pieces on a great-power chessboard. Greenland has some of the strongest and most responsible mineral resource legislation in the Nordic region. These laws exist to protect people, nature, and future generations. They will be enforced in full – regardless of who seeks to operate in Greenland, and regardless of the size or power of the nation involved. They are not subject to negotiation. The Greenlandic people hold authority over their land and their resources. And if there is one thing your administration currently lacks in this matter, it is respect: respect for our democracy, respect for our legislation, respect for our allies, and respect for our people. Jobs and promises of increased revenue can never be used as currency to bypass the law or the will of the people. If mining activities are not carried out in full compliance with Greenlandic law and with genuine respect for the population, there will be no mining. It is that simple. Not a single gram of Greenland’s minerals will be extracted without order, respect, and responsibility. Sincerely, Malene Vahl Rasmussen Mayor – Kommune Kujalleq – Greenland Source: Municipality of South Greenland