Scott Burchill

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

Jesus he’s confusing territorial scope with right. Besides the fact that he’s goes on to concede it’s got a right to exist. A better question would be to ask the Palestinians to tell us the territorial scope they’d like to exercise their right to a state over. Let’s see the answer to that. Funny thing is though, even if they could spell that out they’d still demand the right to go live in Israel. Which kind of tells you the answer anyway.

🇨🇺 BREAKING: Cuba is completely out of diesel and fuel oil Cuba has completely exhausted its diesel and fuel oil reserves, Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy announced Wednesday on state media, prompting protests across the capital on Wednesday evening. Some districts in the capital are without light for 20 to 22 hours a day, the minister added in his announcement. Neither Mexico nor Venezuela, once top suppliers, have sent fuel since President Trump’s January 2026 executive order threatening tariffs on any country shipping fuel to Cuba. The United Nations last week called the fuel blockade unlawful, saying it had obstructed “the Cuban people’s right to development while undermining their rights to food, education, health, and water and sanitation.”

Israeli soldiers have gone on Israeli television and said they use dogs to r•pe prisoners. Israeli settlers raided a military base in July 2024 and rioted for the “right to r•pe” after reservists were arrested for r•ping a male prisoner to death with a steel bar. After the right to r•pe riots a member of the Israeli Knesset proclaimed that Israeli soldiers had the right to do whatever they wanted to to Palestinian prisoners, including r•pe. Quite literally no group of people have provided more evidence of the widespread, systematic sexual abuse of Palestinian prisoners at the hands of the IDF than Israelis themselves. (All receipts below)

I agree. There is no collective responsibility and it is bigoted and racist to make such a claim. As the author says, there are many Australian Jews who are appalled and opposed to Israel's actions in the Middle East. What she doesn't say is what, if anything, should be done about Australian Jews who joined the IDF and committed war crimes in Gaza and Lebanon. And should those in Australia who cheered on Israel's slaughter in Gaza be held to account for their collaboration? Presumably the worthy fight against antisemitism doesn't give them a free pass?