James Starkie
5.2K posts
@Jamesara
Partner at 5654 & Co. Ex govt advisor. Campaigning for better access to mental health services with #NoTimeToWait. https://t.co/VfGfjOJXAW
Starmer's ex-chief of staff Sue Gray joins team Burnham as key adviser - as Tories prepare for snap election trib.al/gQJPjxs
This is superb and everyone in Westminster should read it
I’ve been writing about Andy Burnham in Manchester for a while. We’ve had a few run-ins but I think he has qualities that many people don’t appreciate and weaknesses that spell trouble. I wrote this for @ManchesterMill - I hope it’s insightful and fair. manchestermill.co.uk/stop-looking-f…
Andy Burnham has formally launched his campaign for the Makerfield byelection with a barely coded pitch for Downing Street, saying a vote for him to become the MP there was “a vote to change Labour” - @peterwalker99 reports theguardian.com/politics/2026/…
BREAKING: UK waives some Russian oil sanctions, allowing imports of diesel and jet fuel processed in third countries from Russian crude (most likely supply chain: imports of Indian refined products produced by processing Russian crude). gov.uk/government/pub…
NEW There have been discussions between the Treasury and supermarkets on easing cost of living pressures and rising pressures… understand that in return for easing regulatory burdens for example on packaging and elsewhere Govt was looking for commitments to freeze prices on a number of essentials, but no agreement yet, and some supermarkets clearly very unhappy… Chancellor did keep on referencing Coop’s “Back Britain” price cut campaign after the Budget last year… unearthed by @AArmstrong_says in FT
Exc: Lord Weir is launching a fresh push to guarantee lasting British sovereignty over the Chagos Islands He finished 10th on Friday in the Lords' ballot and intends to put forward a PMB to guarantee the Chagossians future self-determination: spectator.com/article/save-c…
NEW: Andy Burnham confirms to ITV he wants to rejoin the EU in future But he says he doesn’t want to advocate that at this by-election (presumably because it’s a very pro-Leave seat) “In the long-term there is a case for that, but I'm not advocating that in this by-election”
🚨 NEW: Keir Starmer is set to approve an £18bn increase in defence spending as soon as next week [@thetimes]
*NEW: Bloomberg Saturday read* 💥 MPs loyal to Keir Starmer say Ed Miliband and Wes Streeting both plotted against him throughout the last year, destabilising then destroying the government and plunging Britain into chaos. 💥 Miliband orchestrated Andy Burnham’s plot to become PM from within cabinet. MPs loyal to Starmer accuse Miliband of betrayal. It is being compared to when he stood against his brother for the leadership in 2010. 💥 They say it is immensely frustrating that, rather than focus on their very important jobs and rally together behind the PM at a time of global crisis, Miliband, Burnham and Streeting instead acted for personal gain to advance their own careers. 💥 Allies of Miliband, Burnham and Streeting each argue they were motivated by saving Labour from Starmer’s disastrous leadership and stopping Britain falling to Farage. They say he had become the most unpopular PM in history and there is no way he could have led Labour into the next election. 💥 But some people loyal to Starmer wish he had sacked Streeting and Miliband for their disloyalty when he learned of it last year. Some wanted him to do so at the time. Starmer didn’t, fearing instability. 💥 One senior figure expresses their complete disbelief that Labour is behaving as badly as the Tories after only a fraction of the time, descending into factionalism, regicide and collapse. They say they never thought it was possible. 💥 The left of the party is scathing about Starmer’s legacy. A senior person on the left says that from day one Rachel Reeves was out of her depth as chancellor. They say when the history books are written about the Starmer government it is Reeves who will come off worst. 💥 A source close to Starmer blames Trump as the person singularly responsible for the failure of his premiership. They say from the moment Trump was elected the global crises that followed meant Starmer was never able to focus enough on the domestic priorities of voters. They argue no PM in decades has had to deal with a threat to Britain’s interests like that posed by Trump. They wish Labour had pulled together. 💥 They say if the Democrats had won the election things would have been completely different. Starmer wouldn’t have made what he considers to be his worst ever mistake, appointing Mandelson. It was a Bloomberg News investigation that brought down Mandelson, precipitating a period of crisis for Starmer from which he never recovered. 💥 Some on the Labour right consider Starmer’s capitulation on the welfare vote to be the beginning of the end because it emboldened the soft-left to expand their plots against him and ultimately try to take him out. One says Labour has “100 Liz Trusses” on its backbenches. Investors warn a more left-wing PM will be at the mercy of bond vigilantes. Gilts and the pound slumped on Friday as Burnham’s route to power became clear. 💥 Burnham’s supporters say he will be PM by Labour conference in September. A source of widespread amusement across Labour is that Streeting didn’t have the numbers and blew it, handing the leadership to Burnham and Miliband. Those two want what they call an “orderly transition.” Recent experience of British politics suggests the chances of that are slim. How Keir Starmer Imploded and Plunged Britain Into More Chaos >>> bloomberg.com/news/features/…
