John Ramsbottom

@Peston The success of the landslide victory at the last election ? That was a let’s get someone else in after 14 years of the torrent government . We all know that

The consensus at the top of the Labour Party appears to be that Keir Starmer won’t announce a timetable for his departure until Andy Burnham fights the Makerfield by-election. But that makes very little sense to me. Because, as I said on ITV’s News at Ten, the probability he can survive as PM, even if Burnham were to lose the by-election is low. This is what his cabinet colleagues and trade union leaders have made clear to him (and to me). So the timing and manner of his exit are now at the mercy of events, which makes him a lame duck prime minister - whose utterances about policy will barely be heard above the racket of speculation about how and when he will go. This would be humiliating for any PM, but perhaps doubly so for Starmer given that his genuine success in taking Labour to a landslide victory after the nadir of the 2019 election would risk being forgotten and ignored if his last weeks in office are spectacularly chaotic. The limitations on his power are already conspicuous. As his closest colleagues tell me, he was only powerful enough to do the most limited and unambitious of reshuffles to fill the vacancy at health created by Wes Streeting’s resignation - although the disaster of last week’s elections would have been the trigger for a more comprehensive reshaping of the Cabinet if the PM were stronger. Starmer lacks the authority to force any of his ministers to move or leave the government. It’s telling that the Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood kept her job even after her allies briefed she told the PM his time is up, and that Streeting dictated the timing of his own resignation, even though his enforcers were actively briefing against the PM. In the Cabinet, the prime minister is supposed to be the first among equals. In Starmer’s case, scrap “the first” and maybe insert “second”. Also, resignations and sackings have over months left his Downing Street team depleted. As even his friends tell me, few want to take a career risk by working for him, partly because of the open secret that he won’t be in post much longer (and partly because the Whitehall zeitgeist is that he is the worst kind of delegator, one who insists on delegating but then shows little loyalty or understanding when things go wrong). So what’s the alternative to him being in office but not in power, as it were? Perhaps he should emulate Tony Blair, despite many in his party having repudiated the Blair years. In September 2006, Blair announced he would resign within a year and he stood down the following June. This longer timetable meant Blair wasn’t tainted by the chaos of unexpected immediate elections. And because the election schedule was dictated by him rather than by factors beyond his control, he looked commensurately stronger. He appeared to be the master of events, not the victim. The “will he? won’t he?” about Starmer last week was exhausting just to narrate, as I had to do. Goodness knows how bad it was for the main protagonist, Starmer. To be clear, any PM that says he’s off is weakened by that very pledge. But Starmer might actually have even less authority in today’s limbo, where everyone but he acknowledges the reality that he is a short-dated stock.

@Notretsam @Peston They still support him ? Where is your evidence for that exactly ?

@Peston This is complete rubbish. Starmer is not a lame duck Prime Minister; he is the Prime Minister the people as a whole voted for, and the people still support him If he is removed, that is 2 out of the last 7 PMs that the people didn't first vote into No. 10 That is not democracy

@catkinson80 Lifted out of poverty but put there by irresponsible parents having kids they can’t afford to raise. Welcome to labours benefit street . Rail public ownership ? I remember British rail in the 1970s . It didn’t work then and won’t work now.

The Tories gave Britain 5 PMs in 8 years, with working people paying the price for their chaos. Labour has raised wages, brought rail into public ownership and lifted more children out of poverty. There’s much more to do. The focus now must be delivery, not distraction.

@boredtweeple @LeeAndersonMP_ You mean uneducated like Angela raynor who is being touted as the next pm ?

@LeeAndersonMP_ It is comedy when a school drop out Lee Anderson who worked in construction and coal mines all his life thinks he knows more about economy than Gordon Brown who has done PHD in economics and was a professor of economics.

Comedy Gold. Literally....

@martynpeel @reformparty_uk It’s not shit it’s facts we aren’t used to facts !

Labour have gained no seats at all so far, and have lost 53% of their seats that have declared already. This is a crushing defeat for Keir Starmer.

@thepileus @reformparty_uk What are the Palestine parties ? Never heard of a Palestine party

@DareHardy09 @reformparty_uk Really ? And bury fc will win the fa cup final Next year

@reformparty_uk Well enjoy the win and don’t think it’s going to play out in the General Election this way .. If Labor back tracks and serve its purpose they will win for now congratulations to Reform

@WolfgangRichtEU @reformparty_uk You have a very simplistic understanding of fascism . It is commonly understood to be far right . But it can also be far left as in North Korea for example .

@reformparty_uk Dear Reform UK, I know you will now start banning other political parties, just like the Nazis did in 1933. Today democracy died in the UK. Stay strong Keir, we anti-fascists always win in the end. All the best, Wolfgang

@BASTrainingUK @Essex_Patriot Reorganised so as to be able to postpone elections . Clear enough I think

@Essex_Patriot REMEMBER NO ONE TRIED TO CANCEL ELECTIONS INSTEAD POSTPONEMENT TO SAVE MONEY IN COUNCIL AREAS BEING REORGANISED ALSO REMEMBER ONLY A SMALL NUMBER OF THE COUNCILS DUE ELECTIONS ANYWAY REMEMBER WHEN YOU ARE VOTING AGAIN NEXT YEAR FOR NEW COUNCILLORS! YOUR MONEY WASTED!!

Remember Labour and the Conservatives tried to cancel these elections. MAKE THEM PAY ON 7TH MAY 🇬🇧

@MattModify @Essex_Patriot They deliberately changed the boundaries so that councils would ask for extra time . Especially the Labour ones !

@Essex_Patriot Actually council's asked for extra time because they were moving and including more area's into one council which the government granted that isn't stopping elections

@LukeBrighto74 @Essex_Patriot They were as good as cancelled as most people will have worked out . Why the nastiness and name calling . Perhaps it’s you who needs the remedial English classes to extend your poor vocabulary

@Essex_Patriot What a fuckwit - there’s a difference between cancel and postpone. If you can’t grasp that, get off your phone and into some remedial English classes. There are migrants who get this.

@dtf_uk @LeeAndersonMP_ @reformparty_uk How’s it looking on the moral high ground ?

That all sounds good but it’s the large donations that concerns people. You could have been achieving all this without taking a penny in donations. Then at least your motivations would be clear and honest. As it is it looks like you’re compromised and now in the pocket of private corporations. Sincerely hope this isn’t the case and JCB don’t bend you over a barrel but people already distrust politics and large corporations. This move adds fuel to the fire of distrust. It may take more than fixing some potholes to allay those concerns.

Terrible News. @reformparty_uk are fixing potholes by using one of our greatest ever British manufacturers machines. British councils buying British machines to fix British roads employing British people in Britain. Truly shocking.

@ipswichspeedway Wondering how come Doyle and syfudinov aren’t in the team this year . My team managed to hold onto bewley and Kurtz

Small update to tomorrow's line-up for our opponents. Looking forward to getting down to business 🤜🤛

@Narendra1271947 @IRanMediaco How should the entire world do that ?

@IRanMediaco Sensible decision. Now entire world should support Iran

Oil Prices in the 15 minutes following the announcement.

@ob_sr11181 @IRanMediaco So I can’t change your ill informed and ignorant opinion then ?

@IRanMediaco Who gives a shit Americans have lost all respect of every country on the planet they are a bunch of fucking rednecks and sooner than later it’s going to bite that country right up the ass. Go Trump Go bankrupt everything he touches now it’s going to be America

BREAKING: Official Iranian media: Negotiations between Iran and the American side have begun in Islamabad.

@steeljammer @IRanMediaco All Depends what your definition of crime is

@IRanMediaco Very sad. Iran and others are considered the terrorists but we can see the USA and Israel are the ones committing the crimes. Why shouldn't they sell oil? The USA does not control world commerce.

BREAKING: Two million barrels of sanctioned Iranian crude oil have arrived in India.

@strixongames @IRanMediaco No they won’t

@IRanMediaco May God help Iran and guide them to make good decisions. Don't give rich uranium to US they'll use it against whole world.

Pakistan: An aircraft belonging to the US Air Force has landed at a Pakistani base, and it is likely that De Vance was on board.

@JamesHa56526563 @IRanMediaco He also hit the nuclear capability of the country and so saving us all from nuclear war . You forgot to mention that

@IRanMediaco This whole situation has been caused by a crazy geriatric orange dickhead that went against all the experts advice which has resulted in fucking over most of the world. He threatens shit then backs down and flatly refuses any sane persons logic to stroke his own ego. Arsehole

BREAKING: The Army of the Islamic Republic of Iran reports the interception and downing of two cruise missiles over Tehran and Hamedan by air defense systems.

@WHLeavitt He has hit rock bottom in my estimations

Prince William is preaching that Islam is the “Religion of Peace” Britain should learn from. Same spineless royal as his father—abandoning Christianity while grooming gangs and stabbings tear the country apart. Do you agree the royals have failed Britain? A. Yes B. No

@RachelReevesMP And I’m one of the 45 % of the population paying more tax to pay for it

Minimum wage rising 📈 State pension increasing 💷 Two child limit abolished 🏡 Child poverty falling 📉 Rights at work strengthened 💪🏻 Labour promised change. We are delivering change. theguardian.com/commentisfree/…