@DavidDPaxton Wasn't he also very keen on NHS negligence cover-ups (Staffordshire?). Being a mayor in the UK is politics on easy mode as I suspect we are all about to discover.
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Matthew Andrews
1K posts
The funniest aspect of all of this is the Burnham Hope.
He was bang average at best. Comically terrible in the leadership campaigns and an all round lightweight. But like any good king-over-the-water, he is comfortable with sorts of attributes being projected upon him.
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@botzarelli Two things leap out: (i) he's either a great actor or is natural in a way Starmer never could be be; and (ii) he had a very young face but the hair made it easy to think he was old.
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I don’t think it is conceivable that Starmer could make even a second of a film like this, speak so clearly or authentically about his background, experiences or beliefs. Ultimately that’s why his position is built on the loosest, driest sand.
youtu.be/TGuBNgFjLUg?si…
YouTube
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@v_j_freeman The comments to an article in the Times today represent this strain of thinking. It’s all the 2016 arguments given a new sheen. That worked well.
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There’s something I’m trying to put my finger on about a sense of denial in the reaction to Reform results which I think comes from people who simply can’t accept the idea of their electoral potential so they pretend it can’t happen. While voters tell them it can.
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@reporterboy You’re suggesting that appointing somebody who is, by some distance, a better politician, a better communicator, is unwise? Additionally, given the direction of the PLP, the return of Blair will unwelcome?
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@John_Stepek His voting record will tell the story. It‘s no different to Reeves making an other speech where it’s possible to hear sensible noises. Reality shows their real desires through.
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This young guy talks a lot of sense in these videos, but he's already an MP, so I'd quite like to know what he's doing to kill these things off right now (it's not just Scotland that has too many of them)
Gordon McKee MP@GordonMcKeeMP
It takes more than two to quango
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@rcolvile @adbennoEFC FWIW, you can also see reverse import substitution at work in places like McDonalds. Low wage, low skill immigrants have a consequence.
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@adbennoEFC So nothing to do with minimum wage rises, NI rises at all. And the fact this rise has happened here more than elsewhere is just one of those wacky coincidences.
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Youth unemployment has fuck all to do with min wage rises. It because the sectors that took on school leavers are not hiring like they used to.
Supermarkets -less staff due to self serve.
High St -less staff due to online shopping.
Bars/restaurants -can’t afford to take on staff
Robert Colvile@rcolvile
Not sure who can look at the UK job market and the state of youth unemployment and conclude that the solution is a further 18% rise in the minimum wage oh hi it's the Green Party
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Jesus Henry Christ. Do these people not realise what they’re doing to the housing market?
Joe Hill@jo3hill
Not satisfied with the damage to the housing market from the Building Safety Regulator and Second Staircase rule, MGCLG are consulting on a requirement for evacuation lifts for buildings above six stories. This will all but kill construction in London. gov.uk/government/con…
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@v_j_freeman @LostTransport Wouldn't be at all surprised if it were someone's bright idea to save Starmer by encouraging a fear of dropping the pilot at a time of crisis.
Ware, East 🇬🇧 English
Did he learn nothing from the economically damaging doom mongering he indulged in before the budgets? Even if you think there might be negative effects what is to be gained by hyping them in advance? The man is a chronic dolt.
Steven Swinford@Steven_Swinford
BREAKING: Sir Keir Starmer warns that people may need to change their holiday plans and what they buy in supermarkets because of the impact of the Iran war It goes far further than the government's messaging so far. He appears to be implying that people may need to take staycations rather than going abroad He told @cathynewman on her new show on Sky News: 'I think we'll see how long the conflict goes on. I can see that, if there's more impact, people might change their habits… Where they go on holiday this year. What they're buying in the supermarket, that sort of thing' It sounds like a throwaway line but it goes way beyond what any other Cabinet minister has said so far
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@btharris93 Cooper, no. An expert in opposition whining, considerably less skilled when required to take responsibility, as her time as a minister repeatedly shows.
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Burnham - yes
Rayner - no
Miliband - no
Streeting - yes
Cooper - maybe
Mahmood - yes
Lammy - no
YouGov@YouGov
Would a potential Labour successor do a better job than Keir Starmer? % of Britons saying each potential alternative would be better: Andy Burnham: 34% Angela Rayner: 15% Ed Miliband: 13% Wes Streeting: 13% Yvette Cooper: 9% Shabana Mahmood: 9% David Lammy: 3% Link in replies
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This is fascinating. Explains to an extent why anti-capitalism is so widespread though I suspect it's more chicken and egg than that (ie people are suspicious of companies therefore they assume high profit margins, not the other way around)
Kristian Niemietz@K_Niemietz
Even worse over here.
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@botzarelli @SimonMagus How could they have dealt with it neptly (as it were). It all very free nice stuff paid for by somebody else and the public loves that.
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@SimonMagus For some reason that’s now considered either far right or wet.
Rashford’s campaign was to continue the lockdown extension of free school meals into the school holidays. It was bonkers but also a horrible political trap ineptly dealt with by the government.
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The objective of public policy should be a society where the state doesn't need to provide free meals to kids because their own parent(s) have the wherewithal to provide these things. And the way to achieve this is via the economic growth you get from free market capitalism
Mariana Mazzucato@MazzucatoM
@MarcusRashford grew up relying on free school meals and breakfast clubs. Without them, by his own account, he would not be a footballer. His story is powerful, but it is also a proof of concept. School meals are not a cost. They are an investment in human potential that delivers returns across health, education and the economy. Our new @IIPP_UCL case studies from Brazil, Sweden and Scotland show what happens when school meals are designed as mission-oriented industrial strategy: connecting procurement to local sustainable food systems, creating green jobs and requiring government to work across departments. Read the case studies ➡️ ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/publi…
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@DavidPGCSE Isn't this just blue tick monetisation? He's found easy revenue and doesn't mind humiliating himself for pennies (as a Mirror writer, that's baked in of course)
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@jhallwood Perhaps they’re haunted by the rather pathetic plots against Brown which, led, ultimately, to Miliband, E. That is, there‘s no 1st mover advantage in the Labour Party.
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Then lead by example and resign rather than briefing anonymously
Kitty Donaldson@kitty_donaldson
EXC: A Cabinet minister tells @theipaper they've lost patience with Sir Keir Starmer but that it was up to the Cabinet as a whole to move to depose him. “It’s bleak. It’s a question for the Cabinet and colleagues need to come to a view. I know what my view is," they said 🧵
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@ariaclast I have a book of essays, published around 1995, which attempts to rehabilitate Heath. It doesn't work because the centrepiece, Heath, was essentially not up to it. Starmer is like a low wattage Heath.
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@v_j_freeman FWIW, every lawyer (barrister) that I’ve known has been insatiably curious and unable to stop pulling on threads. Starmer is quite remarkable in his lack of curiosity and surprise as events happen around him. One wonders if this is a new development.
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I know people who hold themselves to be very clever think this doesn’t matter very much, there are more important issues, but a person with judgement this poor being in charge of our country is a huge risk.
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Honestly can’t get over it. If Tories had done this exact thing & Tory PM had responded exactly as Starmer has we know beyond all doubt the entire Labour Party would have been apoplectic. They had shit fits for far less. Yet here they are batting it away as nothing. Incredible.
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@GMHSoton @LessGrumpy @SilverAlso Every time I read something like this makes me grateful that I don’t do interacting with the wider public law.
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@LessGrumpy @SilverAlso Shelley X from Netley was genuinely surprised that the family court in Portsmouth ordered that her kids should be adopted notwithstanding that she was the Attorney General of the Living Being Shelley X of Netley in the County of Hampshire.
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@v_j_freeman Perhaps things will change after the local elections when they realise they are done and their best hope is governing in the national interest. Or perhaps the desperation to retain/recover votes will intensify. I can guess….
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But it *will* be tolerated. We have seen how our PM behaves when he truly doesn’t want to tolerate racist attacks in August 2024 & it bears no resemblance to his response to the current constant attacks on British Jews. *This* response is very much one of tolerance in comparison.
Keir Starmer@Keir_Starmer
I am appalled by recent attempted antisemitic arson attacks in North London. This is abhorrent and it will not be tolerated. Attacks on our Jewish community are attacks on Britain. We are increasing visible policing and those responsible will be found and brought to justice. We will not rest in the pursuit of perpetrators.
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I’d be quite happy for him and his believers to build this society somewhere far away from the rest of us. It would be hilarious.
Skint Eastwood@Skint_Eastwood1
🚨Green Party Leader Zack Polanski Wants To Build A Society That Doesn’t Include Anyone From The Right “There are people who identify as right wing or even far right… Do we think we can change their minds or is it a case of building a society that doesn’t include them?” What the hell does Zack mean by this? Tell us @ZackPolanski what do you have planned if you ever get into power?
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@John_Stepek This policy is seeking to address the problem of (a) competent, skilled people being more successful than the less competent and less skilled; and (b) private companies deciding what is best for them rather than than being told by otherwise unemployable politicians.
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Parliamentary time is a limited resource. So we should ask of any policy proposal: what problem is this trying to address? Do we have evidence that the problem even exists? Will this solve the problem? What second-order effects might it have? Is there nothing more pressing? Etc.
YouGov@YouGov
The Greens have proposed capping top wages in a company at 10x the level of the lowest wages - a move that 65% of Britons would support Strongly support: 41% Somewhat support: 24% Somewhat oppose: 10% Strongly oppose: 7%
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@v_j_freeman It's not the most important point but when did we start to move what seems like a cult of the (relatively) well known civil servant. It seems both politicised and aimed at giving politicians another body to hide behind.
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This line of thinking supposes Robbins was highly invested in protecting Keir Starmer. Why?
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What does the Foreign Office gain from such an easily discoverable concealment? There is only downside in taking this enormous risk. First instinct of *any* professional of any standing on discovering a risk of this magnitude is to inform the chain of command to cover themselves.
Nick Robinson@bbcnickrobinson
There is a far simpler explanation for the appointment of Mandelson. The Foreign Office knew the Prime Minister wanted it to happen despite concerns raised directly with him about Epstein & business links with China and Russia so they delivered what the boss wanted.
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