Sandra Smith
12.5K posts
Sandra Smith
@SandraSmith1310
Recently retired. Pretty boring really. Interested in current affairs. Never voted Tory, never will.
Scotland, United Kingdom Katılım Ağustos 2017
952 Takip Edilen790 Takipçiler
He’ll stand anywhere.
He’ll say anything.
Andy’s in it for himself, not Makerfield.
Guido Fawkes@GuidoFawkes
BEFORE AND AFTER @AndyBurnhamGM on Brexit.
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Never thought I’d end up as Crown Steward of Burnham 👀
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@MelJStride @Conservatives You're lying again Mel. Government quite clearly stated they were monitoring the situation and would make a decision nearer the time the rise was due to come into effect. You can't claim any credit for this and it is NOT a UTURN. Stop lying!
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Labour’s fuel tax hike would hurt businesses and hammer hardworking families already stretched to breaking point. After @Conservatives pressure, it looks like Reeves may finally be forced into a U-turn.
Under the Conservatives, fuel duty was frozen or cut for 14-years in a row. Labour wanted to put it up during a cost of living crisis. That tells you everything.
Families can’t afford Labour.
Mel Stride@MelJStride
Axe The Fuel Tax
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@newswatchbbc @BBCBreakfast @BBCiPlayer Well said Judith, couldn't agree more. Chris Mason in particular is unwatchable.
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Did BBC News coverage fan the flames of a leadership challenge to the PM? Join us on Saturday at 07.45 on BBC1 @BBCBreakfast or 15.45 on the News Channel. Or watch on the @BBCiPlayer from midnight tonight. Here's a taste of viewer Judith Brown's opinion:
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@BBCPolitics And there's a guy works down the chip shop swears he's Elvis
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Nigel Farage paid for £1.4m house with I'm a Celebrity cash, Reform says
bbc.in/3PIqhWr
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@sales_belinda Well done to the idiots, not a single newspaper headline about Farage's dodgy finances. Scunnered with the lot of them. Less than two years in, they've pressed the self destruct button.
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I'm sorry, Wes. But no one likes a traitor. This isn't a TV show. You caused havoc, stressed us out, lost a good job & made an utter fool of yourself. I'd take a long moment of silence and reflect.
Wes Streeting@wesstreeting
At the end of the day, when I get home, I know that good people in Ilford North always have my back… The @guardian paid us a visit 👇🏻 theguardian.com/politics/2026/…
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@wesstreeting @guardian Well done Wes, not a single newspaper headline about Farage's dodgy finances. Given your slender majority in Ilford, I doubt you'll keep your seat next time.
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At the end of the day, when I get home, I know that good people in Ilford North always have my back…
The @guardian paid us a visit 👇🏻
theguardian.com/politics/2026/…
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@wesstreeting @jamesmurray_ldn Why couldn't you just have been patient and bided your time Wes? Selfish ambition.
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Congratulations to @jamesmurray_ldn on his promotion to Health & Social Care Secretary.
He inherits a wonderful team and an important mission. He has my full support.
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@Peston Weren't you claiming this morning that it would be shaped by Angela Rayner? You hacks are ridiculous.
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Why Starmer’s destiny will be shaped in Makerfield by Burnham
open.substack.com/pub/peston/p/s…
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@JacobCollierMP Aye and if he loses then that's a mayor and a seat lost. Then Burnham can deal with consequences of his lost career. He's an entitled tosser.
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Andy is able to connect with the public in a way that Labour has recently struggled with.
As we face the alarming prospect of a Reform government we need to use all the talents of our movement.
The NEC should allow him to put his case to local members for selection.
Andy Burnham@AndyBurnhamGM
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
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@KathrynDW59 Let him stand if selected and if he loses then he can face the consequences of his career being finished.
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@mgshanks Let him stand, if selected and if he loses he can deal with the consequences of his career being over.
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@GeorgeFoulkes I disagree George, let him stand if he is selected and then he'll suffer the consequences if he loses and there's a fair chance he might.
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The Labour NEC should stop Burnham from standing to save him and Labour from likely embarrassing losses in Makerfield & Greater Manchester
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@Mather_Keir Son, I have shoes older than you. If Burnham gets selected to stand and that's not a given and he loses out to Reform or Greens then that's a seat and a mayor lost. He should serve out his term as mayor of Manchester like he was elected to do and then look for a road back.
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In her first interview since resigning as a junior minister yesterday, Jess Phillips warns Andy Burnham to 'not look entitled' on seeking seat to stand for leadership whilst speaking to @bethrigby on Electoral Dysfunction.
🔗 trib.al/cRVXOj3
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@AndyBurnhamGM And if you don't win that seat, you've properly fucked it.
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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
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@Hepworthclare There's a fair chance Burnham won't win that seat.
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Josh Simons has stood down to give Burnham a seat..
But MPs don't pick their successors !
Has to be a selection procedure , no guarantee he would be selected.
And no guarantee he would be elected.
So, no compunction about betraying the Manchester voters who elected him.
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@joshsimonsmp There's a fair chance Burnham won't win that seat.
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For decades, Westminster has overseen the managed decline of towns like mine. We have talked big, then acted small, stuck in a politics of incrementalism that cannot meet the moment. We have lost the trust of those our party was built to serve.
It is my unwavering belief that nothing short of urgent, radical, courageous reform will make a difference. That must start with a change in leadership.
Today, I am putting the people I represent and the country I love first and will be resigning as MP for Makerfield. I am standing aside so that Andy Burnham can return to his home, fight to re-enter Parliament, and if elected, drive the change our country is crying out for.
This has not been an easy decision. This is my family’s home, where only a few weeks ago, doctors and nurses at Wigan Infirmary saved our newborn son’s life.
But we all must make choices and in recent days I found myself with a difficult one: defend the status quo or step forward and act. I have made my choice.
I am in politics because politics is how you change lives for the better. My party has one last chance to do that: deliver for the people and places I represent, drive economic growth, secure our borders, reform our state and politics, and change a status quo that is not working.
That is the fight. I believe Andy is the one to lead it.
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That’s a very smart reply. Courteous, generous and completely takes the sting out of it all.
Politics UK@PolitlcsUK
🚨 BREAKING: Keir Starmer responds to Wes Streeting's resignation
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Angela Rayner needs to, very quickly, publish the date that she was made aware that her HMRC investigation was concluded.
The current timing makes it look like pure corruption from within government.
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