Al Sam

@sfmnemonic See also - people who describe themselves as "libertarian"

@MsBehaviour007 @MatthieuFauroux @BBCPolitics Its Norfolk - Virginia

@MatthieuFauroux @BBCPolitics please report this.

Scoop: US to shut down NATO centre in Norfolk Washington will stop funding the Combined Joint Operations from the Sea Centre (CJOS) this summer, will focus on other centres of excellence based in Europe instead New centres to open in 🇫🇷Rennes and Rome lalettre.fr/fr/english-cor…

@sazza_jay Standing and not standing are both valid positions with pros and cons

caroline lucas and zack polanski’s different reactions to the makerfield byelection demonstrates exactly why lucas was unable to make the green party any significant force in british politics.

@RobertJenrick So you're saying he is the Jenrick of the Labour party

He’ll stand anywhere. He’ll say anything. Andy’s in it for himself, not Makerfield.

@truemagic68 @coalcollector @manduca_paul Who needs car manufacturing anyway - right

@coalcollector @manduca_paul Excellent comment of yours!

I see talk of rejoining the EU has evoked strong comments & lectures on the tough terms that would be a prerequisite. Is the U.K. ready for lectures? I think we are doing just fine independently trading with the world. Many would need to see a friendlier approach to acquiesce

@radioactivitii @AllyFogg Tell Labour Greens will stand aside there if they also call a byelection in a seat that favours the Greens and dont contest it. Demand an actual price. Put the ball in Labour's court.

@AllyFogg I just don't think we get anything from throwing resources at it, I mean field a candidate and get some useful data about national trends but god trying to do a big attack on Burnham just... idk, I'm sympathetic to him because I live here and a lot of the attacks just don't hit

Lot of people from elsewhere seem to think that because Greens won Gorton & Denton we can win Makerfield or get close. Makerfield is not like G&D but culturally & politically it is quite like Denton. So let’s talk about *just* Denton. >

@AllyFogg No. People think that when Labour put out tweets like this and then come third - they shouldnt be taken seriously for subsequent byelections

The Greens realise that a Burnham-led Labour Party could burst their bubble - no wonder they are standing a candidate. They know they won’t win, but that’s not what it’s about for them

@russellquirk Everyone knows immigration is higher after Brexit. Logic and reasoning arent really your strong point. It is almost like you are so agitated by immigration that you lost your tiny little minds and the ability to read a graph

Andy Burnham said in an interview last week that he wants to build council houses ‘at a level not seen since after WWII’. He also supports rejoining the EU. These two things are linked. As part of the EU we’d have open borders to anyone coming here via France, Netherlands, Italy, Germany etc Uncontrolled immigration. The resulting influx in migrants would be huge, necessitating a massive need for housing. That’s why Burnham wants to build 200,000 council houses a year. For migrants. This would cost £50 billion of your money. Every year.

@uk_ktee7484 @Nickie_Brown There were 243 new Labour MPs in 2024. The media is only considering 1-2 of them if that. Westminster does a crap job of getting new intake MPs into positions to showcase their abilities

@uk_ktee7484 @Nickie_Brown This is with loads of volunteers giving up their time for free. If you assiged value to their time the cost would be even higher. And imho, Labour has over 400 MPs and if they really checked each they'd easily find 10 candidates better suited than Burnham anyway

Let’s have a think about what’s happening in Makerfield. This by election is costing taxpayers £226,208. And it’s happening because a Labour MP chose to step aside to make room for Andy Burnham’s leadership ambitions. He admitted that himself. But here’s some more interesting figures. If Burnham wins, he’ll have to resign as Greater Manchester Mayor too. That triggers another election costing taxpayers around £4.7 million. So in total, nearly £5 million of public money could be spent not on improving services, fixing roads, supporting communities or helping struggling families, but on political career ambitions. People are struggling with bills, crime, NHS waiting lists and communities being ignored. Yet Westminster politics still seems focused on who climbs the ladder next. That’s what frustrates people. Not democracy. Political games made to look like democracy.

@crimlawuk The rise of Reform is down to the Tories imploding. Johnson encouraged by Cummings cut off the left wing and the right wing left of their own accord mainly because Jenrick lost the leadership contest.

Streeting must be really out of touch if he think the rise of Reform is because people want to rejoin the EU. Much as I would love it to be different, that ship has sailed. We need to focus on making this country safe and prosperous and a great place to live as a vibrant independent country. Not fighting old battles that have been lost.

@vrexec Dont you have to pay tax in NL and in US as well?

Been living in Europe 3 years now with my wife and two kids More and more questions lately about whether/when we’ll move back to the US We don’t know My Dutch and EU friends are typically shocked after I explain to them that, despite a 50% top income tax and a global unrealized wealth tax, we would still net far less disposable income in the US than the Netherlands, for example. Health+dental insurance for a family of 4 in the NL costs ~€350/month with a ~€300/year deductible which the Dutch call “eigen risico” or “own risk” We rent a 4 bedroom ground floor apartment with a huge back garden in arguably the most desirable part of the city… and pay less than our mortgage in New Jersey in 2020 when we had a 3% interest rate. We don’t own cars. Transportation is super cheap relatively.. I estimate 10-20% cheaper because we bike, walk, tram, train.. rent a car when needed for short trips. Kids go to a school that costs €0/year that costs $40,000/year in New Jersey.

@caibyy Starmer was clever enough to get the party rules changed so it would be very hard to get rid of him. 81 MPs needed supporting a single candidate, when Corbyn only needed 35 to get on the leadership ballot.

@caibyy Well he isnt yet, because noone has the numbers ...

Potential hot take: The people calling Burnham a neolib and saying he'd be no different to Starmer are wrong. The people acting like Burnham would be the 2nd coming of Jesus and usher in a British golden age are also wrong.

@CounsellingSam Its extremely unlikely any Labour or Tory PM will bring in PR unless they absolutely have to

Andy Burnham isn't left-wing. The only reason to support Andy Burnham is if he brings in PR. Follow me if you agree.

@RubiRubenstein Brexit has been a rolling clusterf*ck.

@RubiRubenstein We just have "Project Reality". The UK is weak on the world stage, borderline irrelevant to Biden and Trump. We have little influence in Europe anymore and we have to bribe companies like Nissan to stay manufacturing here at all. We hike taxes and change PM every few years.

One thing that Rejoiners have not factored in for a fresh referendum is that Project Fear cannot be deployed this time. The majority saw through it last time, but it would be ludicrous to pretend it didn’t have traction.

@SplaneMark @James7Holland @michaelgove Its bull though. Its harder for UK businesses to compete with EU businesses in Europe now, so we will get fewer huge UK companies. And its worse for UK consumers as some EU companies wont sell to UK anymore, so less choice.

@James7Holland @michaelgove I'm generally not a big fan of Michael Gove but, credit where credit's due, that was eloquent.

Superb from @michaelgove. The silence in the room is telling. When eloquently delivered facts hit an audience, with many perhaps quietly grasping for the first time that the pro-EU lobby in Britain have been peddling nonsense for a decade.

@Calderbank Labour said it was a 2 way fight in Gorton and Denton and came third

Some Greens really are a bit unhinged. I suggested that it might not be a great idea for them to stand a candidate against Labour in a clear 2 way fight vs Reform >