liz trueman

@liambyrnemp Not on first name terms then ?

Mr Burnham has had a good first week, and crucially has rekindled something vital for the success of mainstream politics. For more than a decade, populists have dominated the emotional landscape by persuading millions that tomorrow will be worse than yesterday. Their playbook is remarkably consistent. It rests on three emotional chords: fear, anger and nostalgia. Fear says the nation is under threat. Anger identifies someone to blame. And nostalgia promises a return to a golden age that never quite existed. The challenge for mainstream politics is not to outbid that nostalgia. It is to trump it with Plausible Optimism. Not fantasy. Not complacency. But a credible belief that tomorrow really can be better than today. That is why the first reaction to Andy Burnham becoming Prime Minister matters. As @Moreincommon_ revealed, the most common words voters used to describe how they felt were "hopeful" and "optimistic." Changing the emotional weather is an important first step. But optimism cannot survive on rhetoric alone. Because people will judge progress, not by GDP figures, but the visible economy: the high street, the local café, the town centre. Our research for Why Populists Are Winning found that people considering Reform are far more likely to believe their local area is in decline. When we asked why, the condition of the high street and concerns about crime featured prominently. When boarded-up shops become the defining image of a community, they become symbols of national decline. That is why rebuilding Britain's small business economy is not just an economic challenge. It is a democratic necessity. Over the last two years, the Business and Trade Committee has heard the same story from small traders and entrepreneurs across the country: firms doing everything right but being held back by broken business rates, soaring energy costs, late payment, crime and procurement systems that too often shut them out. These are political choices. They can be changed. Our Committee has proposed a ten-point plan to back Britain's small businesses because rebuilding the visible economy is how we rebuild confidence in the future. If people can once again see busier high streets, growing family firms, safer town centres and new opportunities where they live, optimism becomes real. It becomes plausible. And that is ultimately how mainstream politics defeats populism: not simply by arguing against it, but breathing new life into the idea that tomorrow can be better than today. Here's this week's Substack: open.substack.com/pub/liambyrne/…

@BenInRushcliffe Don't forget the BS , thats bar snacks, not the other BS

Positive, passionate and proactive. The 3 p's that make up a good comms week for Andy Burnham and Labour.

@vicderbyshire You must be fuming LK got the big interview and you got this drivel

Police are investigating payments to Reform UK by a company controlled by the party's deputy leader, Richard Tice bbc.co.uk/news/articles/…

@mgshanks Whats your position on bar snacks ?

Britain has a highly resilient energy system. It's right that we continue to make sure that always remains the case. It is categorically untrue to claim that blackouts are an "engineering certainty". This is simply sensationalist nonsense.

@EdwardTHardy The last 12 months have been orchestrated , everything planned ( see Louise Haigh) and you think a couple of hundred people standing outside a venue clapping and cheering wasn't? He's supposed to be a statesman now , he walked out like he was on the stage at Glastonbury

When was the last time a UK PM or politician received a genuine reaction like this anywhere in the country? Not an orchestrated photo op - Genuine support from members of the public

@andyburnham If your really serious , then stop with the ridiculous videos , you think rating bar snacks makes you a man of the people? Get serious, the country is going to hell in a handcart and you think this will take our minds of it , news flash mr Burnham, it wont

I'm used to people telling me things can't be done. I didn't accept it then. I won't accept it now. It's time to get Britain believing again and bring back hope. This week is just the start. mirror.co.uk/news/politics/…

@connor_naismith @JohnHealey_MP There are more people on this platform that are infuriated by this childish stunt than those that think its a great idea , check out your own post, 3.4k read it , 28 likes , read the room , get on with some real work , in you're own party's words " lots to do "

I'm with the Chancellor @JohnHealey_MP on this one... pork scratchings 👌

@LucyRigby Almost 10,000 people took the trouble to read your post and 41 people liked it, what exactly does that tell you ms rigby?

No 10 North is go! 🚀 This isn’t just about Manchester, or the north of England; it’s about ensuring that growth, jobs & investment touch every corner of 🇬🇧 Looking forward to heading to No 10 North soon - & back to No 11 North (the Darlington Economic Campus!) too. theguardian.com/commentisfree/…

@ChiOnwurah Hope you're going straight back to them to find out how they feel now , ecstatic i shouldn't wonder

Pubs and venues across #NewcastleCentralWest too often tell me they struggle to keep their doors open due to rising costs. We've seen so many disappear from our high streets. That is why we're is stepping in, and cutting their business rates from April 2027.

@annavanpraagh No , theyre showing how patronising he can be , how all this love of the north banter is nothing more than a smokescreen for when the more serious s*i* hits the fan

I think these videos are very clever. They’re fun, they’re showing he has personality and is human, and after Keir’s dour negative energy constantly insisting on policies that were harmful to British interests, here Andy is celebrating British culture.

@KarlTurnerMP @andyburnham @UKLabour How much influence do you have as an independent, or do you have a date on getting the whop back

Normal and popular. Now that’s a difficult thing for most of us to achieve in politics. Let’s hope @andyburnham’s popularity increases and the country gives @UKLabour a proper hearing. We must deliver. We know that and deliver we shall. 🌹

@rosiewright99 @TimesRadio Over the last 2 yrs , one thing I've hoped and prayed for , was to see 2 working class blokes , sitting in a pub , not discussing footie/politics/cost of living/work/family , no , my wish was that they would discuss bar snacks

Do we love this? We’ve absolutely had a healthy helping of personality as well as policy this week. Or is it a distraction / time drain? We debate this morning @TimesRadio

@Tush27J And Jimmy Saville was given the keys to wander round at will

Shadow Minister for Utter Stupidity Zia Yusuf clearly thinks British people are thick. Peter Sutcliffe Ronnie Kray Kenneth Erskine (Stockwell strangler) John Straffen (child killer) All housed at Broadmoor. The term hospital is clearly being used to mislead. #BBCBreakfast

@KarlTurnerMP Get real Karl, youve actually seen / heard 2 northern men sitting in a pub , discussing bar snacks , not work , not footie , rugby , snooker , not politics , not weather they can afford another pint , not family , but bar snacks

This is normal. That’s what people want. Normal behaviour. And it isn’t that difficult either.

@Bbmorg If only we could have an official inquiry , eh bob

Because there is no evidence of 250,000 girls being raped.

@KarlTurnerMP Its paused till he looks over all the docs , not cancelled, then of course , all the fuss will have died down , and a very large brush and carpet will be found

Good

@khayerc Can't count the amount of times I've been in Northern pubs and found 2 grown men having a pint and talking about the big issues of the day , bar snacks is always high on the agenda , as in , " if I'm going to have a pint , can I afford a packet of pork scratchings as well "

Just so effortlessly normal. Doesn't need a script or advisers running around, comfortable in his own skin, and sounds human!

@mar2vickers @Melissag0ec They tightened security when they realised giving Jimmy saville his own keys was the wisest thing to do

@Melissag0ec The security protocols in Broadmoor and Rampton are unmatched, even in max security prisons

It's Broadmoor, you arsehole. Broadmoor, FFS It's absolute max security for the worst of the worst - Kray. The Yorkshire Ripper. Robert Maudsley. Charles Bronson. It's not your local A&E. If this cretin has been sent there, he's never getting out. The public are SAfER now.

@SueJone52377175 I think even manucians are beginning to feel the same

No consultation. Manchester has been rammed down our throats. I’m feeling an anti Manchester vibe.

@nazirafzal And yet Jimmy saville walked around freely....with the keys

Broadmoor is a high security prison with pills, a place where every move is observed & every decision controlled It houses murderers inc Sutcliffe who killed 13 women There are only two exits, back to prison or a coffin it is as far from an easy option as some are from the truth