JA Smith

My latest prediction for Burnham's cabinet, which remains mainly sensible centre left, with a few extended hands to the SCG. Add also Chris Bryant as Leader of the house Anneliese Midgley as Chancellor for DoL Yvette Cooper as Minister without Portfolio

@DanielRoachLFC The pensioners are the richest demographic in society. They get bigger annual pay rises than any workers. The triple lock is ludicrous. Pensions should be linked proportionately to the living wage and rise at the same rate.

First Blair now this gobshite. They tax us and they tax us some more. Now they wanna reduce our pensions. Tell you what, reduce the retirement age then. It was 65 when I started work. Can’t afford triple lock? Tax the rich. Go for the tax dodgers.

For the first time in years, replacing Britain's broken Council Tax and Stamp Duty system feels like a real political possibility. A fairer property tax is no longer a fringe idea, it's becoming part of the national conversation. thisismoney.co.uk/money/mortgage…

Beginning of the end for @Nigel_Farage who has been extremely well paid to do so much damage to the UK.

reformuk (ltd) does not have members it has subscribers, they pay their £25 & get nothing for it, they are not able to vote for the "leader", they are not able to affect it's 'policies'... Joining reformuk (ltd) is like joining a Gym... #JeremyVine

In a way, the best he can do if it IS to be Ed, is announce it quickly and essentially work as running mates. Because the markets (fucking markets) will have time for their little fanny fit and by the time they're actually in office, it'll all have settled.

The new tax raising powers Burnham will give to mayors trib.al/QH1YO4m

This is good, as usual it’s obvious, but it’s good.

It's so funny seeing the trad media not know how to deal with a mainstream politician who's liked by young people.

Tie the state pension proportionately to the national living wage. Give them the same pay rise each year as working people.

@GordonFielden This is poppycock. Pensioners at the moment have a bigger and more secure annual pay rise than any other sector of society. It's ludicrous. The state pension should be tied proportionately to the national living wage so they rise equally each year.

Yet again, the Triple Lock has come under attack. Those advocating its removal or dilution fundamentally misunderstand what it represents. It is not an act of generosity by the State, nor is it an optional political indulgence. It is a solemn commitment to those who spent decades working, paying taxes and National Insurance, contributing to the prosperity of this country, and who are now entitled to retire with dignity and a reasonable measure of financial security. Nor does its importance end there. The principles underpinning the Triple Lock have wider consequences for many occupational and public sector pension schemes, including final salary pensions earned by those who devoted their careers to serving the nation. Any attempt to weaken those protections would have far-reaching implications for millions of pensioners. If Andy Burnham were to contemplate interfering with the Triple Lock without first seeking and obtaining an explicit mandate from the British people, I believe the political consequences would be immediate and profound. Pensioners must never be expected to shoulder the burden of political misjudgements or economic failures for which they bear no responsibility. If the objective is genuinely to restore economic growth, there is a far more credible course of action. Begin serious negotiations to rebuild Britain's relationship with the European Union, move progressively towards rejoining the Single Market and closer economic cooperation, and, when the country has had the opportunity to consider the facts, place the question before the British people in a referendum. That would offer a genuine strategy for economic renewal, rather than asking those who have already contributed throughout their working lives to pay the price yet again.

@EvanCull @seandsmyth By a whisker. Congrats to the greens.

@seandsmyth Got the other one though didn't they. 🙃 x.com/ElectionMapsUK…

Unlucky mate

@tcanham459 If anything, it probably means labours leadership is significantly more. Greens, Lib Dems and even some Tories will 2nd pref labour mostly to keep out Reform. Who's putting reform as 2nd pref? Some more extreme Tories? Hell, even restore voters despise them.

Need to make it clear that this is first preference voting intention in SV. So not reflective, necessarily, of final outcomes or indicative of support for each candidate.

@WulfrunianChris After all this, by 2029, I genuinely wouldn't be too surprised to see it all turn back to Labour V Tories.

Keep an eye on the Burnham v Badenoch tracker. People will try to convince you otherwise but that may well be the most interest space in 2029.

@IaninMeads @AndrewCooper__ @JohnRentoul It frequently doesn't. The daily mail commissioned polls weekly in the lead up to 2024. All showed labour leads. The daily mirror commissions polls from time to time, they show reform leads. The commissioner has no control over the outcome, merely whether to publish the results.

@JASmithWrites @AndrewCooper__ @JohnRentoul It must be coincidental how any poll published, that has been commissioned by someone, provides an outcome that the commissioning party agrees with. I’m sure the polling is legit, but let’s see what happens when we get an uncommissioned one.

If this is even roughly right, supplementary vote system should mean Labour hold this fairly comfortably.

The vile sexism in these comments. Took me less than a minute to find an "on her knees" joke. No wonder Farage is leading the polls if this is the state of our country. Makes me embarrassed.

@HopeDah26 @TomK_Brit1993 Thankfully, Angela was cleared by HMRC of wrongdoing, so you're talking pish.

@TomK_Brit1993 She’s a tax dodger so should have no role whatsoever on the front bench. She’s lucky to be sat in with the other back benchers, put her back in the box.

What role should Angela Rayner have in Andy Burnham's cabinet?

@TomK_Brit1993 Education or health would be my shout.

@IaninMeads @AndrewCooper__ @JohnRentoul Does matter who commissioned it. If it's focaldata, it's legit.

@AndrewCooper__ @JohnRentoul Worth bearing in mind that Hope Not Hate are associated with this poll, so it will be interesting to see what other polls show.

@OscarGreta1846 Why?

No 10 should be in London not up North which is being thought of by Andy Burnham and if he wants it he should pay for it. The seat of power is in London not Manchester. I really have no idea of the measure of this man and what he will bring to being PM.

@Jeremy_Hunt Jeremy, it's cost us hundreds of billions of pounds. It's responsible for the rise in small boats. It's responsible for huge problems in exports for small businesses. Brexit has been a disaster from day one.

It’s not credible to say Brexit was a huge mistake; the UK can flourish economically outside or inside the EU x.com/BBCNewsnight/s…