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Anyone know if it’s true that no Reform MPs, defenders of our rights and freedoms, were in Parliament for the child protection debate yesterday?
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, debated on Wednesday? Nigel Farage, Richard Tice and Rupert Lowe took part
Violence against Women and Girls, debated on Thursday? Appears not
Emily Darlington, (Milton Keynes Central) (Lab),
Previous Governments have treated violence against women and girls as inevitable, or, more recently, a political opportunity, instead of the national emergency that it is. I feel sorry for the hon. Member for East Grinstead and Uckfield (Mims Davies), who I know feels strongly on this, but who is not in the Chamber today? There is not a single Reform MP, which shows how much they care. There is no show from the shadow Home Secretary, the right hon. Member for Croydon South (Chris Philp), who said that he really cared about the issue, and no show from the shadow Justice Secretary, the right hon. Member for Newark (Robert Jenrick), who also said that he cared about the issue. I guess they care about it only when they can put out Facebook ads afterwards.
All sourced from Hansard
You are confusing what I said I think is going to happen with what I want to happen.
I voted remain and have always voted left or centre left, yet you chose to completely misread my post. Though I would cite your post and others like it as another reason why I think Labour could get wiped out at the next GE. Making stuff up, rather like hurling abuse at anyone who doesn't think like you [see binners] will not deliver you the result you wish for and will likely deliver the opposite. [see what's just happened over the pond].
I agree with what MSP posted, though I'd add that that I see Labours offer as a toxic mix of austerity and identity politics. Toxic and unworkable.
Labour will continue to lose voters in their working class heartlands. They won't be able to rely on the minority vote they way they traditionally have and in four years time we will see the youth vote move significantly rightwards.
Consider as well that the next generation of Labour politicians and activist are far more on the progressive wing than the current Cabinet [many having come into politics on the wave of Corbyn enthusiasm] and I just can't see Labour going anywhere but down.
The opposite of what I want to happen but what I think is going to happen.
You are confusing what I said I think is going to happen with what I want to happen.
You mean stuff like this ?
Can you personally afford to live comfortably with the kind of policies Badenoch or Farage will implement?
Yeah I found it very strange that you pointing out the growing threat from Badenoch and Farage should apparently be interpreted as support for them.
Perhaps the STW consensus is that only people who deny Badenoch and Farage are a threat are really opposed to them.
I agree with what MSP posted, though I’d add that that I see Labours offer as a toxic mix of austerity and identity politics. Toxic and unworkable.
The recent bond market flap has shown that Labour are backed in to a corner on spending, I dont see much of a way out of where they are now on this, the kind of spending pledges that we'd all like to see will cause a market rout and leave them with Truss mk2; interest rates & inflation soaring. All of that is made worse by Trump pushing his tariffs and other bonkers plans.
I appreciate the point about ongoing austerity, but if you can’t afford to live under Labour you’ve got no chance in he’ll under the party that was in power the first 4.5 years of that period.
This.
Labour will continue to lose voters in their working class heartlands.
These people moved to the Tories with Thatcher, and then backed Leave & Johnson - they're the very people who'll suffer with Badenoch/Farage AND will continue to blame others (immigrants) for their plight.
I come from one of these areas, and looking at the FB feed from my old town it's all pro-Reform AND complaining how shite public services are.
in four years time we will see the [ male ] youth vote move significantly rightwards
Slight amendment, based on what's been happening in other countries (that use the same social media platforms).
Asset inflation is debt to future generations that has a far greater impact than bond markets. The fact that house prices have rissen far faster than wages means younger and future generations are committed to far more debt than past ones, stock markets rising far faster than wages means that younger and future generations can only but smaller and smaller crumbs to fund their pensions.
I am not saying that markets have zer0 impact on everyday life, but they are no where near as significant as these debts which are conveniently ignored when debt is talked about, because these are the debts that affect the poor far more than they affect the wealthy.
And seeing as the money keeps flowing up the pile to those at the top, I really don't buy the "we can't afford it" argument. For the past 40+ years we have been told no wage increases without productivity increases, well productivity has also far outstripped wage growth, so the general population has delivered, but the asset owners haven't. We don't need more growth, we are desperate for better distribution of what we already have.
These people moved to the Tories with Thatcher
I am not so sure that many red wall seats fell to Thatcher.
Asset inflation is debt to future generations that has a far greater impact than bond markets.
Thats a very good point but its the very opposite of what actually happens, ie a booming house price market is seen is a mark of successful government and a crash would be seen as labour disaster, youve seen what it did to Truss and the impact on people with variable mortgages or up for renewal was very real.
Rising house prices are sold to the general public as a mark of a successful government, but it is generational debt that the next generation has to pay. It is right wing propaganda, an obvious financial bubble, a complete lie, but never questioned.
Fixing it by crashing it wouldn't be good (for those who own the assets, especially newer entrants into ownership), but wage growth outstripping asset growth to compensate 40 years of unspoken failure would start to address the problem.
That profit on those assets that were bought 20 or 30 years ago, profit that has far outstripped wage growth, who do you think pays for that? It isn't a magic money tree, that profit is a debt burden to the following generations.
youve seen what it did to Truss and the impact on people with variable mortgages or up for renewal was very real.
The impact would have been less if so many weren't forced to overcommit financially just to have a roof over their heads, if housing was treated as homes instead of an investment market.
I am not so sure that many red wall seats fell to Thatcher.
I didn't say that the seats did, but the less-well educated did.
The impact would have been less if so many weren’t forced to overcommit financially just to have a roof over their heads, if housing was treated as homes instead of an investment market.
i don't disagree at all but how do you make that happen?
wage growth outstripping asset growth to compensate 40 years of unspoken failure would start to address the problem.
and raising minimum wage will go so far , but increased employer costs from ni tax raise etc are feeding in to current problems re bonds etc and that is going to at the very least mean interest rates will stay higher for longer. And a big public worker pay rise would be a huge cost to government.
Im not trolling, I just genuinely don't see what can be done differently?
Reform lead latest You Gov poll.
Our latest voting intention poll (2-3 Feb) has Reform UK in front for the first time, although the 1pt lead is within the margin of error.
Ref: 25% (+2 from 26-27 Jan)
Lab: 24% (-3)
Con: 21% (-1)
Lib Dem: 14% (=)
Green: 9% (=)
SNP: 3% (=)
https://news.sky.com/story/reform-uk-tops-landmark-poll-for-first-time-13302531
It really is time to admit we've been done by the Labour right and fix all this shit.
Let's stop pretending it's the media's fault or Starmer is pragmatic, or some other mythical black-hole or economic fail by the Tories. The stupid runway which won't happen for ages which might generate 0.43% growth by 2050 where the report was commissioned by the airport.
Leave it all alone and start bloody well making some half decent grounded decisions funded by your own damn bank, and not some horrific private initiative.
They need a whole new path or we all face the consequences.
Also Martin Lewis:
Bad news. The predictions for what'll happen to the energy price cap in April keep rising. EDF now predicted Ofgem will increase it by 3.3% rise, British Gas predicts 5%, Eon Next predicts 5.7%.
We're only a couple of weeks from the end of the assessment period. So that means this is getting pretty firm. Its now nearly unthinkable that it'll drop, it's going to rise, the big question is how much.
I can't the see the next few months being anything than even worse for Labour.
Spring statement will be interesting.
It really is time to admit we’ve been done by the Labour right and fix all this shit.
So how do you suggest that we fix all this shit? There is zero chance of the Labour right abandoning their commitment to the status quo and instead embracing a brave radical alternative.
And there is zero chance of wrestling control of the Labour Party from the hands of the Labour right. Ten years ago they let their guard down and loosened their grip to the point where they momentarily lost control of the party. It took them over 4 years to regain total control and they will never ever let that happen again. You can be 100% sure of that.
The most likely scenario is that Labour will face catastrophic defeat in four and a half years time at the hands of Reform UK and the Tories. The latest mega-poll suggests that Reform UK has finally (following UKIP and the Brexit Party) breached the division between right-wing anti-immigration voters and pro-multicultural left of centre mainstream voters.
This is an extremely important bridgehead for Reform UK to have secured......it's a whole new ballgame now and it suggests that there is very little limit on how much their support can grow. Certainly no more than the limits on the Tories and Labour, so anything up to 50% I guess.
They were quite positive about immigration and in favour of a strong state, but disillusioned with the ability of the main parties to deliver.
Strong anti-immigration views were dominant among those who voted Reform in the 2024 general election, but those who have begun to support the party since then have far more diverse views.
“This includes a sizeable group of voters who are actually quite positive towards the benefits of immigration and multiculturalism but increasingly feel the main parties have failed and it is time for something new.”
Many people, possibly millions, are likely to vote Reform in four and a half years time not because they necessarily share their right-wing bigoted views but because they are so desperate for change.
I honestly cannot see any likely scenario where Reform UK will be stopped, their support just grows with every new week because the ground for them is so fertile without any realistic possibility of that changing.... Labour will neither change direction nor preform an economic miracle.
And a non-rightwing radical alternative is unlikely to build momentum before the next general election. The question now really is what will happen after the next general election. I suspect that having Nigel Farage waving from the door of Number 10 (as PM or deputy PM) will very likely trigger a massive reaction with a new grassroot mass counter-movement emerging, one involving young people and those who have not been actively involved in politics before. I reckon things could get tasty.
They will also get very little support in London. Unfortunately the Right can easily win a general election without winning Scotland and London, as they did in 2019 when London held firm.
You think that Labour should wait until election year before worrying about anything election-wise? I suspect it is very likely that is exactly what they will do.
Perhaps that's where the Tories went wrong in sacking Boris Johnson and Liz Truss years before the general election?
And yes, I am sure that they will also have burnt their bridges!
For me, the big issue is that the conservatives, and those even more nasty, are testing the boundaries of what the public will accept.
That shouldn't be what being a public servant is about...it's not what it's about, IMO.
But people do buy into pop culture. And they can vote.
So there is that.
If Farage gets to number 10 Scotland will be offski. He seen so poorly that ir would put the independence vote over 60%
Who knew that teaching a top barrister how to speak in public is the job of a "key worker"?
Excerpts of the book published in the Sunday Times said she qualified for “key worker” status and visited Labour Party headquarters wearing a face mask in December 2020, to advise Sir Keir on how to publicly respond to the Brexit deal.
And imagine lacking so much confidence in yourself as a politician that you need to pay a classically trained dramatist to tell you what your speaking style you should be using when talking about Brexit. Quite amazing!
But best of all is this :
Mr McSweeney is claimed to have voiced fears in private that the prime minister “might be too timid”, but also described Sir Keir as “very bright” and “not completely unpolitical”.
So it turns out that Keir Starmer is "not completely unpolitical”, what a remarkable way to describe the leader of the Labour Party. I wonder if Morgan McSweeney started to have doubts that Starmer was the right man to front his project when he realised that Starmer wasn't completely unpolitical?
I won’t link to Twitter but here is Zoe Gardner’s response to someone stating that it’s the fault of the BBC why reform are popular
Reform are where they are because both Labour & the Tories are truly, utterly, disastrously shit.
Because “centrist” politics has no answer to the fact that our economic system simply doesn’t work for anyone but the richest & the left is nowhere.
Quite true ?
Middles classes do pretty well although public servants have done poorly
If Farage gets to number 10 Scotland will be offski. He seen so poorly that ir would put the independence vote over 60%
I don't think that prime minister Farage would allow an independence vote.
If he gets in i suspect that would be enough to trigger a civil disobedience campaign that would nake nake Scotland ungovernable from Westminster. Its been bad enough having Tory givernments imposed on us but reform? The outrage and abhorrence would be immense
Farage is viscerally loathed by the vast majority in Scotland
Thatch got in 3 times as she was hated by one half and loved by the other.
A nake nake givernment would get my vote.
Thatcher got in 3 times because the SDP split the anti tory vote
Whatever the reasons Thatcher won three general elections and despite being deeply unpopular in Scotland there was no choice but to accept the election results.
Throughout Thatcher's term as prime minister Scotland swung away from the Tories. In fact she made anti-Tory feelings in Scotland a permanent thing, a far cry from the days when the Tories enjoyed more than 50% of the vote in Scotland.
Much to agree with.
Labour’s (and the rest of the liberal west’s) problems summed up in 10 tweets.
https://twitter.com/labourlewis/status/1886885789142749254?s=46&t=LtLH_brmYFWrcPalxgEeWA
It's totally bizarre why this isn't so obvious to more people.
You fix 'stuff' and you give people a reason to vote for them - Labour are doing the exact opposite of fixing stuff, and the panic for growth via the Heathrow project somewhere in the distant future - was the best example yet of ignoring doorstep problems.
What an appalling failure.
And imagine lacking so much confidence in yourself as a politician that you need to pay a classically trained dramatist to tell you what your speaking style you should be using when talking about Brexit.
Seemed to work for one Margaret Hilda Thatcher! Though over-weening self-confidence did for her, maybe Sir Kier has taken note and is being a tad more humble.
Seemed to work for one Margaret Hilda Thatcher!
And Starmer has publicly expressed his admiration for Thatcher so a fair point. Although I wouldn't be surprised if it hadn't been Starmer's idea to seek professional help with public speaking and he simply did what Morgan McSweeney told him to do, I think he usually does.
Plus in the case of Thatcher firstly, she wasn't a renowned barrister with the same level of experience in public speaking, and secondly there is a noticeable difference between the irritating grinding tone of early Thatcher and the later somewhat softer tone.
Has anyone one noticed the difference between pre-pandemic and post-pandemic Starmer speech delivery? Was it money well spent and did it provide reasonable justification for a "key worker" to leave their home?
But more interesting of all is what would have been STW's reaction to this story if the person involved had been a Tory like perhaps Liz Truss instead of Keir Starmer, one can only imagine.
Thatcher got in 3 times because the SDP split the anti tory vote
Are you serious!? The SDP were a bloody joke at the time!
Spitting Image used two different tones for their Maggie puppet; a louder, deeper voice in Cabinet and a softer, higher tone in interviews
The SDP were a bloody joke at the time!
The Alliance, as the Liberal-SDP electoral pack was called, took approximately 25% of the national vote which obviously massively helped Thatcher win two general elections.
The first general election that Thatcher won was bit of a more of a struggle for her as the Labour centrists hadn't at that point broken away to form a separate party.
Labour party centrists/moderates/right-wingers, whatever you want to call them, along with the LibDems,. have a long history in enabling the Tories to government stretching back decades.
The Alliance, as the Liberal-SDP electoral pack was called, took approximately 25% of the national vote which obviously massively helped Thatcher win two general elections.
Didn't equal many seats though.
But unless we go to a two party system like the US then someone will always be accused of skewing the results. Reform essentially let Labour win this election.
Didn’t equal many seats though.
It certainly resulted in many seats for the Tories. With the Alliance standing candidates in all the UK marginal seats it certainly gave a massive boost to the Tories.
If your point is that the damage inflicted by the SDP was disproportionate to the level of support they enjoyed then I couldn't agree more. But I wouldn't describe them as a bloody joke unless it was for the purpose of irony.
Seeing that YouGov poll, I'd consider if Reform would still be a party in 4 years or even one party that hasn't fragmented into different groups.
I'd also ask if the Conservatives can do something to get some of the vote share back else they could finish 5th if you consider the greens and lib dems!
I would put the rise of Reform on the press, why is Reform given so much press over other parties who did better or the same at the last election?
Didn’t equal many seats though.
And Reform won very few seats last year, yet helped Labour a great deal by splitting the Tory vote.
Blimey, and I thought I was cynical about Starmer!
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/feb/09/keir-starmer-politics-labour-growth-reform-uk
It's hard to argue with any of that.
This made me chuckle :
"The tone suggests one of Stalin’s five-year plans being fronted by Alan Partridge."
We voted for a technocrat and that's exactly what we got!
What Starmer seems to have missed is that people didn't vote for him so he could tell them that nothing can be fixed because it's either too expensive or too difficult, they voted for him to ignore all that and get on with it.
What's even worse is that while he's explaining to everyone why they can't have what they want, he does so in the manner of an upper class schoolmaster delivering a dressing down at a school assembly. WTF were his vocal 'coaches' thinking?!
He was better off with the football hooligan persona. Maybe call Farage a 'cant' at the next PMQs in an exaggerated cockney accent followed by a rendition of no surrender???
We voted for a technocrat and that's exactly what we got!
Voters really didn't which is actually part of the problem, and why Labour appear to have had the shortest honeymoon period of a new government in modern UK history.
What people did was to vote the Tories out of office and as a consequence Keir Starmer became Prime Minister by default. It was never a sign of support for Starmer and much more a sign of how unpopular Rishi Sunak was.
Although I believe that Keir Starmer is now even less popular than Rishi Sunak was at his least popular. Which is quite an achievement!