This time next year we'll likely have a Reform govt...
Can anyone tell me how or why?
this nonsense was repeated endlessly after Johnson left right up until Sunak did call a GE - 4 years and 6 months in to the 5 year term and he only pulled the trigger then because he onew inflation was likely to rise in the autumn
theres 0 chance sitting labour MPs are going to vote for a GE (by having a no confidence vote) when they are likely to lose their seats
They could try and move left to reclaim some green voters and lose even more to reform or move right to reclaim reform voters and lose even more to the greens.
this isn't really true either
the majority of votes they lost to reform voted Brexit & tory, they haven't been 'labour voters' for a long time
even reform aren't that popular, uk politics is currently a 4 way split , with a slice of lib dem on the side
the majority of votes they lost to reform voted Brexit & tory, they haven't been 'labour voters' for a long time
In the local elections Reform have massive support in the NW which used to be a Labour stronghold. Hull went the same way and so did parts of Grimsby. Down south Essex has flipped from Tory to Reform, but many places flipped Tory to Lib Dem. That tells me it's mainly the working/lower middle class vote that going to Reform (obviously apart from the racist core vote). Essex is quite a weird place anyway, so that doesn't count for much.
It would be nice to see Steeting destroy his career here.
Streeting to Reform?
Natural career choice of scumbags.
Torygraph trying to spread dirt on Andy Burnham, so he might be worth betting a tenner after all.
In the local elections Reform have massive support in the NW which used to be a Labour stronghold. Hull went the same way and so did parts of Grimsby. Down south Essex has flipped from Tory to Reform, but many places flipped Tory to Lib Dem. That tells me it's mainly the working/lower middle class vote that going to Reform (obviously apart from the racist core vote). Essex is quite a weird place anyway, so that doesn't count for much.
The problem here will be regression to the mean.
Things are shit, they will continue to be shit until they aren't. I'm of the opinion that whether it's Tory or Labour in power that there are bigger impacts on the economy than anything they can likely achieve to differentiate themselves* from each other. The trouble would be that whoever wins next will preside over 5 years of post-Trump economy. Globally tariffs will be cut, all that money currently sequestered in gold will flow back into actual investment in the economy. It's a game of musical chairs and whoever wins in 2029 will likely win in 2034.
Which is why I don't understand why Labour are so keen to go back to governing from the 6th form common room rather than No10.
*e.g. housebuilding would drive some growth, but mostly everyone wants housebuilding
For better or worse recent History shows the only Labour governments that win elections are the neoliberal types.
At least until their ideological purity and hatred of the left sank in and so the left did what Starmer told them and left.
Now they are circling the drain getting ever more pure in their neoliberal beliefs at just the time when the bill for those beliefs are coming true.
Whoops.
They have successfully ****ed up the tories, labour and libdems and now are sitting around blaming everyone else for their stupidity and projecting their ideological purity failings onto everyone else.
It would be funny aside from how badly they have ****ed our country up.
theres 0 chance sitting labour MPs are going to vote for a GE (by having a no confidence vote) when they are likely to lose their seats
It is purely down to the PM (since the fixed term act has been repealed) so I guess Starmer could call one as a leaving present or whoever replaces him could call it when challenged about their previous statement about the tories not calling one (Pretty much guaranteed to be the case they did so although of course so did Johnson etc when Blair was replaced).
Both rather unlikely though.
At least until their ideological purity and hatred of the left sank in and so the left did what Starmer told them and left.
Now they are circling the drain getting ever more pure in their neoliberal beliefs at just the time when the bill for those beliefs are coming true.
Whoops.
Arguing whether the centrists or the left of the party is at fault is like questioning whether Cameron or Brexiteers did for the Tory's, the answer is both. I was going to say the left was shooting itself in the foot, but it's not, it's shooting the center (the bollocks?) and then complaining why it's then impotent.
I'd love a proper socialist Labour government. But that's not what we'll get after all this. At this point I'd put more money on Badenoch winning in 2029 than Burnham!
Why couldn't we just have 5 years of not-shit government, even if it didn't involve UBI, a £15 minimum wage and nationalized everything.
Why couldn't we just have 5 years of not-shit government, even if it didn't involve UBI, a £15 minimum wage and nationalized everything.
Because everything has got a bit shit for the last 15 years for a lot of people and to those people the labour government is not doing anything to fix it when that is supposed to be their raison d'etre. Just being not-shit is only sufficient when the system is sort of working for most people. We don't need UBI, £15 minutes wage and nationalised everything but we do need SOMETHING.
I was going to say the left was shooting itself in the foot, but it's not, it's shooting the center (the bollocks?) and then complaining why it's then impotent.
Sorry help me out here with why the left are to blame for the centrists decisions.
The left initially supported Starmer up until the point he reneged on all his promises to get elected leader and told anyone who didnt like it to leave. So people did.
He and "labour together" then went on to purge the centre left to ensure it was a suitably ideologically pure party even to the extent of having Mandelson review potential candidates and so we have ended up with a pure party with limited support.
Its a shame really since I think Starmer and co could have done well in the tories to drag them back from the hard right position they have ended up in. As it is though they just push them further right.
the labour government is not doing anything to fix it
Things like stronger worker and renter (and leaseholder) rights are about a better future. As is rail nationalisation and NHS investment etc. As is rebuilding relationships with our neighbours. What people seem to be clamouring for is a fix for all the damage since 2008, that we still live with. They won’t be getting that in the next few years, no matter who Labour have as a leader. The government can only improve what happens from here.
Here’s where “change” was a meaningless word to have on the front of the manifesto. Most people choose not to read on past the cover. They read “change” as “undo”, and why not, there is so much that has happened in the last few decades we all want undone.
If the country was a ship, it got new directions and a new crew 2 years ago. That’ll change where we are heading and how we get there. It doesn’t magically lift the ship from the heavy seas it was in and magically drop it in calm seas off the cost of a welcoming tropical island.
We're not heading for socialist utopia, we're heading for our Liz Truss moment
Hi, Wes? no, not at all, my diary's completely free...
Not sure if I'm missing something but how does anyone think that a change of leadership is a good idea? As soon as it happens then all other parties will call for a GE and if they had one labour would lose and reform would probably win.
Even the best case - having Burnham as a candidate requires him to win a bi-election which is no certainty. Seems absolutely suicidal (?)
It’s going to happen. The Ed Stone part 2….
It’s going to happen. The Ed Stone part 2….
Burnham seems to be struggling to find someone to stand down for him. Several irritated Labour MPs going "nope stop mentioning my name".
Think it was the Guardian who suggested he should follow in Churchills footsteps and stand as MP for Dundee.
Handily one of the Dundee seats (Arbroath and Broughty Ferry) is up for grabs due to the current MP having just become a MSP instead.
Labour werent that far behind in 24 so we can see if he really does have that election winning magic needed to carry the entire country.
No matter which lemming gets to be PM it'll just start all over again. Brexit and Farage broke Britain.
Maybe they could just have something like a political version of Eurovision, where whichever party is in power elects a new PM every year?
All the contestants could make their pitches to a live TV audience and then it could cut to all the parties involved to cast their votes
Hello Doncaster, do you have your scores?
Keir Starmer… nil point
If I'm honest I want streeting to mount his challenge. Then starmer refuses to step down and see that greasy little ppe git lose
And the end of his career and political aspirations but that's just wishful thinking.
Looks like Ange has been cleared by HMRC to wade in too. So that'll be her, Ed, Wes, possibly Andy and Keir, of course
What fun! Everyone loves a long, drawn out 'rats in a sack' leadership contest, don't they? Especially as we're all so bored as there's not much going on at the moment that would require the full attention of the party in power
I'm not convinced Ed Milliband will stand. But I do think someone like Darren Jones might
Yep, said a few weeks ago that he's a rising star. But he'll still get pelters from the UK toxic (social) media no matter what.
Ha ha ha Ange knew for a while she was in the clear, but she kept schtum until now. Class
Flies on walls and all that
"No matter which lemming gets to be PM it'll just start all over again. Brexit and Farage broke Britain."
This is my feeling. We've been riding the wave of high birth rates and its finished and we have an aging population paying less tax aand needing more state support, like Japan. It'll only get worse with less immigration.
We need more wealth taxes.
A graduate in a high earning profession like accountancy or law already has a marginal tax rate of 52% (income, NI and student loan) on a salary of > 50k.
I'm not convinced Ed Milliband will stand.
Yes everything I have read suggests after his experience as leader last time round means he is happier where he is. Was reported he was threatening to stand but that seemed more as "if there is no one else standing to oppose Streeting". Rayner also seems somewhat ambivalent and currently seems to be mostly backing Burnham in the interviews today.
No matter which lemming gets to be PM it'll just start all over again. Brexit and Farage broke Britain.
Nah Brexit is a symptom and not the cause. What we are facing is the results of the Thatcherite policies, happily continued under her successors, where the country was asset stripped for short term returns. Now those bills are getting handed in.
The EU was convenient to blame for a time but obviously less so now and we have moved on to immigrants and the public sector as the scapegoats.
Starmer did have a chance to start fixing things but screwed things up entirely in terms of those gifts (mild by tory and reform standards but never a good luck when one of your only campaign positions was against this) and then various halfarsed loud policies which were kept in place just long enough to piss everyone off before being dropped.
This mornings odds. Good reading for Ange
Brexit and Farage broke Britain."
Didn't help certainly, but more political effort has been directed at getting back to a pre-2007/08 status quo, and I think at the very least Reeves [finally] understands that isn't possible anymore.
We need more wealth taxes.
VAT on private school fees, doubled private plane tax, increases to CGT rates, changes to Non-Dom staus, changes to inheritance taxes.
Or did you just mean shouting "Tax the Rich" on X and Threads?
We need more wealth taxes.
High value surcharge for £2million+ homes.
But that comes in April 2028... and EVERYTHING MUST HAPPEN NOW... (but they do need to do more).
And at the other end of Council Tax (because there is little point taxing the rich of you're still punishing the poor)...
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2026/04/council-tax-debt-collection-smi/
oh yeah and dividend Income tax increases, and the farm/land tax, and some changes to carried interest that treats it as profit.
But yeah. "What have the Romans ever done for us..?" etc etc
This is some of the problem. If you're particularly interested in some aspect of politics like wealth taxes, it does somewhat behoove you to do at least the scantiest of "your own research" on what the govt is actually doing, rather than just rely on opposition parties telling you the govt isn't doing enough or indeed anything if you follow Zack on any platform, or the fact that newspapers [that are generally owned by very rich people] aren't exactly incentivised to tell you that this is good news that should be welcomed and celebrated.
But yeah. "What have the Romans ever done for us..?" etc etc
This is where Labour need to get a better marketing agency - we are taxing those well off...
The fact that that there's actually some rare decent economic news this morning (higher then expected economic growth) but nobody is talking about it because they're all waiting for Wes to sharpen his knife instead, just sums up this government.
Once again something positive happens, but you'd never know about it. They seem to be constantly finding new ways to shoot themselves in the foot.
No wonder Rachael Reeves has come out this morning and basically said 'can you all stop behaving like a bunch of kids and concentrate on doing your ****ing jobs instead'*
I don't think anyone other than Chris Mason and probably Nigel Farage is relishing the idea of a Labour leadership battle. It'll certainly reinforce the idea that 'they're all the same' if they decide to start aping the fratricide of the tories within 2 years of finally getting in power
* I'm paraphrasing slightly
I've done two canvassing rounds recently, Gorton and the Locals, and honestly, given the response on the doorstep I don't think Labour taking adverts on every bus-stop and advertising board would make much difference against Facebook and GBN. Lots of folks are now pretty firmly in their chosen echo-chamber and any counter message is water off a duck's back.
I don't t know what the answer is (well I do, but I can't see any political party ever going anywhere near it) we are here for better or worse.
"Or did you just mean shouting "Tax the Rich" on X and Threads?"
Not sure what you're on about, i'm not on X or Threads?
The fact that that there's actually some rare decent economic news this morning (higher then expected economic growth) but nobody is talking about it because they're all waiting for Wes to sharpen his knife instead, just sums up this government.
It's pretty much business as usual with GDP really. We've had a few Qs over the last few years of 0.6, 0.7, = even 1.7% in 2021 but they've been followed by dunks.
We're pretty much flatlining overall.
Also seperately - there is a process for dispatching a Labour leader, and on the back of the local elections - i'd say it's very much time for it to happen, if it happens. So JoB spent all morning taking calls from people who were saying we need to stay stable, by keeping Starmer. 🤡
We're not stable - it's a bloody mess otherwise we wouldn't be here. Everything that is happening now is the result of Starmer and Reeves making a hash of running the country.
I really hope he goes. And it needs to be sooner rather than later so they can at least have proper reset instead of the 'change' that will continue to not happen under Starmer.
The country is far from stable currently.
Will Wes have 81? We will see won't we.
And we're off
Streeting has just resigned, to the surprise of absolutely no-one. I do hope he enjoys the next couple of months of utterly self-destructive infighting
That's a product of them not having a good enough plan to run the country in the first place. I can't stand Wes either but you can't expect people to sit by and watch Starmer hand the country to Reform.
Carrying on with Starmer is a terrible plan.
There's a process so it needs to happen.
I know I'm being stupid, but there just seems something 'wrong' with publishing his resignation letter. If he'd just resigned and said that he'd lost confidence in Starmer, fine, but publishing the actual letter just seems like unnecessarily sticking the knife in. I'm sure everyone would have known why he'd really gone and that he was after the top job. I think I didn't have any opinion of him before. Now he just makes me think he's a backstabbing, weasly s**t.
We're not stable - it's a bloody mess otherwise we wouldn't be here. Everything that is happening now is the result of Starmer and Reeves making a hash of running the country.
What exactly have they done wrong?
Like Kelvin said, you can't teleport to the solution over night. Just put the building blocks in place and help it grow (mixing construction and gardening metaphor's there). The economy is no worse than it was 18 months ago despite Trump's best efforts. We have better employment rights, more rights for tenants, work in progress on nationalized railway's, huge investments in renewable energy, what exactly do we want?
If it was possible to jump ahead like that then Net-Zero would be easy, just ban all petrol sales and shut down the gas network. It wouldn't be very good for anything other than net-zero though would it?
Sorry help me out here with why the left are to blame for the centrists decisions.
Did they wear a short skirt and stay out late?
All I'm saying is can they please not stab the half decent thing in the back. Otherwise in 3 years time they'll be out of government and blaming Starmer because he was just asking to be stabbed.
