David Platt KC

David Platt KC is a barrister at Crown Office Chambers and a former Parliamentary Candidate and aide. He was previously a BBC television presenter in N. Ireland

[David Platt KC @DavidWPlatt1]

@almurray That's no way to talk about Officer's Club on your excellent podcast ...

[David Platt KC @DavidWPlatt1]

Remarkable how little the Burnham business and Farage’s tribulations have moved the needle. It’s almost as if voters are dug into their foxholes…

[Election Maps UK @ElectionMapsUK]

Westminster Voting Intention:

RFM: 25% (+1)
CON: 21% (+1)
LAB: 20% (=)
GRN: 13% (=)
LDM: 12% (-1)
SNP: 3% (=)
RES: 3% (=)

Via @YouGov, 5-6 Jul.
Changes w/ 28-29 Jun.

[David Platt KC @DavidWPlatt1]

https://t.co/SCBVQuOhvD. So sad. She was just wonderful. Another part of my childhood has gone

[Paul Embery @PaulEmbery]

Can’t help but feel that this photo would have been more appropriate (and tactful) if and when he becomes prime minister.

[David Platt KC @DavidWPlatt1]

@Madz_Grant Insightful up to a point Lord Copper. Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair and Ken Clarke were all barristers but didnt decide to live in Starmer's bubble ...

[ClarksonsFarm @ClarksonsFarm1]

"Thank you so much for all the kind messages I’ve had but now, an announcement"…

[OSINTdefender @sentdefender]

Video footage posted earlier on Chinese TikTok shows the moment that a Russian surface-to-air missile suffered a major mechanical failure during today’s large-scale Ukrainian drone and missile attack against Moscow, causing the missile to strike and blow the top off of a tank at the Moscow Oil Refinery.

[Vinnie Sullivan @VinnieSull1van]

The fact that @JeremyClarkson's cancer announcement feels so personal and upsetting to me only shows how much he has touched our hearts over the span of his long career. We are with you Jeremy, and all you've done on cars, the farm, @FamersDog, and Great Britain itself.

[ClarksonsFarm @ClarksonsFarm1]

And on that bombshell…

[David Platt KC @DavidWPlatt1]

Evidently John Healey may not be the last to go...

[Times Radio @TimesRadio]

The armed forces minister Al Carns has told Times Radio's political editor Anna Mikhailova that the defence investment plan is "not fit for purpose" in reaction to John Healey's resignation.

He then said of Keir Starmer "he has got to sort it out."

@AVMikhailova

[UnHerd @unherd]

Belfast after the 'beheading', by Aris Roussinos (@arisroussinos)

The nightmare scenario for Sinn Féin would have been Catholics rioting against immigrants. That did not happen: instead, working-class Catholics merely turned out to watch their Protestant neighbours riot with an anthropological detachment newly devoid of open contempt.

I have never until now heard working-class Catholics, from devoutly Republican areas, talking about the coming together of the ‘Orange and the Green’ with anything other than derision.

At Ardoyne Roundabout, one of North Belfast’s most volatile sectarian interface areas, protestors from both communities shook hands and declared amity in scenes that were genuinely startling.

Read more below ⬇️

https://t.co/xfCAu4xvN7

[Rt. Hon Ben Wallace @BenWallace70]

On this Day it is wonderful to remember what a true world leader looks like compared to the current JD Vance and Trump crew. Normandy Speech: Ceremony Commemorating the 40th Anniversary of the Norm... https://t.co/0DawHXpMr5 via @YouTube

[alexmassie @alexmassie]

Labour MPs and Labour supporters are going to be reminded, in a very painful fashion, that Andy Burnham was a great option when he was *unavailable* but a much less impressive one if or when he *does* become available.

[Count Binface @CountBinface]

Here it is: my 2026 manifesto for the #Makerfield By-Election. Makerfield Great Again! #VoteBinface #MakeYourVoteCount

[Geoff Norcott @GeoffNorcott]

No idea how he found the strength to communicate like this. Dignified and objective while utterly damming.

[Alex Wickham @alexwickham]

NEW: Bloomberg Saturday read

Two weeks into the Makerfield campaign, the most consequential by-election in recent history is threatening to deepen divisions rather than fix the country’s problems.

— It’s fair to say Andy Burnham’s campaign has yet to set Labour alight with optimism. The overwhelming mood in the party is flat. It also appears to be a toss-up: Labour and Reform officials both say it looks like a neck-and-neck finish between the two parties.

— Burnham has yet to engage in any real detail about his policies if he becomes PM. He has only spoken in very broad terms about more state intervention. His campaign has no air war. Some in Labour worry it opens him up to the charge that he doesn’t have a plan for real change. His team argue he’s focused on his ground game rather than setting out a national manifesto, but that isn’t tenable.

— The “hot essay summer” sparked by Tony Blair has left Labour even more divided. Some think it’s welcome to have a “battle of ideas.” Others worry the public will think they should have had these debates years ago not halfway through their time in office. One MP decries the quality of the Burnham, Streeting and Starmer responses to Blair, saying all three lacked substance or policy specifics and said little of interest to most Britons.

— Some think Blair’s intention was to draw Burnham out and expose him as having no plan beyond left-wing platitudes. Burnham considered giving a speech in response but dropped that idea. Some Starmer supporters have grown in confidence that the PM would be competitive in a leadership contest against Burnham based on the evidence of the last two weeks. It is clear the Labour right will seek to destabilise Burnham even if he becomes PM, foreshadowing a repeat of the Tory years.

— Both Labour and Reform officials say it is too early to tell if local interest and social media noise about the far-right Restore will translate into votes. Labour have added a button for Restore on their canvassing app to track support. Some Burnham supporters hope the right could be split and see talking up Restore as clever politics. But other aides are pretty appalled by that, warning they are playing a dangerous game and must not be seen to be promoting the far-right.

— Reform is also under pressure over their candidate’s social media history. Some in the party are frustrated he wasn’t adequately vetted, saying Farage was supposed to have professionalised the party. Others insist no one on the doorstep cares about these stories and it looks like a witch-hunt.

— A Labour official says it’s madness that their party has entrusted the future of the country to a few thousand voters, including some with far-right views. They say it’s hard to disagree with Blair’s damning assessment that Labour is “playing with fire.”

With @JacobReid02 @LucyGJWhite >>> https://t.co/8ReDYllSIE

[Bobbie @bo66ie29]

A beautiful film of Edinburgh, Scotland, in the 1930s.

[Mark Irvine @Mark1957]

A Blairite, a Brownite, a Corbynite and a Starmerite walk into a bar

The barman asks:

“What are you having, Andy?”

[David Platt KC @DavidWPlatt1]

Has Josh Simons just set a trap for Burnham??

[Election Maps UK @ElectionMapsUK]

Current Nowcast Model for Makerfield, following the news that Josh Simons MP is standing down in a bid to get Andy Burnham a seat in Parliament.

[Tim Shipman @ShippersUnbound]

If a newspaper doesn't use WESIGNATION as a headline tomorrow, I will be very disappointed