Josh Simons

Crown Steward of Burnham
Author:
[email protected]

[Josh Simons @joshsimonsmp]

@wiIlholt Ha. Honestly it has permanently killed my faith in constituency polls.

[Josh Simons @joshsimonsmp]

I’d take this with a pinch of salt.

One of the 518 people pollsters are surveying incessantly is my staffer.

What he says depends on his mood.

Word is, another is the lollipop lady at a school known for pranking local kids…

[Politics UK @PolitlcsUK]

🚨 NEW: The second Makerfield by-election poll

🔴 LAB - 49% (+6)
➡️ REF - 39% (-1)
🟣 RES - 8% (+1)
🟢 GRN - 2% (-1)
🟠 LD - 1% (-3)
🔵 CON - 1% (-1)
⚪ OTHER - 1% (=)

Via Survation, 518 sample, 26 May - 1 June

[Josh Simons @joshsimonsmp]

Yep. It’s almost funny.

@RobKenyonReform never came to 1 meeting on Ashton Library. Me, cllrs and residents worked backsides off to save it.

In politics, berating ppl on socials doesn’t get stuff done.

He’s local, angry, but no plan to actually DO anything. Like @reformparty_uk

[Sam @SamCKx]

Utterly embarassing from Rob Kenyon. What he clearly doesn't know is Labour MP Josh Simons confirmed just over a week ago that this library would be reopened and work is starting soon, following a 6 month campaign by Labour Councillor Christopher Ready. What total numpties Rob and Zia are.

[Josh Simons @joshsimonsmp]

@RobKenyonReform Who does your X now Rob? I miss the old you.

[Josh Simons @joshsimonsmp]

@Nigel_Farage @RobKenyonReform Hundreds? Are you sure? Having held many an event there, doesn’t look like it…

[Josh Simons @joshsimonsmp]

@GuyLambertUK @RobKenyonReform @ZiaYusufUK Great idea!

[Josh Simons @joshsimonsmp]

I loved being an MP.

In this age, even if you care and graft, showing it can be hard.

Wiganers are tough judges of character and I’ve been moved by what they’ve said.

For those thinking of politics: it’s a privilege that’s worth every ounce of energy you have.

[Luke Tryl @LukeTryl]

3. In a twist, people really seem to like Josh Simons. Across groups people can point to things he's done, interactions they've had on issues like flooding/development - no other group in a seat occupied by a member of the 24 intake as the local MP got that level of praise.

[Josh Simons @joshsimonsmp]

👇🏽👇🏽 on point as ever, @iAmJoshHunt

[Josh Hunt @iAmJoshHunt]

The framing of the bond markets we get from politicians is totally mad. And shows how little they understand about the mechanics of how the nation finances its deficits.

They seem to think that the bond markets are essentially a small group of evil billionaires sat in a room scheming to influence public policy.

This is bullshit.

In reality, they’re made up of people and institutions the government are asking to lend them money… pension funds, insurers, your gran’s retirement pot, the Bank of England, overseas central banks holding sterling, and so on. A lot of people are involved in these markets.

When politicians say they’re “in hock” to the bond markets. What they’re referring to is the fact that they borrow money from the market and have to pay bond holders back with interest. The participants in the market will buy bonds when the yield on the bonds adequately covers the perceived risk of holding the bonds, and provides a modest expected return to make it worthwhile.

They’re not scheming, they’re just pricing inflation and interest rate risk. Our debt carries a higher risk premium than other core economies like Germany, because of specific structural problems and a credibility deficit on spending.

And a lot of that demand isn’t even a choice. Pension funds and insurers are required to hold gilts to match their liabilities. So your gran’s retirement pot is quietly propping up the very market these politicians claim to be fighting.

The supposed alternative is to balance the budget so you don’t need to borrow. If you don’t want to be “in hock” to the bond markets, don’t borrow money from them. Except even that wouldn’t free us, because we still have to roll over the existing debt as it matures. Escaping the market entirely would mean running surpluses for decades, which would take spending cuts or growth we haven’t got. So the government borrows.

And here’s the tell... a lot of politicians half admit it. They’ll say, as Polanski does here, the markets “just want to know there’s a plan.” Yeah, absolutely. So the problem was never the market. It’s that our politicians haven’t got a credible plan.

So when you hear politicians complaining about the bond markets, what they’re really complaining about is the fact that they can’t borrow endlessly to fund all the mad shit they want to do.

[Josh Simons @joshsimonsmp]

Being an MP has radicalised me.

People don’t trust politics because votes don’t produce big change. Sclerotic institutions are too used to the status quo.

I loved being a local MP. Stepping aside was tough. But @AndyBurnhamGM can rebuild these broken systems. Britain needs it.

https://t.co/NOElgSLcgG

[Andy Burnham for Makerfield @andy4makerfield]

Andy’s message to Makerfield is simple: he’s in it for you.

[Josh Simons @joshsimonsmp]

Politics isn't all anger, hate and cynicism.

Bonds of trust built through respect, empathy, and grit are far stronger than deceit or cynicism.

Today, @andy4makerfield's launch is a glimmer of hope.

This letter blew me away, from a constituent in Makerfield. Trust. Hope.

[Josh Simons @joshsimonsmp]

Never thought I’d end up as Crown Steward of Burnham 👀

[Josh Simons @joshsimonsmp]

@benhoobs Lol

[Josh Simons @joshsimonsmp]

I'm tired of politics driven by fear.

Ppl are sick of managerialism, process and risk aversion.

Always avoiding the worst means you may never achieve the best.

I want hope back.

Leaders who take risks, shoot for the best, because sometimes, we might just get there.

[LBC @LBC]

‘It may be noble puppeteering, but it’s still puppeteering.’

@Lewis_Goodall questions Labour’s Josh Simons over his decision to stand down as the MP for Makerfield, triggering a by-election for Andy Burnham to contest.

[Josh Simons @joshsimonsmp]

I was confused by all the smack talk!! Personally, much prefer scraps to smack…

[Jo Platt @JoPlattLeigh]

Will Self is misinformed! He’s got his ‘smack’ and ‘scraps’ barm mixed up. Do better.