Brian Parsons

Free thinking, music loving, Socialist & realist. LFC, citizen not subject, proud grandad. #CWU #RealTruthLegacyProject #RightToFood #FSFvolunteer #NoPasaran

[Brian Parsons @Parso64]

Leaving this here for anyone who might benefit from reading - and understanding - this:

[Brian Parsons @Parso64]

“This is what happens when a party built by working class people is handed over to lawyers, donors, lobbyists,… careerists & Westminster courtiers. They hollowed it out, polished [it], called it "electability," then acted surprised when voters looked at it & saw nothing inside.”

[Labour Heartlands @Labourheartland]

Starmer's Labour Is Not Cracking. It Is Coming Apart.

Clive Lewis says Wes Streeting becoming Prime Minister would be the end of the Labour movement in this country. But that assumes there is still a Labour movement inside the Labour Party to save.

As of Tuesday morning, LabourList's tracker shows 79 Labour MPs calling for Keir Starmer to resign or set out a timetable for his departure, following the party's catastrophic performance in local and devolved elections. Multiple outlets place the figure at or above 80. That matters for one precise reason: 81 MPs is the threshold required under current party rules to formally nominate a leadership challenger.

This is no longer the usual suspects on the left raising their voices and being ignored. The list now stretches across Labour's internal geography, from the Socialist Campaign Group to Blue Labour, from Tribune voices to newer MPs, from ex-ministers to figures who once staffed the machine itself. Tucked inside it is Josh Simons, Makerfield MP and former director of Labour Together, who wrote in The Times that Starmer has "lost the country" and should oversee an orderly transition. When the people who built the machine start walking away from it, the engine is not sputtering. It is on fire.

Multiple reports confirm that Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is among those who went into Number 10 to urge Starmer to set out a departure timeline, reportedly alongside Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper. A third cabinet minister is understood to have done the same. Sky News, meanwhile, reports that Starmer is replacing the junior aides who resigned against him with fresh loyalists. The ship is taking on water, but the deckchairs are being reassigned with impressive administrative efficiency.

Four government aides resigned in quick succession: Joe Morris, parliamentary private secretary to Health Secretary Wes Streeting; Naushabah Khan, Cabinet Office PPS; Tom Rutland, PPS to Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds; and Melanie Ward, PPS to Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy. Each cited a loss of confidence. The resignations came within hours of the Prime Minister delivering a speech designed to unite the party, in which he cast the moment as a "battle for the soul" of Britain. The timing was its own verdict.

This is what happens when a party built by working class people is handed over to lawyers, donors, lobbyists, think-tank careerists and Westminster courtiers. They hollowed it out, polished the shell, called it "electability," then acted surprised when voters looked at it and saw nothing inside.

Streeting would not be the end of the Labour movement. Starmer has already managed that. Streeting would simply be the receipt.

Labour MPs calling for Starmer to resign or set a timetable

According to LabourList's tracker as of 7am, Tuesday 12 May 2026, these are the Labour MPs listed as calling for Starmer to resign or announce a departure timetable:

MPs calling for Starmer to resign or set a timetable

1. Debbie Abrahams, Oldham East and Saddleworth

2. Tahir Ali, Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley

3. Tonia Antoniazzi, Gower

4. Jas Athwal, Ilford South

5. Alex Ballinger, Halesowen

6. David Baines, St Helens North

7. Paula Barker, Liverpool Wavertree

8. Lorraine Beavers, Blackpool North and Fleetwood

9. Apsana Begum, Poplar and Limehouse

10. Clive Betts, Sheffield South East

11. Matt Bishop, Forest of Dean

12. Olivia Blake, Sheffield Hallam

13. Jonathan Brash, Hartlepool

14. Julia Buckley, Shrewsbury

15. Richard Burgon, Leeds East

16. Maureen Burke, Glasgow North East

17. Ian Byrne, Liverpool West Derby

18. Irene Campbell, North Ayrshire and Arran

19. Markus Campbell-Savours, Penrith and Solway

20. Sam Carling, North West Cambridgeshire

21. Beccy Cooper, Worthing West

22. Chris Curtis, Milton Keynes North

23. Paul Davies, Colne Valley

24. Anna Dixon, Shipley

25. Neil Duncan-Jordan, Poole

26. Cat Eccles, Stourbridge

27. Mary Kelly Foy, City of Durham

28. Barry Gardiner, Brent West

29. Alan Gemmell, Central Ayrshire

30. Ben Goldsborough, South Norfolk

31. Louise Haigh, Sheffield Heeley

32. Sarah Hall, Warrington South

33. Paulette Hamilton, Birmingham Erdington

34. Chris Hinchliff, North East Hertfordshire

35. Jonathan Hinder, Pendle and Clitheroe

36. Imran Hussain, Bradford East

37. Sally Jameson, Doncaster Central

38. Terry Jermy, South West Norfolk

39. Kim Johnson, Liverpool Riverside

40. Ruth Jones, Newport West and Islwyn

41. Naushabah Khan, Gillingham and Rainham

42. Peter Lamb, Crawley

43. Ian Lavery, Blyth and Ashington

44. Brian Leishman, Alloa and Grangemouth

45. Clive Lewis, Norwich South

46. Justin Madders, Ellesmere Port and Bromborough

47. Rachael Maskell, York Central

48. Andy McDonald, Middlesborough and Thornaby East

49. John McDonnell, Hayes and Harlington

50. Alex McIntyre, Gloucester

51. Gordon McKee, Glasgow South

52. Catherine McKinnell, Newcastle-upon-Tyne North

53. Anneliese Midgley, Knowsley

54. Navendu Mishra, Stockport

55. Abtisam Mohamed, Sheffield Central

56. Joe Morris, Hexham

57. Luke Myer, Middlesborough South and East Cleveland

58. Connor Naismith, Crewe and Nantwich

59. Charlotte Nichols, Warrington North

60. Simon Opher, Stroud

61. Sarah Owen, Luton North

62. Kate Osborne, Jarrow and Gateshead East

63. Lee Pitcher, Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme

64. Jo Platt, Leigh and Atherton

65. Bell Ribeiro-Addy, Clapham and Brixton Hill

66. Tom Rutland, East Worthing and Shoreham

67. Euan Stainbank, Falkirk

68. Josh Simons, Makerfield

69. David Smith, North Northumberland

70. Sarah Smith, Hyndburn

71. Graham Stringer, Blackley and Middleton South

72. Rachel Taylor, North Warwickshire and Bedworth

73. Fred Thomas, Plymouth Moor View

74. Jon Trickett, Normanton and Hemsworth

75. Tony Vaughan, Folkestone and Hythe

76. Melanie Ward, Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy

77. Catherine West, Hornsey and Friern Barnet

78. Nadia Whittome, Nottingham East

79. Yuan Yang, Earley and Woodley

[Labour Heartlands @Labourheartland]

The Demise of the Labour Party: Tony Benn’s Warning Fulfilled.

The Betrayal of Socialist Principles: Tony Benn’s Prescient Warning for the Fate of the Labour Party

“If the Labour Party could be bullied or persuaded to denounce its Marxists, the media – having tasted blood – would demand next that it expelled all its Socialist and reunited the remaining Labour Party with the SDP to form a harmless alternative to the Conservatives, which could then be allowed to take office now and then when the Conservatives fell out of favour with the public. Thus British Capitalism, it is argued, will be made safe forever, and socialism would be squeezed off the National agenda. But if such a strategy were to succeed… it would in fact profoundly endanger British society. For it would open up the danger of a swing to the far-right, as we have seen in Europe over the last 50 years.” -Tony Benn

Read more...

https://t.co/LuzfSsscHy

#StarmerOut

[Jeremy Corbyn @jeremycorbyn]

Starmer's resignation is not enough. What needs booting out is the politics he represents: corporate greed, anti-migrant rhetoric and endless war.

My piece for @tribunemagazine.
https://t.co/AP7VwxXVRZ

[Yanis Varoufakis @yanisvaroufakis]

My reaction to Keir Starmer's last ditch press conference - an unsurprising reaction but possibly a helpful one (at least to those who, like me, consider him an abysmal PM).

Like many, I approached Keir Starmer's prime ministership with deep-seated pessimism, my expectations already set at rock bottom. Yet, I confess: I failed to foresee the clinical precision with which he and his inner cabal would sabotage their own administration and scar Britain.

The crux of their debacle lay, first, in a distinctly dictatorial, authoritarian reflex. And second—crucially—in a seething contempt for those who lent them their votes, while simultaneously performing a grotesque pantomime of flattery toward those who never would, and never will, support them.

Having exorcised from the Labour Party its most authentic voices—people of unimpeachable integrity, such as Ken Loach and Jeremy Corbyn, a purge that eluded even Tony Blair’s repertoire—Starmer embarked on a rampage:

He slashed disability benefits; armed and fed intelligence to the Israeli government as it executed genocide in Gaza; channeled his own inner Farage, perhaps his inner Enoch Powell, to vilify migrants and treat refugees as vermin; gutted international aid to masquerade as a defender of defence spending; bulldozed wildlife and their habitats; unveiled a new lexicon of draconian anti-protest laws; left trans people suspended in legal limbo; clung with religious fervour to absurd, socially ruinous fiscal rules; allowed Rachel Reeves to squander £100 billion covering the Bank of England’s outrageous and wholly unnecessary Quantitative Tightening losses—a gift that keeps giving to the City’s banks—while imposing yet another round of austerity on government departments and public services.

Once the great hope of the downtrodden, Starmer’s Labour has become the villain - the genuinely nasty party.

Once a human rights lawyer, he has single-handedly plunged Britain into a shoddy, incompetent authoritarianism.

https://t.co/wIjnc9NfmJ

[LBC @LBC]

‘On the basis of that logic, would you ban Tommy Robinson’s rally?’

@Lewis_Goodall pushes the Tories’ Helen Whately for ‘consistency’ as the party calls for a ban on pro-Palestine ‘hate marches’.

[Morning Star @M_Star_Online]

Starmer’s Labour to lose more than 75 per cent of council seats, polling guru predicts
https://t.co/xyUCOLqY3q

[We Own It @We_OwnIt]

🔥🔥BOOM🔥🔥

This is the moment 100,000 people added their voice to the demand for a referendum on who owns our water.

The government now has to consider it for a parliamentary debate.

Please sign and share the petition. Make it impossible for them to refuse a debate: https://t.co/EDl41I9Uqo

[Paul Doherty @PaulDoherty___]

So proud of young people from West Belfast tonight using their voices for change and helping shape the fight for a real Right to Food.

Thank you to St Peter’s Immaculata YC and St Teresa’s YC for being part of such a powerful conversation.

Great to have Ian Byrne MP, the Right to Food Commissioners, the University of Westminster and the Foodstock team in the room, hearing directly from our young people and communities.

#RightToFood
#YouthVoice
#Community

[Paul Doherty @PaulDoherty___]

Powerful community conversations today as we continue to bring people together to shape the fight for a Right to Food.

Community voices must be front and centre for bringing this change.

#RightToFood
#Community

[lan Byrne MP @IanByrneMP]

Around 20,000 civilian seafarers are currently stranded on vessels in and around the Strait of Hormuz.

They deserve safety, protection and safe passage home.

I’ve tabled an Early Day Motion calling on the UK Government to work with international partners, maritime unions and welfare organisations to ensure the immediate safeguarding of affected crews.

We must not turn our backs on #maritime workers facing danger at sea. #Solidarity with #seafarers everywhere.

https://t.co/73ivtWiMLJ

[lan Byrne MP @IanByrneMP]

Last night I welcomed the Hillsborough Law carry-over motion, which means we can keep the fight for the Hillsborough Law alive in Parliament.

But it shouldn’t have come to this.

Two anniversaries, a full Parliamentary session but still no Hillsborough law - it’s not good enough.

We knew there’d be resistance from those who oppose transparency & accountability - and that’s why political courage and leadership matters.

The PM promised, now deliver:
Adopt my amendments.
No carve-outs.

No one is above the law.

Get it done PM - we have waited long enough.

#HillsboroughLaw
#JFT97

[Right To Food UK Commission @RightConfe57651]

Next week we’re in Belfast.

Our Commissioners @PaulDoherty___ and @ReginaKeith1 are bringing people together to talk about food insecurity, assess media portrayals of poverty, consider community solutions, and help set out a clear pathway to #RightToFood legislation.

📅 30 April & 1 May
📍 Foodstock Education & Empowerment Centre

Want to join the conversation? Get in touch!

#RightToFood #Belfast #FoodJustice #EndPoverty

[Brian Parsons @Parso64]

@johnniepk @IanByrneMP No but they tried to. Ian’s stopped them.

[lan Byrne MP @IanByrneMP]

I welcome the Government’s announcement to carry the Hillsborough Law into the next Parliamentary session, which means we can keep fighting to implement the Hillsborough Law in full.

Ministers must now end the delays and deliver the law in full - and end the damaging media briefings during this process.

#HillsboroughLawNow #JFT97

[lan Byrne MP @IanByrneMP]

At today’s #Mandelson debate I told the Government it must disavow the toxic politics of the former US ambassador and Labour Together - a politics that has repelled millions and deliberately moved the party far from the values on which it was founded.

I also called, once again, for a full and independent inquiry into the actions of Labour Together.

Nothing less than full transparency and accountability will do.

[BBC Merseyside @bbcmerseyside]

'It's painful to still be arguing over Hillsborough Law 37 years on' https://t.co/jUiWtkVeax

[Sir Kenny Dalglish @kennethdalglish]

Never forgotten. Remembering the 97 and all those affected by the Hillsborough disaster on the 37th anniversary. You are in our thoughts today and always.

You'll Never Walk Alone. ♥️

From Kenny, Marina, Kelly, Paul, Lynsey and Lauren.

[Saul Staniforth @SaulStaniforth]

.@IanByrneMP to the PM: "37 years today 97 innocent children, women and men went to a football match and were unlawfully killed at the hands of a corrupt state.. will you commit today to ruling out any carve out for security services & finally delivering a full Hillsborough Law"