Rusthall Socialist

@uklabour Swiftie. Gillingham FC. Kent Cricket Unite Union 🌹

[Jessica Elgot @jessicaelgot]

You cannot seriously think that Labour MPs would make Andy Burnham prime minister if they thought he was going to call a snap general election where hundreds would lose their seats even in the best case scenario. Truly bizarre.

[Rusthall Socialist @Rusthallred]

@GillsInTheBlood I see the people who voted Josh Andrews for player of the year also found this poll.

[Rusthall Socialist @Rusthallred]

@TVFTM @GillsInTheBlood Edgy

[Rusthall Socialist @Rusthallred]

For those wandering why Starmer’s leadership is problematic this is pretty damning.

[Tory Fibs @ToryFibs]

Unite the Union members polling preferences:

• Reform 36%
• Labour 30%
• Greens 12%

[Rusthall Socialist @Rusthallred]

@mike_gammon @EthanHtafc I second not giving a flying toss who won last night. Not really difficult to understand.

[Edward Hardy @EdwardTHardy]

Manchester Pride generated an estimated £104.8 million for the Greater Manchester region between 2021 and 2025

The event sees hotels fill up in the city and business thrive

Spending around £35,000 is a small cost to secure such a strong boost for the city

[Rusthall Socialist @Rusthallred]

@Se_Railway 74266

[Rusthall Socialist @Rusthallred]

@Se_Railway please turn the heating off on your trains. It’s summer. Cheers

[Rusthall Socialist @Rusthallred]

@Se_Railway Looks like 7 then

[Andrew Western MP @AndrewHWestern]

🚨 ‼️ Spoiler Alert🚨‼️ :

It’s not a mosque.

It’s a community centre. And it houses a foodbank.

More Reform lies.

They will spout any old bollocks to stir hate.

[Rusthall Socialist @Rusthallred]

@Se_Railway Coach 6 of 8 I believe

[Rusthall Socialist @Rusthallred]

@Se_Railway 12.38 Tonbridge to Cannon Street

[Rusthall Socialist @Rusthallred]

@Janehill361Jane @siennamarla It’s really quite simple. A majority of the PLP have lost faith in the PM - which is why this is playing out.

[Rusthall Socialist @Rusthallred]

@Janehill361Jane @siennamarla The full article is worth a read. It’s the most important by election for decades.

[Rusthall Socialist @Rusthallred]

@Janehill361Jane @siennamarla Strongly disagree.

[Sienna Rodgers @siennamarla]

NEW: Inside Labour’s Makerfield campaign

• All Labour MPs have been asked to canvass twice during the campaign & go for polling day
• Burnham’s big campaign team and concern there are ‘too many cooks’
• The ‘impossible’ task of appealing to Makerfield, the country, Labour MPs and members all at the same time
• MPs relieved to be open about their opposition to Starmer: ‘It’s been the cause that dare not speak its name for two years – ‘Keir’s a bit shit, isn’t he?’ – and now people are able to say it’
• But others want Burnham to be more explicitly anti-Starmer: ‘Either you’re an insurgent or you’re not’
• Worries about a ‘shy Reform vote’ & the long-term impact of Restore

& more 👇

https://t.co/rSA8TBEBh8

[Rusthall Socialist @Rusthallred]

Same Labour Official involved in genius plan to block Andy standing in Gorton and Denton? 🤡

[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

[Rusthall Socialist @Rusthallred]

@simonheadsport I like it more than the sense that this is attention seeking on a significant scale.

[Torsten Bell @TorstenBell]

Important from Alan Milburn today - the Tories let NEET numbers soar to near 1m, cut youth apprenticeships by 40% & never got youth employment back to the levels seen under Tony Blair. We must reform our labour market, welfare, education & health systems to invest in young people