Andy Thomas

retired surf lifesaving & football coach. chartered engineer in my spare time! all my views are my own and if you don't like them then don't follow !!

[Caroline Farrow @CF_Farrow]

Another tragedy courtesy of Bridget Phillipson.

She sleeps soundly in her bed knowing that there are children without places in September and people made redundant thanks to her spiteful policy.

[Daniel Hannan @DanielJHannan]

In other countries, governments give tax breaks to private schools. They love it when parents choose not to ask the state to bear the full cost of their children's education, and try to be helpful.
In Britain, uniquely, economics and education are subordinated to spite.

[Chris Rose @ArchRose90]

Another brilliant school closing thanks to @bphillipsonMP.

This is what the outcome of spiteful and vindictive policies. Pure vandalism and completely unforgivable.

[Alex Deane @ajcdeane]

Congratulations, Bridget Phillipson.

No doubt this is just “chattering” as you put it, but it’s what you wanted, so… bravo.

[J.K. Rowling @jk_rowling]

A man (Samantha Tempest, here abbreviated to ST) is arguing in court that he belongs in a group for menopausal women. It is pointed out to him that menopause is the cessation of ovulation and that, being a man who never started, let alone ceased, ovulating he does not belong in such a group. He disagrees. He says he's had 'menopausal symptoms' like hot flushes and brain fog. This is like me claiming to have been in the army because I once shot an air rifle and quite like khaki.

[Graham Linehan @Glinner]

Men. The ban is on men. It's not on any kind of 'woman'. Enjoy your upcoming community note.

[Essex Patriot @Essex_Patriot]

Housing Secretary Steve Reed has come out saying the Britain does not want a General Election.... This is typical Labour ignoring the public and just doing what they want.

MESSAGE TO LABOUR:

The public does not want anything to do with Labour.

And you can take the select few brainwashed Labour lovers with you.

GENERAL ELECTION NOW 🇬🇧

[The Jackal… @ToonDazza]

I 100% agree @andyburnham - let’s all retweet and help Andy out……

#GeneralElectionNow

[Donna-Louise @NoLongerTheFuzz]

Come on then, @UKLabour @AngelaRayner @Keir_Starmer @andyburnham
The ‘King of the North’ Communist has NO mandate. You say nobody voted for this, and to call a General Election now.
Hands up 🙌 if you agree?

[Andy Thomas @Tommy_540]

@BenGrahamUK Well he is busy packing 🤷‍♂️

[Andrew Man @TegoArcanaDei]

“The single decision Bridget Philipson made that has been most revealing.
“Eton and Star Academies wanted to open a great new free school in Middlesbrough to help more talented young people access the best universities - backed by funding from Eton.”
“When Bridget became Education Secretary she killed the project.”
Prejudice trumped social mobility.

[WeGotitBack 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇬🇧🇺🇸 @NotFarLeftAtAll]

Under new plans announced by Labour, investors keeping cash in their stocks and shares Isa accounts will be smacked with a 22 per cent tax charge on any interest earned.

Labour making sure you have nothing.. if you’ve been a good person and saved money to get yourself out of poverty.. eventually .. they want it

[ENT - Education Not Taxation @EducationNotTax]

For two years, parents, schools and campaigners have been accused of "scaremongering".

For two years, @bphillipsonMP has responded to concerns by saying she "does not accept" the evidence.

Today we publish a report comparing what Ministers said would happen with what has actually happened.

The evidence is not "chatter".
It is official Government data.

Read the report:
https://t.co/vkXSpg1RW9

@bphillipsonMP @KemiBadenoch @LauraTrottMP @NeilDotObrien @Georgia_Gould @educationgovuk @CommonsEd
#EducationNotTax #SchoolFeeVAT

[Jim Chimirie 🇬🇧 @JChimirie66677]

The Manchester Model. What It Actually Looks Like Up Close.

Andy Burnham is asking the country to trust him with Downing Street on the strength of what he calls the Manchester Model. Eight years of integrated public services and progressive governance that he says Britain should adopt nationally. Before the country decides, it should know what that model actually produced.

Start with the money.

£578 million in public money was lent by Burnham's Greater Manchester Combined Authority to a single developer, Daren Whitaker of Renaker. A tribunal found that GMCA failed to obtain a statement of assets and liabilities from Whitaker before lending, exposing taxpayers to a risk the tribunal described as potentially wiping out the public funds. A meeting between a senior GMCA officer and Whitaker at which loan terms appear to have been agreed produced no minutes or notes. Court papers allege Renaker presented high profit figures to the GMCA when seeking loans and low profit figures to Manchester City Council when seeking exemption from affordable homes requirements. The Court of Appeal is considering judgment on whether the loans were lawful.

Out of 11,000 homes built with that public money, 503 are classed as affordable. Less than five percent. Whitaker's personal fortune grew from £140 million to £698 million during Burnham's mayoralty. The luxury towers were marketed to Chinese buy to let investors through Hong Kong estate agents. Hundreds of flats have been sold to Asian investors according to Telegraph analysis of Companies House filings.

Now the transparency.

In April 2026 the Information Commissioner issued a practice recommendation to the GMCA for failing to publish Freedom of Information compliance statistics. Greater Manchester Police, under Burnham's authority as Police and Crime Commissioner, was separately issued with an ICO enforcement notice for 850 overdue FOI requests, more than 800 over six months old. The oldest had been waiting two and a half years.

Now the transport flagship.

The Bee Network has absorbed a £30 council tax precept increase in two years to subsidise its operation. The £115 million Clean Air Zone was scrapped after £211 million in public funds was received and only £22.5 million returned. Burnham's own transport commissioner acknowledged the network remains twenty two years behind London. The board of Be.EV, the company holding the Bee Network's public EV charging contract, includes Burnham's wife, who joined the company six years into his mayoralty and was appointed to the board as his Westminster ambitions became increasingly visible.

Now the promises.

Burnham pledged to end rough sleeping by 2020. Rough sleeping rose. Today 18,000 people across Greater Manchester have no permanent address. He promised Platt Bridge a flood solution by 2018. The area flooded in 2015, 2021 and on New Year's Day 2025. The projected solution is now 2028. When asked on Question Time why he would not apologise, he said it was before his time. He became Mayor in 2017. The promise was made in 2018.

Now the politics.

Labour's candidate to replace Burnham as Mayor is Bev Craig, leader of Manchester City Council, the body that accepted Renaker's low profit figures and granted the affordable homes exemption. The mayoral by-election on 30 July will be fought under the supplementary vote system rushed through the Lords two days before Burnham's Makerfield victory, designed to consolidate left of centre second preferences and lock out Reform.

108 Labour councillors lost their seats in Greater Manchester in May's local elections. The region Burnham governed for eight years delivered the most devastating local election result in Labour's history.

This is the Manchester Model. These are its documented facts. The country is being asked to implement it nationally. It should read the small print first.

Bev Craig. Labour's candidate to replace Burnham. Leader of the council that granted Renaker's affordable homes exemption.

[Andy Thomas @Tommy_540]

@LegacySiu Hull

[Andy Thomas @Tommy_540]

@_josephine0_ Bald

[Andy Thomas @Tommy_540]

@DonnaLouise1212 Only the labour gang 😂

[Samantha Smith @SamanthaTaghoy]

Dear @AndyBurnhamGM,

They weren’t “young women”.
They were CHILDREN.

Children who were raped, exploited, tortured, beaten, and murdered by gangs of Pakistani-Muslim men while powerful people like you turned a blind eye.

[Neil Stone @DrNeilStone]

Can someone explain to me what's so fantastically amazing about Andy Burnham that meant he had to go from not even being a Member of Parliament to being shoved in unchallenged as Prime Minister within a few weeks?

[Suzanne Evans @SuzanneEvans1]

Not half as traumatised as the family of the man he killed, I’ll bet.