Val Tuck 🔶 🇪🇺 3.5% #FBPE/PR/PA

Psychologist and former academic. Drumming whilst pondering on life’s mysteries - such as how to keep the cat out of the cajon.

[Jaimi Shrive @Jaimi_Shrive]

I rarely ever comment publicly on parliamentary Labour politics anymore but I know so many (albeit quietly) feel the same as I do.
I first joined the Labour Party when I was 16 years old, under Ed Miliband. I’m now 28, meaning I’ve been an active member for over 12 years.

A Labour government is rare. Do they always get it right? Absolutely not. But every single one has brought about profound changes for the better of the working class.

Many members just like me have spent over a decade campaigning to give us a chance in government. It’s an absolute kick in the teeth to watch so many MPs urge Starmer to resign & leave their own positions they were apparently ‘comitted’ to when Starmer won a landslide victory 2 years ago, and a leadership contest before that.

It comes across as unstable, insecure, and incredibly individualistic. It echoes of the exact behaviour the Tories exemplified for almost 15 years. The behaviour the country were fed up of & voted out!

In my sector, I’ve seen in real-time the positive changes this government have already made. Realistically, we knew we wouldn’t have long, and we were to make the most of this term.

Purity politics is the enemy of progress.

Reform have control of fewer than 10% of councils. That’s it.
Now is not the time to run scared.

[Anita 💙 @Neets21]

I don’t feel let down by Keir Starmer. However, I do feel massively let down by our media.

There seem to be very few journalists who are reporting without fear or favour or in the best interests of the public. They are a braying toxic mob intent on destruction

Why?

#Starmer

[BladeoftheSun @BladeoftheS]

This is Lord Rothermere the owner of the Daily Mail.

He lives in a massive mansion in the English countryside, but he pays no tax here because he identifies as French.

While the Daily Mail is registered in Bermuda and pays no tax anywhere.

That is his ‘Patriotism’.

[Colin the Dachshund @DachshundColin]

🚨BREAKING🚨
Keir Starmer once reclined his seat on a short-haul flight.

In other news Nigel Farage has received a £5m gift, a house, helicopter flights, a Maldives trip and been accused of throwing an election for £1m.

Here's Sam Coates with more on the reclined seat scandal.

[Simon Kett @skett2605]

No @BBCNews we do not need to go over to @ChrisMasonBBC to hear his thoughts.
Just give us the news. We can make our own mind up.

[Supertanskiii @supertanskiii]

This country is not ruled by politicians.

It is ruled by the media.

(and billionaires, obviously)

Media regulation must become an urgent priority.

Without an informed population you cannot have a functioning democracy.

[Craig. @bambibristol]

The fact that there’s more noise about Zack Polanski not paying some council tax on a narrow boat, than there is about Nigel Farage taking a £5m bribe to run as an MP….confirms that it’s pretty fucking impossible to have functioning democracy AND a billionaire owned ‘free’ press

[Gordon Fielden @GordonFielden]

There is scarcely a political journalist, editor or Westminster correspondent remaining who is not presently engaged in advancing a narrative intended to undermine Sir Keir Starmer and force him from office as Prime Minister. Alongside this spectacle sits a coordinated cluster of Labour Members of Parliament, many of whom are still little more than apprentices within parliamentary life, parading letters and carefully choreographed photographs declaring their lack of confidence in the leadership.

The public reaction has, however, been far more revealing than many within Westminster appear willing to acknowledge. Ordinary Labour supporters and constituents alike have responded with anger towards what they regard as naked disloyalty, vanity and remarkably poor judgement. At a moment demanding discipline, steadiness and seriousness from a governing party, certain individuals instead appear determined to indulge in theatrical displays of self importance.

There also appears to exist a profound failure amongst sections of both the parliamentary party and the political media to comprehend the true nature of local elections. Local elections are precisely that, local elections. They are frequently fragmented, regionalised and driven by temporary frustrations, local grievances and protest voting. They have never served as an infallible measure of a government’s long term national standing. To elevate such results into declarations of impending political collapse is not sober analysis. It is the deliberate construction of a narrative.

The Conservative Party spent years destroying itself through factional warfare, personal ambition and the extraordinary belief amongst individual Members of Parliament that their own agendas outweighed the collective stability of both party and country. Britain witnessed a governing party descend into paralysis because too many individuals convinced themselves that they stood above the institution they were elected to serve. Labour now risks wandering towards precisely the same abyss should discipline and perspective continue to erode.

What is required now is political maturity, political understanding and a fundamental re evaluation of how democratic parties respond to temporary electoral reversals. Endless leadership speculation, media briefings and coordinated acts of internal destabilisation do not strengthen democracy. They corrode public confidence in politics itself. The electorate has grown weary of parties that appear permanently consumed by internal warfare and personal manoeuvring.

Many of those now presenting themselves as ideological standard bearers have scarcely entered Parliament before presuming to lecture an entire movement upon its direction and purpose. Some would do well to remember that loyalty, patience, humility and collective responsibility were once regarded as virtues in public life. Before issuing grave declarations to the nation, perhaps they ought first to consult the very constituents who entrusted them with office, rather than assuming they possess some elevated moral authority of their own.

More concerning still is the apparent inability of some within Westminster to recognise the broader geopolitical reality unfolding across the democratic world. Liberal democracies are increasingly confronted by the influence of immensely wealthy individuals, corporate power structures and ideological movements seeking to drag nations towards authoritarian and fascist forms of politics. Institutions that have defended democracy for generations now find themselves subjected to relentless campaigns of disinformation, division, manufactured outrage and the systematic erosion of public trust.

It is precisely for this reason that acts of internal sabotage within democratic governing parties are so profoundly dangerous. Such behaviour demonstrates a failure to grasp the scale of the geopolitical contest now unfolding across Europe, North America and beyond. Those forces which seek to weaken democratic institutions flourish whenever political parties descend into instability, infighting and public disunity.

Labour remains the elected government of the United Kingdom with a commanding parliamentary majority and an immense responsibility at a time of profound international uncertainty. Within days the attention of the world will once again turn towards the G8 discussions and the wider tensions shaping global affairs. This is hardly the hour for self indulgent theatrics driven by Westminster gossip, factional grievance and leadership manoeuvring.

Ultimately, the electorate will not forgive a governing party that destroys itself from within. Should Labour lose the confidence of the country, it will not be because of temporary local election results or excitable political commentary. It will be because too many individuals placed personal ambition, ideological vanity and leadership aspirations above their collective duty to the movement and the nation they were elected to serve.

Britain does not require another governing party consumed by sabotage, factionalism and perpetual grievance. It requires steadiness, competence, discipline and long term vision. Those incapable of recognising the damage inflicted by internal destabilisation may yet discover, far too late, that history is seldom kind to those who allow ego and ambition to eclipse responsibility and duty.

[Val Tuck 🔶 🇪🇺 3.5% #FBPE/PR/PA @Val6264]

@mynameisvaughan @ttocsluap @JonathanPieNews The media are responsible for framing the phrase ‘U-Turn’ as a negative political failure when it could be termed as listening to other opinions and revising decisions so yes, they are.

[Val Tuck 🔶 🇪🇺 3.5% #FBPE/PR/PA @Val6264]

Before the media took control, these were council elections where we voted on who deals with local issues, potholes, council tax etc. Why do most councillors these days represent political parties instead of working for local residents anyway?

[India Willoughby @IndiaWilloughby]

If we had a proper media, Reform would be finished. The BBC has played a massive role in legitimising a re-hashed National Front. #Election

[Marina Purkiss @MarinaPurkiss]

At what point do we stop pretending our newspapers are ‘news’ and start calling them what they are…

Promotional pamphlets for the billionaires who own them and the agendas they’re selling.

[Richard @ricwe123]

An unarmed Iranian ship was invited to take part in an Indian naval exercise alongside the United States.
Its sailors were welcomed on land and paraded before the president as a gesture of cooperation.
Then, at the last moment, the United States abruptly withdrew from the exercise,only to turn around and torpedo the very ship it had just stood beside.

What followed was even more grotesque.
After attacking an unarmed vessel, the US refused to rescue the sailors it had thrown into the sea, abandoning them to drown.
The grim work of recovering bodies was left to the Sri Lankan Navy.

This wasn’t warfare,it was treachery of the most disgraceful kind: an ambush carried out under the pretense of diplomacy, followed by a cold refusal to show even the most basic human decency to the dying.
It would represent a collapse of every norm that supposedly governs civilized conduct at sea.

And yet, instead of outrage, much of the American media response has been indifference or rationalization.
The bombing of a girls’ school is brushed aside; talk of carpet-bombing Tehran is floated as if it were just another policy option.
When atrocities are normalized and cruelty is laundered into “strategy,” the line between reporting and complicity begins to disappear.

[Gordon Fielden @GordonFielden]

There is growing concern about the BBC’s political coverage and the way recent events have been reported.

Too often, reporting appears to rely on assumption, interpretation and anonymous briefing, presenting a picture that does not reflect the mood within the Labour Party or among voters. Commentary risks being treated as fact, and Westminster speculation has too often been given greater weight than the views of the wider membership and the electorate.

The Parliamentary Labour Party is not the Labour Party. MPs were elected under the Labour banner, on the party’s manifesto and under the leadership of Keir Starmer. The democratic mandate rests with the members and the voters, not simply with internal briefings and political gossip.

Over the weekend, the public pushed back strongly against the narrative being constructed. People challenged the claims, questioned the evidence and made it clear that they expect facts, attribution and balance, not speculation presented as reality.

The Cardiff University analysis, highlighting the disproportionate level of coverage given to Reform compared with its electoral weight, has added to concerns about balance and proportionality.

The BBC is funded by licence fee payers and carries a duty of strict impartiality. If reporting continues to rely on narrative framing rather than verifiable fact, public trust will continue to erode.

If you share these concerns, the appropriate response is to use the BBC’s formal complaints process and ask for transparency and review.

Make a complaint here:
https://t.co/NhT8Z3mW9F
Or write to:
Director General
BBC Broadcasting House
Portland Place
London
W1A 1AA

Public trust sustains the BBC. If enough people believe standards are slipping, their concerns should be formally heard.

[Val Tuck 🔶 🇪🇺 3.5% #FBPE/PR/PA @Val6264]

@PhilipOConnor5 @BBCNews I’ve turned him off twice today. Can we not just have the news without the constant evaluating. That’s not reporting the news, it’s twisting it, it’s propaganda. Just give it a rest!

[Occupy Democrats @OccupyDemocrats]

BREAKING: The family of Alex Pretti releases a powerful statement about his senseless murder at the hands of Trump's masked fascist goons.

Please share this far and wide...

"We are heartbroken but also very angry. Alex was a kindhearted soul who cared deeply for his family and friends and also the American veterans whom he cared for as an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA hospital," the family said in a statement provided to CNN.

"Alex wanted to make a difference in this world. Unfortunately he will not be with us to see his impact. I do not throw around the hero term lightly. However his last thought and act was to protect a woman."

"The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting. Alex is clearly not holding a gun when attacked by Trump’s murdering and cowardly ICE thugs. He has his phone in his right hand and his empty left hand is raised above his head while trying to protect the woman ICE just pushed down all while being pepper sprayed."

"Please get the truth out about our son. He was a good man. Thank you."

It is our responsibility as Americans to get the truth out there. Petti was not attempting to harm anyone. He was swarmed, beaten, and disarmed by vicious federal agents who were looking for someone to hurt. Once they had removed his gun — which he had a legal permit to carry — they executed him in cold blood by firing numerous bullets into him. Then, the Trump administration proceeded to immediately falsely smear him as a "terrorist" who wanted to carry out a mass shooting against law enforcement. They're utterly shameless.

“He cared about people deeply and he was very upset with what was happening in Minneapolis and throughout the United States with ICE, as millions of other people are upset,” said Pretti's father Alex. “He thought it was terrible, you know, kidnapping children, just grabbing people off the street. He cared about those people, and he knew it was wrong, so he did participate in protests.”

Rest in power Alex. The rest of us will carry on the fight.

Please like and share.

[Emma 💛💙🇩🇰🇬🇧🇪🇺 @MonkEmma]

This is getting absolutely ridiculous now.

Headline: Rayner’s family home was valued at almost twice the amount of other recently sold properties on her street.

Article: Behind a paywall so most people will take that insinuation at face value

The reality?

🧵1/10

[Anita 💙 @Neets21]

J Hunt forgot he owned 7 flats,
G Cox failed to declare £400K, IDS forgot a company paid him £25k, T Villiers forgot she owned £70k of Shell shares, Zahawi forgot to pay £4.8 million in taxes while Johnson & Sunak forgot just about everything.

Tory hypocrisy ay 🙄

#Rayner

[John O'Connell @jdpoc]

If Tories want a 'Tax Investigation' into Angela Rayner, fine.

First, let's do Nadhim Zahawi, Sajid Javid, Nadine Dorries, Rishi Sunak, George Osborne, Liam Fox, Priti Patel, Sir Geoffrey Cox, Lord Ashcroft, Boris Johnson, etc, etc.

And the systematic Covid Fraud.

[paulusthewoodgnome 🇺🇦 🦋 💂🏻‍♂️ @woodgnomology]

Angela Rayner has more guts and integrity in her little finger than the entire Conservative Party.

#c4news