@Baddiel Traitors is the human equivalent of Deal or No Deal. Contestants thinking there is some theory or guiding light behind who/what they are picking when it's really just random choices.
@GerryHassan Carlson sees the world in the same way as Trump. If you're not making anything out of it then why do it? The idea of standing up for a principle, doing the right thing, honouring alliances means literally nothing to him.
Amid all the Andy Burnham love from the usual suspects, there is something people on the right need to acknowledge: this country has some enormous problems that need fixing.
The Tories were in power for 14 years. Can anyone honestly say they left the country in a better state? We had the swingeing cuts of austerity, the chaos of Brexit, multiple prime ministers, endless infighting, and far too much ambition and party put before country. By the end, they looked incompetent, exhausted and incapable of governing.
That is why Keir Starmer won such a huge majority. It wasn’t because the country had fallen in love with him. It was because the alternative had proved itself so utterly useless.
And the care system desperately needs fixing.
Unless you are extremely wealthy, there is a good chance you or someone you love will eventually depend on it. I’ve seen the effects of the broken care system first-hand, and they are not pleasant. All of us should be entitled to some dignity in old age and infirmity.
We should also be prepared to pay for it. It is no good for parties on the right simply to say we can’t afford it or that taxes must never rise. I would pay more tax for a properly functioning care system, and I suspect plenty of other people would too.
There is plenty to argue with the left about. Gender ideology, identity politics, intersectionality, oppressor-versus-oppressed narratives and all the rest of the woke nonsense that leaves huge numbers of ordinary people cold. There are also parts of the left that seem deeply uncomfortable with patriotism and far too willing to align themselves with movements hostile to Western values.
So there are no shortage of dividing lines.
But the reality remains that a lot in this country is broken. The right is not going to succeed by saying: yes, it’s broken, but we can’t afford to fix it.
It has to offer an alternative. Or, where Burnham or anyone else comes up with a serious proposal that might actually work, it should be prepared to engage with it rather than oppose it for the sake of tribal politics.
I’m genuinely not party political. I’m politically homeless, and I want this country to succeed.
I don’t have enormous faith that Andy Burnham will be the man to fix all this. But I sincerely hope I end up eating my words, because somebody has to begin repairing what is broken in Britain.
And the care system would be a very good place to start.