Eleanor (Ellie) Rofe

Candidate for leader of the SDP. Very keen on building A Britain That Can. A much better idea than all these can'ts we have now. Je suis femme.

[Eleanor (Ellie) Rofe @eleanorrofe]

Today, I'm announcing that I'm standing for the leadership of the SDP.

I've said for years that we need people from outside politics to step up, because the political class that put us down here is not going to lift us back up.

If I'm perfectly honest, I always meant "people other than me".

But William Clouston was the first politician who inspired me to join a party. And he's now inspired me to wade into the fray myself.

What he built is unique: a party that puts reality, honesty and the national interest front and centre. My job as leader would be to turn his substance into scale, and reach the millions of Brits who aren't served in the slightest by the current slew of parties.

Watch the video to see my ambition for the party - and our country.

[Eleanor (Ellie) Rofe @eleanorrofe]

@TriarKooiker That sun peeking through and lighting the colours. Beautiful.

[Eleanor (Ellie) Rofe @eleanorrofe]

I think this is an underlying point with the rise in PIP too.

"A job won't bring me security but it will bring me aggro. I may as well have ADHD and watch TikTok vids all day."

Different kind of consumption. Different conception of freedom. Different approach to other people's money. But same underlying poor incentives model.

[Eleanor (Ellie) Rofe @eleanorrofe]

@DamianPudner @ross_baglin And thank you in turn. Whoever wins, the SDP must get ourselves to a position where we can serve the British people. No other party offers this!

[Eleanor (Ellie) Rofe @eleanorrofe]

This is a great conversation between @DamianPudner and @ross_baglin.

An extraordinary amount of meat in half an hour.

[GBTT — Great British Think Tank @GreatBritishTT]

Nearly £40bn a year on housing benefit.

@ross_baglin interim leader of the @SDPhq joins Pints & Policy to talk debt, migration, defence — and what the SDP would actually do differently.

https://t.co/BlDBRA1YhG

[Eleanor (Ellie) Rofe @eleanorrofe]

@adhib I knew you'd get it, Adam 🫡

[Eleanor (Ellie) Rofe @eleanorrofe]

Some people think this is praise of Burnham.

It's a condemnation.

[Eleanor (Ellie) Rofe @eleanorrofe]

I do think Andy Burnham wants to be helpful. I think he cares.

It's just he can't touch any of the big switches that actually do anything - energy, immigration, public spending - without his party having a tantrum.

He's literally doing all he can.

[Eleanor (Ellie) Rofe @eleanorrofe]

Ah, gotcha. No answers then.

He's not doing anything. Vat is an end of chain fix. He's not fixing energy prices at source and the measure is counteracted by far higher rises.

He's not touching benefits. The triple lock would be for next Parliament.

He can barely even talk about immigration. He has no answers and Mahmood is opening up new routes.

He's not doing anything. Which is why you can't answer me directly.

[Eleanor (Ellie) Rofe @eleanorrofe]

@mallard_t69098 What has been done to sort out immigration, energy and benefits?

[Eleanor (Ellie) Rofe @eleanorrofe]

@MellonSdp6741 @srazash Exactly. The country is in dire straits and he's just titting about the edges.

[Eleanor (Ellie) Rofe @eleanorrofe]

I do think Andy Burnham wants to be helpful. I think he cares.

It's just he can't touch any of the big switches that actually do anything - energy, immigration, public spending - without his party having a tantrum.

He's literally doing all he can.

[Andy Burnham @andyburnham]

You know that feeling when you book a flight for 50 quid and somehow it ends up costing 100?

Getting seats together, correcting a typo, another charge here and there, it all adds up.

When the cost of living is already squeezing people, those endless extras can feel relentless.

So we're changing the rules for you.

Parents won't need to pay a penny extra just to sit next to their own children.

You'll be able to fix any name errors on your booking free of charge.

And because the last thing you want once you're on the plane is more stress, we're working with the industry to make sure that disruptive passengers who have been banned from one airline can be banned from flying with other airlines too.

I know holidays are expensive and these are small things, but hopefully they'll make your trip just that little bit cheaper and easier.

That's exactly the kind of thing I want this government to keep on fixing.

[Eleanor (Ellie) Rofe @eleanorrofe]

@LouiseS11293637 Fair enough. I was being sardonic but it doesn't read across.

[Eleanor (Ellie) Rofe @eleanorrofe]

@mallard_t69098 What signs?

[Eleanor (Ellie) Rofe @eleanorrofe]

@mallard_t69098 If he is able to properly address immigration, energy costs or benefits spending in this Parliament then sure.

[Eleanor (Ellie) Rofe @eleanorrofe]

@slipkn0t8 @BradfemlyWalsh Yes, they're vile. They just didn't set him alight as such. It seems other protesters did douse people in petrol. Repulsive.

[Eleanor (Ellie) Rofe @eleanorrofe]

@Chrimms2 Of course.

[Eleanor (Ellie) Rofe @eleanorrofe]

@AlbionsBlues It was contempt. For the entire party. They are unfit to govern.

[Eleanor (Ellie) Rofe @eleanorrofe]

@AlexanderMcQui4 He's punted the triple lock. He won't touch benefits. They've rowed back on immigration and not fixed a thing. He's titting around the edges while Rome burns.

[Eleanor (Ellie) Rofe @eleanorrofe]

@freedomcabbage You haven't heard of 'damning with faint praise' then. Fine.

[Eleanor (Ellie) Rofe @eleanorrofe]

@Havant2019 It was a condemnation of him and the Labour Party.

And I think it's abhorrent that politicians are now reviving the EU membership debate as distraction because they cannot/refuse to face the actual issues in our country.

[Eleanor (Ellie) Rofe @eleanorrofe]

@Jakkiell Yep.

[Eleanor (Ellie) Rofe @eleanorrofe]

@DSL_MY That's my point. It's not praise. It's condemnation.

[Eleanor (Ellie) Rofe @eleanorrofe]

@a_n_n__m Yes, effectively.