Top Tweets for #Generalelections

In the 1970s and 1980s, over 30,000 people in the UK were infected with HIV and hepatitis C via contaminated blood products. When Andy Burnham became Health Secretary on 5 June 2009, terminal patients and activists targeted him immediately. They staged a protest outside his constituency office on 19 June. Instead of acting, Burnham's department blocked statutory public inquiries, signed off letters denying government liability, and left the archives un-declassified under the standard 30-year rule. Yet in 2017, conveniently on his very last day as an MP before becoming Manchester Mayor, he went on TV calling the scandal a 'criminal cover-up'. His speech went viral. The media and victims' groups praised his passion, completely forgetting he himself had sat at the top of that 'covering-up' department. He chose to stay silent until there was zero political risk. And this is not the only instance. The Mid-Staffs Scandal (2005–2009), one of the worst care failures in NHS history, saw up to 1200 NHS patients die from systemic neglect. Patients were left in filth and drank from dirty flower vases. Who was the Health Secretary tasked with handling the aftermath? Andy Burnham. His administration ignored 81 separate requests from grieving families, MPs, and health organisations for a full public inquiry, opting instead for a highly restricted, private independent review. Why? To protect Labour from an NHS crisis right before the 2010 election. The full statutory public inquiry was only granted after Labour lost— by the incoming Conservative Health Secretary. Burnham didn't cause the scandals, but he did choose how to handle them. He suppressed the truth when he held power, then played the hero once he left office. The ultimate political opportunist.

Ethiopia’s peaceful seventh general election represents a significant step forward in the country’s democratic journey, African Union Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security Bankole Adeoye said. Adeoye praised the conduct of the vote, noting that the peaceful process reflects the growing maturity of #Ethiopia's democratic institutions and the commitment of its people to political stability.