Joseph-Dodo Levin

'The ultimate, hidden truth of the world is that it is something that we make, and could just as easily make differently.' — David Graeber

[Joseph-Dodo Levin @JDLevin88]

'The first truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic state itself.' — Franklin D. Roosevelt

[Aaron Bastani @AaronBastani]

Elon Musk is now a trillionaire.

A world of trillionaires is, simultaneously, one where the middle class collapses. Anyone informed on the issue knows as much, but few are willing to accept what that ultimately means - and where we end up.

https://t.co/euAk61TZ2w

[Joseph-Dodo Levin @JDLevin88]

We do not want to end up with a situation where votes are counted more fairly but elections cease to matter.

If constitutional change can happen without the consent of the people democracy itself is vulnerable.

A new democratic era cannot begin through undemocratic means.

[Joseph-Dodo Levin @JDLevin88]

I'd love PR to happen before the next general election but I also believe constitutional change should only happen with the consent of the people & through direct democracy.

New Zealand have shown us the correct way to move away from First Past the Post. Let's do it properly.

[Joseph-Dodo Levin @JDLevin88]

I'd love PR to happen before the next general election but I also believe constitutional change should only happen with the consent of the people & through direct democracy.

New Zealand have shown us the correct way to move away from First Past the Post. Let's do it properly.

[The Green Party @TheGreenParty]

The time has come for proportional representation.

Our MPs have written to Andy Burnham calling on him to commit to rebuilding public trust in politics and bringing in proportional representation before the next general election.

[Joseph-Dodo Levin @JDLevin88]

How is this allowed?

Where are the anti-monopoly laws that prevent such concentration of power?

[Andrew Neil @afneil]

Confirmed: Sky to buy ITV for £1.6 billion. Sign of the times that Britain’s biggest commercial linear broadcaster is worth only that. But probably a fair price.

[Joseph-Dodo Levin @JDLevin88]

A wonderful summary of our current political system.

We will need a proportional list element to fix this.

We also need to develop the concept of a mandate. If it’s not in the manifesto, power must go back to the people and ask for their consent.

[Michael Rosen 💙💙🎓🎓 NICE 爷爷 @MichaelRosenYes]

The thing about UK democracy is that we vote for an MP, who backs a leader, who chooses a government, who, if they all (MPs and government) get fed up of the leader, they choose another leader, who chooses a government. And it all started because we voted for an MP. Apparently.

[Joseph-Dodo Levin @JDLevin88]

@steverichards14 To avoid scrutiny in this moment, when about to assume power without the public having any means to consent to that power, can only weaken our democracy. So too was it weakened by Labour in 24 when they held the belief that they need not detail their intentions at an election.

[Joseph-Dodo Levin @JDLevin88]

@davidyelland Alternatively: power should not be able to avoid scrutiny.

The most powerful position in the UK could be handed over to someone who has only won a constituency election.

A new vision is being drawn up, yet no election has been called. Burnham's Labour should go to the people.

[Joseph-Dodo Levin @JDLevin88]

Alternatively: power should not be able to avoid scrutiny.

The most powerful position in the UK could be handed over to someone who has only won a constituency election.

A new vision is being drawn up, yet no election has been called. Burnham's Labour should go to the people.

[David Yelland @davidyelland]

Every single major broadcast news bulletin, BBC, ITV, Sky GBN, I could go on, has led with Andy Burnham's key messages - the decision not to take questions totally vindicated as millions have seen his message and not the usual Punch and Judy show about "who will be Chancellor..." Really important learnings.

[Joseph-Dodo Levin @JDLevin88]

I have to agree with this. So many questions need asking: What powers? At which level? Why?

A nation can be cut into regions, and regions can be cut into more localities, and those localities can be divided again.

But global and national power exists.

https://t.co/OYvz9umxsZ

[Kevin Schofield @KevinASchofield]

"For all the soaring rhetoric about putting 'hope in every heart', it lacked one important thing: an explanation of how it will all work in practice.

"Burnham failed to explain how putting more power in the hands of local politicians rather than those in Whitehall will magically improve the lives of everyone in the country.

"It was therefore unfortunate, to put it mildly, that the many journalists who had been invited to watch the speech were not then given the opportunity to ask him questions about it.

"Because let’s not forget, this is a man who was not even an MP a month ago, and yet stands on the threshold of assuming the highest office in the land without even having to go to the trouble of winning a leadership contest, let alone a general election."

https://t.co/WRj4rVe06B

[Joseph-Dodo Levin @JDLevin88]

We need a binding treaty on climate action with economic reward for nations that lead and economic consequence for nations that fail their responsibility.

Unilateral action will not save us. We only get there with international co-operation and co-ordination.

Let's go again.

[Climate Dad @ClimateDad77]

Paris, 2015 - world leaders pose for the cameras, pledging to keep global warming below 1.5C.

Paris, 2026 - 40C+ heat in June as the world passes 1.5C, with 2C now inevitable & 3C & 4C likely in our children’s lifetimes.

The greatest failure in the history of our species.

[Joseph-Dodo Levin @JDLevin88]

@RudolphN17 @spursjon2015 That’s a shame. Underrated by spurs fans and better from distance than a lot of other wingers.

[Joseph-Dodo Levin @JDLevin88]

It is the most consequential by-election in modern history and so we must ask: how have we found ourselves in the situation where a by-election has so much impact on the future of the UK.

The issue of democratic legitimacy is a serious one. General elections must carry meaning.

[caroline wheeler @cazjwheeler]

The Makerfield by-election is the most consequential in modern history. It’s likely to be a sliding doors moment for both Keir Starmer and Andy Burnham depending on the result.

-In public, Starmer is determined to fight on. Friends describe him privately as “sulphurous” about both challengers - Andy Burnham and former health secretary Wes Streeting – the men his allies blames for destabilising his premiership. Some in his inner circle are privately scathing about both and believe Starmer is a better Prime Minister than either of them would be.

-But some in the Cabinet suspect Starmer’s defiance is theatre - that he is saying only what he must, with no incentive to concede before the result is known, in case of a seismic upset no one has anticipated.

-According to one Cabinet minister, there have already been quiet discussions about how Starmer might make a dignified exit, and he is said to be markedly less forceful about fighting on in private than in public.

-What will follow the by-election is not one obvious path for both men, but a set of scenarios Westminster has been quietly war-gaming for weeks.

-A Burnham victory does not crown him; it merely fires the starting gun on his march towards power. It is also not necessarily fatal for Starmer; but would dramatically shorten the odds of his survival.

Here are the scenarios that could play out.

[Joseph-Dodo Levin @JDLevin88]

@mattpovey @richardmarcj When you look at the happiest nations on earth, the places with the highest living standards too, almost every single one has PR (often a list system). Although, the causality is perhaps the other way round, FPTP is a sign of a nation that can’t count or design proper systems.

[Joseph-Dodo Levin @JDLevin88]

'Labour insisted that tuition fees would be kept free. Just weeks before polling day, Tony Blair said: “Labour has no plans to introduce tuition fees for higher education...

But just two months after becoming prime minister, Blair went ahead and introduced tuition fees.'

[Richard Johnson @richardmarcj]

This insight by MacDonald is absolutely correct. PR removes the sense of a governing mandate. The governing programme is decided after the election, by which point voters have been removed from the equation.

While of course under FPTP governments may try to do the same, the political costs are higher because of the expectation that they were elected to govern on the basis of a set of manifesto promises made before the election to the voters.

[Joseph-Dodo Levin @JDLevin88]

@richardmarcj Blair won two elections after this. Manifestos have been used to hide or distort intentions throughout my lifetime. First Past the Post has done little to prevent it. I agree that under PR parties will need to be pressed to present their red lines clearly.

[Joseph-Dodo Levin @JDLevin88]

https://t.co/1fMmYSg0XC

[Joseph-Dodo Levin @JDLevin88]

@richardmarcj This is a remarkable argument to make at this moment.

Labour supporters on both the left and right treated the 24 manifesto as an insignificant document.

This all before First Past the Post's creation of minority rule; the conversion of a third of the vote into a majority.

[Joseph-Dodo Levin @JDLevin88]

Another panel that raises serious questions of @bbcquestiontime.

And when is the Question Time special on electoral reform coming?

Do we really want to elect another government on little more than a third of the vote? It could, of course, be less next time.

[Zack Polanski @ZackPolanski]

Oracle’s £250m gift to the Tony Blair Institute appears to buy you an entire Question Time episode.

[Joseph-Dodo Levin @JDLevin88]

@wrb91 What concerns me is how this plays out at a GE under FPTP. A seat that has historically had a left of centre majority may no longer.

The totals matter here as much as the result. If new parties are increasing the size of the right bloc then a right consolidation could win.

[Joseph-Dodo Levin @JDLevin88]

Amazing that the right has been able to launch two new parties successfully while the left hasn’t been able to manage one.

The Labour brand is weak even with Burnham. The key question to be asked after Makerfield: what happens in a FPTP election if the right consolidate?

[(((Dan Hodges))) @DPJHodges]

Just to add to the chaos I'm now being told by multiple sources from different parties that canvass returns for Makerfield show Restore significantly outperforming the 7% revealed in the Times poll. I suspect that's what's underpinning the current Reform meltdown.

[Joseph-Dodo Levin @JDLevin88]

Let's remember that Corbyn held Makerfield in 2019. Furthermore, in 2024 the Labour Party total was greater than the combined Tory and Reform total.

The combined Reform and Restore total will indicate the strength of a co-ordinated right.

Graph of Makerfield 24 below.

[Joseph-Dodo Levin @JDLevin88]

Amazing that the right has been able to launch two new parties successfully while the left hasn’t been able to manage one.

The Labour brand is weak even with Burnham. The key question to be asked after Makerfield: what happens in a FPTP election if the right consolidate?