To the Labour family: councillors, candidates, volunteers, staff and everyone in between - thank you for your hard work and dedication to our party, our country and your local community.
You make our movement.
#VoteLabour 🌹✊
Believe it or not, I had an old school friend on today’s marches in London. He sent me some photos from the crowd.
We went to middle school together and grew up on the same Eastern District council estate in Northampton.
I asked him why he was there. He gave me two answers:
1.“The government doesn’t listen to us.”
2.“I want to feel proud of my country again.”
He wore a Union Jack, not a St George’s Cross as he said that one had been hijacked by racists.
He wasn’t there for Hopkins, Musk, or any of the professional ‘grifters’ as he put it. He was there to feel part of something bigger, though he admitted there were a lot of, in his words, “assholes” there.
He’s an electrician. He’s smart. He’s not racist, but he’s not “PC” either. He’s not a fan of Keir Starmer but he also believes Farage would be a disaster.
Oh yes, he’s a bundle of contradictions! But aren’t we all?
I don’t know what ‘box’ we put him or the millions like him in. And I think pretending they’re all racists or fascists would be a massive mistake.
Some were. But not all.
This is about something bigger than immigration slogans or GDP numbers. For decades we’ve hollowed out our national life, underfunding and undermining the very institutions that once brought us together.
Karl Polanyi, writing in The Great Transformation, argued that when markets are “disembodied” from society, when land, labour, and life itself are treated as commodities
society pushes back. He called this the “double movement”: people seeking to protect themselves, to reclaim dignity and meaning when everything solid seems to melt into air.
That’s what I saw in my friend’s photos. Not just anger, but a demand for belonging.
We’ve replaced collective experience with atomisation. Without getting too nostalgic, programmes like the BBC’s Generation Game once pulled in millions every Saturday night, giving us something we could all talk about on Monday morning. Now we watch Netflix, Disney+, Prime, or Paramount, alone, in algorithmic silos.
Football used to be affordable and rooted in community; now it’s millionaires playing for the profitability of billionaires. The NHS, the post office, the railways - all chipped away, run down, sold off or centralised, leaving people feeling powerless and disconnected.
And don’t get me wrong: some kind of “Hovis Labour” nostalgia for the 1950s isn’t the answer. The country back then was often intolerant, grey, and deeply unequal. But what we’ve built since is a society that gives people little to hold in common, no collective story about who we are or what we’re for.
I reckon that’s partly why my mate marched. Not because he wants to turn back the clock. But because he wants to feel pride again. Pride in a country that is inclusive, fair, and offers a role for everyone. Pride in a nation that has a respected place in the world, tackles grotesque inequality, and gives people something real to believe in.
Polanyi warned that when democracies fail to provide a humane alternative, the backlash can turn authoritarian. This is how fascism grew in the 1930s, not because everyone became a true believer, but because millions felt abandoned and looked for strength, identity, and meaning wherever they could find it.
If Labour and progressives don’t offer that story of renewal, if we don’t rebuild our national institutions, restore collective pride, and re-embed markets within society, the far right will do it for us, in their own image.
And by then, it will be too late.
Nigel Farage wants to be our next Prime Minister, he made a big speech this week in Parliament about law and order - but in respect of the rioting in Essex this week, rather than defend the police and condemn the violent protesters (as you might expect) - he instead repeated conspiracy theories about the police bussing in counter-protesters... Is this a man fit to run the country...?
Note those criticising Labour:
Rich farmers
Rich parents sending children to private schools
Rich landlords
Rich MSM
Have Labour got everything right. No.
But it is a damn sight better than the previous 14 years
BREAKING: Donald Trump was just completely humiliated by reporters asking if he is upset that Elon Musk was sitting behind his desk in the latest Time Magazine cover. Trump would hate it if you made this go viral.
@paddie1958 As far as we are aware only teachers with QTS can be called teachers and subject to teachers P&C. There is an issue though, caused by funding cuts over the last 14 years, of unqualified teachers & teaching assistants being used to cover classes. Schools compromised by Tory govt!
Standing ovation for Lisa Nandy - particularly for putting the arts and music back at the heart of our school curriculum, reigniting the imagination of our children and young people and creating access as well as excellence. Inspiring 😊😊😊
Reeves: “And I made the choice to means test the winter fuel payment, to target it at those most in need. I know that not everyone - in this hall, or in the country - will agree with every decision I make. But I will not duck those decisions. Not for political expediency. Not for personal advantage. Faced with that £22 billion black hole that the Conservatives left this year and with the triple lock ensuring that the state pension will rise by an estimated £1,700 over this Parliament, I judged it the right decision, in the circumstances we inherited.” Respectful applause at end of this. #LabourConference2024
I make decisions in the public interest and not for political expediency or personal gain. On the Covid cover up - I will not stand for it - we will not stand for it. No return to austerity - a return to growth - to rebuild Britain - to restore confidence. A standing ovation 👏
The first female Chancellor in history said she builds on the legacy of other Labour women including Barbara Castle and Harriet Harman. An inspiration for all women and girls.
Trust is a fragile thing - we will be strong and work hard - we will defend and provide. We will make fair choices - we will invest and grow. No more division - we stand and will always stand with working people. This is our moment to build Britain. Rachel Reeves MP Chancellor