Mark Norris

A one eyed man in a two eyed world.
Labour. Unite. Kidney Cancer survivor,Won the first battle now to win the war

[Mark Norris @mnorris1964]

@antmiddleton Prove you're an idiot in one tweet

[Mark Norris @mnorris1964]

@Irina_exh All 20

[Mark Norris @mnorris1964]

@JimCognito2016 Some people will never understand the humour in this post 😂

[Mark Norris @mnorris1964]

@Gracezirn Iowa

[Mark Norris @mnorris1964]

@chiamakaafc RODRI

[Mark Norris @mnorris1964]

@AngelaRayner Welcome back

[Mark Norris @mnorris1964]

@Mascothoops @FabrizioRomano @pbtips_ Tacky

[Mark Norris @mnorris1964]

@ryanxvxnorris Handsome

[Mark Norris @mnorris1964]

@invertCucurella Mr Fucking Positive, aka Paul Scholes

[Mark Norris @mnorris1964]

@ryanxvxnorris Was a good night

[Mark Norris @mnorris1964]

So 6 days in and that's @LeTour 2026 finished.

[Mark Norris @mnorris1964]

@reece_dinsdale He is a snake oil salesman, he actually believes he's done nothing wrong.

[Mark Norris @mnorris1964]

@piersmorgan Oh do fuck off

[Mark Norris @mnorris1964]

@ryanxvxnorris Take an umbrella

[Mark Norris @mnorris1964]

@sigmasports @RealStephens Absolutely fantastic cafe ride with @Mads__Pedersen
Thank you so much 👍

[Mark Norris @mnorris1964]

@ryanxvxnorris Tis very very very nice

[Mark Norris @mnorris1964]

@ryanxvxnorris It could be another planet's heaven

[Mark Norris @mnorris1964]

This

[Gordon Fielden @GordonFielden]

With Darren Jones now confirming that he will not be entering any leadership contest, I find myself, and I suspect many others, reflecting deeply upon our future within the Labour Party.

I did not join the Labour Party to witness a mandate, won through immense effort and entrusted to Sir Keir Starmer by the British electorate, quietly transferred to another individual through pressure, intrigue, and political calculation. Nor did I join in order to endorse a process which appears, at least to many ordinary members, to be drifting perilously close to a political coup rather than a democratic exercise.

Let me be perfectly clear. I do not wish to see Andy Burnham become Leader of the Labour Party, and I certainly do not wish to see him become Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

That is not born of personal animosity. It is a matter of principle. Leadership should be earned, not assumed. Mandates should be won, not inherited. Legitimacy should flow upwards from the membership and the electorate, not downwards from a collection of parliamentarians, advisers, commentators, and newspaper columnists who appear increasingly determined to decide the outcome before the contest has even begun.

What troubles me most is the growing sense that some believe the membership should simply acquiesce and accept whatever arrangement is placed before them. Such an attitude betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of what the Labour Party is. It does not belong to the Parliamentary Labour Party. It does not belong to newspaper editors. It does not belong to political factions. It belongs to its members.

Those members pay for the party. They campaign for it in all weathers. They knock on doors, deliver leaflets, defend its values, and devote countless hours of their lives to its success. They are not an inconvenience to be managed. They are the very foundation upon which the party stands.

If Andy Burnham genuinely believes he is the right person to lead Labour, then he should place that proposition before the membership and allow them to render their verdict. Let there be a contest conducted openly, honestly, and democratically. Let the 350,000 members exercise the rights afforded to them by the party's constitution. Let us discover whether the enthusiasm proclaimed by certain sections of the media and elements within Westminster truly extends beyond those circles and into the wider Labour movement.

For my part, I remain unconvinced. More importantly, I remain profoundly uneasy at the manner in which this entire affair is unfolding. The Labour Party has always prided itself on being a democratic movement. If that principle is to mean anything at all, then the members must be permitted to determine their own future free from coercion, manipulation, or prearranged outcomes.

Anything less would not merely diminish the authority of a future leader. It would represent a profound disservice to the very people upon whom the Labour Party ultimately depends.