Steve Rayson

Author 'The Fall of the Red Wall', ‘Badgeland' and ‘Collapse of the Conservatives’. Co-founder @buzzsumo @kineo. Still learning.

[Steve Rayson @steverayson]

My new book 'Collapse of the Conservatives: Volatile Voters, Broken Britain and a Punishment Election' is published today! You can get a copy at https://t.co/G5YewSSUzD

[Steve Rayson @steverayson]

@pippyyeayea @AndrewMarr9 Starmer ignored advice again and again. It is not about the process it is about his judgement and it was found very much wanting.

[Steve Rayson @steverayson]

@pippyyeayea @AndrewMarr9 It absolutely was not normal, Jonathan Powell said it was weirdly rushed.

[Steve Rayson @steverayson]

@pippyyeayea @AndrewMarr9 It’s about Starmer’s judgement not the vetting process. Ignoring the advice of people like the National Security adviser and the Caninet Secretary shows poor judgement, as does the appointment itself. It may also have created a climate where Robbins felt under pressure.

[Steve Rayson @steverayson]

@pippyyeayea @AndrewMarr9 I beg to disagree. Starmer rushed the process against the advice of his own National Security adviser Jonathan Powell and the advice of the Cabinet Secretary. He made it clear it was his political appointment and was very poor judgement.

[Steve Rayson @steverayson]

@pippyyeayea @AndrewMarr9 Starmer was advised to do the vetting before announcing that Mandelson was being appointed to the post, Starmer ignored that advice. As you say he was within his rights to ignore the advice of the cabinet secretary but to my mind it calls into question Starmer’s judgement.

[Steve Rayson @steverayson]

@pippyyeayea @AndrewMarr9 But Starmer ignored the advice of the Cabinet Secretary in announcing his appointment before undertaking the vetting process.

[Steve Rayson @steverayson]

@anandMenon1 Amazing but might rue not being further ahead at half-time.

[Steve Rayson @steverayson]

@LukeTryl The 1982 Falklands War also played an important part in Thatcher’s recovery.

[Steve Rayson @steverayson]

@anandMenon1 I need the points!

[Steve Rayson @steverayson]

@Twinkocalypse @keiranpedley @Ipsos_in_the_UK She was also hugely unpopular in 1981 with Tory support falling to sub-20%

[Steve Rayson @steverayson]

@Benpagelondon Five parties in double figures plus tactical voting means almost anything can happen in our first past the post system.

[Steve Rayson @steverayson]

@vgrade @DanNeidle @LoftusSteve @jwblackwell Would be good to include the extra tax you will pay if thresholds are frozen until 2030, maybe choose projected inflation/salary increase for future years. It would be so useful to have a simple tool that can show people the impact of fiscal drag over time.

[Steve Rayson @steverayson]

@vgrade @DanNeidle @LoftusSteve @jwblackwell something for you to create :-)

[Steve Rayson @steverayson]

@FisherAndrew79 @resfoundation 100% this. I can see the attraction as a stealth tax which it’s hard for the Tories to oppose as they froze thresholds but … the longer thresholds are frozen the more it impacts on those with lower incomes. It is also a regressive policy unlike raising rates.

[Steve Rayson @steverayson]

@YouGov @JohnRentoul The government has decided to raise income tax but by freezing thresholds rather than increasing rates.

[Steve Rayson @steverayson]

@PauloNoggy @alexwickham She is proposing to further freeze thresholds for 2 years. That is a large tax rise and a regressive policy that hits the poorest hardest like part-time, minimum wage earners and low paid pensioners.