Glad to see him go as Health Sec - not so sure I like what's coming though.

Beyond the overwhelming pong of dodginess hanging over this entire saga, I do find myself wondering exactly how many houses one man can own before he finally stops pretending to be the voice of the bloke down the pub.

Well, that’s me reassured.

It seems I’m not alone then. Good to know.

How low the UK has sunk on LGBTQ+ rights, it’s a disaster for Trans people, I’ve never felt more scared living in the UK. I’m researching my escape emigrating to stay safe, if Reform get in we’re doomed… We know the media fueled hate machine won’t stop there, whose rights will be next gay marriage ?

This is why, more than ever, we need to stand with our LGBTQ+ sisters and brothers (or whatever community someone belongs to). The below disgraces this country. bsky.app/profile/bear...

The media and political classes have a lot to answer for. One of the great successes of the UK in my lifetime was the transformation from fear and loathing, to tolerance, then to celebration of queer people in all their glorious diversity. The nation needs to reset and start moving forward again.

People mock me when I get het up about casual racism or misogyny or transphobia or homophobia or whatever. But this is personal. I can’t let those “jokes” go because I know it’ll soon be my turn in the crosshairs.

Case in point to the below.

In 2015, the UK scored 86% on LGBTQ rights protections. This year, we’re down to 43.9%, and as a big old homosexual living here, I would be lying if I said that doesn’t increasingly worry me.

You can practically hear the emergency distraction meeting at Reform HQ happening already. “What if we announce migrant passbooks?” “No, bigger.” “Segregated boroughs?” “Getting warmer.” “Ban women from the workforce?” “Perfect. Release it.”

Is it obvious? I’ll go back in time when I previously criticised Labour and have a word with myself then.

Holy shit sticks! Jess Phillips is a very big Labour name thrown into the chaos hat. Wow.

This is a terrific post. Honest and spot-on. It highlights how unforgivable Labour's rightward shift really is and how much pain it is causing. Sadly, I don't think they will retreat from their self-destruction; the fact that Mahmood of all people is leading a charge against Starmer is harrowing.

Good morning all. This time’s "Not a Podcast" is about Reform UK, crypto billionaires, vetting failures, and why scandal increasingly seems incapable of killing modern political movements. Also: angry, racist potatoes. As ever, I contain multitudes.

Lisa Nandy: “I don't think anyone in this country wants to reopen the Brexit debate.” The Country:

Following on from quite a few queries: If you are a pensioner, claiming UC/other benefits, student or journalist and would like full access to Bearly Politics, please just send me a DM with your email address, or email me on [email protected] and I’ll be happy to comp a subscription. 🐻

Hello from Birmingham!

"Nigel Farage is not winning because the British public has suddenly become obsessed with visa policy. He is winning because he offers emotional certainty in an age of institutional exhaustion." This is so good from @bearlypolitics.co.uk. www.bearlypolitics.co.uk/p/i-dont-thi...

This from @bearlypolitics.co.uk is a serious and insightful read; I think that everyone who is about to scream about the Starmer situation should read it first.

An excellent analysis. "When mainstream parties start borrowing the framing of insurgent populists, they rarely neutralise them. They legitimise them."

Please read this from The Bear it’s brilliant as always. Quote:and yet, the hard truth is that he (Starmer) has still failed. Not necessarily as an administrator, I would say, and not necessarily even as a policymaker, but absolutely as a leader.

Can a Prime Minister be competent, serious and still fundamentally fail as a political leader? I think Keir Starmer may be proving the answer is yes.

I would love nothing more than for this to blow up in Shabana Mahmood’s face. Out of a pretty piss poor line up of Home Secretaries we’ve had over the past decade, she’s by far one of the worst. This is a perfect opportunity for Starmer to get her out of the cabinet.

As of this evening, 70 MPs have called on Keir Starmer to “consider his position” - a term that is probably one of the most euphemistic in political parlance which, translated from Westminster into English, roughly means “the knives are out and Sharon from HR is warming up the exit interview.”

Every word 👇👇👇. Labour is now a party of performative cruelty. Wasting a huge majority, using it to punish people instead of building a fairer society. Excluded those who dared to challenge the rot and stand up for socialist principles. Right wing rhetoric has cost thousands of loyal supporters.

This neatly sums up my feelings on the matter. I don't have to be affected by these policies to hate them - they harm my friends, and even if they didn't they are an affront to basic decency and the rule of law.

I hadn’t thought of it as a hostage situation before, but when you put it like that… Pretty astute really.

And that’s just the top of the rancid pile of bigotry that Reform UK has just introduced into our public institutions. We have a very interesting few years ahead of us, it feels like.

Good morning all. This time’s "Not a Podcast" is about Reform UK, crypto billionaires, vetting failures, and why scandal increasingly seems incapable of killing modern political movements. Also: angry, racist potatoes. As ever, I contain multitudes.

We all need a good rant after those local election results. Not many do it better than @bearlypolitics.co.uk 👇 open.substack.com/pub/iratusur...

Sir Keir Starmer has appointed Catherine West MP as Special Envoy to Oh Fuck Too Late She's Running

This is genuinely intriguing - is this a case of the herd starting to move? (For a the sake of clarity, I don’t actually fully believe getting rid of Starmer right now is the best idea, especially with no viable alternative - but if he had to go, I would not mind terribly much).

A polite request - can we please stop referring to immigrants as the “Boris Wave”. The image this brings to mind, and purposely so, is that of a faceless mass crashing towards the country rather than actual human beings building lives, families and communities here. This framing is hugely damaging.

McSweeney fəcked Labour over in govt, and made it impossible to recover the UK. Mahmood continues that project. Vicious. Stupid, tacking to the Right. If she is the best Labour has to offer, it deserves to die. @darrenpjones.bsky.social @tonyvaughanmp.bsky.social @miattafahnbulleh.bsky.social

@bearlypolitics.co.uk, putting his finger on it again: ~ Labour’s Death March to the Right - by The Bear ~ https://www.bearlypolitics.co.uk/p/labours-death-march-to-the-right

"Labour’s approach to immigration has become indistinguishable from the rhetoric that once defined the far right. The outright punishment of migrants coming to this country is not just bad policy - it is completely morally bankrupt. It is blatantly and banally cruel."

Also, just to note that “how dare you turn your back on Labour despite the fact they’re increasingly happy to vilify immigrants like you, can’t you just put up with it for the good of the country” is certainly… one hell of a political argument.

To the people in the comments and in my DMs getting angry at me for writing this post: I understand the fear of the alternative. I genuinely do. Reform are worse. The Conservatives are worse. I am not confused about that in any way or form.

For two years the 'Blue Labour' tendency has told the party's core liberal voters (in the famous words of Shabana Mahmood) to "f*** right off". Now they've acted accordingly www.adambienkov.co.uk/p/how-the-ma...

Labour’s Death March to the Right : How many voters is Labour willing to lose chasing people who will never vote for them anyway...? By @bearlypolitics.co.uk www.bearlypolitics.co.uk/p/labours-de...

For once...could the soft left learn the correct lessons from their repeated failures?! Be. Left. Wing. -Like actually represent working class and humanist values. -Stop pandering to the right. They will not vote for you. -It's not 'mad' or 'radical' to speak out against genocide. I'm so tired!

I’m an immigrant, a former NHS worker and someone who genuinely wanted Labour to succeed. I did not vote for them on Thursday, and they have heartily earned the loss of my ballot. The election results we saw this week prove it - Labour’s rightward lurch is a catastrophic mistake.

Please unsubscribe me from any and all new deadly pathogens and pandemics. Thank you.

Wait, isn’t massive credit card spending across an economy a bad thing? Or am I misunderstanding something here.

Had enough yet?

So there are crazy headlines, and then there are "I'm sorry WTAF now?" headlines...😳 Yes, the Telegraph have deduced that Ed Miliband hates mothers because of some new legislation making tumble dryers more efficient and cheaper to run! 🧵 1/24

Hmmm… scones. Nom nom nom nom. 🐻

Philosophy with Andrew Tate

Wait… what?