Miriam Cates continues to slow roll her defection to Reform UK

Nigel Farage asks Enoch Powell for his support ahead of the 1994 Eastleigh by-election From this 2014 Telegraph article - www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politic...

“If the government is serious about saving lives, it must confront the reality of liver cancer with the ambition, urgency, and equity the crisis demands”, writes Labour MP Lorraine Beavers 🗣️ The silent killer the national cancer plan must confront www.politics.co.uk/mp-comment/2...

“Britain can once again set the global standard and prove that great science and the welfare of animals are not mutually exclusive”, writes Conservative MP Dame Caroline Dinenage 🗣️ The future of science is animal-free – Britain must not be left behind www.politics.co.uk/mp-comment/2...

“Politics once moved at the pace of persuasion. A leader would make a case, tour the country, take questions, debate opponents – and then wait weeks or months to see whether the argument had landed. “That rhythm is gone”, writes ex-No 10 special adviser Mario Creatura

“It’s official. The Conservative Party leadership has joined the ranks of climate deniers, in a race to the bottom with Nigel Farage and Donald Trump”, writes Labour MP Olivia Blake 🗣️ Why cross-party leadership on climate policy is essential www.politics.co.uk/mp-comment/2...

“Now, our task is clear: to turn evidence into action and ensure every child, in every healthcare setting, benefits from play”, writes Labour MP @alistrathern.bsky.social 🗣️ Play in Healthcare Week – making every child’s right to play a reality www.politics.co.uk/mp-comment/2...

“Rewarding failure tells the public that accountability is optional, and that consequences are negotiable”, write Lord Clement-Jones and Lord Arbuthnot 🗣️ Fujitsu must be barred from new government contracts www.politics.co.uk/comment/2025...

“There is one area where the government can... free up significant sums without impacting frontline services or staff – clinical negligence”, writes Lewis Jones of @themdu.bsky.social 🗣️ Frontline NHS services have no money to spare – here’s where to find it www.politics.co.uk/opinion/2025...

“It’s been a poor conference season for those who would be king.” www.politics.co.uk/week-in-revi...

Starmer and Badenoch repel their pretenders – for now It’s been a poor conference season for those who would be king. Some observations on the political landscape ahead of parliament's return next week Latest long-read for @politics.co.uk 👇 www.politics.co.uk/week-in-revi...

Not seeing the strategic sense in this line. Phillipson is likely to lose, she will know that, so what’s with the hostility? It just reads like No 10 rounding on Powell, who will be invited to return fire. It’s not just the contest at stake here, but the kind of deputy leader Powell will be

“Obama’s London speech was a welcome reminder of politics’ oldest truth – people need stories. Starmer has one, of patriotic renewal after national decline, about fairness after years of drift”, writes @plmr.co.uk CEO @kevincraig.co.uk www.politics.co.uk/comment/2025...

“Starmer’s story about Britain’s moral character, and threats to it, should not relegate concerns about its material condition.” www.politics.co.uk/week-in-revi...

“Political narratives matter, especially in a fractured and highly competitive political landscape, because they dictate the battles a party picks. “Managed conflicts are a means by which parties project their values to voters.” www.politics.co.uk/week-in-revi...

“Starmer’s conference address was an analysis of the political landscape, its recent redevelopment, its faultlines – and a statement of where Labour under his leadership would stand within it.” www.politics.co.uk/week-in-revi...

The calling of Keir Starmer ‘Pledges’, ‘milestones’, ‘first steps’, ‘missions’, ‘foundations’ and ‘phases’ are no substitute for singular purpose. Starmer’s conference speech was a reminder of the power of narrative Latest long-read for @politics.co.uk 👇 www.politics.co.uk/week-in-revi...

Already seen quite a lot of this so far

On Starmer's popular front strategy – the opportunities and risks (from my newsletter: www.politics.co.uk/subscribe/)

Anneliese Dodds @moreincommonuk.bsky.social fringe: “Ultimately we have to be better at telling a story about what we're doing… “But the story's got to be an authentic one and this is where I think actually picking the right fights is important…”

@richardburgon.bsky.social tells @moreincommonuk.bsky.social fringe it’s “politically inevitable” that Keir Starmer “will no longer be prime minister” if the polls hold up to and into the May 2026 Holyrood, Senedd and local elections

The 'King of the North' holds court On Burnham's surreal appearance at the electoral reform conference fringe event yesterday. To receive this newsletter: www.politics.co.uk/subscribe/

Expect a 'no time for novices'-esque message from Starmer tomorrow. That was Brown's retort to an upstart David Cameron, which had the happy consequence of catching David Miliband in the crossfire PM probably won't go for inexperience (not a big enough distinction between him, Burnham and Farage)…

Treasury minister Torsten Bell at Labour conference: “What Britain needs to tackle Farage is a vision, and the vision they need is not a fat bloke in a wetsuit, which is what the Lib Dems have got to offer Britain in the 21st century.” www.politics.co.uk/news/2025/09...

“Today dissent is pathologised, selections are stitched up, members treated as irritants. Labour’s pluralism, once its superpower, has been replaced by a culture of control”, writes @labourlewis.bsky.social 🗣️ Robin Cook showed us politics at its most serious. Labour has lost that balance

🚨 NEW: Back electoral reform to embed ‘progressive majority’ and thwart Farage, Starmer urged Without electoral reform, the country could face a “horrendous scenario” leading to the “extinction of the United Kingdom”, @paulsweeney.bsky.social has warned Story ⤵️ www.politics.co.uk/news/2025/09...

🚨 NEW: Andy Burnham criticises ‘climate of fear’ in Labour with vow to continue ‘debate’ “To those making calls for simplistic statements of loyalty, well... I think that’s at risk of underestimating the peril the party is in”, he said Full story👇 www.politics.co.uk/news/2025/09...

Burnham not backing down: “I've launched a debate on our direction because I think we need it at this moment, because I want this government to be a success… “I think we need to go further, and we do need to have a debate about our direction, and and I, for one, won't be shying away from that.”

@andyburnham.bsky.social calls for a more “collaborative politics” at Labour conference electoral reform rally He says: “This is an idea whose time has come. Because the world we are in now demands a new politics — it demands a new approach.”

Landed at Labour conference. If you’re around, do give me a shout :)

Keir Starmer: “I love and have pride in my country, and I want to serve the whole of my country — our beautiful, tolerant, diverse country... Reform do not believe in that country, they want to tear that country apart. “[Reform’s ILR plan] would tear our country apart…”

Clive Lewis backs Andy Burnham? Remarks delivered at the 2025 Robin Cook Memorial Lecture

“Reform UK have spotted what you could call a ‘gap in the market’, and it's not a good one”, writes Labour MP Dr @simonforstroud.bsky.social 🗣️ Reform UK’s vaccine crankery is a dangerous threat to our national security www.politics.co.uk/mp-comment/2...

“I absolutely will insist that you are not discarded as collateral damage in a rush to worship the god of unfettered autonomy for an articulate few”, writes @timfarron.bsky.social 🗣️ My opposition to assisted dying is rooted in liberalism and Christianity www.politics.co.uk/mp-comment/2...

🚨 Zarah Sultana confirms she has been frozen out of ‘Your Party’ — Hits out at “sexist boys’ club” — Accuses Corbyn statement of having “misrepresented the situation” — Calls for a meeting with Corbyn — Party is “more important than any one person”

All is not well in ‘Your Party’. Note the absence of Zarah Sultana’s name at the bottom of this statement

“Early and accurate diagnosis is the foundation for everything that follows – and we must act urgently to make it a reality for everyone, in every community”, writes @douglasmcallister.bsky.social 🗣️ A dementia diagnosis should be a right, not a waiting game www.politics.co.uk/mp-comment/2...

No defection will surpass Carswell’s in its political meaning until the defector calls a by-election, and wins it. No competition until then

More bad news for No 10: The commons speaker has granted a Conservative request for a three-hour emergency debate on the Lord Mandelson debacle under Standing Order 24 — it will be the first such debate since January 2023 Badenoch statement 👇

🚨 Foreign affairs committee calls for hearing on Mandelson appointment and dismissal The committee is calling on the FCDO and Cabinet Office to give evidence on the vetting and security processes behind Mandelson’s appointment Chair Emily Thornberry comments:

I have written before about an inflection point in British politics: when Conservative MPs interpret Reform UK's continued rise and consumption of the incumbent opposition as, effectively, inevitable. At that point, the incentive structure realigns: pointing ambitious, able Tories into Farage's arms

A significant defection. Danny Kruger, appointed by Badenoch to serve on the Tory frontbench, is Reform UK's latest MP

“In a move that will dismay working people, the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have got the old coalition band back together”, writes Labour's @mwheelermp.bsky.social 🗣️ We must not let a Tory-Lib Dem alliance weaken the workers’ rights bill www.politics.co.uk/mp-comment/2...

“Starmer is not a career politician — a fact he is apparently proud of. But that does not absolve him of the responsibilities and intricacies of politics.” www.politics.co.uk/week-in-revi...

Some thoughts on the Lord Mandelson scandal, the crisis facing Keir Starmer’s premiership, the deputy leadership contest — and the Andy Burnham factor Long-read for @politics.co.uk on where we are now, and what’s next: www.politics.co.uk/week-in-revi...

“…a pattern emerges from No 10’s management: the adoption of an untenable line, the strained defence of it, the unequivocal denunciations of alternative approaches, the stubbornness — then the slow acquiescence to political pressure in the days leading up to a brittle about-face.”

“Starmer, once again, did not spot the obvious danger. Not for the first time, the politics of the moment looked to have passed him by.” www.politics.co.uk/week-in-revi...

Mandelson scandal exposes fragility of Starmer’s standing www.politics.co.uk/week-in-revi...

“The British public deserves answers”, writes Conservative MP Gavin Williamson 🗣️ Appointing Mandelson was a grave error – Starmer must be held accountable www.politics.co.uk/mp-comment/2...