Keir Starmer to Ed Davey: “People in this country, millions of people have been let down for years and years, and one of the reasons was austerity which his party supported. "He should take accountability and take responsibility for what he has inflicted on this country.”

Reaction to Sarwar suggests Labour isn’t ready to depose Starmer Some thoughts for @politics.co.uk as Sarwar’s intervention fails to ignite a leadership putsch at Westminster 👇 www.politics.co.uk/news-feature...

🚨 Anas Sarwar: "I have to do what is right for my country, Scotland. "It is not easy and not without pain, but my first priority and first loyalty is to my country... "The distraction has to end and the leadership in Downing Street has to change."

‘We go forward from here’, Starmer declares after two top aides resign in 24 hours www.politics.co.uk/news/2026/02...

“The bottom line is that Starmer’s position is terminally vulnerable, but protected by a combination of process and political circumstance… “The length of Starmer’s stay of execution lies with the Labour herd. The prime minister is only in a position to endure.” www.politics.co.uk/news-feature...

Starmer leadership crisis will test the Labour herd Starmer has entered the stay of execution phase of his premiership. But removing a Labour PM is more complicated than simply waiting for the “herd” to move Latest for @politics.co.uk 👇 www.politics.co.uk/news-feature...

A Hilary Benn resignation speech from the backbenches would absolutely be enough to finish Starmer off. No question

Suella Braverman -> Reform UK

“Starmer – in a crowning moment of centralised control-freakery – has chosen to keep Labour’s prince across the water in the relative wilderness. “Critics will argue that this culture of control is now crowding out assets in the battle against Nigel Farage.” www.politics.co.uk/news-feature...

Labour statement on Burnham: “Although the Party would be confident of retaining the mayoralty, the NEC could not put Labour’s control of Greater Manchester at any risk.”

Right decision from Burnham’s perspective - Get blocked, and his standing as ‘Prince across the water’ is strengthened. Not sure the Labour leadership is strong enough to weather the backlash in this scenario - Get selected, stands a good chance of winning, prove ability to beat Reform…

“Reform is assembling a collection of grievances, grudges and contradictions, united less by conviction than by convenience”, writes Mario Creatura 🗣️ Reform isn’t building a party of government. It’s building a retirement home www.politics.co.uk/comment/2026...

And there it is... Robert Jenrick defects

“Grieving for someone you love changes you. It reshapes your outlook, your priorities, and the way you see the world”, writes Labour MP Peter Dowd 🗣️ Together, MPs can build a parliament that understands grief www.politics.co.uk/mp-comment/2...

13 November 1947: Clement Attlee accepts Hugh Dalton's resignation as chancellor after he leaked details of his budget to a lobby journalist The leaks, reported by the Star newspaper, were published 15 minutes before Dalton began reading his budget speech www.nytimes.com/1947/11/14/a...

“Every two hours, someone in the UK sustains a spinal cord injury”, writes @andymcdonaldmp.bsky.social 🗣️ The system is failing spinal cord injury patients – we need a national strategy now www.politics.co.uk/mp-comment/2...

“This responsibility demands a strong financial pledge: stepping back now, even slightly, sends the wrong signal at a moment when decisive leadership is needed”, writes Labour MP @drbeccycoopermp.bsky.social 🗣️ The UK’s Global Fund pledge is a missed opportunity www.politics.co.uk/mp-comment/2...

Stark language from this Labour MP speaking in opposition to the government’s asylum proposals “The Prime Minister said in September that we are at a fork in the road. These asylum proposals suggest we have taken the wrong turning.”

“Britain helped build the Global Fund because we understood that a healthier world makes for a safer world. This truth has not changed”, writes Dr Saliha Mahmood Ahmed 🗣️ UK government must back the Global Fund at critical time www.politics.co.uk/comment/2025...

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 :)