Last month's polling shows how as voters increasingly spread their support across a wider range of parties, the voting system is coming under greater strain.

Among @andyburnham.bsky.social strong attributes is experience of past @labouruk.bsky.social leaders. In 2024 he contributed insightful retrospective to @Kevin_Hickson book marking 30th anniversary of John Smith’s death praising his inclusive style of leadership which Burnham likely to emulate now.

Much nonsense appearing about ‘coronations’ vs general elections. We live in a Parliamentary democracy where King invites the MP capable of commanding Commons majority to be PM. That was Starmer & is now likely to be Andy Burnham. There’s no need for GE before 15th August 2029.

Very tough for Keir Starmer to have to resign today but looked increasingly inevitable after poor local election results & too many missteps notably the appointment of Peter Mandelson as US Ambassador which was very badly advised & handled.

Very tough for Keir Starmer to have to resign today but looked increasingly inevitable after poor local election results & too many missteps notably the appointment of Peter Mandelson as US Ambassador which was very badly advised & handled.

Sad to learn of the death of Abdullah Ibrahim an outstanding South African pianist, composer, leader of Cape Jazz & anti-apartheid campaigner. Wonderful memory of hearing him play in New York over 20 years ago with my family. youtu.be/2yXqZw6gQrY?...

Neil Kinnock at #RejoinMarch showing he's still quite an orator, as he tells the crowd that outside the EU the UK is in limbo, & standing still means slipping backwards - rejoining the EU is our imperative: "Argue for it with reason, campaign for it with energy, but do it!".

Ten years after the extreme folly of Brexit good to know that a majority of the public now regret the UK leaving the European Union. Good to join with friends from East Kent European Movement on today’s rejoin march in London today. Next step single market & customs union.

Very moving ceremony today in Grangues commemorating 54 British & Canadian soldiers who were killed near the Chateau de Grangues early on 6/6/44 including my uncle John Max who did not survive his gliders’s crash. Eight soldiers captured by the Nazi occupiers were illegally shot.

Yes.

In the 1960s Harold Wilson UK Labour Prime Minister wisely refused request to send British troops to Vietnam made by US Democrat President Lyndon Johnson. See: x.com/daviddjward/... Keir Starmer is right now to reject UK offensive support for the US/Israel attack on Iran.

Pleased to contribute guest foreword Guild of Motoring Writers 2026 Yearbook & spotlight work of EuroNCAP & GlobalNCAP building market for safer vehicles worldwide. More important than ever before to independently check car manufacturers’ safety claims & demystify driver assistance technologies.

In 1992 when the late John Smith MP was Leader of the Labour Party he kept Peter Mandelson - newly elected as MP for Hartlepool - at a distance. John was a good judge of character.

Powerful exhibit The Amelia Scott in Tunbridge Wells to mark #HolocaustMemorialDay. Features stories & possessions of kinder transport children that escaped Nazi persecution in 1938/39 & given shelter at the Rusthall Beacon Mansion. The knapsack so poignant & travel permits stamped ‘J’ so chilling.

Rumours growing that Katie Lam MP will defect from Conservatives to Reform. On the hard right she worked as an adviser to Suella Braverman & supported Robert Jenrick’s leadership bid against Kemi Badenoch. Far more likely to be a ‘traitor’ than ‘faithful’ & join Reform’s recycle of Tory turncoats!

Insightful interview with Lord George Robertson, former @NATO Secretary General on challenges of dealing with Trump administration. Well worth listening to the person responsible for only time NATO’s Article 5 was triggered after 9/11 attack on the US. www.globalplayer.com/podcasts/42L...

Superb Davos speech by Canadian PM Mark Carney setting out a new ‘Carney doctrine’ for middle powers in a new world order. UK foreign policy for 80 years has aspired to be a bridge between Europe & US. Brexit & Trump have broken this. The UK now needs the strategic reset that Carney describes.

Good to see this Joint Statement on Greenland by NATO allies, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the UK. Time for Europe to stand firm against Trump’s aggression.

Trump’s forced attempt to takeover Greenland is a clear breach of Article 1 of Nato’s Atlantic Treaty. Good to see clear statement today from UK in concert with Denmark & other European allies.

Robert Jenrick’s expulsion from the Conservatives is awkward for Katie Lam MP as she strongly supported him in 2024 Tory leadership contest. I wonder if she will be loyal to Weald of Kent Conservatives or seduced by Reform UK? Her constituents deserve to know if she is a ‘faithful’ or a ‘traitor’

Lord Mandelson’s ability to handle the media was legendary but never when applied to himself. The ‘Prince of Darkness’ was in full ‘Prince Andrew’ mode in Laura Kuenssberg interview. Non apology completely ignores his damaging emails to Epstein. His Trump analysis also woefully naive.

Great that new Department for Transport road safety strategy sets ambitious target to reduce deaths & serious injuries #65by35. Delighted 18 vehicle safety measures will now align with European General Safety Requirement ensuring UK meets global best practice. See: www.gov.uk/government/n...

Trump’s Attack on Venezuela Is Illegal and Unwise www.nytimes.com/2026/01/03/o...

Wishing friends, family, & pets a prosperous and peaceful 2026!

Wonderful exhibition at Sissinghurst Castle on Greece & Harold Nicholson. Interesting on post WW1 peace conf. & key role of Greek PM E Venizelos who visited Sissinghurst in 1934. Good to see Nicholson arguing in 1924 for return of Parthenon marbles to mark 100 years since Byron’s death!

Season’s greetings

Proud to receive UK Guild of Motoring Writers 2025 Special Contribution to Motoring Award. A privilege to have contributed to both EuroNCAP & @globalncap.org building a market for safer vehicles worldwide. It’s been a team effort but very touching to have my work recognised by UK motoring writers.

Congratulations to Ralph Nader on 60th anniversary of ‘Unsafe At Any Speed’. This historic study on failure of US auto industry to make cars crashworthy was catalyst for federal vehicle safety standards & led to huge improvements in road safety worldwide. www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/p/unsafe-at-...

Great evening at Prince Michael International Road Safety Awards at the RAC in London with Global NCAP team. Well deserved winner was Autoliv world’s largest auto safety supplier. Excellent speech by Lilian Greenwood Minister for Local Transport on UK commitment to road safety at home & abroad.

Cool, calm, & classy repost by Wes Streeting to idiotic No10 leadership challenge briefing. P45’s should be issued to culprits. Back when John Smith was Labour leader this kind of behaviour would not have been tolerated. In Brown/Blair era briefing culture ran amok & damaged both.

Superb talk by Prof Missy Cummings on Autonomous Vehicles PAVE UK in London. Highlighting lessons from AV failures she demolished common misconceptions confirming that all ‘self driving’ requires remote operator ‘babysitting’. IMO this will require data transparency & audits.

Great discussion at Humanetics Safety Summit in Detroit today on making safety a mission. I cited advances in crash avoidance & protection but warned that auto trade disputes risk much needed improvements especially in pedestrian safety. Shared global standards build needed market for safer vehicles

Impressively broad support for ending first past the post @Labour4pr rally in Liverpool. Call for a national commission on proportional representation strongly endorsed. See: www.fairelections.uk/national-com...

In Liverpool with Emma MacLennan at #LabourConference2025. Pleased to speak with ITV’s Kit Bradshaw on govt. challenges & fight against fallacies & falsehoods of Farage. Great discussion with Attorney General Richard Herner on rule of law & role of European Convention on Human Rights.

Great to visit Giannis & #MikisTheodorakis family home in Galatas #Chania today with @emmamaclennan.bsky.social. Now a beautiful national monument celebrating the life of a musician & activist who left an enormous musical legacy to Greece & the world. He died 4 years ago & is buried nearby.

Trump is trying to force the EU to legalize US car bloat, and European safety leaders are furious: "Europe now risks being flooded with oversized, under-regulated U.S. pick-up trucks and SUVs – vehicles that are...completely out of step with Europe’s vision for safer, more sustainable mobility."

Very pleased to have contributed to latest Leading Labour podcast by Izzy Conn about my experience working for the late John Smith. His Labour leadership lasted less than 2 years but left strong legacy. Well worth a listen here: shorturl.at/e4GFP & to entire series.

No, Hitler shot himself & the Nazi regime unconditionally surrendered as did Japan after the US dropped nuclear bombs on Hiroshima & Nagasaki. JD Vance clearly didn’t study much history…

Meanwhile, UK politicians continue their race to the bottom as to who can talk the most nonsense about immigration... www.ft.com/content/8bfd...

Canada and the US are both car-centric, spacious countries. But an American is 2.5x more likely to die in a crash than a Canadian – and the gap is widening. My latest, in Bloomberg. 🧵

In 1917 British Government’s Balfour Declaration pledged support for Jewish homeland without prejudice to “civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine”. Time long overdue for Britain to honour that condition & now recognise Palestinian statehood.

Lovely ceremony to dedicate a bench in honour of our late son Alex at Noakes Meadow play area in Beaver ward Ashford where he served as a Councillor. He would be so proud to welcome Ashford Labour MP Sojan Joseph MP, Mayor Lyn Suddards, wife Elizabeth Ward, with family & friends.

Five years today since Alex was lost to MND. Always in our hearts. “Unable are the loved to die, For love is immortality, Nay it is Deity…” (Emily Dickinson). #United2EndMND.

Great to be interviewed by @davidzipper.bsky.social on global vehicle standards and why the US no longer leads the world in auto safety.

33 national, regional & global road safety organisations have now signed joint letter #ITF25 warning of risks that auto trade disputes may undermine vehicle safety standards. To promote safety & facilitate trade, regulations should be levelled up not down. www.globalncap.org/news/standar...

@GlobalNCAP event at #ITF25 today I corrected President Trump’s claim that pedestrian protection standards are an unfair trade practice. Not a ‘bowling ball’ test but a well established global regulation using a head form to replicate pedestrian impact. www.globalncap.org/blog/preside...

Great opening day at #ITF25 in Leipzig with strong focus on vehicle safety priorities highlighting #StopTheCrash technologies auto emergency braking & motorcycle anti-lock brakes. Pleased to welcome ITF summit delegates @globalncap.org safety demonstrations & side event.

Great speech by @robfordmancs.bsky.social @appgfairelections.bsky.social in Parliament today. Warned First Past ThePost can’t cope with party fragmentation, erodes mandates, & risks electoral chaos with results as unpredictable ‘as a fruit machine’. Labour choice: lead or be led to electoral reform.

This week is the UN Global Road Safety Week supporting action to #MakeWalkingSafe & #MakeCyclingSafe. For more see: www.who.int/campaigns/un...

Hopefully UK-US trade deal will not lead to any watering down of vehicle safety. Over last few decades US & UK safety standards have diverged notably for pedestrian protection regulation which President Trump claims is an unfair trade practice. Read more: daviddjward.com