Trump had the chance in 2016 but let them get to where they are now.

Trump's national security adviser issues a warning to Iran as he reveals extent of Yemen airstrikes

Labour’s byelection results across Lancashire have been below par. Reform snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in #Baxenden. Poor candidates still a problem. #Labour were well received due to local factors/candidate. Tough challenges lie ahead for the Mayoral (2006) & county elections (2005).

Baxenden by election tomorrow. 2010 ByElex had 1200 turnout. Great Labour canvass. ReformUK been out but Tories in historic Tory seat, quiet.

.@RachelReevesMP SELRAP, in the north, in East Lancashire/West Yorkshire is to go. 3 years to first trains on the line. For a rail/road project, £400m is on the small side - and a fraction of the tens of £billions spent in London. Let’s sign it off. Get spades in the ground.

Great day at Anfield even it went to form. 4,700 Accrington Stanley fans there to watch the team give their very best. The players deserved a goal, alas the woodwork and good fortune wasn’t with us. Big thanks to Liverpool FC, their brilliant fans for the warm welcome.

11km walk - Weet Hill, Barnoldswick, Salterforth, January 2025 facebook.com/share/1Ah5DvNX…?

I worked hard for Keir. He personally told local members he wanted me back during his leadership election. I spent hours sorting out visits for his leadership video. And for no reason at all, I was sacked. -

Traditional parties gone. France. (1) is French Presidential 2012 election where the French Labour Party defeated the French Conservative Party. (2) is French Presidential 2022 election where the French Labour Party & Conservative Party have gone. Replaced by a Reform Party & new Liberal Party.

Israel’s military said it had “conducted precise strikes on Houthi military targets in #Yemen including ports, energy infrastructure in Sana’a which the Houthis have been using in ways that effectively contributed to their military actions.” Doesn’t reflect well on RAF airstrikes in recent months.

These results are simply not good enough. Sticking the course to political oblivion is not the answer. Gurus and spreadsheets aren’t the answer.

Devolving all powers from LCC down to East Lancashire, reducing waste and duplicity is a huge step forward. The opportunities are considerable. open.substack.com/pub/grahamjo...

Welcome announcement from Jim McMahon on reorganisation. Hundreds of £millions are lost on too many tiers of government. An East Lancashire Pennine Authority will see powers devolved from LCC, allow economic growth and joined up public services.

Progressive leaders in Europe’s socialist parties have lost touch with working class voters and are failing/failed. UK Labour has collapsed from 44% to 26%. Political middle uni class w/ privileged access to politics are out of touch. AfD (Germany’s ReformUK) out polling 16% SPD.

One senior Labour insider said: “The problem is, for many voters, they just associate us w/ getting rid of winter fuel payments & accepting a load of free suits & glasses. “It’s too technocratic, we need to start speaking the language of ordinary people.” www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/could-...

What a poor article from the @bbcnewsnight.bsky.social Iran has proxies in #Iraq and is on the brink of state capture of #Yemen. Hezbollah may be weakened but Iran’s ties with Moscow (a nuclear power) are strengthened. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The one word we are going to be coming back to in the near future. *HARTLEPOOL*

One of the many foreign policy disasters under Biden administration Afghan women 'banned from midwife courses' in latest blow to rights www.bbc.com/news/article...

@mayorofgm.bsky.social What you can do in power. Well done @AndyBurnhamGM Labour must win Lancashire’s elections next May and deliver the change that will be help Lancashire people. That includes bringing buses under public control and providing a leading edge service.

The number of Muslim voters going to @reformparty_uk has ticked up from just a trickle in recent weeks. Labour urgently has to have a working class connection with these voters. We can’t take voters for granted. We must embrace democracy & the principles of fairness, tolerance.

We abandoned Syria - post ISIS. Left it to a new group of rebels and islamists (who Cameron wanted to partner). Another disastrous Biden foreign policy. We should have backed the Kurds and continued to be present in the north of Syria.

There is a danger that when you get rid of working class people, rely on a small group who are surrounded by university educated middle class groupthink, you struggle to find the right answers. www.politicshome.com/news/article...

On banning the 15% of the F-35 we make from export to the USA and onto Israel. “Ministers say F-35 parts [15% of the plane] go into a general [USA] pool and it is not possible to determine which parts [UK made] will be sold to the Israelis for use in Gaza.” www.theguardian.com/world/2024/n...

There’s a major crisis in hill sheep/ dairy farming in places like Hyndburn. Dairy farms and milk rounds, as well as the milk processing plant have all gone. Farm land has been left to deteriorate or bought by speculators with no interest in agriculture. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Well, well, well. Here we go. West finally awakens to seriousness threat from Ansar Allah, the world’s worst terrorists now linking up with Putin/Moscow. #Yemen Threats to Red Sea shipping, launch of 2000km missiles & now Ansar Allah are helping Putin. www.ft.com/content/da96...

Great number crunching from Peter Kellner (YouGov). Not sure his conclusion represents those numbers. The BME vote impacted the red wall. Gaza the issue, not as PK argues, the EU. He’s right to say that 33% was abysmal % for Labour under the circumstances. kellnerp.substack.com/p/exposed-th...

This memory popped up on my timeline. It led to a toughening up of the law. “Recorded coverage of Labour MP Graham Jones introducing his Metal Theft (Prevention) Bill in the Commons, from Tuesday 16 November. 15 minutes ... “ www.google.com/url?rct=j&sa...

Unless Labour embraces radical reforms and realigns to working class values, it will continue to struggle with the danger we could follow other European labour parties fighting from the margins of politics. The days of 40% plus (achievable), have been reduced to a mere fantasy.

There seems to ‘pub champions’ but no championship for pubs. Pubs play/played a huge role as community hubs and we should see them as that, not just commercial businesses. If we had retained many more, just think what they could do for communities now. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

There’s little faith in UK politics currently. I get stopped everyday by people despairing at their own future projects or the countries future. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

UK political list. Any other suggestions? bsky.app/profile/did:...

Sad to hear about #JohnPrescott today. John specifically, & the the New Labour gov’t, delivered £ hundreds of millions into Hyndburn. The HMR program alone totalled £80m before it was scrapped by Cameron’s gov’t. John’s legacy includes the regeneration of entire areas in East & West Accrington.

Tonight there will be a Blue Supermoon at 9:35 ET The moon will appear about 8% larger than a normal full moon and 15% brighter than a normal full moon. The next one won't be until January 2037. Keep any eye out tonight!