Do John Healey and his cronies not realise that putting a grenade under Starmer is putting a grenade under the Labour government. These things should be sorted out round the Cabinet table. Even if Burnham replaces Starmer the damage will persist.

So John Healey has now resigned. Unfortunately it is typical of a Labour government with a big majority that they all start fighting like rats in a sack. A period of discipline would be welcome.

BBC reports net migration down to 171,000, they haven't worked out how to add the "BUT" yet.

BBC headline: "Inflation falls to 2.8% but is expected to rise from here". Any good news about Labour has to be followed by a BUT, it's a BBC house rule.

The fact that Andy Burnham has chosen to stand in a comparative Reform stronghold suggests to me that he won't be saying much about closer links with the EU, nor electoral reform now that Reform might be in a position to form a government under first past the post.

About 30% of the population still think Brexit was a good idea. Our archaic electoral system means any party which can corral that vote could form a government. Electoral reform is the only way of ensuring that a minority unrepresentative faction can't impose its views on the rest of the country.

Just why would the NEC allow Andy Burnham to risk losing both Makerfield and the Manchester mayoralty? There's an incentive now for somebody to submit a nomination to pre-empt him, and it won't be Streeting.

Farage's explanation that the £5M was just a personal gift reminds me of the Monty Python sketch in which a charity collector tries in vain to explain the concept of a donation to a merchant banker.

Would anyone else have been daft enough to kick off this ridiculous leadership challenge nonsense if Catherine West hadn't done it?

Streeting's self-ambition is leading him into a desperate ploy to force a contest before Burnham enters Parliament. The left won't nominate him, and the Burnham camp will try to prevent a contest at this stage. I think it's unlikely he will get enough nominations to force a contest.

Why is Shabana Mahmood still Home Secretary?

Keir Starmer needs to roll the dice now. Stick to his guns, start the path to rejoining the EU, force Farage and Badenoch to own the blame for Brexit, and start the debate about electoral reform. Some red wall MPs will be thrown under the bus, but such is politics.

Be careful what you wish for.

It's widely reported that Keir Starmer is "unpopular on the doorstep". He and Rachel Reeves have been exposed to the same relentless character assassination that Ed Miliband and Jeremy Corbyn experienced. Anyone who thinks that any successor wouldn't get the same should give their head a wobble.

It seems to me that the MPs calling for Keir Starmer to resign are all in the following categories: A) Usual suspects B) Chronic malcontents C) Never heard of them

Catherine West, who nobody had heard of before Friday, sticks her head above the parapet and makes more of a fool of herself every day. If Trump is TACO, West is WACO.

So Chris Mason reports that Keir Starmer is using an autocue for his speech. Has the BBC EVER reported that a politician is using an autocue? I would have thought it was quite normal for a speech of this significance. P45 and taxi for Chris Mason please.

Labour has locked itself into a corner by continuing to electorally target a working class which no longer supports a progressive agenda. It should focus on policies and campaigning which target different demographics. More socialism to the working class is not the answer. Heresy I know.

It seems that we have reached the "fuck around and find out" stage of the Labour leadership debate, clearly in sympathy with the electorate having reached the same stage in their voting choices.

So now the BBC tells us that Starmer is under pressure, but Badenoch isn't, because of her "impressive performances". You could not make it up, but the BBC could.

It is an uncomfortable truth that the working class in the so-called Red Wall has never been that interested in socialism. The answer lies in promoting progressive policies to new demographics, not emulating Reform or thinking that more socialism will recapture the Red Wall.

Your reminder that Mandelson was forced to resign twice from Tony Blair's government, and Blair still went on to win two more General Elections.

Chris Mason going in to bat for Farage again. Every fucking day. Time for a clear-out at the BBC. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

It's about time that Starmer told Trump to go fuck himself. We can't rely on the USA for trade or security matters, time to dump them as a partner.

Imagine that you were the President of the USA, and you discovered that the judges you appointed to the Supreme Court were no longer in need of your sponsorship. 😂😂😂

The main point for me is that the BBC has yet again framed a report by suggesting political danger for Starmer without a shred of evidence. It is relentless. Time to clean the stables at the BBC, starting with Robbie Gibb.

BBC vox populi: "Denise sees investment in other nearby towns, like Seaham, and feels aggrieved that it hasn't been replicated in Horden. Her vote lies firmly with Reform UK. Brexit has failed due to the way it's been enacted, she says, and it's time to turn back to Nigel Farage." Words fail me.

I see that Chris Mason is targeting Antonia Romeo now. I don't remember this much fuss when the Tories appointed her to various senior positions. Time for a clear out at the BBC, starting with Gibb, Kuenssberg and Mason.

Classic non-apology from Jim Radcliffe. Presumably it's our fault that we are offended by his racist comments and lies.

What's JD Vance doing there?

I look forward to a Chris Mason article headlined "Farage can ill afford any more days like these". Don't hold your breath.

Rest in Peace Alex Jeffrey Pretti🙏🏾 The VA ICU Nurses send him off right 💔

Coming soon from Kuenssberg and Mason: why this is bad news for Starmer and Reeves. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

When can we expect Laura Kuenssberg and Chris Mason to tell us that lower inflation is bad news for Starmer and Reeves?

BBC Website: "The (South Korea) deal is the fourth such agreement struck by the Labour government, following deals with the EU, US and India — none of which have had a material impact on the UK's economy so far." They can't possibly say that none of the other deals have had a material impact.

So Trump claims that ideological divisions now threatened to fracture Washington's alliances. Who the hell does he think caused that?

😱

Is Chris Mason in contempt of Parliament for suggesting that Rachel Reeves was guilty of misleading the Press for not revealing EVERYTHING she knew before the Budget? To have done so would have put Rachel Reeves in contempt of Parliament, and he would no doubt have been calling for her resignation.

Public reaction to budgets: - Don't like what they pay - Like what others pay - Like what they get - Don't like what others get - Complain about what they pay - Complain about what they don't get - Blame politicians for everything

Trump's peace plan for Ukraine in full: 1) Ukraine concedes to all Russian demands. 2) That's it.

So relevant again today: “The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the convinced Communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction and the distinction between true and false no longer exist.” ― Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism

The people who are criticising Keir Starmer for not pressuring the CPS to prosecute the China spying suspects are the same people who accused him without evidence of pressuring the CPS to prosecute those who incited and committed violence against asylum seeker hotels.

So a populist wins power in Czechia on a platform of promising higher wages, pensions and welfare spending, and lower taxes. What could possibly go wrong?

Engraved bullets are the Trump Reichstag.

Farage is fully aware that, like Brexit, his latest proposals to deport legal immigrants are damaging to the UK. He doesn't care, because he believes that he can gain electoral advantage by stoking racism and division.

Trump accused Zelensky of gambling with World War 3. Meanwhile Netanyahu.