Labour

  • Starmer’s legacy is Burnham’s shortcut

    The entry of Andy Burnham MP (Makerfield/Labour) into Number 10 has been followed today by a slew of new government appointments. These are his hard hitters for a round of straightening and tightening in Civil Service realms.

    But such is the quick turnaround for his assumptive power base that Burnham is using a landslide under Starmer to put together his first team in office.

    John Healey MP (Rawmarsh and Conisbrough/Labour) has become Chancellor of the Exchequer, an historic position of state that allows him a wide remit if he actually wants it. No doubt he’s chomping at the bit to get started. He wanted more money for defence. Maybe now someone else will get it.

    Another interesting bit of news is that Shabana Mahmood MP (Birmingham Ladywood/Labour) will remain as Home Secretary. This is proving to be a long spell in the limelight for her. Her stamp is going to be well and truly put on that place.

    The Prime Minister is looking for a strong start. He will hope for months to turn into years. His ambitions rest on this first Cabinet out.

    Finally, I note here that Yvette Cooper MP (Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley/Labour) has maintained her top flight position and moved over to the Department of Health and Social Care. A big job. It has a large brief at the present time.

    How this is going to work out matters more on the new incumbent than before. His vision is to make politics local again, but in Labour terms this means infighting. He’s keen, but he’s got to lead from the front.

  • Burnham MP brings a revival of ignorance

    For nearly two years, Sir Keir Starmer MP (Holborn and St Pancras/Labour) has been urged to take the whole of the country out of a mess rather than just to pursue his narrow aims while in office. However, the beneficiaries of his efforts are scattered among the population as single people groups with causes but no whole-society issue.

    Andy Burnham MP (Makerfield/Labour) making his views known about the ‘Hillsborough Law’ case.

    Andy Burnham MP (Makerfield/Labour) is coming up the rear to takeover mid-way through and has placed Manchester at the centre of his priorities. Again, the next phase of a Labour revival isn’t seeking a broadening of proposals, but is suggestive of a narrow focus on niche Labourite problems.

    Hillsborough is Netflix material by now, and any justice that’s gained has been so in sacrifice of time for fundamental policy initiatives for the country. The accumulation of social causes presents a public court of law over a Parliament for the public.

    In hindsight, while Labour will celebrate having raised it to national attention, to support its passage as an agenda-setting moral, the creaking infrastructure of the State needs looking at, and bigger threats to National Security are still out there, waiting to be tackled.

  • Andy Burnham has a lot of work to do

    The problem in Politics right now is that people are work-shy. There’s a popular belief that hoards of us get on and work solidly for the future of the nation, but this isn’t true. It’s simply not borne out in reality, and as simple updates are missed and targets are never reached, the nations of the UK stagger into whatever world life throws at us.

    A cartoon graphic illustration
    A cartoon graphic illustration of Andy Burnham MP being launched like a rocket into Downing Street (Credit: xAI Grok/Original prompt).

    Andy Burnham MP (Makerfield/Labour) is incoming like a ballistic missile into Downing Street, and it’s possible to track his path as he surges on in the leadership stakes. It may be next week that he explodes properly again into national life. The Manchester Munition is made to fight battles tough in nature.

    But Burnham has to get people working again, and not just in the new ones, but the existing industries that matter and public services. A country like England can’t survive on meagre incomes and half-hearted project planning. The Labourite in the firework needs to come out to kick off a renewal of productivity and pull the UK out of its stupor.

  • A mismanagement crisis has led to Starmer’s exit

    The Prime Minister hasn’t gone. His duties will dry up, but the engagement of a new incumbent isn’t set to kick in until a new candidate has been confirmed. As it stands, no one is yet in line to takeover the UK’s most powerful political office.

    In retrospect, Sir Keir Starmer MP (Holborn and St Pancras/Labour) has a lot to be chuffed over. As a politician, he’s been successful. As a leader, he hasn’t necessarily been a total disaster. His ‘Plan For Change’ has resulted in some benefits.

    At the heart of this, however, is a crisis of mismanagement at the governmental centre. These take a while to unpack, and yet eventually we’ll discover the precise reasons why it felt apart for him. Clearly, he was going to continue on.

    His response to the small boats crisis has been professional. Ministers have moved about to deal with bits and pieces of it. Their offices have engaged on a matter beyond most people’s capability. It stands to reason it’s his real achievement. The rest lacks in actual statecraft.

  • Labour leave Birmingham as a problem

    The bin strike in Birmingham has now lasted over a year. With a Prime Minister outgoing – and a potential new incumbent still drumming up support – the workers on strike continue to disrupt a local service that is vital to the city at large. As with many Labour causes in recent years, this one is beginning to haunt the state of things, not just in a political system but much further afield.

    Andy Burnham MP (Makerfield/Labour) is vying for attention and a top prize. He’s not looking to settle matters between Unions and a Local Authority. The saga is likely to remain uncontested as a central concern in London. Just as Birmingham’s finances went under, so the local bin collection regime has gone the same way.

    The struggle of Labour is to re-engage with its support base and also stakeholders, and not to give in to the temptation to use Departments to strike out in new ways to cover for existing problems. Surely its remit is overlapping, and a lack of oversight is showing as its primary cause. This means Burnham has a job on his hands.

  • Operation Burnham is Mission Silly

    The case of modern art in politics is not fully explored by national pundits in their dry studios, but the paint is about to fly somewhere.

    Andy Burnham MP (Makerfield/Labour) is being setup to takeover their leadership mantle, and potentially to lead the UK as Prime Minister for some time.

    This is farcical for the conservative side of UK politics. The Conservatives can’t quite believe it, but have to trust their eyes and instincts at this point to get through.

    It’s not a conventional introduction to high level political machinery, but Burnham is said to be a safe pair of hands by Union leaders who’ve met him.

    The potential for his Premiership is low by many accounts.

    Starmer has ended up looking like he planned a witless, headlong crash into the bushes. His platform was noted and known for being there, but alas the rest of the race has been marked out as a disaster.

    Burnham took a train to arrive in London, but it’s going to take a lot of tickets to make progress.

  • Andy Burnham offers zero policy

    There’s no getting a conservative to agree with this ridiculous state of affairs, even if you’re a child. It just doesn’t work out for us.

    Andy is a reckless, feckless dude with no potential and buckets of criminal accusations against his name. He stands for nothing but a stupid state and a silly Labour party.

  • Starmer faces a tough challenge to his political life

    The Prime Minister is said to be on his way out. This means leaders in waiting are jostling for a position that probably won’t go to Andy Burnham MP (Makerfield/Labour) now, because the opportunity has opened up.

    How things unfold depends on where the Labour party thinks it is. A landslide win hasn’t shored up public support for Sir Keir Starmer in the way he felt it might. This brings a concern that, internally, things are not holding up to scrutiny.

    What sort of party discipline is needed may determine the outcome of a leadership race.

    Starmer is determined, believing he has the real platform. He’s a moralistic, minded man in private and while this doesn’t translate into lectures, he appeals to the faithful by making clear decisions by it. His next move will communicate his support or denial of Labour party values, proving if he’s still their man in Number 10, or if he’s gone soft.

    Next, there are potential candidates for a takeover that would scandalise the political world.

    Yvette Cooper MP (Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley/Labour) is a clear contender for first female Labour Prime Minister, but she’s at a distance from Number 10. Her brief, usually, sends her out and doesn’t keep her as close to domestic issues as people believe. If this is a positive or negative for party strategists is entirely their own calculation.

    Dan Jarvis MP (Barnsley North/Labour) is a clear winner for internal ideologues, and some external support bases. He represents a white male reality, though, and this may lead to further problems. Labour doesn’t want their radical roots to be a problem-maker for their chances in central government.

    Finally, Shabana Mahmood MP (Birmingham Ladywood/Labour) as Home Secretary has backed key new reforms to Policing, putting her out there as a favoured candidate for those following the madness at home everywhere. While Muslim and keen on security and social issues, her stance may aggravate yet more unnecessary debate. It’s a risk the party may take into account.

    The reality is that the Prime Minister has said nothing, so we have to wait for a clear indication.

    The party itself is nursing a large majority in the Commons, and believes it has ideas that can last it a while longer in the difficult and unpredictable world of the Civil Service. The renewed push of Starmer or the refreshing zeal of a new leader will be their hope for more gains while in power.

  • Streeting offers the credible option, but Starmer won’t leave

    Wes Streeting MP (Ilford North/Labour) is offering his best work for the first real projected attempt to dethrone the Prime Minister. Just as his leadership is under question by major Ministerial departures, and crisis after crisis has not seen resolution, there are Labour figures chomping at the bit.

    Streeting gave his best effort at articulating an economic vision yesterday, and in some corridors is quietly whispered about as Labour’s best chance at returning from meandering on the world stage to focus on local places.

    Wes Streeting speaking on local economy and people’s potential at an event yesterday (Credit/Source: @SkyNews/YouTube).

    Ukraine, Iran, and Israel are wearying voters, already tired of seeing out protest groups that take attention away from the real matters of life. Streeting wants to focus on work that’s on offer, not pipe dreams or new fields of play.

    But, after a landslide win and nearly halfway there, Starmer is settled and maybe even getting control over matters. As far as he sees it from his side, a trip to Evian is worth it for a G7 meeting, even if Belfast burns and Russia fires on the Channel. He’s confident of his position, and Streeting has a way to go.

  • Labour is thin on the good stuff

    The Labour government has tried and tried to push out with a comprehensive agenda that will change the policy landscape and shape the UK for years to come. It’s only failure is this has not materialised at all.

    The attempt to combat the Dover Crossings is now becoming a farcical chapter in governance and the theory that Downing Street exerts any type of central control. The numbers of boats per month aren’t an insurmountable difficulty, no matter the passenger size.

    Apart from this, perhaps the social media ban has come through as its next most energetic effort. This is absurd, considering we have no involvement in any war zones or responsibility for any significant military action of scope. The zeal for reforming social media has come at us all sideways.

    Labour is providing an agenda that is thin on the good stuff. It fails to even inspire its own. Averse perhaps to crisis, and prone to silly policy initiatives, this administration has gone wayward. It needs to find its course or it’ll lose grip completely. And we don’t think more trips abroad will help, either.

  • Labour gets more worrying by the day

    The chaos engulfing our Government inside its realms is something to behold if you look at it with the keen insight that our experts give on its true purpose. Right now, key figures are leaving offices that have an implicit involvement in the major issues. Foreign, Housing, and Defence are not small briefs right now.

    The exits are not just about international issues but also have the impression of dissatisfaction amongst their staff. It may be, as John Healey MP (Rawmarsh and Conisbrough/Labour) said, that money didn’t come through, but from whom is it supposed to come and why?

    The era of weaponised moral arguments isn’t going well in Departments that don’t singularly do it by themselves. HM Treasury isn’t inevitably of the same mind as everyone else. They’re on a different page entirely, and if few try to translate their concerns adequately enough, few will get their wishes in return.

    The belief it’s beef or gruel is equally ridiculous. Less than half of its way through, and just under two years in, and this Labour government hasn’t had time for either. The pressing issues are elsewhere. It’s simply a matter of working well and working properly. This is the argument over the small boats, too.

    Labour has crisis in its sights but many are solvable here and now, and this achievement would restore hope in government. But what is it? A short burst of hard effort, then deflation as it falls apart. Whitehall is seeing its occupants burn out, and it’s not a good look for anyone.

  • Labour of ‘26 could do better

    The performance of Labour in public is lacking the verve of scholar Tony, the policy impresario who once schooled the UK in all his tenure on the ins and outs – and rights and wrongs – of everything under the sun. He knew points, paragraphs, and bullet points like we know the craziness of crimewaves the size of the UK hitting our shores everyday.

    However, the present Labour Prime Minister isn’t doing so well in his own public wordings. The furore about social media is such a poorly handled affair, it misses the point as much as David Lammy MP (Tottenham/Labour) escaping the Epstein story to run the Ministry of Justice for a while. The lack of knowhow is coming out. It’s not good news for the ‘efficient’ workers party of size.

  • Politicians need to be careful with populism

    As the Labour party experiments with a version of populism, politicians are in need of a reminder to be careful about its use of populism.

    As a tactic, it makes for a quick win for large entities that need a streamlined operation to be guided by a figure who’s clear in their direction of play.

    A graphic
    A graphic showing a UK politician meeting a Chinese representative hoping for favourable treatment (Credit: xAI Grok/Original prompt).

    The attempt to jumpstart Andy “The Madman” Burnham is a tricky manoeuvre. While policies can be put into the mouths of everyone, the UK isn’t a basic place.

    Now, other countries are scrutinising our ways. They’re looking for clever hands, not busy bodies. Burnham is widely disregarded. He can’t promise a plan to deliver.

    No political platform that’s purely for appeal is safe. All the nasties come up. It diverts from real issues. It incites pointless debates. It makes our politics sterile.

  • Labour culture reveals a lack of purpose

    It’s more likely that random, international sets of causes will emerge from the Labour benches than the Conservative.

    While a mix of views may come from Reform UK MPs, and possibly others (like the Greens), it’s Labour that has a problem with confusion in its politics.

    It hasn’t tightened its ranks as much as it may feel it has, bringing into question what it took to get such a large election win.

    Many strategists wonder at the chaos that ensues. Andy “The Madman” Burnham is a bad choice for UK politics. He’s not respected, and is feared for his crimes.

    The so-called leadership election has pulled him out as the best so far. It embarrasses Labour figures who urge their members to do better than repeat the past.

    The disarray in issues and personalities is long overdue for review. This cannot be sustained over and against a large population with more pressing matters.

  • Starmer vs Blair is a paper-thin view of things

    The fallout between Sir Keir Starmer and Sir Tony Blair is a blockbuster event for Labour diehards, but for the rest of us it’s just a squabble between the two.

    The malaise in Labour is not going to be corrected, even in the lifespan of two of its Prime Minister’s, by petty differences that are usually based on language and nuance.

    Labour face a crisis of trust, not in its belief system, but in its ability to get the job done. Every crisis needs to be ended, and every plan needs a first step. This is what voters can’t see in the politics of the day.