Michael
@michaeljsc.bsky.social
tweeting about: politics, pop culture, general nonsense
That’s true but I think Labour seem committed to the mayoral model (and I have some sympathy for the idea that it makes accountability and engagement at a local level easier).
January 25, 2026 at 8:40 PM
That’s true but I think Labour seem committed to the mayoral model (and I have some sympathy for the idea that it makes accountability and engagement at a local level easier).
So I think I ultimately come down on: Burnham shouldn’t have tried to stand as the candidate (he’s a much better GM mayor than he would be a PM) and Starmer shouldn’t have blocked him.
January 25, 2026 at 8:39 PM
So I think I ultimately come down on: Burnham shouldn’t have tried to stand as the candidate (he’s a much better GM mayor than he would be a PM) and Starmer shouldn’t have blocked him.
I don’t think it helps us get the most talented and ambitious mayors to say “if you get elected then you’re locked out of Parliament for the next decade”.
January 25, 2026 at 8:38 PM
I don’t think it helps us get the most talented and ambitious mayors to say “if you get elected then you’re locked out of Parliament for the next decade”.
It’s not an insignificant thing for Labour to accept a Greater Manchester by-election that will be expensive and that they might lose, but refusing to allow it doesn’t send the right signal about their commitment to devolution.
January 25, 2026 at 8:37 PM
It’s not an insignificant thing for Labour to accept a Greater Manchester by-election that will be expensive and that they might lose, but refusing to allow it doesn’t send the right signal about their commitment to devolution.
He is popular on paper but even with the luxury of being out of power he has completely failed to set out any coherent alternative path to the one Starmer is failing on. There would be individual areas where he was better or worse but the fundamental disease is the same.
January 25, 2026 at 1:54 PM
He is popular on paper but even with the luxury of being out of power he has completely failed to set out any coherent alternative path to the one Starmer is failing on. There would be individual areas where he was better or worse but the fundamental disease is the same.
I will say that I think this intervention rules him out as a serious candidate in my eyes. He would be a downgrade on Keir Starmer.
Note the date - this is not from September, he came back to it this month!
Note the date - this is not from September, he came back to it this month!
Andy Burnham: Britain is still “in hock to the bond markets”
The Greater Manchester mayor set out his case for "business friendly socialism"
www.newstatesman.com
January 25, 2026 at 1:53 PM
I will say that I think this intervention rules him out as a serious candidate in my eyes. He would be a downgrade on Keir Starmer.
Note the date - this is not from September, he came back to it this month!
Note the date - this is not from September, he came back to it this month!
I say that as someone who was resolutely opposed to Corbyn from the beginning!
January 25, 2026 at 8:32 AM
I say that as someone who was resolutely opposed to Corbyn from the beginning!
Reposted by Michael
The BBC summary relays false claims but does not prioritise the facts at all
January 24, 2026 at 11:01 PM
The BBC summary relays false claims but does not prioritise the facts at all
That’s how I read her post!
January 24, 2026 at 5:41 PM
That’s how I read her post!
I guess he can hardly say to the NEC “I want to become an MP so I can depose the PM”, but I’ve become really concerned about the impact of politicians routinely lying, and what he is saying about his motivations here is a lie.
January 24, 2026 at 5:18 PM
I guess he can hardly say to the NEC “I want to become an MP so I can depose the PM”, but I’ve become really concerned about the impact of politicians routinely lying, and what he is saying about his motivations here is a lie.
the frontline of the fight for the Manchester Way: a parliamentary by-election when the government has about 400 more MPs than Reform
not the frontline of the fight for the Manchester Way: actually being the mayor of Greater Manchester
not the frontline of the fight for the Manchester Way: actually being the mayor of Greater Manchester
January 24, 2026 at 5:16 PM
the frontline of the fight for the Manchester Way: a parliamentary by-election when the government has about 400 more MPs than Reform
not the frontline of the fight for the Manchester Way: actually being the mayor of Greater Manchester
not the frontline of the fight for the Manchester Way: actually being the mayor of Greater Manchester
Clearly this is the line from the Burnham campaign, but the trouble with it is that it’s obviously silly.
“I want to lead from the front in the fight against the far right. That’s why I want to go from metro mayor to loyal backbencher (😉) and create an opening for Reform to replace me.”
“I want to lead from the front in the fight against the far right. That’s why I want to go from metro mayor to loyal backbencher (😉) and create an opening for Reform to replace me.”
January 24, 2026 at 5:14 PM
Clearly this is the line from the Burnham campaign, but the trouble with it is that it’s obviously silly.
“I want to lead from the front in the fight against the far right. That’s why I want to go from metro mayor to loyal backbencher (😉) and create an opening for Reform to replace me.”
“I want to lead from the front in the fight against the far right. That’s why I want to go from metro mayor to loyal backbencher (😉) and create an opening for Reform to replace me.”
The honest argument for letting Burnham run in the by-election is “he should replace Starmer as PM”, not “it’s imperative that we win this specific by-election at any cost”.
January 24, 2026 at 2:40 PM
The honest argument for letting Burnham run in the by-election is “he should replace Starmer as PM”, not “it’s imperative that we win this specific by-election at any cost”.