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Politics.co.uk @politics.co.uk · 3d

“Obama’s London speech was a welcome reminder of politics’ oldest truth – people need stories. Starmer has one, of patriotic renewal after national decline, about fairness after years of drift”, writes @plmr.co.uk CEO @kevincraig.co.uk
www.politics.co.uk/comment/2025...

Obama in London: Have Starmer and Labour already shown they were listening? - Politics.co.uk

They say never meet your heroes, but I have to disagree. Last week in London I met president Barack Obama. He radiated charisma, charm and patience to all the many people he encountered. I especially ...

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Josh Self @josh.politics.co.uk · 3d

“Starmer’s story about Britain’s moral character, and threats to it, should not relegate concerns about its material condition.”
www.politics.co.uk/week-in-revi...

Week-in-Review: The calling of Keir Starmer - Politics.co.uk

“Now, the Tories – do you remember them?” Keir Starmer had spoken for a full 50 minutes before acknowledging the existence of Labour’s historic rival. The line was met with laughter – a fleeting momen...

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Josh Self @josh.politics.co.uk · 3d

“Political narratives matter, especially in a fractured and highly competitive political landscape, because they dictate the battles a party picks.

“Managed conflicts are a means by which parties project their values to voters.”
www.politics.co.uk/week-in-revi...

Week-in-Review: The calling of Keir Starmer - Politics.co.uk

“Now, the Tories – do you remember them?” Keir Starmer had spoken for a full 50 minutes before acknowledging the existence of Labour’s historic rival. The line was met with laughter – a fleeting momen...

www.politics.co.uk

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Josh Self @josh.politics.co.uk · 3d

“Starmer’s conference address was an analysis of the political landscape, its recent redevelopment, its faultlines – and a statement of where Labour under his leadership would stand within it.”
www.politics.co.uk/week-in-revi...

Week-in-Review: The calling of Keir Starmer - Politics.co.uk

“Now, the Tories – do you remember them?” Keir Starmer had spoken for a full 50 minutes before acknowledging the existence of Labour’s historic rival. The line was met with laughter – a fleeting momen...

www.politics.co.uk

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Josh Self @josh.politics.co.uk · 4d

The calling of Keir Starmer

‘Pledges’, ‘milestones’, ‘first steps’, ‘missions’, ‘foundations’ and ‘phases’ are no substitute for singular purpose. Starmer’s conference speech was a reminder of the power of narrative

Latest long-read for @politics.co.uk 👇
www.politics.co.uk/week-in-revi...

Week-in-Review: The calling of Keir Starmer - Politics.co.uk

“Now, the Tories – do you remember them?” Keir Starmer had spoken for a full 50 minutes before acknowledging the existence of Labour’s historic rival. The line was met with laughter – a fleeting momen...

www.politics.co.uk

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Josh Self @josh.politics.co.uk · 8d

Already seen quite a lot of this so far

Josh Self @josh.politics.co.uk · 9d

Expect a 'no time for novices'-esque message from Starmer tomorrow. That was Brown's retort to an upstart David Cameron, which had the happy consequence of catching David Miliband in the crossfire

PM probably won't go for inexperience (not a big enough distinction between him, Burnham and Farage)…

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Josh Self @josh.politics.co.uk · 8d

On Starmer's popular front strategy – the opportunities and risks (from my newsletter: www.politics.co.uk/subscribe/)

The rhetoric signals an emerging strategy: Starmer is seeking to cast himself as the leader of a progressive resistance to the rising tide of populist grievance.

The strategy is defined by its objective: to ensure progressives who fear the prospect of a prime minister Farage flock to Labour in the coming months and years. On top of this, it seeks to stigmatise Reform – thus unnerving the party’s unsettled political coalition and preventing the further diminution of Labour’s traditional support base.

The strategy defines Starmer’s tactics. It helps explain, for instance, the more aggressive stances Labour have adopted this conference: notably, the condemnation of Reform policy as ‘racist’ and even suggesting that Farage, the arbiter of party sentiment and policy, is too. Wes Streeting all but labelled Farage ‘racist’ on his broadcast round this morning.

There are political opportunities with this strategy: it isn’t an unreasonable assumption that a progressive bloc could form as a consequence of its negative view of Farage and Reform.

There is precedent too: Joe Biden beat Donald Trump by appealing to the “soul” of the US nation in the 2020 presidential election — a message Starmer will directly evoke today. French president Emmanuel Macron has bested Marine Le Pen twice on these terms. It isn’t altogether distinct from the approach adopted by Canadian prime minister Mark Carney against his country’s Trump-sympathising Conservatives earlier this year.

But there are risks. Plenty of them. Can Starmer authentically style himself as the leader of a British popular front? Will progressives really rally to Labour’s cause when arguably better ideological fits, in the form of Zack Polanski’s Greens or the Corbyn-Sultana project, exist? Meanwhile, will stigmatising Farage catch his voters in the crossfire? Can Starmer effectively differentiate his target audience, the Reform-curious electorate, from the Reform leadership? Farage will try his utmost to muddy these waters

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Josh Self @josh.politics.co.uk · 9d

Anneliese Dodds @moreincommonuk.bsky.social fringe: “Ultimately we have to be better at telling a story about what we're doing…

“But the story's got to be an authentic one and this is where I think actually picking the right fights is important…”

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Josh Self @josh.politics.co.uk · 9d

@richardburgon.bsky.social tells @moreincommonuk.bsky.social fringe it’s “politically inevitable” that Keir Starmer “will no longer be prime minister” if the polls hold up to and into the May 2026 Holyrood, Senedd and local elections

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Josh Self @josh.politics.co.uk · 9d

The 'King of the North' holds court

On Burnham's surreal appearance at the electoral reform conference fringe event yesterday. To receive this newsletter: www.politics.co.uk/subscribe/

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Josh Self @josh.politics.co.uk · 9d

Expect a 'no time for novices'-esque message from Starmer tomorrow. That was Brown's retort to an upstart David Cameron, which had the happy consequence of catching David Miliband in the crossfire

PM probably won't go for inexperience (not a big enough distinction between him, Burnham and Farage)…

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Josh Self @josh.politics.co.uk · 10d

Treasury minister Torsten Bell at Labour conference:

“What Britain needs to tackle Farage is a vision, and the vision they need is not a fat bloke in a wetsuit, which is what the Lib Dems have got to offer Britain in the 21st century.”
www.politics.co.uk/news/2025/09...

Labour labelled ‘nasty party’ after minister calls Ed Davey ‘fat bloke in wetsuit’ - Politics.co.uk

A senior minister has referred to the Liberal Democrat leader, Ed Davey, as a “fat bloke in a wetsuit”. Torsten Bell, who serves jointly as a pensions and Treasury minister, delivered the remarks whil...

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Politics.co.uk @politics.co.uk · 10d

“Today dissent is pathologised, selections are stitched up, members treated as irritants. Labour’s pluralism, once its superpower, has been replaced by a culture of control”, writes @labourlewis.bsky.social

🗣️ Robin Cook showed us politics at its most serious. Labour has lost that balance

Robin Cook showed us politics at its most serious. Labour has lost that balance

Delivering the Robin Cook memorial lecture was one of the greatest privileges of my time in Parliament. But it wasn’t just a privilege – it was a burden too. The name Robin Cook still carries a weight...

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Politics.co.uk @politics.co.uk · 10d

🚨 NEW: Back electoral reform to embed ‘progressive majority’ and thwart Farage, Starmer urged

Without electoral reform, the country could face a “horrendous scenario” leading to the “extinction of the United Kingdom”, @paulsweeney.bsky.social has warned

Story ⤵️
www.politics.co.uk/news/2025/09...

Back electoral reform to embed ‘progressive majority’ and thwart Farage, Starmer urged - Politics.co.uk

Keir Starmer has been urged to throw his support behind some form of proportional representation (PR) in order to embed Britain’s “progressive majority”. Paul Sweeney, member of the Scottish parliamen...

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Josh Self @josh.politics.co.uk · 10d

🚨 NEW: Andy Burnham criticises ‘climate of fear’ in Labour with vow to continue ‘debate’

“To those making calls for simplistic statements of loyalty, well... I think that’s at risk of underestimating the peril the party is in”, he said

Full story👇
www.politics.co.uk/news/2025/09...

Andy Burnham criticises ‘climate of fear’ in Labour with vow to continue ‘debate’ - Politics.co.uk

Andy Burnham has vowed to continue the debate he has instigated over the direction of the Labour Party under Keir Starmer’s leadership, in a direct response to his internal critics. In his first inter...

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Josh Self @josh.politics.co.uk · 10d

Burnham not backing down:

“I've launched a debate on our direction because I think we need it at this moment, because I want this government to be a success…

“I think we need to go further, and we do need to have a debate about our direction, and and I, for one, won't be shying away from that.”

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Josh Self @josh.politics.co.uk · 10d

@andyburnham.bsky.social calls for a more “collaborative politics” at Labour conference electoral reform rally

He says: “This is an idea whose time has come. Because the world we are in now demands a new politics — it demands a new approach.”

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Josh Self @josh.politics.co.uk · 10d

Landed at Labour conference. If you’re around, do give me a shout :)

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Josh Self @josh.politics.co.uk · 11d

Keir Starmer: “I love and have pride in my country, and I want to serve the whole of my country — our beautiful, tolerant, diverse country... Reform do not believe in that country, they want to tear that country apart.

“[Reform’s ILR plan] would tear our country apart…”

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Josh Self @josh.politics.co.uk · 19d

Clive Lewis backs Andy Burnham? Remarks delivered at the 2025 Robin Cook Memorial Lecture

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Politics.co.uk @politics.co.uk · 20d

“Reform UK have spotted what you could call a ‘gap in the market’, and it's not a good one”, writes Labour MP Dr @simonforstroud.bsky.social

🗣️ Reform UK’s vaccine crankery is a dangerous threat to our national security
www.politics.co.uk/mp-comment/2...

Reform UK’s vaccine crankery is a dangerous threat to our national security

Vaccinations were first trialled in 1796 by Edward Jenner, a rural country doctor in Berkeley, in my constituency. He published the results of his work in 1798. Since their introduction, it is estimat...

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Politics.co.uk @politics.co.uk · 20d

“I absolutely will insist that you are not discarded as collateral damage in a rush to worship the god of unfettered autonomy for an articulate few”, writes @timfarron.bsky.social

🗣️ My opposition to assisted dying is rooted in liberalism and Christianity
www.politics.co.uk/mp-comment/2...

My opposition to assisted dying is rooted in liberalism and Christianity

The Terminally Ill Adults Bill has its second reading in the House of Lords today. I was devastated when it was passed by the House of Commons earlier this year. I’m not ashamed to say that my reactio...

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Josh Self @josh.politics.co.uk · 20d

🚨 Zarah Sultana confirms she has been frozen out of ‘Your Party’

— Hits out at “sexist boys’ club”
— Accuses Corbyn statement of having “misrepresented the situation”
— Calls for a meeting with Corbyn
— Party is “more important than any one person”

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Josh Self @josh.politics.co.uk · 20d

All is not well in ‘Your Party’. Note the absence of Zarah Sultana’s name at the bottom of this statement

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Politics.co.uk @politics.co.uk · 23d

“Early and accurate diagnosis is the foundation for everything that follows – and we must act urgently to make it a reality for everyone, in every community”, writes @douglasmcallister.bsky.social

🗣️ A dementia diagnosis should be a right, not a waiting game
www.politics.co.uk/mp-comment/2...

Douglas McAllister: ‘A dementia diagnosis should be a right, not a waiting game’ - Politics.co.uk

When we talk about the great health challenges facing the UK, cancer and heart disease rightly come to mind. But too often we overlook dementia – the leading cause of death in this country for some ti...

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