To recap; Kemi Badenoch thinks that Neo-Nazis fit right in with her party, but that anyone who supports Net Zero or the European Court of Human Rights is a dangerous extremist Dense as a singularity

Incredible. Even while u-turning Kemi will just not back down.

Alex Partridge@alexpartridge87.bsky.social · 8h ago

In a post on X he says he’ll instead be advising the Conservative Party on how young men become radicalised

This particularly incident will be forgotten but those failings will do for her in the end.

Badenoch's two biggest flaws are that she's nowhere near as smart as she thinks she is and is incapable of admitting error. Both well illustrated by this fiasco.

Alex Partridge@alexpartridge87.bsky.social · 8h ago

Joshua Bonehill-Paine steps back from being a Conservative council candidate following backlash

John Healey gets to be “The Iron Chancellor” according to @thetimes.com He is following a policy programme near-identical to that of Rachel Reeves, who was “Rachel from accounts” Clear cut sexism

And the results are in: 1st Round Lab 🌹 - 251,449 Ref ➡️ - 111,928 Lib 🔶 - 14,702 Green 🌍 - 64,968 Con 🌳 - 41,021 Res ◼️ - 46,289 Ind 🙋 - 2,969 Total - 538,659 2nd Round Lab 🌹 - 58,076 Ref ➡️ - 45,250 Total Lab 🌹 - 309,525 Ref ➡️ - 157,178 Labour HOLD - Take that you turquoise fascists

MCR mayoral by-election result. Craig (Lab) 66.3% Astley (Ref) 33.7% Follow live on @news.sky.com

I can attest that throughout the Manchester mayoral campaign only Labour visibly did any actual campaigning, and even that was almost entirely via social media and web ads. I was never leafleted or canvassed by anyone, there have been no marquees in the street, and no posters in windows

Being a Manchester resident and a Burnham supporter since he was first elected mayor I already knew how effective his comms and social media operation is. But it is still very striking to see the contrast with Keir Starmer’s, especially as the rest of the country notices the difference too

Polanski very stupid for what he shared, but Reform’s pivot from bringing a woman who called for hotels full of asylum seekers to be burned down as their guest of honour at conference, to saying the Green leader should be jailed - is a difficult circle to square

This cause is close to my heart - please sign: you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/sa...

Save Jodrell Bank

Everyone is affected by lack of understanding of our place in the world/solar system/cosmos in these increasingly divisive and troublesome times. Trump is trying to shut down science in the US (in the...

you.38degrees.org.uk

Seems to me that there’s a fighting chance 2029 actually ends up being Labour vs Tory again. Reform peaked too early (hopefully)

It is genuinely bizarre that we’ve become acclimatized to right wingers throwing a tantrum every time a black person (particularly a black woman) is cast in something, but are also supposed to pretend that this is not racism but related to some other substantive concern.

Quarter of a million people now fleeing out of control wildfires in France and Spain, and it is still acceptable for leaders of apparently mainstream political parties (Badenoch, Trump, Farage) to deny climate science, cheered on by the Murdoch press.

Caveat that my view is almost certainly coloured by being Manchester through and through, but it really does feel that Andy Burnham is going to give people hope that the future will get better. We’ve had 18 years of “It’s going to be shit”, it’s about time we had a leader with some fucking optimism

Nearly 2 hours waiting outside Heron House but it was worth it

Been here almost an hour, plenty have been here longer than me. Definitely a feeling of sunk cost fallacy Every time *anyone* leaves the building there’s a big cheer

Media camping out outside Number 10 North There’s quite a crowd of onlookers (myself included), all eager to catch a glimpse of the Prime Minister. Definitely feels like the centre of political gravity has shifted away from London

Outside Number 10 North they wait for a Prime Ministerial arrival

I don’t really use buses (combo of living on a rail network and crippling travel sickness) - but I do passionately patronise pubs. But I don’t think only the one of these areas I use should be supported.

Have the British public always been so self centred? I’m staggered by how many people I’ve seen saying ‘I don’t use buses so what good is that?’ Or ‘pubs aren’t for me so who cares?’ Millions of people do use each and they are both pretty vital for our economy and society

I’m quite excited for Andy Burnham’s policy tomorrow. It’s like an advent calendar

My wife and I got lunch for 2 at The Alchemist for £54 No idea what kind of meals these people are eating that they think £50 won’t cover it

Sky News@news.sky.com · 2w ago

'£50 doesn't even buy a meal': What people think of Burnham's electricity VAT cut

So Burnham’s going to cut electricity bills, lower bus fares, and tax the hated vape shops to keep the pubs open … and people think this WON’T be popular?

Obviously very unscientific but feels significant that Burnham’s Facebook post about the bus fare cap has generated and overwhelmingly positive response. FB still by FAR the most popular social media site in the UK, much, much more so than X

London had a good run as the capital. 1066-2026. But, like Winchester before it, it must eventually surrender the crown. The age of London is over. The time of Manchester has come (I can only assume this is Burnham’s ultimate goal, given *gestures at everything since Makerfield*)

Very odd that Nandy is still Culture Secretary. I get no impression she particularly enjoys the brief, and would presumably be more than happy to jump at some of Burnham’s more ambitious policies around housing and devolution

I have met both Andy Burnham *and* Jonathan Reynolds entirely by chance on the streets of Manchester Just my small claim to fame

Anyone who says they predicted Healy as Chancellor is a damn liar

Presumably Lucy Powell will be made Deputy PM. She’s a close Burnham ally and deputy leader of the party