When is a coup not a coup? When will a Labour MP who wants a change of PM get 80 supporters and start the contest? If they are waiting for Andy, they may have a long wait if the voters of Makerfield say No.
Labour need to change course to win back voters. They are holding a shoot out between four or five wannabes who come to it without guns only to find it is delayed. What they need is a proper debate about what changes of policy and approach could do better for the country and could win back some lost support.
They keep on about how they need to change more, without seeing that most of the changes they have made so far are changes for the worse. The public who voted for them or who did not vote against them did not want higher taxes. They did not want dearer energy. They did not want higher unemployment. They did not want young people to be priced and taxed out of jobs. They did not want our overseas territories to be given away. They did not want more inflation. They did not want more factories and plants closed by net zero zealotry.
The government was elected on three reassuring main wide ranging promises that it would achieve faster growth, it would not put up taxes (except Vat on school fees), and would smash the gangs (end illegal migration). It has broken all three promises . Its specific offer of £300 off fuel bills has also been illusory, and the promised 1.5 m new homes will not materialise. Trying to deliver these should be the changes Ministers want to achieve. Running off to nationalise more industries, to regulate and tax more drivers off the road, to make life more difficult for landlords to cut the supply of rented homes, to regulate and tax small businesses and farms to death, to abolish juries and create monster regional governments will just make things worse. Any further lurch to the left will see Labour scrapping for under 20% of the vote against the extreme Greens.
You can see the government has lost the plot as they think they need to engage more strongly against Reform and copy more of the Green agenda. These are the thoughts of a struggling minority party, not the thoughts of a government with a majority. Their duty should be to govern better. That means reaching out to the voters they have lost, not intensifying their anger by doubling down on more extreme left policies. The UK does need changes of policy, but back to the more moderate Manifesto, not forward to the Corbyn/Green agenda that will destroy growth, deter investment and boost unemployment.
May 17, 2026
Why can they not see that?
Streeting is so wild we might be better off with Burnham.
Incidentally after 15 years of promising that “Climate Change” is going to destroy the Planet, the United Nations TOP Climate Committee admitted that it’s own projections (RCP8.5) were WRONG!
Climate Activism has been used to scare, deindustrialise and impoverish the western world,
This was one huge FRAUD. Time to ditch it and the sucker Miliband.
May 17, 2026
Their expert “predictions” and Computer Models did not even predict the historic climate changes!
May 17, 2026
‘ Labour need to change course to win back voters.’
That’s not going to happen.
May 17, 2026
The Marxist climate alarmists can give us no (anthropogenic) CO2 explanation as to why it was warmer 5000 years ago (with CO2 at a level 150 ppm lower than today) as evidenced by artefacts recently being discovered in the Alps and elsewhere as glaciers recede. They say this warmer period was caused by “fluctuations in the orbital pattern of the Earth in relation to the Sun” but the current warming as we exit the Little Ice Age is caused by [anthropogenic] greenhouse gas emissions! It’s akin to playing a game of Flux, Nomic or Calvinball!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7580294.stm
https://www.bbc.co.uk/reel/video/p0gl9tq4/watch
May 17, 2026
Just in this country our average temperature varies from 0C to 25C depending on our relative angle and position to then sun.
I have not heard any sound explanation that tells me why man’s activity has a greater impact than orbit.
May 17, 2026
Or solar activity or volcanic dust or meteor impacts or plant evolution, magnetic fields and very many other things!
May 17, 2026
I think the government is well aware that its policies are destroying Britain. That’s what they want.
It’s alk carefully choreographed to justify taking us back into the EU. When we first joined we were the sick man of Europe so they’re making it the same now.
Yesterday we were Importing 30% of our electricity at £114 per mwh. This is what Milibrain calls energy independence, no, it’s energy interdependence. Firmly anchoring us to the EU.
Shutting down primary steel making so we have to import for shipbuilding and defence etc.
All designed to neuter us and make us dependent on others.
May 17, 2026
Correct Ian. They are (and have for decades) been deliberately making us completely dependent on imports: food, manufactured goods and now energy.
You can add “people” to that list as well because they have been deliberately encouraging whole areas to become unemployed welfare junkies; women not to have children …. and importing foreigners who will (on the whole) work more cheaply and will dilute the national character.
May 17, 2026
We’ve had a notification from our sheet metal suppliers that they will pass on steel tariffs to us, making their products more expensive.
If you want to promote British steel, cut out the energy taxes they have to pay, and stipulate British steel for public sector projects. Putting tariffs on means the government can still buy foreign cheap steel because the tariffs don’t affect them, whilst the private sector just sees higher costs.
May 17, 2026
The UN admitted a long time ago that climate change policy was bogus …. the aim was redistribution of wealth from the west to Asia and Africa.
“‘Global warming’ is not about the science – UN Admits: ‘Climate change policy is about how we redistribute the world’s wealth’
The Establishment Parties have been systematically lying to us and doing the UN’s dirty business, deliberately destroying their own nation, for almost two decades.
https://www.climatedepot.com/2017/05/24/global-warming-is-not-about-the-science-un-admits-climate-change-policy-is-about-how-we-redistribute-the-worlds-wealth/
May 17, 2026
Redistribution of wealth from the west to Asia and Africa can be achieved if designing industries to assist them to grow and natural raw materials used with careful judgement. Unlike the Chinese approach to rob them blind.
May 17, 2026
The UN is Socialist. They believe in wealth redistribution – taking from those they consider “undeserving” and giving it to those they deem to be “deserving” of it.
They do not know (or want to know) how to develop industries to benefit Africa or the poorer parts of Asia. They are levelling down the west, because that is what Socialists know how to do.
May 17, 2026
Correct; the UN isn’t politically neutral
May 17, 2026
You should have done your homework work. First IPCC activities have been around since the ‘90s, First Assessment Report was in 1990. Then whether using Representative Concentration Pathways (ie defining how the concentration of greenhouse gases will evolve) or from 2021 the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (ie socioeconomic, geopolitical and technological assumptions) different scenarios (from SSP1/1.9 to SSP5/8.5) are used by the number of models (from 10 in AR1 to more than 30 in AR6).
So talking as some do here of ‘THE’ IPCC model is simply wrong. The original RCP8.5 scenario was considered by people participating in IPCC activities as ‘over the top’ already in 2018 but kept to study the possibility of tipping points particularly regarding the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, the impact on Arctic and Antarctic sea ice or that on the Amazon basin or Sahara extension/diminution.
Moreover the SSP1/1.9 gives on average an atmospheric warming of 1.4 degC by 2100.
Meteorological analyses (not climate models) have already shown months of recent years at +1.5 degC.
I would encourage people to consider the information from the websites of the IPCC or of the different modelling groups to get the proper information (if they are really interested obviously).
But go ahead and keep looking at your favourite websites if that makes you feel better. The world and its various constituents will continue to evolve much more rapidly than during the last Hadean, Neoprotorozoic, Cretaceous Hot House, Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum or anytime during the last 12,000 years.
May 17, 2026
You had better tell the UN that they are fools.
May 17, 2026
Their predictions from years ago can now be seen to be overstated hefner.
I’m glad you now accept that is a fact.
May 17, 2026
Wes Streeting plans to drag Britain back into the EU if he becomes Prime Minister – shattering Labour’s claim it would respect the 2016 Brexit vote.
Before he even thinks of doing that he needs to have a butchers at Article 49 of the Treaty on European Union establishes how a country can join the EU, it’s not going to happen then if he does even try for it that goes against what the liebour manifesto said , so cough up Streeting you would have to call a General Election for your own mandate
May 17, 2026
I watched Streeting yesterday. He wasn’t addressing voters, certainly not Red Wall ones anyway. It was directed at Labour Party Members. Full Membrtship of the EU would be costly and involve accepting the Euro one suspects. Try convincing people to give up the Pound – well assuming you haven’t completely devalued it of course…
May 17, 2026
Even suggesting closer ties with the EU within a week of Labour losing near to 1500 Council seats to Reform shows his extreme naivety.
May 17, 2026
It’s a ploy by wee Wes to ensure that Burnham, an EU worshipper, loses to Reform.
May 17, 2026
Works with the loony left that describes Labour backbenchers, and much of the residual Labour membership. Not a formula for uniting the country though or winning back Labour votes.
May 17, 2026
On Talk Radio just now it seems 1/6 of people on the Sunday Times Rich List have left the UK in the last 12 months. The Doom loop is really speeding up. How much tax take has been lost from these people and doubtless many more slightly less rich ones? Growth, growth, growth they said.
May 17, 2026
Both my sons have well paid jobs and young familues I’m happy to report. One of then (like yourself LL) has to renew his 5yr fixed mortgage early next year. His interest rate will nearly quadruple as far as I can tell (at the moment). They are also getting hammered with increased rates, fiscal drag taxation and increased commuter & driving costs. Thry are being squeezed like lemons and these are the “rich” people that Labour are really targeting. They can’t just up and leave and they can’t avoid coughing up more and more tax. They are also the people who drive large parts of the economy. Unlike their parents, they eat out quite a lot, spend money on the kids and like (probably need) their holidays.
All that is starting to change as they wake up to the fact that life is starting to get very much harder to pay for. They don’t qualify for any reliefs or benefits although I’m sure they will survive. Whether the restaurants, pubs, hotels, childrens activity centres, gyms, local shops they currently use will do so, I’m not so sure.
May 17, 2026
+1 and as they drive to work they will pass many perfectly able to work people who are choosing not to work and on benefits or even working cash in hand and on benefits too. Often couples with one rented home each paid for by your taxes.
May 17, 2026
John, you can ask Labour to do the sensible thing as much as you like. Unfortunately, they are not listening to anyone including their own MPs. The policy they are progressing in now very openly being stated and it is this.
They intend to return the UK to the EU bureaucrats control as soon as they can possibly bring that about. Each of the candidates for the leadership of Labour have now come out and stated their objective is to return the UK into full EU membership. Burnham and Streeting along with incumbent Starmer have all made this statement.
They have decided (Labour) that the view of the electorate must not be allowed to interfere with the process of pushing the UK back into EU controlled Europe.
We have to stop these anti democratic left wing socialists before it is too late.
May 17, 2026
Little chance of a change of heart from labour, they are too wedded to their ideology – they want to show that they rule and that democracy comes a poor second to that.
The kind of world they want is where everyone is strictly controlled by labour’s technological tools; id cards, digital money, inadequate justice favouring themselves, facial recognition, and a dozen other mechanisms that rule out true freedom of expression and actual freedom of action.
The forthcoming PM candidates follow the same logic and they all want to re-join the EU, which just shows how sensible and logical they are.
The PM’s last speech defines him. His misleading accusations regarding the UK marchers was both wrong and appallingly inaccurate. That he seems to have gotten away with this deliberate attempt at political assassination of the marchers is an indication of the strength of hard left MPs. But there again, labour has been insulting voters who care for many years with the false term of hard right.
May 17, 2026
The EU and Labour want a Chinese-style Social Credit System in order to control the population.
That’s why so many Ministers and advisers like Powell troop off to China.
May 17, 2026
2024 was not really a vote for Labour policies (as all leading Labour politicians are claiming) but a vote to kick the useless Sunak out (a view which Labour and Reform and Liberal Democrat voters were agreed about), especially as the combined Conservative and Reform vote exceeded the Labour vote even before Starmer got started as Prime Minister! We mustn’t have the left elected next time because the right wing vote is split between Conservatives and Reform. A good place to start would be Conservatives coming to an agreement by which the Conservatives did not contest the Makerfield byelection and endorsing the Reform candidate in exchange for Reform promising not to contest a byelection if it is in a constituency that is either historically a Conservative- Liberal contest or a Conservative Labour marginal. A minority of Conservative voters would not vote Reform in Makerfield but that would be more than balanced by the left’s attempts to paint Reform as a racist pariah becoming ineffective.
May 17, 2026
As a voter, I wouldn’t be impressed by attempts to manipulate my vote with pacts.
May 17, 2026
I expect Mr. Burnham is counting upon the Green and Lib Dem voters to tactically vote Labour to stop Reform. The key will be which way the Conservatives vote.
May 17, 2026
Restore is contesting Makerfield.
May 17, 2026
Congratulations – I hope you keep your deposit, walking the talk?
May 17, 2026
Well it will probably not make much difference but it might which would be a shame. The Tories should not stand either.
May 17, 2026
Restore could win.
May 18, 2026
so might Raving Loony!
May 17, 2026
Good morning.
What I see is a PM, a government, a political party and the theatre that is Westminster showing us and the world that they have absolutely no self awareness. The country is going to hell in a hand cart and all they can think of is, who gets to be PM ?
We need a GE, not a new PM.
May 17, 2026
“These are the thoughts of a struggling minority party, not the thoughts of a government with a majority”.
I feel a smidgen of sorrow for them.
They’re trapped inside their ideological bubble, having done enough damage to convince the bulk of pragmatically minded voters that these wrecking tactics won’t work. Had Biden/Harris or whatever been elected in the US, they’d have had ideological support there, but that little pillar has gone too.
The true working classes and now many middle class have moved over to Reform. Anti-Farage right wingers stay with the Conservatives or head off to Restore. The rump of the well meaning but deluded centre centre “nice” Home Counties folk stay with Libdems. The real Lefties & assorted go to Green.
So really these are the thoughts of an out of touch junta, except with a legalistic rather than military connotation. Accusing anyone who disagrees with them as being far-right, threatening people with jail on spurious grounds, now pushing into areas like rejoining the EU, which were specifically rejected by a democratic vote, banning and controlling. It isn’t nice and this is a blind alley.
May 17, 2026
Evidence that anti-Farage right wingers head off to Restore? Oh! you mean Lynn?
Who else?
May 17, 2026
Me and 145,000 others.
May 18, 2026
remind me, how many in the Electorate?
May 21, 2026
47.5 m according to the ons.gov.uk Electoral Register 02/04/2026.
Restore Britain on its own website has 96,000 members as of 21/05/2026 (not 145,000).
According to Metropolitan Police (Spectator, 18/05/2026 John O’Neill ‘Did millions attend the UtK rally?’) the Unite the Kingdom march had 60,000 participants (not two millions).
May 17, 2026
The only thing the guy running Restore will restore will be his status as an ex-MP.
May 17, 2026
He’s not an ex-MP.
He’s a very substantial individual who fund a lot of businesses. You have not seen him on the Public Accounts Select Committee obviously.
Farage could not do it. He has never even worked in a business much less run one.
May 17, 2026
For the Labour Party to have the kind of debate Lord Redwood is asking for, it would need a real breadth of opinion within the party, a cultural history of examining their beliefs/policies based upon evidence and a willingness to change those beliefs/policies if the facts do not support them.
The fact is that the necessary breadth of opinion does not really exist within Labour. The traditional Labour group – working class, patriotic, private sector trade unions, “chapel” – has been decimated. The vast majority are Fabian-Marxists, Globalists, pro-EU and allied with Islam. Hardly any Labour MPs supported LEAVE the EU and none in the Shadow Cabinet. None do now.
The facts show that Socialism has NEVER worked anywhere it has been applied. And the evidence in Europe is that nations which are forced into an undemocratic Political Union straitjacket will eventually reassert their independence: Austrian-Hungarian Empire; Yugoslavia; USSR; Czechoslovakia.
But the Labour Party refuses to look at the FACTS about Socialism; refuses to acknowledge the real history of enforced Political Unions and refuses to accept the Will of the British people when it comes to the EU.
May 17, 2026
Labour must be a desert of talent if out of 403 MPs they can’t find anyone better than Keir Starmer amongst them. That they have to scratch around for an outsider with an uninspiring track record reaffirms it. I’m sure the incapability of the Labour party will not be lost on the electors of Makerfield.
May 17, 2026
When will Parliament and its Gangs do Democracy?
Who is their Master, their gang boss or those that lend them powers and pay them. To me the whole crowd has gone astray gone AWOL it all about them, the very personal them. They wont work with and for the Nation and its People, but they will fight the Nation and its People.
Something is rotten at its core and it needs to change, it needs changing.
May 17, 2026
I fear the madness and political dogma will tun for a little longer yet John.
Not until the economy and the Country has truly been broken for all to see, will they even think of changing, by which time it may be too late to turn things around.
May 17, 2026
We are currently ruled by Fabian Marxists. They know what they are doing. They have a mission to destroy the country and don’t care if they are unpopular. In fact they will seek policies that cause impoverishment and social division. Hence the desire to re-join the EU. Don’t forget “populism” (aka democracy) they consider to be evil. The HR act was devised to undermine democracy by giving superior rights to minorities. They’re successfully applying the Marxists four Ds – division, disruption, destabilisation and de-industrialisation. So we see them kneeling to the BLM, promoting XY=XX, trashing our history, giving away the Chagos Islands, calling anyone who thinks we should control our borders and fly the national flag as unacceptably “far right” and using the false CAGW scare and its “solution”, Net Zero, to sabotage our energy, industry and national security. The current leadership contest is just a device to keep the show on the road for longer by distracting the voters and conning them into thinking that a better government will materialise. There will be no change of policies and no GE.
May 17, 2026
They did not want to have to fight against the often huge and unreasonable & badly thought out housing developments likely to devastate long established communities, heritage areas, the environment and available resources adding to problems already faced plus the imposition of solar “farms” and pylons.
Scale and Density ! ( Agreed, Mick ! )
May 17, 2026
We’re in a right old mess now and having a debate about it won’t be enough – it calls for drastic action. We need reform in the way we do things like bringing in Proportional Representation with seats guaranteed to the second most popular in the constituency in case the first elected winner fails resigns or dies during the Government term then the second on the list, irrespective of his party, is offered the seat. We need to end all this drama happening during a governments term as it’s only serving as a distraction and taking from the work of Governnent.
May 17, 2026
Don’t you think your proposal would lead to an increase in suspicious deaths? Also do not forget that the voters of Makerfield have been asked to vote again simply because the mayor of Manchester wants to become an MP. So we have the cost of a new mayoral election as well as the unnecessary cost of a by-election. All to keep the Marxist show on the road and avoid calls for a GE caused by their unpopularity and ruinous policies. There will be no change of policies. We’re being fooled again. Come and meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
May 17, 2026
Exactly as Josh Simmons vacated his seat it shoud then be offered to the next in line voted on by the people in that constituency – so Burnham could not be elected – of course Burnham could stsnd same as everyone else at GE time. It would largely cut out the need for by-elections.
May 17, 2026
Unless of course, Labour lose Makerfield.
That would be the electorate flexing their muscles. Could only happen, of course, because we are not castrated by PR, which we voted against by a supermajority in a referendum. Most British people are not stupid!
Burnham would then remain Mayor of Manchester and have to go back to that mess.
May 17, 2026
Exactly my thoughts. You have to be seriously thick to assume voters want more of the same and a return to the EU. Labour seems to have a collective death wish and is even more determined to alienate voters, following the local elections, Scotland and Wales results.
It is not a change in leadership they need; it is a change in policies. Labour MPs seem unable to see themselves and their government as the problem.
May 17, 2026
Never get in the way when your enemy is committing suicide.
We have suffered Labour for long enough.