#labour party

[tearsofrefugees]

A New Prime Minister, a New Deal: Time for an ambitious UK–EU pact on small boats

The arrival of a new UK Prime Minister offers a window to strike an ambitious UK-EU deal on Channel crossings, trading increased returns for

[belfegore026]

[eretzyisrael]

In the UK, spending more on those who want to kill Jews than on protecting Jews

Blogging about Israel and the Arab world since, oh, forever.

From The Daily Express:

Labour will spend 50% more taxpayer cash on aid for Palestine than it will on protecting British Jews despite rising antisemitic attacks. The revelation came as the result of ministerial questions which revealed £381 million would be sent to Palestine in the next three years. That's 50% more than the £250 million pledged by the Labour Government to protect Britain's Jewish communities. Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel, told the Daily Express: "Labour’s priorities are all wrong. This extraordinary funding, some of which will likely end up in the hands of the undemocratic and unaccountable Palestinian Authority, exceeds funding recently pledged for protecting British Jews from antisemitic violence and hatred.

The usual defense by the Left in the US to prioritize demonizing Israel is that tax dollars are going there, which would be better used locally. But they never talk about tax dollars to other foreign recipients, including Palestinians, Jordan, Egypt and others. 

Here we see the argument turned on its head against a progressive British government: spending more on those who support attacking Jews than on protecting local Jews from attack. 

The people who pretend that all tax dollars should be spent domestically when the argument is about Israel somehow change their position when the recipient is the Palestinian Authority which has proven time and time again that it celebrates terror attacks against Jews. 

The only people in the region who support genocide are the Palestinians. They just disagree on the specific methods of getting rid of all the Jews in the Levant. 

[tomorrowusa]

Labour wins decisive victory in Greater Manchester mayoral byelection

Bev Craig succeeds Andy Burnham and wins back support in areas where Reform made gains in May

Prime Minister Andy Burnham stepped down as mayor of Greater Manchester to take his seat in Parliament after he won the parliamentary by-election in Makerfield.

So a by-election was held in Manchester on Thursday to pick Burnham's successor there as mayor. After two rounds of counting, Labour's Bev Craig emerged as the winner.

Labour has stormed to a decisive victory in the Greater Manchester mayoral byelection, seizing back areas that recently fell to Reform UK and the Greens. Labour’s Bev Craig, the Manchester city council leader, will now succeed Andy Burnham and hold one of the most powerful political positions outside Westminster. Labour won 47% of first-preference votes, with Reform UK way behind on 21% and the Greens in third on 12%. The contest took place under the supplementary vote system, meaning that, as no candidate achieved more than 50%, voters’ second preferences were counted.

It may not be called that, but it appears that Manchester has a ranked choice system of voting. Craig fell slightly short in the first round but leapt to almost a two to one victory over far right Reform UK's Sian Astley.

Labour surged back in areas where Reform had made gains in local elections last spring.

A poll last month had Labour and Reform UK virtually neck and neck in the battle for the mayoralty. In the May elections, Farage’s party won more than 100 seats across Greater Manchester, including all but one of the 25 up for grabs in Wigan – the borough of Burnham’s new constituency – and 18 out of 19 in Tameside, both once solidly Labour areas. However, Farage scuppered the party’s mayoral campaign when he announced he was standing down as an MP in order to fight a self-imposed parliamentary byelection in Clacton after scrutiny over his funding. Before the result was officially declared, Labour sources said it had won in every ward in boroughs including Bury, Tameside and all but one in Trafford, where both Reform UK and the Greens made inroads in May.

So the Burnham bounce continues.

As Ben Walker at Britain Elects puts it...

Labour outperformed the polls in Greater Manchester this week, comfortably holding its mayoralty against a Reform and Green challenge. While their vote share is markedly down on what Andy Burnham got for Labour in 2024, compared to the prediction markets and even the more bullish pollsters, Labour didn’t do half bad.

Don't fall for the doomers and whiners. The far right can be beaten with good candidates and sound leadership.

[tmarshconnors]

Make Up Your Damn Mind, Labour!

So... Diane Abbott has been readmitted into the Labour Party after another suspension.

At this point, can anyone honestly keep track?

Suspend her. Reinstate her. Suspend her again. Readmit her. It feels less like a disciplinary process and more like someone repeatedly flicking a light switch because they can't decide whether the room should be dark or bright. Reports indicate that Abbott has now been readmitted following an internal disciplinary review after a year-long suspension over comments relating to racism and antisemitism.

Whatever your opinion of Diane Abbott herself, this endless back-and-forth raises a simple question:

What exactly does Labour stand for?

Either someone has crossed a line serious enough to warrant suspension, or they haven't. If the conduct is unacceptable, have the courage to stick to your decision. If it isn't, don't suspend them in the first place.

Politics requires consistency. Without it, discipline starts to look like public relations rather than principle.

The Labour Party has spent years telling the public that it takes standards seriously. Yet decisions like this leave many people wondering whether internal politics matters more than clear rules. The message becomes muddled, and when the message is muddled, public confidence takes another hit.

This isn't really about one MP.

It's about leadership.

A political party should be able to explain its standards in plain English. The public shouldn't need a flowchart to work out who's suspended this week, who's back next week, and whether the reasons have actually changed.

If the evidence justified bringing Diane Abbott back, explain it clearly. If nothing material changed, people are entitled to ask why the original suspension happened in the first place.

British politics already suffers from a credibility problem. Constant reversals only deepen the feeling that decisions are driven by convenience instead of conviction.

At some point, every party has to make a choice:

Stand by your decisions.

Or stop making them.

Because endlessly changing your mind isn't a sign of strength. It just leaves voters scratching their heads and asking the same question over and over:

"Will you lot just make up your damn mind?"

[persistentlyperplexingmoth]

Genuinely insane for the bbc to have a picture like this

and let politicans get away with calling it 'the north'

like at least say north of england and it will be a bit more accurate but even then -

having power pushed out of London is awesome don't get me wrong but choosing manchester was arbitary and only bc that's where Burnham is from

[tomorrowusa]

‘Burnham bounce’ takes Labour top of polls

Polling expert Professor Sir John Curtice says polls confirm ‘Labour have been given a second chance’ – but warns against an early election

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has been in power only since early last week. But his Labour Party has already taken the lead in polls for the first time in over a year.

The rightwing pro-Brexit Reform Party has been slumping over allegations of bribe taking by its leader Nigel Farage. Farage resigned as an MP and triggered a by-election in Clacton where Farage is running again – his main opponent being a comedian who wears a trash bin over his head. The comedian, known as Count Binface, is attracting more favorable attention than Farage. Overall, UK voters tend to give a thumbs down to the drama Farage has instigated in Clacton.

The accession of Burnham provided not just a boost to Labour but offered voters an opportunity to contrast Labour under Burnham with Reform under Farage.

A Survation poll published on Tuesday morning put Labour top with 26 per cent, up one point, with Nigel Farage’s party trailing with 24 per cent, down two points. It followed More in Common released on Monday which put Labour ahead with 28 per cent compared to Reform’s 24 per cent. A YouGov poll gave both parties 22 per cent on Monday. The findings show Reform’s dominance of polling – leading in more than 300 consecutive surveys since April 2025 – has come to a shattering end as Mr Farage’s hopes of becoming prime minister appear to be evaporating after Labour’s change of leader. In another blow for Reform, Labour are eyeing a landslide victory in the Manchester mayor by-election, a contest which was called after Mr Burnham resigned from that position to pave a return to Westminster.

It is within the margin of error, but the point is the upward movement. Last December, the POLITICO Poll of Polls for the UK put Labour 13 points behind Reform.

This is an indicator that the rise of the far right in Western democracies is not at all unstoppable.

This vid by TLDR News was made several days prior to the polls mentioned above by The Independent. It already reflected the upward movement of Labour and downward movement of Reform UK. (There's a promo for a documentary on Greenland at the end.)

FYI: The Clacton by-election takes place on August 13th – 15 days from today.

[lmsintmedia]

Peter Obi Reaffirms One-Term Presidency Promise, Says Four Years Are Enough to Reset Nigeria

As political conversations surrounding Nigeria’s 2027 general election continue to gain momentum, Labour Party presidential hopeful Peter Obi has renewed his commitment to serving only a single four-year term if elected president. The former Anambra State governor said he has no intention of seeking to remain in office beyond four years, arguing that effective leadership should be measured by…

Peter Obi Reaffirms One-Term Presidency Promise, Says Four Years Are Enough to Reset Nigeria