OV9

He is still a rape denying cunt, IMO.

Dave!

Jobbo wrote: Mon Jul 20, 2026 9:27 am To be fair, it was the Labour MPs who ousted Starmer. Burnham wasn't even an MP so wasn't in a position to do that.

Not at all, the Makerfield by election and subsequent one-horse leadership challenge had everything to do with Burnham wanting to destabilise the PM.

Gavster wrote: Mon Jul 20, 2026 10:51 am

Jobbo wrote: Mon Jul 20, 2026 9:27 am To be fair, it was the Labour MPs who ousted Starmer. Burnham wasn't even an MP so wasn't in a position to do that.

Not at all, the Makerfield by election and subsequent one-horse leadership challenge had everything to do with Burnham wanting to destabilise the PM.

I speak as a fan of Starmer but he was already spent by that point. The party wanted Burnham and the party ousted Starmer to have him. Burnham went along with it but I think it's beyond credibility that he plotted this.

He and the MPs definitely plotted this together - that's why it all worked so efficiently.

I’ve never seen the Labour Party be as effective as they were getting rid of Starmer.. masochistic bunch

Gavster wrote: Mon Jul 20, 2026 11:08 am He and the MPs definitely plotted this together - that's why it all worked so efficiently.

Politicians who can get shit done you say?

yeah, we don’t want them…

Rich B wrote: Mon Jul 20, 2026 11:39 am

Gavster wrote: Mon Jul 20, 2026 11:08 am He and the MPs definitely plotted this together - that's why it all worked so efficiently.

Politicians who can get shit done you say?

yeah, we don’t want them…

Indeed - as I said, I liked Starmer but he wasn't very effective at communicating. If it had been personable Burnham doing exactly the same things that would be fine with me because he'd everyone about it. He won't get beaten up because he'd been given a free pair of glasses.

Of more concern is that Burnham seems to blow with the wind a bit like Starmer. I don't see any idealism.

yeah, i think you and i are fairly aligned politically Jobbo. I’m not particularly interested in blind allegiances and the endless self sabotage to prove them right. if someone/a party is doing positive things, then celebrate it. If they’re doing bad things, call them up on it - who cares if their party colour align with the newspaper you read.

Burnham needs to set out his stall quickly and decisively because the country is watching and they won’t be keen on giving second chances.

Rich B wrote: Mon Jul 20, 2026 11:39 am

Gavster wrote: Mon Jul 20, 2026 11:08 am He and the MPs definitely plotted this together - that's why it all worked so efficiently.

Politicians who can get shit done you say?

yeah, we don’t want them…

Nope, I didn't say, you did Churning political leaders in this country is not 'getting shit done', quite the opposite, it's stopping shit from getting done.

Rich B wrote: Mon Jul 20, 2026 12:00 pm yeah, i think you and i are fairly aligned politically Jobbo. I’m not particularly interested in blind allegiances and the endless self sabotage to prove them right. if someone/a party is doing positive things, then celebrate it. If they’re doing bad things, call them up on it - who cares if their party colour align with the newspaper you read.

Burnham needs to set out his stall quickly and decisively because the country is watching and they won’t be keen on giving second chances.

Seems like it Rich. The substance is what matters, not how it's presented - ironic, when the substance should have been the making of Starmer and it was really his presentation which caused him to go.

I see people are reading into his speech that he's aiming for an early general election. Which isn't really a surprise; every PM wants a mandate and being hamstrung by the previous manifesto seems short-sighted. I think he's sensible enough politically not to rush into that; he has to show that he's worth electing to win it.

Gavster wrote: Mon Jul 20, 2026 12:55 pm Churning political leaders in this country is not 'getting shit done', quite the opposite, it's stopping shit from getting done.

Shit didn't get done when Starmer's cabinet started resigning en masse. He threw away the opportunity which the massive majority gave him by failing to lead his own party. The history books aren't going to be too difficult to write about Starmer's premiership; he's not going to have people going misty-eyed in 30 years time about how good he was and we just couldn't see it - unlike John Major for instance.

Found this quite interesting, standing orders for our nuclear subs if government is wiped out:

“Burnham's decision will be based on one of four options:

To retaliate

To do nothing

To put the submarine under allied command, preferably the US or Australia

To instruct the submarine captain to use his or her best judgement

Each letter is stored in a safe within the control room of each of the UK's four ballistic submarines. It will remain there for the duration of his premiership.

On a changeover of power, the previous prime minister's letters are removed and destroyed without opening.

Few former prime ministers have ever revealed what they wrote.”

Rich B wrote: Mon Jul 20, 2026 12:00 pm Burnham needs to set out his stall quickly and decisively because the country is watching and they won’t be keen on giving second chances.

What's your thoughts then on his No.1 priority being to end rough sleeping and another priority being to bring back HS2 north?

He promised to end rough sleeping in Manchester but it seems worse than ever.

Seems like an odd thing to make a priority given the state of play generally.

Jobbo wrote: Mon Jul 20, 2026 2:22 pm

Gavster wrote: Mon Jul 20, 2026 12:55 pm Churning political leaders in this country is not 'getting shit done', quite the opposite, it's stopping shit from getting done.

Shit didn't get done when Starmer's cabinet started resigning en masse. He threw away the opportunity which the massive majority gave him by failing to lead his own party. The history books aren't going to be too difficult to write about Starmer's premiership; he's not going to have people going misty-eyed in 30 years time about how good he was and we just couldn't see it - unlike John Major for instance.

This was a very good interview..



9:30 for his view on PM changes but the whole thing is worth a watch.

Not every PM becomes a Knight of the Garter (highest order of Knighthood ) and shows that his work spoke louder than his words at the time.

Swervin_Mervin wrote: Mon Jul 20, 2026 2:49 pm

Rich B wrote: Mon Jul 20, 2026 12:00 pm Burnham needs to set out his stall quickly and decisively because the country is watching and they won’t be keen on giving second chances.

What's your thoughts then on his No.1 priority being to end rough sleeping and another priority being to bring back HS2 north?

He promised to end rough sleeping in Manchester but it seems worse than ever.

Seems like an odd thing to make a priority given the state of play generally.

I read about this a while ago, apparently the scheme did work, but because it wasn't a national strategy, homeless people migrated to Manchester on the promise of a bed every night, which basically nullified the effect, which is probably why Burnham wants to do something at a national level with it.

Related:
https://i-sphere.site.hw.ac.uk/2021/03/ ... programme/ (before the numbers started rising again)

https://www.ippr.org/media-office/homel ... ted-action

I can cut him some slack in that case - as Mayor he can only influence the local area, if people from Brum and Glasgow start turning up, etc that's gonna skew the numbers. If a proper national system is set up, it could theoretically work as well as ABEN initially did.

Edit: Rough sleeping is bad but it also looks bad - I expect that obviously you are helping people, but if middle class floating voters see fewer homeless people around, they're more likely to lean towards Labour/Burnham come election time because it's a highly visible issue - more so that detailed tax policy changes which are more of interest to nerds like us who no-one listens to over the screaming headlines in the Express, etc.

One day we’ll figure out that bouncing from one centrist non entity to the next is a waste of time but not today

ZedLeg wrote: Mon Jul 20, 2026 3:23 pm One day we’ll figure out that bouncing from one centrist non entity to the next is a waste of time but not today

Oh Eeyore, you are a one. You do realise that centrist is likely to be as far left as the PM gets in your lifetime, and indeed the lifetimes of any descendants born in your lifetime.

Yeah, I know.

Doesn’t mean I’m going to jump onboard with the bunch of cunts who’s biggest achievement so far has been further marginalising my friends though.

Thought his cabinet picks so far were just ok (not exactly a deep talent pool to pick from) till he put Rayner back in her old job Also not sure why Miliband is so popular… It is clear that those who plotted against Starmer have got the top jobs.

Last time I looked up Miliband he was well respected in the civil service and in industry for actually understanding the briefs he gets, in detail - IE when working on Net Zero stuff, he took the time to do the research and not just make comforting mouth noises on camera.

But some hack took a dozen pictures per second of him eating a bacon sandwich, and picked one of the 75% of them that everyone would have, where it looks like you're actually eating a live mains cable, and he's forever branded a weirdo because apparently shitrag paparazzi are more authoritative source on his competence than his actual record in the House.

This is why we can't have nice things.