It is just possible Burnham has learned something from the hash Starmer made of welfare reform
Andrew Gimson
It does not matter that we shall have had seven PMs in a decade: repeated failure at length becomes instructive.
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Be very, very scared of a snap election
Oliver Dean
And so yes, an early general election should worry us, but it should also motivate us to get our house in order and ready ourselves to do battle. To don our armour, and prepare accordingly. I have no doubts that preparations are underway, and that some type of doomsday plan exists if Burnham decides to go to the country.
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The end of Starmer drama and the soap opera of coronation street – but who IS our next PM?
Giles Dilnot
We are entitled to more than the carefully crafted cheeky chap with his dress down bonhomie but real, solid, answers to politically serious questions about Britain’s future and his plans for shaping that.
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Without Margo the party will struggle to rebuild
John Oxley
She was a fictional character, but Margo Leadbetter from The Good Life represented middle class women who were staunch Conservatives. The problem for the party is that there are very few Margos left.
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One big decision Burnham may yet surprise us with brings bigger risks for the Conservatives
Peter Franklin
Badenoch has gone out of her way to reject any deal with Reform. Her exact words on the possibility are “no, no, no, no, no, no, no”. This really doesn’t look like a mere delaying tactic. Indeed, I’d suggest it’s an integral part of a survival plan for an early general election.
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John Redwood
If Mr Burnham really wants to go for growth he will need lower taxes, cheaper energy, a roll back of net zero self-harm, and more incentive for people to get a job and set up businesses. His wannabe advisers want more spending, more borrowing, more benefits, more socialism. That did not work in the 1970s and will not work now.
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Kim Leadbeater, like Keir Starmer, needs to be told the game is up
Miriam Cates
In this context, facing likely defeat and provoking certain division, it would be madness for Lauren Edwards’ new Bill to pass. It is time a delegation paid Ms Leadbeater and Ms Edwards a visit and put their Bill out of its misery. Andy Burnham would breathe a sigh of relief.
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Reform UK’s councillors are facing the realities of power
Antonia Cox
What is Reform going to achieve by having its elected representatives play a part – even if only through scrutiny committees – in the hard choices that have to be made?
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The Long Read: The disconnect between political activists and voters and why that matters
Chico Khan-Gandapur
The task is not to drag everyone into the world of the political obsessive, but to bring politics back into alignment with the everyday concerns and limited attention of the people it is meant to serve.
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The President of Somaliland tells me it’s time for Britain to recognise his country
Lord Ashcroft
Recognition is not simply symbolic but essential. “Recognition is not something we can manufacture ourselves,” he said. “It is the greatest achievement when another country recognises you.”
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