A Weekend in Politics

 

They say the political world stops for the weekend, but obviously not this one. I'm sorry I didn't write about these updates sooner, but I've been away at the Bases conference. The unflushable turd is finally round the U-bend; yes, Keir Starmer has resigned as prime minister. He will remain in office until Labour chooses a new leader, probably when Parliament returns from their summer break. This is a complex process, far more so than with the Conservatives, and it has happened far less often. There has not been a contested Labour leadership change since 2015; and only once before during a government, when Jim Callaghan succeeded Harold Wilson. Two-Tier Starlin's announcement followed the Makerfield by-election that was won by Andy Burnham, see: https://hpanwo-radio.blogspot.com/2026/06/hpanwo-show-635-makerfield-election.html. This is a disappointing result, in my view; although Sargon of Akkad is pleased Restore Britain came third right on the polling prediction. I had hoped for better, but maybe my expectations were too high. Labour did not only win they actually doubled their majority. It could be this is just residual Northern tribalism, after all the Makerfield area has been a Labour stronghold since the party was founded in 1900; but it could also be because the official rightwing opposition in the shape of Reform UK has not won the public's trust. Good; it does not deserve it. At the same time fewer people than was necessary dared to leap over the chasm and back Restore. At the same time a few Restorers still voted tactically for Reform, despite the amazing opportunity Restore presented in Makerfield. The fears about vote splitting were unfounded; it would have made no difference to the outcome. Reform was polled to lose by a narrow margin, but in the end they only got 15,000; this is a huge failure for Farage's party. Hopefully this will be a lesson learned for those closet Loweists. A tactical vote for Reform is jumping into a lifeboat that is also sinking. There are more seaworthy alternatives currently paddling away from the Parliamentary Titanic. I suspect this "Reform-or-bust" delusion kept a lot of the electorate away from the polls and hampered the success or Restore. See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ehu6C3jK9bw.

Another lesson the people did not seem to understand was that their constituency has been exploited by the Westminster elite, the gaggle of suited bureaucrats, mostly Southerners, who are the nation's demolition crew. The man they elected, Josh Simons, has been removed, with his permission, and therefore their decision has been spat on; and for what? For a greater national and international political agenda. Andy Burnham is being considered to be on some sort of hero's journey, a Paul Atreides who is destined to save the Labour Party. It is extraordinary to think that a man who was not even an MP until last Friday could be prime minister within two months. What's more this outcome is being discussed in the media as a certainty, as if it were all planned from the start, before Josh Simons'.... sorry! Lord Simons'... resignation. It's as if the leadership contest is a mere formality, a foregone conclusion. This displays a major problem with the British political system that most other countries don't suffer. We, the people, cannot elect our head of government. They are merely selected by the majority party in the House of Commons. Other nations, such as the USA, have a separate election to appoint their head of executive power, in this case it is President Trump. I agree with Jacob Rees-Mogg, election to public office is a sacred duty and is not something to be bought, sold, bartered or traded for the fools' gold of more widespread power struggles. If I were Josh Simons I would never have quit. The party could then expel me; fine, I would sit on as an independent MP. Another good point Jacob makes is that this situation really does require a general election, even though it is not constitutionally necessary. This transformation is too radical and there is too much public disapproval. What will happen if... when Burnham gets into number 10? Nothing will improve, that's for sure. Probably most people won't even notice the difference. The one bit of good news from the Makerfield by-election is that the Tories came in just above Count Binface... By the way, Happy Brexit Day, ten years on!
See here for more background: https://hpanwo.blogspot.com/2019/10/brexit-portal.html.