Ben Bradshaw

The 5 Live phone in is usually an accurate barometer of the mood of the country.
Today's was overwhelming in support of the position adopted by Starmer.

Who actually were the Hero Voters? Labour won in 2024 because of economically insecure voters, not social conservatism.

Have been a bit frustrated by some of the conversation about Labour's voter coalition.

I've written about who the "Hero Voters" actually were, how we won them, and what we need to do to earn their support next time.

chriscurtismk.substack.com/p/who-actual...

Councillor Chris Large's departure from Reform a mystery Neither Reform UK or Chris Large have commented on why he is no longer a member of the party.

Reform replaced its Staffs council leader over not declaring extreme social media content when vetted. His replacement has stood down & left the party, after revelations of racist social media content on an anon account, though neither he nor the party will confirm why
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Exactly. A serious journalist in an age of gossip mongers.

Turns out all the Brexiters shilling for Trump really hate British sovereignty.

Starmer’s ‘Love Actually moment’ with Trump treads a fine... The PM is adamant that bombing Iran is unlawful without evidence of threat

Good to see the Observer’s political editor correcting the nonsense in the right wing press and BBC this week that Keir was browbeaten by Cabinet colleagues over #Iran. “The PM, contrary to some reports, had never been willing to allow UK bases to be used for the first wave of air strikes”.

Lovely to be back on the @exeterlabour.bsky.social #laboursoorstep today with @steveracemp.bsky.social & our wonderful local councillors. Overwhelming support for Keir’s approach to Iran & real concern about what a Reform, Tory or Green Government would be doing in these circumstances.

Indeed

Anti-LGBTQ+ hate crime one step closer to being aggravated offence In a win for LGBTQ+ rights, the House of Lords passed an amendment that will see LGBTQ+ hate crimes made an aggravated offence.

With hate crime against LGBT people & trans people in particular on the rise, this is great news. The Labour Government delivering another manifesto commitment & the first legislative advance for LGBT people since Equal Marriage in 2013.

The vitriol displayed by the right wing papers against the Government for its sane & reasoned approach to events in the Middle East, which enjoys overwhelming public support, is something to behold. They cant bear to support Keir Starmer on anything, even when they & their readers know he’s right.

In defence of hand-wringers and pearl-clutchers To surrender the fight for international law is to accept worse outcomes and more civilian deaths

Such a shame the @financialtimes.com is so expensive. It’s by far the best newspaper left.

The dumb-dumbs of war | Robert Hutton | The Critic Magazine It’s a little-known fact about Kemi Badenoch that years ago she must have suffered a traumatic brain injury that has left her completely unable to recall any event after 2002.

This at once very funny and a devastating criticique of the Conservative leadership and the puerile politicking that substitutes for stateswomanship
thecritic.co.uk/the-dumb-dum...

Forget the 8am phone scramble. Contact your GP practice online.

It's quick, it's simple and it's part of how we're modernising the NHS to work better for patients.

Watch to find out more ⬇️

Nhs.uk/GPOnlineForms

He’s correct, @robertshrimsley.bsky.social, as usual.

Be glad of Starmer’s caution over Iran Bellicose critics of the UK prime minister have learnt nothing from the recent past

I feel like Conservative foreign policy is one of those things that I *know* to be in an utterly terrible place, then you read it written down and go 'oh yeah, their position is literally that the UK have the most China-hostile policy of any nation in the world'. Great column:

Starmer’s position on Iran pleases no one, but that is because there are no good options | Rafael Behr None of the prime minister’s critics engages with the hard strategic dilemmas arising from Britain’s perilous dependency on US power, says Guardian columnist Rafael Behr

“The world where Trump is regulated by a British prime minister’s phone calls and chastened by his denunciations exists only in the realm of opposition fantasy.” Brilliant column on Iran by @rafaelbehr.bsky.social

Very good explainer from @gabyhinsliff.bsky.social on the UK’s response to events in the Middle East. #Iran.

Badenoch has made a choice. Either act like a mature leader in the national interest or get in the gutter with her mates on X. She chose the latter.
The Tory party of Whitelaw, Major and Co is no more.

With the irresponsible right saying Britain should have backed US/Israeli offensive action in #Iran & the irresponsible Greens/left saying we shouldn’t support defensive action to protect UK citizens in the Middle East, it feels Keir Starmer & the Government are in the right place, for now.

A brilliant initiative. Like much of Labour's work drowned out by other events.

Rachel Reeves should have a spring in her step as shoots ... Britain’s economy is on the turn and the fiscal situation improving. If the chancellor’s got any sense, she’ll shout that from the rooftops

“After 15 years of almost unending bad economic news, there are signs that the pall of despond hanging over the British economy may be about to lift.”

Have you read what he actually said? Do you disagree with any of it? What does “shifting to the left” mean for economic & fiscal policy? What would the impact of that be on the bond markets, borrowing costs & hard-won stability & how would that impact Labour’s delivery programme?

Keir Starmer’s response to the Gorton and Denton debacle should be a government that truly, finally, reflects him | Tom Baldwin In the past he has been urged to follow strategies that don’t really match his core beliefs. That’s changing, as it must, because he knows the clock is ticking, says the prime minister’s biographer, T...

Found this sane & sensible column among the weeds of @theguardian.com’s comment section. Thanks @tombaldwin66.bsky.social

From Twitter. Worth a share.

Tracking UK migration: Small boats, asylum hotels and visas Use our interactive tracker to explore the latest migration statistics for the UK

More news that won’t make the headlines: asylum claims down 4%, number in hotels down 19%, claims backlog lowest since 2020, returns up 9%, net immigration down 69%. Labour is fixing the broken system it inherited from the Tories.

I wanted an oven with a knob. Instead I got a world of pain | Adrian Chiles My new oven has a touchscreen – and demanded to be connected to my broadband. Now it won’t give me a moment’s peace

This, on the other hand, is brilliant. We need a campaign to bring back knobs.

Lost species to be released as Labour seeks to stave off Greens’ election threat Push for good nature news before polls with reintroduction of white-tailed eagles, pine martens and beavers in England

More nonsense from @theguardian.com as every good progressive Government policy is now interpreted as “an attempt to stave off the Green Party threat”, when it is simply the delivery of what was in our manifesto. 🙄

‘Magic beneath the surface’: pioneering geothermal plant launched in Cornwall A mini power station and lithium extraction plant near Redruth set to bolster energy and jobs

Wonderful to see this Westcountry success story, generating clean energy, creating new jobs & building on Cornwall’s proud mining heritage.

Packed reception at Parliament for LGBT history month. Great speeches from @steveracemp.bsky.social @oliviabailey.bsky.social & others. Thanks @stonewalluk.bsky.social for organising & good to see the new @equalityhumanright.bsky.social chair there & engaging with star MP @racheltaylormp.bsky.social

UK government debt sales set to fall for first time in four years Big banks forecast £247bn of gilt issuance in coming fiscal year amid chancellor’s drive to rein in borrowing

More good news on the UK economy. Message to Labour MPs contemplating leadership shenanigans - “the biggest danger to the economy is political instability.”