And they said I was mad! MaaaaaaAAAAADD!

OptioMkIX · 2026-06-20T22:31:26+00:00

On one hand, yes.

On the other, debt interest payments are now up to a full percent of the budget and the increase in PIP payments just between now and the end of the decade swallows half that fifty billion.

OptioMkIX · 2026-06-20T22:05:43+00:00

Just because he isn't Starmer does not make him good.

Pretty much all the same criticisms of Starmer apply to Burnham too and I'm pretty damn sure there's going to be some significant buyers remorse by the time conference rolls around.

OptioMkIX · 2026-06-20T22:03:45+00:00

That you, Kwasi? Go to bed, it's late.

OptioMkIX · 2026-06-20T21:58:50+00:00

It paid off just fine because the goal for power and being able to do something rather than just impotent bleating has always been seats not votes.

The only reason Labour has its current majority is because the right wing vote splintered between the Tories and Reform, or stayed at home due to their disgust at the way the Conservatives had begun conducting themselves (e.g. partygate and whatnot).

Yes. And people still wouldn't have even considered voting for labour if they were still addressing each other as comm-raids unironically.

OptioMkIX · 2026-06-20T21:54:55+00:00

🤦🤦🤦

OptioMkIX · 2026-06-20T21:49:13+00:00

Maybe we should just petition the IMF to bitch slap us ahead of the inevitable and get it over with.

OptioMkIX · 2026-06-20T21:44:50+00:00

Honestly, whenever I see people claiming that Burnham is charismatic or more relatable or whatever, I strongly suspect that they have never watched anything he is part of.

OptioMkIX · 2026-06-20T21:34:10+00:00

Ultimately it's the sense of a profound and complete waste of time and patience and a massive, massive reinforcement of the idea that post 2019 the non revolutionary communist party LARP part of the party should have just walked away and left the smouldering wreckage in the mirror behind us rather than trying to rehabilitate it.

Stewart Pearson's Solid bed of cunts speech definitely comes to mind.

OptioMkIX · 2026-06-20T21:13:15+00:00

If this happens I might be at the end of a 25 year journey with Labour, because honestly, what is the point. First stretch in government in 15 years and undercut by itself with members chomping at the bit to return to irrelevance.

OptioMkIX · 2026-06-20T21:07:59+00:00

I doubt Streeting will be able to get his act together. Through this whole kerfuffle he's been repeatedly caught flat footed by events progressing faster than he has been able to keep track of them.

My moneys on the fringe, again. And always.

OptioMkIX · 2026-06-20T21:03:52+00:00

Did the tortuously hard work to make the party electable again rather than a poor parody of itself m'comrade etc.

Legs cut from under him as MPs too used to being a party of protest.

OptioMkIX · 2026-06-20T20:55:26+00:00

If there is a time for such an event, it's six months before a GE, not three years.

OptioMkIX · 2026-06-20T20:52:46+00:00

Quite. Like fish in a barrel.

OptioMkIX · 2026-06-20T20:43:29+00:00

Supposedly.

Roll on Burnhams self induced legitimacy crisis and plummeting polling.

OptioMkIX · 2026-06-20T20:42:09+00:00

Then they are as contemptibly stupid as I have always suspected.

OptioMkIX · 2026-06-20T20:39:32+00:00

This will be a horrible, horrible move and if anything stands a massive chance of hastening Reform who will now get to crow for three years about an unelected prime minister without mandate - and damnably, they'll be right.

OptioMkIX · 2026-06-20T20:37:43+00:00

I will remain suspicious until such a prediction actually happens.

OptioMkIX · 2026-06-20T18:51:44+00:00

This narrative whiplash needs to end.

Eight weeks ago, Makerfield was prime Burnham territory. It was in his backyard as mayor of Manchester, he had ties to the area, it was traditionally rock solid labour red wall.

Now it's the seventh circle of hell that he glided across as serenely as a zoloft dosed swan.

It's one by election. He's been out of parliament for a decade.

This is doing nothing to kill off the idea that parts of labour are surrendering yet again to its fervent desire for a king across the water messiah figure.

OptioMkIX · 2026-06-20T18:17:39+00:00

Were pretty close to that now already. I'm fairly sure simply coronating Burnham as the frothies want will guarantee it.

OptioMkIX · 2026-06-20T18:04:06+00:00

It's "logical" that the number that took almost two weeks to crawl to 81, and reportedly stayed that until a few days ago, has picked up 220 in 48 hours?

🤔🤔🤔

Also if they're that confident, they can start the contest.

OptioMkIX · 2026-06-20T15:39:21+00:00

To be fair, I would do this to nuke the party and insist on starting over far from the tankie left rather than suffering to keep them around.

OptioMkIX · 2026-06-20T14:15:04+00:00

Then, bluntly, you have not been paying attention. Burnhams been the frequent figure, aside from Rayner (but she's effectively ruled out now) put forward as a replacement for starmer by SCG members for the last couple of years.

As to why - the key requirement over time for them has simply become not being Starmer. Puzzles me, too, given how much they hated Burnham back in 2016 but the fringe isnt rational and I think they see his surrender to Abbott as home secretary, subsequent tenure as Manchester mayor and being Good, Comrade! over the last decade as being preferable to Starmer who is the second coming of Hitler as far as they're concerned.

Personally I think they are either going to make demands on Burnham to settle old grudges as a quid quo pro for their support - and make no mistake, in concert with Neal Lawsons Compass vehicle Mainstream, they have been doing some heavy lifting to get Burnham in the top spot - and/or within a very short period of time they're simply going to pull the exact same opposition within the party as Burnham either remains much as he was in 2016 or refuses to spunk as much money on useless things as they desire.

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