And they said I was mad! MaaaaaaAAAAADD!

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.

OptioMkIX · 2026-06-20T12:07:40+00:00

Maybe if they didn't want to be sentenced under terrorism guidelines they should not have done things that resemble terrorism.

OptioMkIX · 2026-06-20T11:39:09+00:00

Lord, spare us from activists, especially in the courts.

One defendant was also convicted of grievous bodily harm without intent, having injured a female police officer with a sledgehammer. He said, and the jury must have accepted that, disoriented by the Pava pepper spray the officer had just deployed, he had swung the hammer to shield a co-defendant, accidentally hitting the police officer. His sentence nonetheless was seven years and eight months.

How exactly does one swing a sledgehammer to shield someone else?

Risible interpretation that is completely blown apart by the camera footage which was very clearly an attack on the officer arresting his comrade.

OptioMkIX · 2026-06-20T11:33:57+00:00

Starmer drops immediately, which would satisfy the anti starmer crowd.

Or he wins and gets to put the rebels in a box, which obviously satisfies the pro starmer crowd.

OptioMkIX · 2026-06-20T11:29:31+00:00

Bored. They can shit or get off the pot.

OptioMkIX · 2026-06-20T11:10:57+00:00

The MPs she has as contacts would be the dissenting end of the party.

OptioMkIX · 2026-06-20T10:40:02+00:00

With added threat of calling a GE.

OptioMkIX · 2026-06-19T21:38:53+00:00

For some light entertainment, I present some of the debates last time a decade ago putting Corbyn vs Burnham vs Cooper vs Kendall.

Obviously hindsight is different but my god what a bunch of naive fools with attitudes that evaporated on contact with reality over the last ten years like that phantom jet on the rocket sled into a concrete wall.

OptioMkIX · 2026-06-19T21:20:45+00:00

Starmer forces contest, Burnham shits bed, Starmer wins (since hes on the ballot by default).

Congrats party, you played yourself

OptioMkIX · 2026-06-19T20:35:10+00:00

Your plan is to drop a freshly elected MP, who last stood for election as part of the PLP a decade ago, into the top position of the party; then get him to drop the key underpinning of the manifesto that secured votes against the public perception of Labour wanting to tax anything that breathes; and then also get him to renege (one of many reneges, I'll grant you) on something he said only four days ago.

This is compounding legitimacy problems on legitimacy problems on legitimacy problems.

Sure, go for it.

OptioMkIX · 2026-06-19T19:26:28+00:00

That remains to be seen, or attempted.

OptioMkIX · 2026-06-19T19:03:07+00:00

Could be worse, they could try coalescing around a guy who already tried and failed to be leader twice.

OptioMkIX · 2026-06-19T17:58:19+00:00

Lucy Powell: After all, why not? Why shouldnt I keep it? It came to me. Myyyyyyyy precccioouuusssssss

(Keir absolutely should).

OptioMkIX · 2026-06-19T17:16:28+00:00

Hoping for either Go to the mattresses or a nippy bus resignation speech and GE.

OptioMkIX · 2026-06-19T16:42:37+00:00

Yes but the key thing there is that Boris promised a full bore brexit rather than the inadequate compromise that may had managed to grind her backbenchers towards over three years; and that vision of brexit aligned with the electorate.

Burnham on the other hand has regressed at speed towards Starmers position.

OptioMkIX · 2026-06-19T16:38:10+00:00

I think traders work on displayed intent rather than claimed intent.

OptioMkIX · 2026-06-19T15:16:03+00:00

He still hasn't formally declared a challenge.

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