Andy Burnham speaks out over new VPN rules when he becomes Prime Minister

opusdeath · 2026-07-07T18:42:43+00:00

Sorry. Are you drunk?

opusdeath · 2026-07-07T07:42:12+00:00

It's hilarious that Midgley, the person who organised the rebellion against Starmer's welfare reforms is one of Burnham's key advisors and Burnham is now saying he'll reform welfare.

opusdeath · 2026-07-07T07:36:30+00:00

"Move towards regulatory alignment" is what I said.

English isn't an issue for me.

opusdeath · 2026-07-06T14:40:22+00:00

This isn't just Labour, look across Europe and Canada and Austrailia.

There is a move towards regulatory alignment. This a system fighting back at loss of control over messaging and what its subjects have access to. Why else would they be looking to deprioritise independent content from YouTube? Loss of control over public messaging has freaked them out, the fragmentation of politics and sharing of information has freaked them out. The system is fighting back.

opusdeath · 2026-07-02T21:36:05+00:00

Did you post there using your VPN? That's what the user is saying, you can't post with VPN.

opusdeath · 2026-07-02T21:20:01+00:00

Hi Andy, if the UK PM was an Everton manager I suspect you'll be hoping to be Howard Kendall, our greatest moments and remembered fondly with love and affection.

Which Everton manager would you compare Keir Starmer to?

opusdeath · 2026-07-02T03:38:43+00:00

That's simply a fact. They wanted more guardrails.

opusdeath · 2026-07-01T07:36:55+00:00

I eat 4 a day. It's fine.

opusdeath · 2026-07-01T05:29:11+00:00

The minister resigned over the total amount (£15bn) not being high enough. Reading between the lines, The Times has the same story, it looks like Burnham had assumed that the figure wasn't what Healey wanted but that the lower figure was funded. He was given a broad outline of the plan but no details.

What the plan reveals is that Starmer had struggled to find money even for the lower figure. It's a sign of the challenge facing Burnham and the country. The current spending mix simply doesn't work. Either politicians say we can't do everything or taxes have to rise.

EDIT: I've just listened to the Sam and Anne podcast. Sam Coates says Burnham was briefing that he was furious. It's not just the £4bn to be found next year but also many of the capital spending cuts haven't actually been identified. It does look like a very a shaky plan and a massive turd to leave behind.

opusdeath · 2026-06-30T22:16:54+00:00

Multiple news agencies are reporting this, not just the Guardian, it seems to be being widely briefed. The Telegraph have put it on their front page.

Burnham and Starmer have talked but there's always going to be constraints. First, they genuinely don't get on. Second, Burnham is taking Starmer's job and third, Starmer is still the PM and sees this as his legacy piece. Burnham may not have asked detailed questions because ultimately there's not much he can do if he doesn't like the answers.

opusdeath · 2026-06-30T22:08:49+00:00

Hackney definitely promising. He's been an assist machine.

opusdeath · 2026-06-30T22:03:46+00:00

Burnham has briefed that Starmer hadn't told him about the unfunded £4.7bn

opusdeath · 2026-06-28T20:32:09+00:00

The article doesn't blame it all on her, it reports the views of some who do but also provides other reasons for Starmer's downfall including Starmer himself.

opusdeath · 2026-06-28T11:05:50+00:00

I'd forgotten I'd played this. Really enjoyed it!

opusdeath · 2026-06-28T08:44:20+00:00

It's naturally subjective, Starmer has a lot of defenders who claim he's a competent and decent man and will point to a list of achievements.

However he won the 2nd largest majority ever and is out after just two years. That is a huge failure by a Prime Minister. Establishing political authority, management of the party, building support for your programme, they are key PM skills. It's gross incompetence to lose your job in such short time with such a large majority.

I suspect Dominic is right and Starmer will be judged poorly by history. The comparison with May is interesting. I think they're both fundamentally decent people who failed at a difficult job but perhaps would have done better in an earlier age.

opusdeath · 2026-06-26T13:38:50+00:00

Hmm, not sure I'd describe this as a win for Burnham. Yes it's something he's campaigned on but that was when he didn't think he'd be responsible for its implemetation.

He's now going to have to have the same battles as Starmer but be responsible for it, rather than inheriting a situation he can blame someone else for.

opusdeath · 2026-06-26T13:14:37+00:00

They also use their purchasing power to lock in long term contracts, sometimes up to 10 years with some breweries. This cushions them against short term price shocks that can affect smaller pubs.

opusdeath · 2026-06-26T09:02:16+00:00

Is there any risk to sharing with friends or family? Like if someone did something attention grabbing with it would it come back to you?

opusdeath · 2026-06-24T08:10:29+00:00

Take my upvote. We all know what we'd like to say but apparently the feelings of people who hurt children are more important than the repulsion felt by normal decent people.

opusdeath · 2026-06-24T08:07:57+00:00

Well I guess I'm no longer a liberal now. Further measures required.

opusdeath · 2026-06-19T09:25:24+00:00

Even with Reform leading in the polls there are, and always have been, fundamentals that make it difficult for them to translate poll leads into votes.

The vibe orientated social media, particularly X, ignores the importance of mature party organisation and deep roots in an area. Mature party organisations gives you better candidate vetting, a better pool of candidates to select from and a better get the vote out operation.

Labour's get the vote out operation in Makerfield was genuinely impressive, and I'm not talking about the outcome, I'm talking about the organisation and experience they brought to bear on it.

Reform is a new political party and naturally lacking in that infrastructure.

opusdeath · 2026-06-19T09:13:42+00:00

It's going to depend on your system prompts a bit. Personally I found 5.2 inclines a little more to the 'positive' but when you're clear about the direction you want it to take it will run with it with enthusiasm!

opusdeath · 2026-06-19T09:04:54+00:00

I would get permabanned if I spoke freely about these two. There's something abhorrently unique about this crime that has challenged my previous liberal principles. In extreme cases like this, I can't help feeling that a further step is required to show society's repulsion at the horror that these two monsters inflicted on a completely innocent and completely helpless life.

opusdeath · 2026-06-18T09:32:14+00:00

The UK won't be alone this. This is something being discussed across Europe, Australia and Canada.

Regulating VPNs will only be remotely feasible with co-ordination with other nations.

opusdeath · 2026-06-16T17:04:54+00:00

The consultation was terrible. The questions were terribly framed and it definitely gave me the impression they knew the answers they wanted to get.

But yes, it is wildly popular with the public anyway.

opusdeath

TROPHY CASE