Saturday 27th & Sunday 28th June 2026

[refitman]

Morning all.

[refitman]

Bastard neighbour started running his camper-van engine at 7:30 this morning. And then vacuuming his kitchen, with the door open at 8.

[Frog222]

Rivkah Brown did a good long piece on Simons at Novara . Someone to watch !

The operation began in earnest then to secure a seat for Burnham. A tight circle of only three or four people were involved. Multiple sources say the seat identified was Manchester Rusholme, held by Afzal Khan. But he denied it, when it began to leak.

“He was as good as it got. No 10 got to him that Sunday,” one of those involved in the search said. Inquiries were made of the St Helens South and Whiston MP, Marie Rimmer, and multiple others. It was then that Simons entered the conversation.

Simons, who friends said was “radicalised” by his Makerfield constituency, knew the polls meant he would stand no chance of re-election himself. He believed Burnham was the only politician who could win in a seat like Makerfield. And by May he was also in need of redemption after his ministerial resignation over the Labour Together scandal.

Burnham went to see Simons at his house in the constituency. Simons’ wife, Leah, a Harvard-educated economist, had just given birth to their third child. But in the two hours they spent with the mayor, the couple grilled him on economics and how he would approach a potential bond market reaction.

Makerfield, next door to Burnham’s old patch of Leigh, was 29th on the Reform target list. Several of Burnham’s closest allies, including Haigh, advised him not to go for it. Multiple sources say there were at least two safer seats as options.

“Andy really wanted that patch, he wanted to march into the heart of a Reform seat, and that would be the mandate,” one of his team said. “He would not have had that mandate if he had won Gorton and Denton.”

There was confidence that the political authority of Starmer was no longer enough to block Burnham again.
...

“Even the most loyal Keir people know they have a better chance of keeping their seats with Andy,” one of the MPs who greeted him said. “That’s not saying he is the messiah. But it is a fact.”

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... estminster

Nice thought, how many of those 200 posing for that selfie had not thought of AB as their seat-saver ?

[Frog222]

Something more for the jouros to ask him about !

Well, a few of them .

[Frog222]

I had a quick look.

Some the argument appears to rely in a poll from JANUARY

[Frog222]

Omerta at the beeb --

[Frog222]

A short !

[refitman]

Just when you thought the Kipper couldn't write any bigger lies

[Frog222]

Just when you thought the Kipper couldn't write any bigger lies

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/20 ... -centrist/

A mixed history on the NHS and trans patients, but I liked the description of him as a shapeshifter ! .

[Frog222]

RE the Mamdani success, third post above --

It's typical of the UK scene that mainstream press and politicians are either ignoring what they privately know, or ignorant of the groundswell of public opinion against support for Israel .

So Mamdani's support for the successful opponents of the Democratic Party Old Guard shows what is possible ... and a whopping great hole in Burnham's policy offer . It does appear that he and his team have been negligent in ignoring this running sore ?

Another youtube short

[refitman]

Hey, they're playing all the hits! Not an original thought in the entire Labour leadership.

[Frog222]

Apart from a 'five year sentence for theft' (unlikely), the rest of this is legit .

One Canadian volunteer who I now know quite well , had a choice between a crack Army brigade and the new Alcatraz ( ex-prisoner) battalion . She was in demand as a medic and fundraiser, and much sought after . So she tossed for it, the Brigade won, but she then realised what she wanted most of all !
That was a good eighteen months ago now, and she's still alive . ( Last night)

Being a tactical drone pilot is no sinecure, being a much sought-after target in the Kill Zone by both sides .

Two minutes --

[Frog222]

Same temperature in and out, but the breeze provides windchill outside so nice and cozy here !

[Frog222]

Tens of people filmed at Trump event --

[refitman]

Don't know what all the fuss is about. The Fair looks great

[Frog222]

Nominations for the leadership close on 16 July, with a formal declaration as leader anticipated the following day if he is unopposed. However, precedent dictates that the handover to the prime minister would occur on the next working day, 20 July.

How long is the Daily Telegraph's candidate going to keep us waiting ?

[Frog222]

[Sky'sGoneOut]

Anyone want a heartening story of human decency in these benighted times?

I'd been over to see my friend in Calderdale, had a nice stroll and drank some wine, then went to get the bus into Halifax to get the train back to Leeds. The bus stopped, a lady driver got off and asked where I was going, and after I explained said the main road to Halifax was closed due to a broken water main (requiring the road to be dug up) so her route was officially cancelled. After vaping and chatting for a while she suggested driving me (I was her only passenger) to the nearest station in Brighouse instead. Which she did. Her name was Michelle and I would like everyone to know how awesome she is. Never before have I had a bus become my personal taxi while the driver argued over the radio about a duty to her passengers with an evidently irate boss.