AIBU to think Andy Burnham might call a general election soon?

Exactly and somebody else has already made the excuse about the phone fraud costs. Fraud is fraud.

I’m not saying it’s comparable. But we all know how social media works. If you’re challenging a party for alleged impropriety you need to be whiter than white. All the public will hear is that there’s a convicted fraudster in Downing Street and that’s all it will take. Most people don’t dig into the detail.

Haigh was convicted.

Farage is not currently guilty of any wrongdoing.

Amounts involved are irrelevant. This was argued the case in Rayner's stamp duty evasion. It's the principle that matters.

The need to give another tax a go might not work either. There’s indicators that road has ended.

I'm not entirely sure keeping a work phone that you shouldn't have and pleading guilty to it is comparable to half a million pounds from someone convicted of wire fraud, let alone a £5m bung from someone else, which you keep strenuously arguing is all hunky dory.

£200(?) - let's say £300 and be generous - versus £5,500,000... To put it mildly, anyone who thinks these are the same is stretching beyond reason.

The sickening thing about Haigh is that her conditional discharge didn't bar her as a serving MP. That privilege is denied many ex offenders in roles, such as education. It's madness that she's exempt in her government role. An example if Burnham's fairness, I suppose.

They can't after taking money from an even bigger fraudster!

Wealthy taxes have been tried and failed elsewhere. It costs a lot and doesn't raise enough money to even touch the sides. The highest earlers pay about 60% of all taxes. If they either retire because it's not financially worth it or leave we will lose tax.I think he should replace the CT, Stamp duty etc with a land value tax, and something needs to be done about the Triple lock.

Haigh is a problem. It’s difficult to batter Farage for impropriety when you have a convicted fraudster in no 10. Reform will throw back the mud and it will stick, Massive own goal.

She's right though. We are in a mess, and whatever you thinking our spending priorities should be, we are going to need money to fix them.
Cutting welfare won't touch the sides given 67% of people on benefits are pensioners or in work already, and a chunk of the remainder will be genuinely too ill to work or have disabilities. The health of our nation in in a shocking state and we're not getting any younger.
Nothing is getting cheaper. Ordinary people can't handle any more income tax.
We need to give the wealth tax a go. Because not all assets can be taken away from the UK, and we could try the US system of ten year exit tax for those that could. This is a popular idea across all shades of politics with public support for it at 77%.

The average real world job experience of Burnhams new cabinet is 2.5 years (mostly
in low grade roles).

How the hell can they claim to represent us?

Absolute madness.

Agreed.

I think that the wheels are going to come off pdq.
Not looking good.

Oh that is a strange choice. I'm surprised he even wanted that! I thought Al Cairns would have been safe there.

Labour all over, two faced hypocrites.

He's not steely enough for that position. Kemi owned him after the King's speech. A few questionable decisions from the cabinet selection. I always thought I would view Burnham's plan by his selection. It started off well but he's tainted it with two dodgy instalments. You can't come in the way he has and then appoint fraudsters on top of that.

Yes, I remember Mandy trash talked Trump. Cut scene to him later sucking up to Trump
in the Oval Office.

Nauseating.

Streeting is a baffling choice for defence. That won’t last!

They never learn do they. Burnham has also said some interesting stuff. Trump will be saving those. Maybe he will remind Burnham on his trip to Manchester.

Mr Miliband has previously said Mr Trump’s election heralded “dark days for America and the world”, accused him of “lowering the bar for idiocy” and described him as a “racist, misogynistic self-confessed groper”.

Gonna prove an interesting first meeting…:

Defence

Has Streeting not been given a job then?

You're taking for granted that more funding would improve those services. For that to happen you would need competent management of local councils and the NHS as examples. Offset that against union pressure for bigger salaries, which are always successful under Labour and it's not the whole country which benefits, it's the public sector. Everyone but Labourites can see it coming when a socialist is coming in promising everything. There's already criticism that Burnham wants homelessness sorted yet he didn't prioritise that in Manchester. He's a champagne socialist with his wife wearing a Victoria Beckham designed dress at his accession. I mean come on. How ill-judged was that.

@LuckyHazelFox left leaning maybe. Socialism seems rather extreme. I am not sure why new ideas are needed? Just a recognition that 'top down' does not work and under-investment in infrastructure, services and people in the longer term does not actually benefit the country as a whole.

Yes, by Andy Burnham.