To think Andy Burnham is doing a decent job so far?

Yes. Also, many of the Lowe-lunatics lovers think Farage is an Islam-supporting traitor. So that is another problem for a far right shack up.

Even if it did happen and the pact lasted until 2029, the Manchester and Makerfield results show that even combining the "Re" voting base wouldn't necessarily be a win for the far right over the left. Then there is the fact that some Reform supporters wouldn't stomach voting for Restore and vice versa. ☺️

And it would probably lose as many as it gains, given that Lowe is certifiable.

This “pact” is only a rumour. I don’t think anyone is taking it seriously enough to be rattled.

I was actually going to say earlier that Reform/ Restore are clearly rattled. They can see Andy Burnham uniting the progressive left, the centre left and the centre. Hence this pact.

(although I think it’s also a fairly transparent and cynical attempt to wrestle back some media attention, so I’m loathe to give it much oxygen)

Well, I think the rattling will reach an entirely new level, at any Reform/Restore pact.

😁

They’re a drop in the ocean. The debt is the result of Covid and the Truss budget.

"Other spending" is doing a lot of heavy lifting in that pie chart! Shocking that we spend more in debt interest than we do on education. The public sector pensions bill will presumably reduce as those on the very generous DB schemes age out. They haven't been as generous for about 20 years.

Easily found if you ask Google. Gemini gave me this breakdown in pie charts.

Those figures are available both nationally and for local authorities.

I’d like to see a percentage calculation of how much is spent on what in this country - what taxes collected are spent on, drilling right down to local authority level. Only then would we have some true understanding of the level of waste going on. And make a judgement as a voter whether we spend more, or less, on vote-worthy issues.

Time to stop letting Reform set the agenda.

Excellent sentence @Visiblyabove25 and I think this was part of Starmer's downfall. Reform are far less relevant than some people think. I wish the RW media agreed!

There are hundreds of MPs and tens of thousands of civil servants, so they have the resources to do more than one thing at once. Nothing stopping them dealing the student loan interest disgrace at the same time as dealing with the care crisis.

Something certainly needs to be done about the interest regime on student loans but sorting out the lottery of social care is much more urgent. The issue for me isn’t so much that people with money have to pay for it as people who don’t have money not getting the care they need because local authorities are so strapped for cash. The profiteering of care providers is also an issue. Privatising care was a dreadful mistake.

I think student loans are a more pressing issue than social care - saddling young people with huge debts with unconscionable interest arrangements at the very start of their lives.

On immigration, there’s been extensive research that the more it is talked about, the more bothered people are. So, I think it’s right he is not making a big song and dance about immigration right now. Time to stop letting Reform set the agenda.

Obviously, I agree with you - of course people care about how much money they have in their pocket - but that very much includes the millions of people who get the bus to work every day, and will very much feel the benefit of a bus fare cap.

But the key thing for me is Andy Burnham is potentially two years out from a general election and he has a lot of political good will behind him right now. So, now is the time to use that good will to do the big, difficult, none-vote-winning things - like social care reform.

I think one of the problems with modern politics is we’ve been stuck in permanent election mode - you can’t govern well if your measure for a policy is, “will it win votes” rather than “will it be good for the country”.

I know no one can believe it when a politician is sincere but I really think Andy Burnham means it when he talks about at least attempting to change that political culture. Maybe I’ll be proved horribly wrong, but for now I’m choosing hope!

Good to hear you will be better off with the bus fares cap @spiceupyourlives it should help a lot of people get to work for less 👍

I live rurally so buses are pretty non existent 😂 so makes no odds to me - but if he can grasp social care good on him. I’d like to see someone have balls to tackle the massive pension and welfare bill though - we just can’t afford it….

The grown ups in the room have played a blinder as far as Farage concerned. Using the summer recess to actually crack on with stuff whilst he is in Clacton arguing with a bin….

I haven’t listened to it yet but I can’t imagine they said that. It’s a very long term project which is impossible to reform in three years, both Campbell and Stewart are astute enough to understand that.

I disagree.

Apart from anything else people only care about immigration (the boats! The boats!) because of the RW media and all the different Re... Parties banging on about them. We know the boats aren't really the issue and fortunately some of the electorate understand that. Plus, the number of boats has gone down.

I do agree that people care about the money in their pockets. The fares and energy bills are clearly part of that.

I was listening to the TRIP podcast and they were saying that Burnham is going to have to just get the social care reforms done this term, because he has such a large majority it's really his only opportunity. No one wants to pay anything for their social care, but we will all have to, like it or not. People who don't like it can either lose 10% or lose the whole amount in care home fees. Much of it subsidising people who haven't paid anything at all. People have been saying ' something needs to be done' for 20 years. He will have to do something about immigration and small boats if he wants to win the election but he doesn't need to do that yet.

You may not care about bus fares and a reduction in. Energy bills but many do as that is what effects their daily life. Immigration is not the be all and end all if everything

I know polls are just a snapshot etc. but based on latest polling Reform has lost its lead and is no longer predicted to win the largest share of seats.

He is focusing on the wrong things. At a GE people are going to care about 2 things, immigration and how much money they have in their pocket. Most people feel poorer, other than those on benefits who keep getting more and more of a bribe.

No one cares about bus fares (you couldn't make it up) or a tiny reduction in energy bills.

The social care crisis is a big problem but a 10% death tax is not going to be popular.