Voters of Makerfield show you are not some pawns in a political power struggle

[Goatsarebest]

The voters of Makefield are being used in a political power struggle that is not of their choosing. They elected a MP who has decided that he wants another person to represent them so he can challenge the sitting PM.
AIBU to say they should reject this and not vote the puppet candidate in.
Vote IABU somebody needed to stand down so there would be a credible challenge to the current leadership.
Vote IANBU an elected MP should represent the people who elected them for their full term.

I agree and say he showed his hand when he first caved into the back benchers. I did enjoy Kemi's reference to them the other day. The party has become a circus and Starmer is struggling to tame its actors. I'd be digging my heels in if I were him.

They already voted for who they wanted but now their MP of choice is deserting them to support Burnham’s personal ambitions. It absolutely stinks. I hope he gets trounced.

I think he will. This is just the latest move in the Labour party's insistence that they know best. The electorate is secondary which is why Reform are lapping it up. My prediction is that he's going to get slaughtered.

What is the cost of having a GM mayor and PCC?

I'm never convinced devolved power is beneficial. It adds another layer of civil servants doing stuff.

I agree. Appalling that they are pissing money away in their vain power struggles, focusing all their attention away from the job we elected them for. I won’t vote for them following these Machiavellian stunts.

They voted for a person who dislikes the PM so much that he resigned his post.
I hope they embrace the opportunity to re-reflect and vote for the candidate they think deserves it.

I think it’s stupid. But I don’t think you can say it’s “the Labour Party” thinking it knows best. They don’t even agree! Anyone supporting Starmer or Streeting wouldn’t think this is for the best.

The office itself costs around £17 million a year which we fund through mayoral precept on top of our council tax

I think I read that the whole Starmer leadership debacle could cost the country up to £12 billion.

Have a read about Steve Rotherham, Peak Cluster and HyNet. Quite the eye opener and a truly terrifying insight into Labour Metro Mayors.

This is incorrect. He did not lose the whip, he made a statement calling for Starmers resignation then a few days later he himself resigned as an MP to make way for Burnham.

Im not a Labour voter (right wing conservative) but the last thing this country needs at this time is a leadership contest. I like AB a lot because of what he has done locally (I am a Manchester resident) but I think this is a teriffic gamble and not a good look for AB. Not a fan of Starmer either but I respect him for keeping us out of the Iran war.

I am gobsmacked at the arrogance of Burnham in this. He should have shut down talk of someone stepping down for him, rather than allowing someone to give up their job and waste money for their own ego.

I know politicians are by their nature ambitious, but I want at least a small amount of humility from my leaders.

I voted for labour before, but I'm not sure I will again with Burnham, especially how dangerous he is for women's rights. Starmer wasn't the greatest, but respected the law, respected the Supreme Courts decision, and although dithery, hasn't made things worse. Burnham is full on TWAW so I'm back to being politically homeless. Again.

I would say that “not being a pawn in some power games” includes not being told who NOT to vote for on a website famous for being populated by very well off middle class Londoners! 😂😂😂

We are all manipulated, more so than ever in these days of computers, the internet, and billionaire ownership. The question is by whom and for what ends.

Yes you're quite right. Starmer needs to really fight back but it's probably far too late. The harder left has taken the party to the mess they are in now. I probably had those in mind with the know best attitude.

I think even if he was able to become the PM he wouldn’t be a bad local MP at all. He’s clearly shown over a long period of time that he is genuinely interested in promoting the north and having someone with that experience and commitment to your area lead the country is surely a good thing.

If people are generally left leaning and want a left leaning government/pm but vote for someone else just to take him down a peg or two or to show him he can’t expect their support that doesn’t seem like very sound reasoning. I hope he wins. I hope if he mounts a successful challenge for PM he is much more effective than Starmer. I hope reform don’t do well because I don’t believe for a second they will improve anything and I think Nigel Farage is an opportunist exploiting the hopes of people who have been ill served and sidelined by many past governments.

They didn’t say he lost the whip, they said he resigned his post. Which he did in Feb.

They didn’t say he lost the whip, they said he resigned his post. Which he did in Feb.

Do you mean like the council by elections that will have to take place following many Reform councillors resigning/ being suspended in the week since the local elections? Estimated at £20,00 each? All of us will pay.

Their post has been edited. It originally said he lost the whip and was an independent MP. He resigned as a cabinet officer in February, not as an MP

Was this government elected on a left leaning mandate?

I thought they were. I recall just after Starmer become PM, the complaints were that he was not left enough.

Yes you're right. I think he's been in a no win position for a year now. The party is so splintered that herding cats springs to mind. @RedTagAlan

Reform living in people’s heads rent free yet again I see 😂

Of course they are. They genuinely terrify a huge number of people.