Burnham unopposed & likely to be PM by mid July

[Twiglets1]

Wes Streeting confirms on social media that he won’t stand as a candidate for the Labour leadership. He says that a contest where candidates spent the summer “exaggerating small differences” would not be good for the party or the country, and having spoken to Burnham, he is confident that that there is “a place” for the policies he has been advocating under a Burnham premiership.

The Guardian say this means it is now very, very likely that Burnham will be PM be mid July. It is conceivable that another candidate may come forward. But, apart from Streeting, no one else has publicly signalled an intention to stand, and with Burnham now a shoo-in, it is hard to imagine any other MP getting the support they would need to be a candidate.

heguardian.com/politics/live/2026/jun/22/keir-starmer-resignation-timeable-andy-burnham-labour-leadership-prime-minister-latest-news-updates?page=with%3Ablock-6a390a538f08adffab1e97fd#block-6a390a538f08adffab1e97fd

Interesting edit

We do not want Thatcherism. We want a modern Conservatism delivered by better people than BoJo installed. Could Rishi be tempted back in active politics.

I'm afraid you will have to, succinctly, outline the distinction between modern Conservatism and @Bullandbear's modern Thatcherism.

Have to? Nobody has to do anything on here. It's a chat forum, not paid employment with managers!

Let’s find something we can all agree on, for starters.

Can we all agree that this Labour government has been an unmitigated disaster, and that socialism does not work?

Who can we tax to pay benefits to others?

I am listening to Wes Streeting taking questions on LBC. They clearly got the message to try and control the narrative themselves. So that is a start. The question is what advice do you have for Andy Burnham…

It is Jess Philips on tomorrow, you can call up and ask a polite question.

Thanks, but I am polishing my cat….

Thank you for your defence @NoWordForFluffy .
IMO Margaret got the idea of Society very wrong. She didn't think there was much if I remember rightly.
Her privatisations were well intentioned and it brought fresh money in. The primary legislation for the Regulators was far too weak. The companies ran rings round them.
Regulators should have the power to instigate investigation. They can only respond to complaints and respond to the letter of the complaint not widen it out.

No, we can't all agree on that

It's the same as asking 'can we all agree that the previous Tory government was a unmigitated disaster'

And Badenoch's claim "for the first time ever, we are now spending more on welfare than we earn in income tax” is wrong.

I regret that my asking for more detail necessitated someone to come to your defence.

Nevertheless, thanks for outlining what you believe.

And Badenoch's claim "for the first time ever, we are now spending more on welfare than we earn in income tax” is wrong.

Would you like to correct your statement, or shall I?

Badenoch has been asked to correct this statement multiple times.

I have never seen the quote but:
Is Kemi's statement right if we include pensions in the total?
Or is there a breakdown easily obtained and read.

I actually wasn't defending anybody. Just pointing out that nobody has to do anything on MN at the behest of another poster.

Again, I repeat my question.

Margaret Thatcher famously declared “There is no such thing as society.”

We don't want to return to that mentality.

This is a common misrepresentation of what she said. She was talking about individuals not taking responsibility for themselves and expecting ‘society’ to sort out their problems for them. She wasn’t doing down the concept of community which is how it has been interpreted.

Margaret Thatcher: "They are casting their problems at society. And, you know, there's no such thing as society. There are individual men and women and there are families. And no government can do anything except through people, and people must look after themselves first. It is our duty to look after ourselves and then, also, to look after our neighbours." – in an interview in Women's Own in 1987

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/apr/08/margaret-thatcher-quotes

thats the interpretation ive seen as well

She said what she said. Up to individuals how they interpret what she said.

I hated Maggie with a passion when she was PM. She really did seem to represent selfishness and only caring for yourself and your family, bugger anyone else.

Yes, it was a divisive time. It felt like "I'm alright, Jack" ruled.

But the quote you have in your last post directly contradicts your assertion there, as she says about looking after neighbours too.

You’ve quoted yourself where she says to look after your neighbours so you’re contradicting yourself.

There was far more community spirit in the 80s than there is now. People on MN frequently moan about people knocking on their door unannounced. Society now is far more selfish than in Thatcher’s time.

If you look more closely at the quote you will see that Thatcher separates out and highlights "yourself". The foundations of our society had been built upon a Christian concept of "love thy neighbour as thyself".

Six years before this Thatcher quote we had the Tebbit "Get on your bike". That was the divisive atmosphere that era created.