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Liz Webster: As Starmer faces a leadership…

😡 As Starmer faces a leadership crisis and expected local election wipeout, his niece Ellie Sandover has been parachuted into a safe Labour seat in Croydon. Sitting councillors reportedly removed to make way for her. Nepotism and central control, while he lectures everyone else about “due process.” @LibDems did similar with @DavidCampanale in Sutton and are now staring at a big payout. Party machine control freakery looking after their own while preaching democracy. Voters notice.

Liz Webster: John Major…

✅ John Major “The fate of individual politicians doesn't really matter as much as the development of the right policy.” Starmer’s in trouble bc of his commitment to Brexit - bad policy. Trying to make Brexit work with US trade deals, lowers standards, exposing farmers, and chipping away at the resilience we desperately need. Brexit made us more vulnerable. We can’t fix generational decline by opening the door wider to imports that undercut British production. We need policy that rebuilds domestic food security, not more short-term trade-offs.

Alex Wickham: Keir Starmer speech on wave...

New: Keir Starmer speech on wave of antisemitic attacks in Britain - says will look at measures to prevent chants such as ‘globalise the intifada’ on marches, and look at repeat protests - condemns people who attend protests alongside those calling for the murder of Jews - says will fast track legislation to give the government stronger powers to tackle threats from states like Iran - says will introduce stronger powers to shut down charities that promote antisemitic extremism - says will speed up sentencing on antisemitic attacks so there is a stronger deterrence - says will bar hate preachers from the country, campuses and streets

Alex Wickham: Keir Starmer speech on wave...

New: Keir Starmer speech on wave of antisemitic attacks in Britain - says will look at measures to prevent chants such as ‘globalise the intifada’ on marches, and look at repeat protests - condemns people who attend protests alongside those calling for the murder of Jews - says will fast track legislation to give the government stronger powers to tackle threats from states like Iran - says will introduce stronger powers to shut down charities that promote antisemitic extremism - says will speed up sentencing on antisemitic attacks so there is a stronger deterrence - says will bar hate preachers from the country, campuses and streets

Alex Wickham: EXCLUSIVE…

EXCLUSIVE: Andy Burnham says Labour must take a “different course” after the local elections. He declines to back Keir Starmer staying on, signals he’ll make another run for Parliament and argues defence spending should be taken out of the fiscal rules to fund a rise through borrowing. “It’s got to be a moment of reflection,” Burnham says in a Bloomberg interview today, warning the results will be “challenging.” He says in the aftermath it means “starting to now pull through on a different course.” “I understand the real frustration people have got with politics and politicians. I honestly, I really understand that. And they’re right to say politics just hasn’t been working,” the Greater Manchester Mayor tells @flacqua . Burnham makes clear he intends to run again for Parliament. “The politics we’ve pioneered as mayors: place first, not party first — that needs to go national, and so we do need to reform Westminster. I can’t remove the kind of feeling that someday I will try and go back. I’m not ruling it out.” Asked if Starmer should stay after May 7, Burnham declines to answer. Instead he says the PM deserves more “credit” for the job he’s done. And he suggests defence spending should be taken out of the fiscal rules in what would be a major change to UK policy to fund an increase in defence spending through borrowing. While he suggests the fiscal rules “will stay in any context,” he says “there’s certainly a case, when we look at the pressure on defence spending, to consider that exceptionally outside of the rules.”

Alex Wickham: Keir Starmer end-day analysis…

Keir Starmer end-day analysis: he is wounded from the last two weeks but limps on to face his fate after the locals. — The PM finished the day in a better place than he started it. He got a rare victory winning tonight’s Commons vote with minimal rebellion. If he had lost it would have been close to game over. But No10 won the argument with Labour MPs that this was a political stunt from the Tories. Labour MPs decided to keep their problems in-house rather than give Kemi Badenoch the win. — Downing Street is relieved that what threatened to be a perilous Tuesday didn’t do much serious new damage. The sessions with Philip Barton and Morgan McSweeney ended without a killer blow. When it comes to the process on Starmer versus Olly Robbins, after hours and hours of testimony from all the key witnesses, there are arguments on both sides and no clear winner, maybe just two losers. — Philip Barton’s evidence was uncomfortable for No10 but his crucial caveat that he was not put under pressure over the substance of Mandelson’s appointment process gave the PM something of a reprieve. It could have been much worse for No10. — That means after two weeks of intense scrutiny on Mandelson, he has survived until the next flashpoint after the locals. As Bloomberg reported on Saturday, Starmer’s rivals think they need a ‘perfect storm’ of events to bring him down including an ‘emotional’ response from MPs to May 7 leading to a cabinet revolt. It remains unclear if Labour MPs have the stomach or plan to change leader now. It all comes down to the days after the vote. — Starmer will seek to move past the Mandelson scandal with a renewed focus on security, in terms of Britain’s defence, economy and energy supply as we reported a few weeks ago. He is planning a series of speeches and policy interventions on those topics.

Alex Wickham: Keir Starmer state of play ahead of a big Tuesday…

Keir Starmer state of play ahead of a big Tuesday - The PM’s allies, Labour MPs and the Tories all think Starmer will win tomorrow’s vote and Parliament will reject a privileges probe. - Starmer’s allies think they have won the argument that the timing of the vote by the Tories is politically motivated ahead of the locals. - Big beasts like Gordon Brown coming out to say as such have helped No10. Foreign affairs select committee chair Emily Thornberry agrees. Starmer’s rivals like Angela Rayner are remaining loyal. It sounds like PLP tonight was largely supportive with only a couple of left-wing dissenters. - Tory HQ think it’s a win-win for them. They don’t dispute this was a political move. Conservative officials say if Labour MPs vote with Starmer then the Tories will point that out to voters on the doorstep ahead of May 7. - The danger for Starmer comes at 9am when Philip Barton appears in front of FASC. He is expected back up Olly Robbins and Ian Collard and say No10 did put pressure on the foreign office re Mandelson. If he produces bombshell evidence of serious pressure then that could produce a case that Starmer misled Parliament. You’d expect Morgan McSweeney will deny any pressuring when he testifies at 11am. - But what it may come down to is your definition of pressure. Starmer argued to @joshglancy in the Sunday Times that there are normal pressures of the job, such as getting things done quickly. What he is denying is that No10 pressured FCDO to approve Mandelson against due process. Robbins and Collard both say pressure didn’t affect their decisions, so sort of agree. Will Barton? - Remarkably Collard says in his evidence to FASC tonight that he too didn’t see the UKSV form with boxes ticked against recommending Mandelson get clearance. That means the two key decision-makers, Collard and Robbins, didn’t see the key document and instead decided among themselves that they could mitigate the Mandelson concerns. - Nearly two weeks on from the Guardian story, who is right and wrong on the process remains unclear. No10 will still argue FCDO failed to share the UKSV concerns with them and shouldn’t have tried to cook it up among themselves. Robbins essentially argues it’s all been a big misunderstanding, that Mandelson’s vetting problems were resolvable and he shouldn’t have been sacked. As Thornberry suggested after his evidence last week, it could be that there was fault on all sides.

Robin Monotti: If you think that Milei's claims…

If you think that Milei's claims over the Falklands the day after he meets with Netanyahu have nothing do with Iran, perhaps think again. The strategy seems clear: Starmer moves RAF resources to Iran due to pressure from Trump, then when the Falklands are undefended, Milei puts pressure by claiming them, and forces Starmer to hand over more of the Falkland gas fields to Israel which already has a 65% stake in the Sea Lion gas basin.
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