Sorry, but the Macbeth idiom is irresistible. Presumably, after a full week of letting it be understood that any move by Burnham would be stopped dead in its tracks by the NEC, the Mcsweeney coven was hoping that he is
... not without ambition, but without / The illness should attend it
But no: whichever witches our Andy encountered on Newton Heath knew their man better:
When you durst do it, then you were a man
The Mcsweeney bluff was in truth a really easy one to call. So they block Burnham tomorrow: what chance then, for whatever hapless stooge Labour puts up in the by-election? "I know you all really wanted Andy ... but I'm hoping you'll support me now ..." A great rallying cry indeed, with only the thin chance of a haphazard but possibly lucky 3-way split to save Gorton & Denton for Labour.
Shakespeare again: let's imagine Mcsweeney's day-dream. The scene is some darkened Labour office in Manchester: Mcsweeney has Burnham marched in, sits him down, offers him a cup of instant coffee and says
Great spectator sport. Amusing, too, to see Miliband's response for the cameras yesterday, impishly saying Burnham would be "a massive asset" in Parliament and that he hoped Gorton and Denton party members would have "the option" of selecting him as a candidate. He also hopes, of course, that Burnham would make him Chancellor.
More popcorn!
ND
© Nick Drew 2026
Mayor Burnham! - may I deign to
call you Andy?
We all do have the high'st regard
for you
Just in case you don't know it.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebzMjaIbxSA&list=RDebzMjaIbxSA&start_radio=1
Let the fun begin...
ReplyDeleteAs Joy Division didn't sing...
"Labour, tearing themselves apart, again..."
https://order-order.com/2026/01/25/andy-burnham-blocked-from-standing-in-gorton-and-benton-by-election/
You have an impressive mastery of the Bard's style ...
ReplyDeletePity you didn't work in "dunce inane".
ReplyDeletea challenge! When I get a moment.
ReplyDeleteThere - fixed it. Good suggestion!
ReplyDeleteApplause!
DeleteHe’s been blocked.
ReplyDeleteOn economic grounds, no less
It would be a waste of money to have a by election AND a Mayoral election.
That’s a new look for PM. The CCK
Cost Conscious Kier
Starmer had no good options. Burnham stands and wins, he goes for Starmer's job, loses, blames Starmer. Block him, Labour lose, it'll be Andy would have won it, and if they win, the resentment will still be there.
ReplyDeleteI'm expecting the customary U-turn when the depth of rage bubbles up to Starmer, next one Andy, we'll let you run...
CH
Labour infighting has gone beyond merely re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. They are now all trying to storm the bridge of the Titanic, in the hope of getting a chance to sit in the captain's seat for some brief period of time before the doomed ship sinks forever and takes them all down with it.
ReplyDeleteIf we shadows have offended,
ReplyDeleteThink but this, and all is mended,
That you have but slumber’d here
While these visions did appear.
And this weak and idle theme,
No more yielding but a dream,
Our politicians left and right, mere players scripted carefully to have little influence 'cept on their own lives. Certainly Starmer gives a good impression of Molesworth but on the other side we have a mini Medusa who squeaks like a mouse. A Burnham would smell as sweet by any other name and still the worm i' th' bud. T'will not fadge well.
F all to do and all day to do it - but make sure we hire many many players in this House and t'other place to give us sup and support. A pox on both your houses.
Someone suggested he should let him stand then make him deputy
ReplyDeleteAt this rate Reform will be Conservatives II - Braverman goes over.
ReplyDeleteOT -
ReplyDelete"Germany and Italy have never been so close to each other in their shared history before" — Chancellor Merz.
I can think of a time ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pact_of_Steel
off piste but see reports that the new offshore wind farms are to be connected directly to continental grids. What do you make of that?
ReplyDeleteI've been following the career of Matt Goodwin since the days twenty years back when he was a politics lecturer and the go-to guy if you wanted a bad quote about the BNP for the BBC or Guardian. His speciality - "the far-right" got him a professorship at Kent, at which point he started to veer with the political wind to become Mr Voice Of Reason at the Daily Mail or GB News.
ReplyDeleteBut I didn't expect him to become a Reform candidate. Is he still an utter careerist who sees himself as Reform Home Secretary?
"Shakespeare - the man who pays the rent". Thus spake J Dench. And we might add Jane Austen and Emily Bronte. All people who provide a living to thousands of academics, scribblers, bonnet makers and buskin makers and film crew.
ReplyDeleteA good bit of talent well timed goes a long way. Which brings to Andy Burnham, a chap who has Labour politics to his fingertips and a deft operator. Too much so, he frightens the care-worn and discredited, but he is young and will get his turn.
TBH I had never heard of Matt Goodwin. Sounds as if a move to Reform could make or break him - a player or a scribbler forever. This time or next for Reform? TBH they might usefully dump that spiv Farage if they want to be taken seriously.
Meanwhile Starmer speaks once more to Mr Xi. Perhaps in the hope of a nice new car factory or power station. May you live in interesting times. A lot depends which way the wind blows for Mr Trump, he thrashes around a lot and spaffs the cash and credibility but much to show for it?
Starmer.
ReplyDeleteAll you need to know.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/01/27/starmer-unleashed-witch-hunt-british-soldiers-iraq/
Goodwin's articles are easy to find, and he is on Substack
Jim @ Reform might usefully dump that spiv Farage if they want to be taken seriously.
ReplyDeletehe's thought of that ! Reform is a private company, owned by, errr ...
Nick
ReplyDelete"he's thought of that ! Reform is a private company, owned by, errr ..."
I thought that had changed a while back?
"Nigel Farage gives up ownership of Reform UK"
ReplyDelete20Feb2025
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvgdlv56y2wo
Yes, but check Companies House. Per that Beeb article, it has been supplanted by "a newly registered business called Reform 2025 Ltd, with Farage and his deputy Richard Tice no longer holding shares."
ReplyDeleteAnd who owns Reform 2025 Ltd? That would be Reform UK Party Limited, (100%) which itself has 4 directors, all registered at Millbank Tower, one of which is, errrr ...
Cunning. What the usual "company" status of a political party, Nick? I have many reservations about Farage but suspect I will have no choice but to vote for them. If the UK is still standing, that is, after Starmer has finished punishing us.
ReplyDelete