£2billion on Green policies? I’d like to see the working on that.
Gooberithmetic.
Well this is depressing. A big thanks to all the Facebook health experts and their anti-vaxx nonsense;
By coincidence, I have a VDU eye test today, and have just been looking up the German for measles to explain why I don’t see properly out of my right eye.
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I suspect that there is a problem with access to GPs. The lowest vaccination rates tend to be the poorest parts of the big cities.
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Yep, I could easily see it being part of the collapse of our GP services which we are experiencing.
I need to do a deeper dive into understanding that more I feel. It’s more than just GP numbers I suspect.
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I wouldn’t have thought that access would be the main issue. It could be rolled out at School’s, etc.
I think Covid created a lot of scepticism towards vaccines, also I believe the MMR jab contains animal gelatine which may not be suitable for all Faiths.
Labours election win was a result of people finally losing hope in the Tories rather than Labour accumulating more voters/voter diversity. Labour only achieved 33% of the general vote and 9.7m voters which is lower than most Election shares.
It was always going to be an uphill battle from the moment they won the Election. Media pressure and Voter pressure is expected, is it not? It comes with the job.
We are now talking about pressure from the Labour Party members internally, this isn’t dissatisfaction from external sources, this is in house. You cannot dismiss this or lay the blame on anyone else and this is not the first sign of unsettlement from within the ranks.
I actually think Starmer has represented the UK well on the international stage, has been a good spokesperson and generally handled Trump well. Infact, I can’t think of anyone who could have done a better job.
As you @redfanman and @tesh90 suggest, it is highly unlikely Burnham - who I feel is very a good candidate for party leadership and has a very relatable persona - is going to change the mood of the electorate.
Some genuine questions, if you don’t mind - open to all.
Do you believe Starmer will be Party Leader for the next Election?
In your opinion which Labour leader has the best chance of getting the Party re-elected Starmer/ Burnham or An other?
As it stands, the Polls suggest a Reform Government if elections were held now. Would you be open to losing the next election to allow the party to regroup/reset behind a new party leader, rather than throw them in now?
To clarify, I ask these questions genuinely, not to score points but to see where your thoughts are at. 
- Starmer will be leader at the next election. He has an iron grip on the executive committee and he can’t be challenged easily.
- Burnham is Labour’s best chance of winning the next election, but see 1.
- No. Labour need to sort their shit out quickly. A Reform government is a threat to democracy, similar to Trump in the US.
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Thank you for your honest reply.
So, you see Burnham as Labours best candidate for the next election? Can I ask you why you believe this?
At the same time, would you be happy with a leadership challenge to potentially see Burnham elected leader? Would this not be detrimental to the Party?
Again I ask these questions genuinely rather than to find fault
The thing I take from this is, is that despite the difference between Reform and Labour falling (was this as a result of favour to Labour or Tories?) you still have a large vote percentage to what you would call RW parties. Tories have been hemorrhaging Voters and MP’s and yet they still hold 18% to Labours 19%.
I personally believe the only way Labour will win the next election is by convincing a small percentage of undecided reform/Tory voters and hoping that the two parties split their voters.
What is clear though, is that the Voters are predominantly leaning towards the RW parties. Merge their vote share and Labour are nowhere to be seen.
This may require a re-evaluation of what Labour stands for and also an acceptance from their voters that their view of an ideal world is not achievable at present and rather than stand against, call out people, look at how they can educate.
Regarding Starmer, I am happy to go on record and say that I think he has done a very good job, as a Statesman for the UK. He has handled the recent international situations well. Unfortunately, it maybe the sanity of his own party that becomes his down fall. Who knows? The world is a very strange place at the moment.
The usual MMR vaccine does, but there is an alternative available on request.
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The second dose could. The first dose is done around 12 months.
I’m not sure how NHS England operates, but NHS Scotland did work quite closely with faith communities. We did have pretty accurate data for immunisation, and the main factor for low uptake was deprivation.
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I’m not sure “leaning” does it justice - it seems people are frothing at the mouth for the RW to come in and save the day…
I have oftentimes wondered what the basis of RW policies and their attraction? Is it anything other than I want more pocket money than my siblings because, well, I deserve it?
Labour were voted in as people “tired” of the Conservatives. I would ask those tired voters, who are now fleeing to the Right parties, that did they really expect their world to change in 3-5 years? Really?
People lack perspective.
I guess I’m too jaded or too cynical.
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Is Andy Burnham officially the most dangerous man in the UK?
Burnham is generally liked and trusted. He has experience of governance, but he isn’t part of the current government.
Yes. I don’t think Starmer can win another election, and therefore you have to make the change. Starmer should himself know this and make way, but he clearly won’t.
This is a moot point as Burnham has been blocked from standing by the Starmer controlled executive.
Speaking anecdotally, I know loads, and I mean loads, of people who are anti vaccines. I’ve had tons of arguments with work colleagues/corrected ignorance countless times. I’ve found it in gyms when talking to PTs or other members, all taxi drivers are full of it. We recently had a baby and we heard it from a number of different mums on the same ward. My missus says it’s common with the parents of the kids she teaches. I know nurses who argue about it daily.
Speaking for Liverpool, which has had a death caused by measles relatively recently, I would guess that low vaccine uptake is every bit a problem as access. Unfortunately, being anti-science here is often seen as ‘free-thinking’.
Not a majority, of course, but it doesn’t need to be.
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The money side of it is the ‘intelligent’ response they give. The actual reason is to punish ‘the others’. Even if they get punished due to it knowing others are suffering even more than them keeps them going.
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Burnham being blocked by Starmer.
Cancelled local elections.
People being arrested and taken from their homes in the middle of the night for expressing an opinion on-line.
People being jailed for expressing an opinion on-line.
The government wanting the right to snoop on encrypted messages on the likes of Whatsapp.
Political commentators being banned from entering the country.
I could go on. You don’t live in a democracy anymore.
I think you’ll find that’s Kier Starmer.
Like these for instance?
https://www.cheshire.police.uk/news/cheshire/news/articles/2024/8/men-jailed-after-posting-racist-messages-on-social-media/
Interestingly, the Malicious Communications Act was introduced by the Thatcher government.
Maybe you could list the ones you think are appropriate:
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