Messiahnic leaders? Whoever leads the Labour Party, internal divisions will stil be around

 Makerfield: Beginning or End of a Political Era

Disappointment led to a categoric defeat for both Labour and Conservative. Three political parties benefitted from it: Reform, Greens and Lib Dems.

In Lambeth Borough Council, a council that used to be a flagship of the Labour Party, the Green Party is callenging the Labour Party and on June 1st 2026, the Green Party might fundamentally change the way the council is run by getting rid of the cabinet system. This means that the Labour Party will no longer be able to use a small team to control the way things are done and decisions will be taken not just by a few, but by the whole ensemble of Councillors elected to represent Lambeth residents.

This is a major change and we wait to see if similar changes happen in other local authorities.

Now, going back to the issue of the by-election of an MP in Wakerfield, there are several possibilities. Andy Burnham is elected MP or Andy Burnham is not elected MP. If Andy Burnham is elected MP, he will have to have enough support in a leadership challenge to unseat Keir Starmer. Then again there are two options: he manages to win or he fails to get enough support.

If Andy Burnham is not elected MP, then we go back to square one and talk about other contenders within the Labour Party. There are other issues like who is the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Is it Rachel Reeves or Ed Milliband? Would Keir Starmer choose to negotiate a new Cabinent to appease his opponents?

Of course, there is also the issue of who is going to be the new Manchester Mayor as Andy Burnham stance to become MP has left the Mayoral seat vacant.

Now, lets think for a moment that Andy Burnham manages to get elected MP and manages to become Prime Minister. From the start, he would face enormous challenges inherited from Keir Starmer's administration. Iran, Ukraine, energy crisis, illegal immigration rising unemployment, high taxation, health, education, and so forth. Changing a Prime Minister does not mean that automatically everything will be sorted. Troublesome relationships will have to be dealt with. Will Andy Burnham be a better communicator? Will he be able to control Labour factions? If he cannot succeed then, without expectations and hope for an improvement, the panorama for the Labour Party will be even worse.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer promises to campaign for Andy Burnham in Makerfield By-Election

 

Just recently, apparently, Prime Minister Keir Starmer stood on the way and reportedly prevented Andy Burnham from standing as a Labour Candidate that Labour lost to the Green Party. 

Since then, Labour nost just lost one by-election. Labour had a catastrophic performance in local elections, performace that reinforce a trend of people who want him to stand down as Labour Party Leader and therefore as British Prime Minister.

Wes Streeting, a now former Health Secretary, has stated that if there is a leadership challenge he would be standing in the Leadership Campaign.

Now, today, Prime Minister Keir Starmer has promised that he will campaign for Andy Burnham. This is a peculiar position to be in for, if Andy Burnham wins the by-election then he as newly elected MP would be in a position to challenge Keir Starmer as Leader of the Labour Party and Prime Minister.

Lets not forget that the fact that Andy Burnham will be standing in the by-election means that the post of Manchester Mayor is vacant and this means having to have an additional by-election.

This is a crucial moment. Labour must win both by-election. Losing Makerfield, means the end of Andy Burnham´s chances of becoming Prime Minister without a General Election. It is a mixed baggage for Keir Starmer and the Labour Party. 

(Pending updates)

Will Labour supporters support Andy Burnham, abstain or vote Reform?

 

The Guardian: Andy Burnham to face Reform´s Robert Kenyon in crucial Makerfield by-election?

There is no doubt about the fact of why Andy Burnham has decided to stand in a by-election that will cost him is seat as Manchester Mayor and possibly lead him into the wilderness if he looses the by-election.

London Metropolitan Labour blocked Andy Burnham from standing in a by-election before the local elections and Labour lost the seat that by-then Andy Burnham wanted to stand for. 

There are different versions of events.

One version was that Keir Starmer did not want Andy Burnham to return to the House of Commons as MP and potentially challenge him for the leadership of the Labour Party. If successful, Andy Burnham had a chance of replaceing Keir Starmer as British Prime Minister.

Another version of events is that the Labour Party blocked Andy Burnham afraid of the fact that is Andy Burnham resigned as Mayor of Manchester then the Labour Party would lose the Mayoral seat in Manchester.

Whatever version of events you choose to believe, the fact that in the local elections Reform walked away with a huge number of seats makes the experience of standing to confront Reform in Manchester a very dangerous experience.

But then the question arises: what will Labour voters do, depending on which faction of the Labour Party they support.

1) Will they vote for Andy Burnham thus increasing the possibility of a success that will take him all the way into the House of Commons and make him a challenger for the Leadership of the Labour Party?

2) Will they abstain thus making failure a certainty? and 3) Will they even consider supporting the Opposition to send Andy Burnham into the wilderness, as a way to protect Keir Starmer?

Just two years ago, Robert Kenyon came second in the 2024 General Election that Labour won by a landslide, but this was before the local elections that almost wiped out Labour across Manchester. There are other players and they do matter if they chip support away from the main contenders. 

This has turned out to be one of the most decisive by-elections in British history.  What happens in Makerfield will affect the ruling party and the country as a whole. If Andy Burnham wins then the door will be opened for a leadership challenge. If Andy Burnham loses, he would have lost not only a by-election but also his seat as Manchester Mayor,

The Labour Party could lose both a by-election in Makerfield and the Manchester Mayor seat, and this after a disastrous set of local elections.

 

China: Britain´s reaction was expected

 

Britain´s reaction was expected

It is not personal. It is just business.

In a New World Order, then each operator is free to choose who to do business with. As EU celebrates a new agreement with India, UK celebrates an agreement with China.

Today, more than ever before, countries are seeking reassurance. With regards to threats of takeover and financial threats, players have decided to go their own way and do business with whoever they can do business with.

In the meantime, the value of the US Dollar keeps falling and investors are running for cover investing in precious metals and in whatever assets they can get hold of that offer them security. In the US, despite disagreements, Democrats and Republicans are doing deals to prevent yet another Federal Budget crisis, but this means surrendering control over an ever rising US debt.

Whatever resources the US can get hold of by invading or threatening other countries, the enormity of the US debt is pushing the value of the US currency lower and lower.

US Bonds: the Achilles Heel of the American Economy

 

Miscalculations are costly. #historyshorts #history #trump #greenland #nato

If the USA misguidedly does something about Greenland, European countries can sink the US economically by getting rid of US Bonds. 

The Federal Reserve has been intervening on a daily basis because at every auction the number of potential investors has been falling and those who are still willing to buy US Bonds are asking for higher yields.

If suddenly, trilllions of US Dollards in US Bonds were to be floated in international markets, the USA would be literally out of pocket, the US Dollar would sink, and the USA would face the greatest recession in USA history with little chance of recovery.

A few days ago, I thought that Greenland would be Sudetenland and now I see that Sudetenland would be 1939 Poland. 

President Trump can threaten Europe with tariffs. Europe can get rid of US Bonds and it will be a lot more painful than tariffs.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/jan/16/the-dollar-is-losing-credibility-why-central-banks-are-scrambling-for-gold

What is the real state of the American Economy: Why has the Federal Reserve had to intervene several times during the passing week?

 

What is the real state of the American Economy? Why has the Federal Reserve had to intervene several times during the passing week?

The Federal Government depends on selling bonds in order to borrow considerable amounts of money and two trillion US Dollars - planned borrowing for 2026 - is an awful amount of money, even by US standards. When investors are only willing to buy bonds are increasingly hight rates or not willing to invest at all in US bonds, this is sure sign of trouble for the US Dollar. Things appear shaky, to say the least, and we are not talking about freezing payments for the Federal Budget. Recently, the US administration was in a prolonged lockdown until, somehow, agreement was reached between the White House and Congress. But what is happennig right now is about a lot more than that. 

Internationally, the US Dollar has been used as measure of value and as a way to store wealth. In most cases, if you want to buy energy (fossil fuels), the US Dollar is the currency reference. Despite the fact that with regards to other currencies - ie the Pound or the EURO - the value of the US Dollar has remained relatively unchanged, the US Dollar has lost support and foreign banks are now reluctant to invest in American National Debt. If the USA can only sell bonds at ever higher rates and/or investors are no longer willing to lend any monies, then any additional printing of monies will certainly throw the USA over the edge. If the worst happens before the November 2026 Mid-Term Elections this would mean that the present Administration has only a few months left and that the next administration will be left with an absolute nightmare.

This could well explain why the present Administration has turned out to be such an aggressive Administration when financial breakdown is no longer a possibility but a certainty in the very short term.

Ukraine: According to Ukrainian reports, Russian forces will take Kiev in 2026

 

Forget comments made on Twitter and on the other platforms. These are official estimates of Russian advances in Ukraine by the end of 2026. By that time, or before that time, Kiev will fall, according to an Ukrainian Official.

Be the end of 2026, Ukraine will have become a landlocked country after the fall of Odessa. It has also been reported that not less than 300,000 Russian troops are already deployed in Belarus.

Odessa is a key port facility. The fall of Odessa will actually mean that an import/export facility will be closed for business.

No matter what politicians and mass media are constantly telling you, reality calls and it comes from an official Ukrainian source. While EU politcians try to make you believe that they are there to threaten them, in reality this could be a pincer operation. While Ukrainian sources in Kiev believe that this is a threat right on the northern border of Ukraine, military sense tells you that by keeping forces to prevent a breakthough in the north, the natural consequence is that there is less manpower to prevent a Russian advance from the East.

Do you remember the chapter about Calais and Normandy during World War Two? Vital forces were kept away from Normandy because Germany believed that the landings were going to happen in Calais. The south of France was left practically unprotected and most forces were sent towards Normandy.

In this particular scenario what are the two main points? Kiev and Odessa. Kiev is the political capital of Ukraine and Odessa has the main port facilities.