THE COPY AND PASTE PARTY

Following the latest Israeli atrocity in Gaza and looking to retain Muslim votes, many Labour MPs are finally getting around to condemning Israel's war crimes.  On Twitter, sorry 'X', three MPs posted identical tweets, while a fourth tweaked the same tweet.  All four tagged Keir Starmer and delivered the same message, led by backbencher Wayne David, who is retiring after 23 years as the MP for Caerphilly.  David posted his tweet at 12:14.

Nine minutes later, Angela Rayner's account posted the exact same message.  47 minutes after that, her frontbench colleague Lisa Nandy posted a very similar tweet tweet, having clearly just copied, pasted and edited a few details.  Some hours later a third frontbencher - Jo Stevens - posted the original unedited version.

We can't help but think of Rachel Reeves in this instance.  She has already earned a nickname before she completes a single day as Chancellor of the Exchequer.  She will be known as the 'copy and paste Chancellor', in reference to the rampant plagiarism found in her economics book published last year.

The scenes in Rafah are truly horrific and merit something more from an opposition front bench than a mere copy and paste job.

THE INDEPENDENTS?

As confusion reigns as to whether or not Diane Abbott has been barred from reselection, her comrade Jeremy Corbyn has voiced unwavering support.  In an interview with the left-wing JOE website, Corbs said: "Whatever she does, I'll support her".

Corbyn has already confirmed he will stand as an independent in the Islington North constituency, going up against Labour candidate Praful Nargund, a local Labour councillor.  Corbyn has represented Islington North since 1983 and his majority as a Labour MP was 26,188 in 2019.  With decades of service on his side and plenty of hard left footsoldiers rallying to his campaign, we strongly suspect he will hold onto this seat on July 4.

If Labour does block Abbott from reselection in Hackney North and Newington, she may be tempted to follow Corbyn down the independent path.  But would she win?  She had a larger majority in 2019 at 33,188, but her pulling power as an independent would be significantly less.  No Labour candidate has yet been announced for her seat and Keir Starmer has stated that no decision has been made regarding her status.  If she went independent, she could very well siphon off resources from her parliamentary neighbour and former lover, but Corbyn appears to be steadfast in his loyalty regardless.  For now, anyway.

In the interview, Corbyn bemoans the treatment Abbott has received from the party and further imbues a victimhood status by declaring that over the years she has 'been more abused than any other Member of Parliament at any time'.  What Britain's former most influential Marxist neglects to mention is that Abbott knowingly invites such resentment with her routine scorn for our nation and its people.

Watch the clip below, for the full 36 minute click here.

TOON TUESDAY #7

Steve Bright of The Sun newspaper can be a frustrating artist.  There is no doubting his artistic skill - he is one of the best UK cartoonists in terms of depicting his subjects - but more often than not the meaning is lost and even he seems to struggle to convey what it is he is trying to say.  However, this one needs no explanation...

TOON TUESDAY #6

Just the one toon this week, but one which will have some lasting significance.  The fairly simplistic doodles of Australian cartoonist Michael Leunig often have deep political messages.  This one could be attributed to a critique of cancel culture, but it's probably not that simple.  Leunig's politics are skewed to the left, albeit with a libertarian tint.  Make of it what you will...

TOON TUESDAY #5

This week it's the turn of Times cartoonist Peter Brookes and a selection of toons satirising Keir Starmer and his party.  Over the years Brookes has been fairly inconsistent with his depictions of Starmer, who many cartoonists struggle to get right...

TOON TUESDAY #4

This week we present a trio of toons from one of our favourite artists, the American conservative known only as Jimbob...

REGIONAL MAYORS 2024

The results for regional mayors will appear here as they come in.

East Midlands

Claire Ward (Lab) 181,040 (40.3%)

Ben Bradley (Con) 129,332 (28.8%)

Frank Adlington-Stringer (Grn) 50,660 (11.3%)

Alan Graves (RefUK) 49,201 (10.9%)

Matt Relf (Ind) 23,359 (5.2%)

Helen Tamblyn-Saville (LDem) 15,970 (3.6%)

Lab WIN (new post)

Greater Manchester

Andy Burnham (Lab) 420,749 (63.4%) -3.9%

Laura Evans (Con) 68,946 (10.4%) -9.2%

Nick Buckley (Ind) 50,304 (7.6%) New

Dan Barker (RefUK) 49,532 (7.5%) +4.8%

Hannah Spencer (Grn) 45,905 (6.9%) +2.5%

Jake Austin (LDem) 28,195 (4.2%) +1.0%

Lab HOLD

Liverpool City Region

Steve Rotheram (Lab) 183,932 (68.0%) +9.7%

Jade Marsden (Con) 27,708 (10.2%) -9.4%

Tom Crone (Grn) 26,417 (9.8%) -2.0%

Rob McAllister-Bell (LDem) 21,366 (7.9%) -2.4%

Ian Smith (Ind) 11,032 (4.1%) New

Lab HOLD

London

Sadiq Khan (Lab) 1,088,225 (43.8%) +3.8%

Susan Hall (Con) 812,397 (32.7%) -2.6%

Rob Blackie (LDem) 145,184 (5.8%) +1.4%

Zoë Garbett (Grn) 145,114 (5.8%) -2.0%

Howard Cox (RefUK) 78,865 (3.1%) New

Natalie Campbell (Ind) 47,815 (1.9%) New

Amy Gallagher (SDP) 34,449 (1.4%) +1.1%

Femy Amin (AnWe) 29,280 (1.2%) New

Andreas Michli (Ind) 26,121 (1.1%) New

Tarun Ghulati (Ind) 24,702 (1.0%) New

Count Binface (Ind) 24,260 (1.0%) n/c

Nick Scanlon (BritF) 20,519 (0.8%) New

Brian Rose (Ind) 7,501 (0.3%) -0.9%

Lab HOLD

North East

Kim McGuinness (Lab) 185,051 (41.0%)

Jamie Driscoll (Ind) 126,652 (28.0%)

Guy Renner-Thompson (Con) 52,446 (12.0%)

Paul Donaghy (RefUK) 41,147 (9.0%)

Aidan King (LDem) 25,485 (6.0%)

Andrew Gray (Grn) 17,631 (4.0%)

Lab WIN (new post)

Salford

Paul Dennett (Lab) 30,753 (61.5%) +2.5%

Jillian Collinson (Con) 10,930 (21.9%) -1.5%

David Jones (Grn) 5,623 (11.2%) +2.4%

Sally Griffiths (TUSC) 2,681 (5.4%) New

Lab HOLD

South Yorkshire

Oliver Coppard (Lab) 138,611 (50.9%) +7.8%

Nick Allen (Con) 44,945 (16.5%) n/c

Douglas Johnson (Grn) 37,142 (13.6%) +1.2%

Hannah Kitching (LDem) 31,002 (11.4%) +0.6%

David Bettney (SDP) 20,835 (7.6%) +3.7%

Lab HOLD

Tees Valley

Ben Houchen (Con) 81,930 (53.6%) -19.1%

Chris McEwan (Lab) 63,141 (41.3%) +4.1%

Simon Thorley (LDem) 7,679 (5.0%) + 5.0%

Con HOLD

West Midlands

Richard Parker (Lab) 225,590 (37.8%) -1.8%

Andy Street (Con) 224,082 (37.5%) -11.2%

Akhmed Yakoob (Ind) 69,621 (11.7%) New

Elaine Williams (RefUK) 34,471 (5.8%) +3.6%

Siobhan Harper-Nunes (Grn) 31,036 (5.2%) -0.6%

Sunny Virk (LDem) 12,176 (2.0%) -1.6%

Lab GAIN from Con

West Yorkshire

Tracy Brabin (Lab) 275,430 (50.4%) +7.3%

Arnold Craven (Con) 82,757 (15.1%) -14.0%

Andrew Cooper (Grn) 66,648 (12.2%) +3.0%

Bob Buxton (Yrks) 47,937 (8.8%) -0.9%

Jonathan Tilt (Ind) 46,443 (8.5%) New

Stewart Golton (LDem) 27,501 (5.0%) n/c

Lab HOLD

York & North Yorkshire

David Skaith (Lab) 66,761 (35.1%)

Keane Duncan (Con) 51,967 (27.3%)

Felicity Cunliffe-Lister (LDem) 30,867 (16.2%)

Kevin Foster (Grn) 15,188 (8.0%)

Keith Tordoff (Ind) 13,250 (7.0%)

Paul Haslam (Ind) 12,370 (6.5%)

Lab WIN (new post)

POLICE & CRIME COMMISSIONERS 2024

The results of the police and crime commissioner elections will appear below as they come in.

Avon & Somerset

Clare Moody (Lab) 95,982 (32.3%) +8.6%

Mark Shelford (Con) 91,006 (30.6%) -4.1%

Katy Grant (Grn) 64,623 (21.7%) +5.3%

Benet Allen (LDem) 45,864 (15.4%) +2.0%

Lab GAIN from Con

Bedfordshire

John Tizard (Lab) 40,745 (40.5%) +5.5%

Festus Akinbusoye (Con) 35,688 (35.5%) -6.9%

Jasbir Singh Parmar (LDem) 15,857 (15.8%) -2.7%

Waheed Akbar (WkP) 8,396 (8.3%) New

Lab GAIN from Con

Cambridgeshire

Darryl Preston (Con) 61,688 (38.1%) -4.8%

Anna Smith (Lab) 58,304 (36.0%) +4.7%

Edna Murphy (LDem) 41,984 (25.9%) +3.6%

Con HOLD

Cheshire

Dan Price (Lab) 86,279 (48.1%) +10.8%

John Dwyer (Con) 65,836 (36.7%) -7.9%

Paul Duffy (LDem) 27,342 (15.2%) +0.7%

Lab GAIN from Con

Cleveland

Matt Storey (Lab) 65,418 (52.6%) +23.7%

Steve Turner (Con) 58,977 (47.4%) -6.8%

Lab GAIN from Con

Cumbria

David Allen (Lab) 38,708 (47.4%) +21.3%

Mike Johnson (Con) 24,863 (30.4%) -23.1%

Adrian Waite (LDem) 18,100 (22.2%) +1.8%

Lab GAIN from Con

Derbyshire

Nicolle Ndiweni (Lab) 93,260 (43.6%) +6.1%

Angelique Foster (Con) 65,293 (30.5%) -25.5%

Russell Armstrong (RefUK) 32,944 (15.4%) +11.6%

David Hancock (LDem) 22,540 (12.1%) +2.8%

Lab GAIN from Con

Devon & Cornwall

Alison Hernandez (Con) 131,764 (43.3%) -6.7%

Daniel Steel (Lab) 107,897 (35.4%) +15.2%

Steve Lodge (LDem) 64,790 (21.3%) +3.4%

Con HOLD

Dorset

David Sidwick (Con) 57,994 (38.2%) -4.3%

Howard Legg (LDem) 34,774 (22.9%) +11.1%

Marianne Storey (Ind) 32,237 (21.2%) New

David Stokes (Lab) 26,884 (17.7%) +6.8%

Con HOLD

Durham

Joy Allen (Lab) 66,852 (56.0%) +12.2%

Rob Potts (Con) 37,773 (31.7%) -11.3%

Nigel Boddy (LDem) 14,678 (12.3%) -0.9%

Lab HOLD

Dyfed-Powys

Dafydd Llywelyn (Plaid) 31,323 (40.9%) -7.3%

Ian Harrison (Con) 19,134 (25.0%) -9.0%

Philippa Thompson (Lab) 18,353 (24.0%) +0.3%

Justin Griffiths (LDem) 7,719 (10.1%) +1.4%

Plaid HOLD

Essex

Roger Hirst (Con) 126,447 (37.1%) -16.9%

Adam Fox (Lab) 116,875 (34.3%) +11.4%

Kieron Franks (LDem) 52,922 (15.5%) +2.2%

Robin Tilbrook (EDem) 34,153 (13.2%) +3.4%

Con HOLD

Gloucestershire

Chris Nelson (Con) 47,838 (32.7%) -8.0%

Martin Surl (LDem) 46,352 (31.7%) +12.7%

Ashley Smith (Lab) 35,069 (24.0%) +7.9%

Matthew Randolph (Ind) 15,240 (10.4%) +10.4%

Con HOLD

Gwent

Jane Mudd (Lab) 28,476 (41.7%) -0.1%

Hannah Jarvis (Con) 21,919 (32.1%) +3.2%

Donna Cushing (Plaid) 9,864 (14.4%) -1.8%

Mike Hamilton (LDem) 8,078 (11.8%) +7.6%

Lab HOLD

Hampshire & Isle of Wight

Donna Jones (Con) 175,953 (42.3%) -7.5%

Becky Williams (Lab) 106,141 (25.5%) +6.2%

Prad Bains (LDem) 92,843 (22.3%) +4.5%

Don Jerrard (JAC) 40,691 (9.8%) New

Con HOLD

Hertfordshire

Jonathan Ash-Edwards (Con) 93,658 (36.7%) -11.8%

Sean Prendergast (LDem) 68,264 (26.7%) -0.7%

Tom Plater (Lab) 66,585 (26.1%) +2.0%

Matt Fisher (Grn) 26,714 (10.5%) New

 

Con HOLD

Humberside

Jonathan Evison (Con) 51,083 (39.7%) -5.9%

Simon O'Rourke (Lab) 46,846 (36.4%) -3.0%

Bob Morgan (LDem) 30,834 (24.0%) +8.9%

Con HOLD

Kent

Matthew Scott (Con) 120,491 (44.1%) -13.7%

Lenny Rolles (Lab) 92,508 (33.9%) +8.6%

Graham Colley (LDem) 60,279 (22.1%) +5.1%

Con HOLD

Lancashire

Clive Grunshaw (Lab) 135,638 (47.1%) +2.3%

Andrew Snowden (Con) 101,281 (35.1%) -6.5%

Neil Darby (LDem) 51,252 (17.8%) +9.0%

Lab GAIN from Con

Leicestershire

Rupert Matthews (Con) 62,280 (35.3%) -14.0%

Rory Palmer (Lab) 61,420 (34.8%) +1.5%

Aasiya Bora (Grn) 23,649 (13.4%) New

Ian Sharpe (LDem) 22,041 (12.5%) -5.0%

Fizza Askari (OneL) 7,104 (4.0%) New

Con HOLD

Lincolnshire

Marc Jones (Con) 39,639 (36.5%) -23.2%

Mike Horder (Lab) 31,931 (29.5%) +9.5%

Peter Escreet (RefUK) 15,518 (14.3%) +10.8%

Lesley Rollings (LDem) 13,380 (12.4%) +6.4%

David Dickason (EDem) 7,739 (7.2%) New

Con HOLD

Merseyside

Emily Spurrell (Lab) 152,640 (61.7%) +4.9%

Bob Teesdale (Con) 35,221 (14.2%) -8.6%

Amanda Onwuemene (Grn) 31,330 (12.7%) +12.7%

Christopher Carubia (LDem) 28,093 (11.4%) -5.2%

Lab HOLD

Norfolk

Sarah Taylor (Lab) 52,445 (35.2%) +13.1%

Giles Orpen-Smellie (Con) 50,567 (33.9%) -11.2%

Martin Schmierer (Grn) 23,628 (15.8%) +5.6%

John Crofts (LDem) 22,525 (15.1%) +1.4%

Lab GAIN from Con

Northamptonshire

Danielle Stone (Lab) 43,684 (39.3%) +11.8%

Martyn Emberson (Con) 39,714 (35.7%) -17.5%

Ana Savage Gunn (LDem) 27,799 (25.0%) +9.7%

Lab GAIN from Con

Northumbria

Susan Dungworth (Lab) 176,311 (51.0%) +4.4%

Ros Munro (Con) 78,818 (22.8%) -8.1%

John Appleby (LDem) 58,574 (17.0%) +6.3%

Mustaque Rahman (Ind) 31,773 (9.2%) New

Lab HOLD

North Wales

Andy Dunbobbin (Lab) 31,950 (36.0%) +6.9%

Brian Jones (Con) 26,281 (29.6%) -2.0%

Ann Griffith (Plaid) 23,466 (26.4%) -2.0%

Richard Marbrow (LDem) 7,129 (8.0%) +3.7%

Lab HOLD

Nottinghamshire

Gary Godden (Lab) 119,355 (52.1%) +8.6%

Caroline Henry (Con) 77,148 (33.7%) -14.2%

David Watts (LDem) 32,410 (14.2%) +5.5%

Lab GAIN from Con

South Wales

Emma Wools (Lab) 73,128 (45.2%) +4.2%

George Carroll (Con) 43,344 (26.8%) +2.5%

Dennis Clarke (Plaid) 27,410 (16.9%) -2.1%

Sam Bennett (LDem) 17,908 (11.1%) +6.5%

Lab HOLD

Staffordshire

Ben Adams (Con) 73,500 (45.6%) -10.1%

Alastair Watson (Lab) 70,128 (43.5%) +16.0%

Alec Sandiford (LDem) 17,666 (11.0%) +6.6%

Con HOLD

Suffolk

Tim Passmore (Con) 52,968 (40.2%) -14.5%

Robin Wales (Lab) 41,734 (31.7%) +8.7%

Rachel Smith-Lyte (Grn) 22,488 (17.1%) +3.5%

James Sandbach (LDem) 14,541 (11.0%) -2.8%

Con HOLD

Surrey

Lisa Townsend (Con) 95,538 (36.0%) +2.5%

Paul Kennedy (LDem) 82,213 (30.9%) +10.2%

Kate Chinn (Lab) 42,813 (16.1%) +0.2%

Alex Coley (Ind) 42,052 (15.8%) New

Con HOLD

Sussex

Katy Bourne (Con) 122,495 (39.0%) -8.3%

Paul Richards 99,502 (31.7%) +13.0%

Jamie Bennett (LDem) 48,923 (15.6%) +1.7%

Jonathan Kent (Grn) 43,105 (13.7%) +0.3%

Con HOLD

Thames Valley

Matthew Barber (Con) 144,092 (32.1%) -10.4%

Tim Starkey (Lab) 141,749 (31.6%) +3.8%

Tim Bearder (LDem) 84,341 (18.8%) +1.3%

Ben Holden-Crowther (MPTV) 46,853 (10.4%) New

Russell Douglas Fowler (Ind) 31,460 (7.0%) New

Con HOLD

Warwickshire

Philip Seccomb (Con) 45,638 (39.4%) -12.7%

Labour Co-op Sarah Feeney (Lab) 45,377 (39.2%) +11.5%

Richard Dickson (LDem) 24,867 (21.5%) +5.3%

Con HOLD

West Mercia

John-Paul Campion (Con) 73,395 (34.3%) -21.0%

Richard Overton (Lab) 63,082 (29.5%) +5.5%

Sarah Murray (LDem) 33,782 (15.8%) +0.2%

Julian Dean (Grn) 22,021 (10.3%) New

Henry Curteis (EDem) 21,645 (10.1%) New

Con HOLD

West Midlands

Simon Foster (Lab) 327,844 (57.5%) +12.0%

Tom Byrne (Con) 241,827 (42.5%) +3.1%

Lab HOLD

Wiltshire

Philip Wilkinson (Con) 38,578 (31.0%) -5.0%

Stanka Adamcova (Lab) 36,345 (29.2%) +14.9%

Mike Rees (Ind) 29,035 (23.3%) -4.5%

Alan Hagger (LDem) 20,485 (16.5%) -3.3%

Con HOLD

LABOUR GAIN BLACKPOOL SOUTH

Chris Webb is the new MP for Blackpool South

Labour have taken another Westminster seat from the Conservatives with a huge swing in Blackpool South.  It was a tough ask for the Tories to hold here - they were defending a marginal 3,690 majority from 2019 - but the scale of the defeat was stark.  The swing to Labour was 26.3 per cent and gave new Labour MP Chris Webb a 7,607 majority he would expect to easily defend in the forthcoming general election.

The seat had been vacated by Scott Benton after he was caught out in an undercover sting by reporters from The Times.  As a result he lost the Tory whip and was suspended from the Commons, triggering a recall petition.  With the writing on the wall, Benton chose to resign rather than face the result of the petition.  He had gained Blackpool South in 2019, a seat that had been held by Labour since 1997.

His successor in Blackpool South is a rarity among the Westminster gravy train - Chris Webb is actually born and bred in the town he now represents.  He is a university graduate, which seems to be the norm for Labour these days, and had previously stood for Westminster in 2017 and 2019.  He was runner-up on both occasions, losing out to the sitting Tory for Blackpool North and Cleveleys.

In Blackpool South there was a very strong show for Reform UK, who easily held on to their deposit and almost pipped the Tories for second place.

Turnout was 32.5 per cent.  This is lower than one might expect, but as there were no council elections taking place in Blackpool overnight, perhaps no great surprise.

Blackpool South Parliamentary By-Election

Chris Webb (Lab) 10,825 (58.7%) +20.4%

David Jones (Con) 3,218 (17.4%) -32.2%

Mark Butcher (RefUK) 3,101 (16.8%) +10.7%

Andrew Cregan (LDem) 387 (2.1%) -1.0%

Ben Thomas (Grn) 368 (2.0%) +0.3%

Stephen Black (Ind) 163 (0.9%) New

Kim Knight (ADF) 147 (0.8%) New

Howling Laud Hope (Loon) 121 (0.7%) New

Damon Sharp (NonP) 45 (0.2%) New

Lab GAIN from Con

Abbreviations

Lab = Labour

Con = Conservative

RefUK = Reform UK

LDem = Liberal Democrat

Grn = Green

Ind = Independent

ADF = Alliance for Democracy and Freedom

Loon = Monster Raving Loony

NonP = New Open Non-Political Organised Leadership

GETHING NO SHOW SPEAKS VOLUMES

David Neal and Vaughan Gething: The convict and the politician

With Humza Yousaf on his way from power after just 13 months, attention has quickly refocused on Britain's other first minister.  Vaughan Gething has been at the Cymreig helm for just six weeks and an issue which dogged his leadership election campaign is being brought to the fore once again.

Gething received two hefty donations during that campaign, totalling £200,000, from a company run by convicted criminal David Neal.  Gething had previous dealings with Neal and his then company - Atlantic Recycling - dating back to at least 2016 when he was a Welsh government minister.  Neal had been convicted of illegally dumping waste on a conservation site in 2013 and ordered to clean up the mess, but Gething later repeatedly lobbied Wales' environmental regulator to suspend work on that site.

Neal was convicted again in 2017 for failing to clean up the site and Gething stepped in again a year later, writing to Natural Resources Wales on Neal's behalf.  Gething also stood for the Welsh Labour leadership later that same year and received a £38,000 donation from companies linked to Neal.  Something stinks, and it's not just David Neal's fly tipping!

Things are now complicated further by a planning application that has been put in by another of Mr Neal's ventures - Dauson Environmental Group.  It was in Dauson's name that the most recent donations of £200,000 were made to Gething's leadership campaign.  The size of the planning application, which is for a 'solar farm', would require Welsh government approval and as we know - Mr Gething is now the most senior figure in said government.  What's more, the money to fund the purchase of the site came from the Development Bank of Wales - a public body overseen at that time by none other than the Welsh minister for the economy, one Vaughan Gething!

With an obvious conflict of interest and a stench of corruption, the Welsh Conservatives tabled a debate in the Senedd that took place on Wednesday.  However, there was a notable absentee from said debate - the First Minister and the person at the centre of the debate no less!

Watch below as Tory leader Andrew RT Davies opens the debate by asking whether they 'should wait for the First Minister'.  He then reacts with dismay as he is told that Gething has not even provided a statement, much less actually show his face.

This is not the behaviour of a political leader responsible for governing a nation.  By refusing to attend and take responsibility for his actions, Gething has portrayed himself as a coward with something to hide.

During the debate, Gething was heavily criticised by one of his own colleagues.  Lee Waters remarked: "For me, this is not an issue of confidence, but it is an issue of conscience.  We look to our leaders to model behaviour we want to see, to reflect our nation and to set an example.  The first step to solving any problem is to acknowledge that there is a problem.  And it would not be a sign of weakness to say that it was a mistake to take the donation and, now all the facts are known, to give it back."

Waters is well known throughout Wales as the main architect of the despised anti-motorist 20mph scheme, so his diatribe in this instance did not carry the weight he may have hoped.  In any case, the Tory motion was defeated by 27 votes to 25.  Gething finally appeared in the dying minutes of the debate and did not speak.

Gething will face questions about his dealings with David Neal and it could yet prove his downfall.