Judgement on Labour
28/04/2022
Jim presents his comprehensive preview of the local elections next week in the North West. The Tories should do very badly but Jim suggests the picture is complicated for Labour.
Jim presents his comprehensive preview of the local elections next week in the North West. The Tories should do very badly but Jim suggests the picture is complicated for Labour.
Unless and until Labour rediscovers its common-sense gene around complex issues such as transgender rights, it will never be in government. Frank McKenna’s latest blog focusses on Keir Starmer’s discomfort over the ‘culture wars’ issue that has dominated media interviews with politicians in recent weeks.
Jim gives his views on the leadership of Keir Starmer after two visits to Greater Manchester in a week by the Labour leader. He also asks why so few Chancellors make it to being Prime Minister.
Frank McKenna reflects on whether Boris Johnson going or staying would be best for Labour in his latest Downtown blog.
For the first time in a long time, Labour looks like it could win a General Election. Read why, in Frank McKenna’s latest Downtown blog.
Jim gives his views on this week’s shake up in Labour’s shadow team as it affects the North. Five Greater Manchester MPs are in the Shadow Cabinet and none from Liverpool as Sir Keir Starmer continues his march to the middle ground.
How much notice do business investors take of the political shenanigins at the Town Hall? Jim previews a lecture next week by distinguished academic Michael Parkinson who will look at Liverpool. A city massively regenerated but with a political system that’s bust.
Keir Starmer and Labour host their conference in Brighton this week. Will the party show that it has learned the lessons of four consecutive General Election defeats – or continue its journey into political oblivion?
After last week’s big round of elections will there ever be a Labour government again?Frank and Jim give their differing views in this week’s blogs and Jim looks at the detailed results in the North West
Jim was at the Labour leadership hustings in Manchester this week and saw a strong performance by Wigan’s Lisa Nandy. He feels it may not be enough to stop Keir Starmer but she is a woman to watch as Labour tries to rebuild as a credible electoral force.
Mayoral selections and the leadership contest suggests that Labour has finally realised the futility of Fantasy Island politics according to Downtown boss Frank McKenna.
Will towns be the new driving force of the Northern Powerhouse? This week Downtown held an event with one of the leading Chief Executives in local government, Wigan’s Alison McKenzie-Folan. Jim hosted the lunch and reports on her forthright views on the cities v towns debate.