"There doesn’t seem to be any understanding of the deep-seated emotion in the reaction of Labour supporters to the party’s behaviour in government over the past 10 months. There used to be talk of the need for emotional literacy in politics. What we are witnessing is a staggering level of emotional illiteracy"
John McDonnell in a righteous rant.

#LabourParty #ReformUK #UKPolitics #LocalElections

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/may/03/labour-reform-voters-keir-starmer-local-elections?CMP=bsky_gu#Echobox=1746293950

Simon Fletcher argues (in light of the local election results):

The Labour Party's 'current course is creating the conditions for the Faragists to thrive & drag politics even further rightwards. Opposition to Labour’s approach from the left is a necessary reaction to the hard right’s exploitation of Labour’s mistakes'!

They need to deliver the 'change' voters want not the 'change' their backers demand!

This is likely to be a common call this weekend!

#politics

https://bylinetimes.com/2025/05/02/local-elections-keir-starmer-nigel-farage-runcorn-byelection-labour-conservatives/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

Here's the thing with these results: the Tories lost roughly the same number of seats Reform gained, and Labour lost roughly as many seats as the Lib Dems and Greens gained.

Now watch Labour conclude that they need to be more like Reform.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/ng-interactive/2025/may/01/local-elections-2025-full-mayoral-and-council-results-for-england

"Why, less than a year after turfing the Tories out of power, is Labour in meltdown?

It’s very straightforward. The soulless hacks who took over the Labour party have one skill - and that’s destroying"

#Labour #ReformUK #LocalElections #UKPolitics
Labour heads for catastrophe - BattleLines with Owen Jones
https://www.owenjones.news/p/labour-heads-for-catastrophe?publication_id=2894744&post_id=162705639&isFreemail=true&r=55ldjt&triedRedirect=true

DEVON COUNCIL ELECTION RESULTS

🟠 Liberal Democrats: 27 (+18)
⚪ Reform UK: 18 (+18)
🔵 Conservative: 7 (-32)
🟢 Green Party: 6 (+4)
⚫ Independent: 2 (-1)
🔴 Labour: 0 (-7)

Conservatives LOSE to No Overall Control.

Changes with 2021.

#ukpolitics #ukpol #electionresults #localelections2025 #localelections #Conservatives
#Labour #LibDems #GreenParty #ReformUK #Devon

Time to eject Chief of Staff Organ McWeeney. A Populist Organ Grinder who drops policies on the electorate from his anonymous office in Whitehall with no groundwork, explanation or conviction. No use winning an election if you then proceed to disappoint on this scale. Why do you feel the need for an Ear Whisperer anyway Prime Minister? You were elected, so Govern.
Stop tiptoeing around the Far Right. Call them out. Farage loves Brexit Trump & Putin - why are you letting him beat you?

#RejoinEU

Cory Doctorow in the FT:

Many counties introduced legal prohibitions of digital circumvention of intellectual property rights over the years (partly) in return for tariff free access to the US market; for instance, digital rights mechanisms are why HP software cannot be circumvented to allow use of generic printer cartridges.

Since Trump has violated that bargain, Doctorow argues counties should now repeal these DRM laws & allow circumvention of Big Tech's digital rights!

#DRM #BigTech #Trade

I'm only halfway through this but frankly, it's brilliant. I'm not a lawyer, just a physics-trained programmer who's good at following logical argument.

The Supreme Court has put itself in a very strange position (let the reader understand)

https://www.translegalproject.org/post/for-women-scotland-a-legal-critique

#TransRights #TransUK #trans