Vikram

"What would you say if I told you we had reports of you suckin' on chili dogs behind the tastee freeze?" Jack Smith: "Um, that's Jack & Diane."

There’s been much-better-than-expected news on that in the first half of this year, with the UK having the fastest growing economy in the G7 and GDP per capita up too. That does not mean that everything is rosy. It means that lots has been done – and we’ve got a lot more to do.

Every career starts with a foot in the door. I joined the Prime Minister at Sainsbury's to celebrate 10,000 new opportunities that will help young people get that crucial break, gain experience and build their confidence in the world of work.

I think @andyburnham might be in big trouble with the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner @DPJHodges He appears to have made a FALSE declaration to Parliament with regard to moneys gifted to him while Manchester Mayor in relation to “A Labour leadership campaign” I can find no evidence that the Labour Party held any leadership contest I know @Gabriel_Pogrund will want to investigate what appears to be a very serious breach of Parliamentary standards

"We want to build back that trust" Andy Burnham vows to help support the farming community, including building reservoirs on farms to help with water shortages

I am not entirely persuaded by this increasingly fashionable narrative that Keir Starmer simply “got government wrong”. What some now portray as weakness or a failure of leadership, I regarded rather differently. Starmer was a cautious, methodical Prime Minister who understood that repairing the country after years of political and economic instability was going to be a step by step process, not something achieved through grand announcements, political theatre or promises that could never realistically be delivered. Indeed, there is something contradictory about Yvette Cooper's criticism. Starmer's approach of “bring me solutions, not problems” was not necessarily evidence of a Prime Minister detached from government. It could equally be seen as a Prime Minister empowering his Secretaries of State to run their departments and expecting some of the most senior politicians in the country to do the jobs for which they had been appointed. Cooper was Home Secretary. She had the Home Office, the Civil Service and the authority of one of the great offices of state behind her. Surely a Prime Minister was entitled to expect his Home Secretary to bring forward solutions rather than simply arrive at No. 10 with another collection of problems. Nor should we conveniently forget that Starmer subsequently entrusted Cooper with another of the most important offices in government, moving her to Foreign Affairs at an extraordinarily difficult moment internationally. She was hardly being cast aside. She was being trusted with Britain's relationships abroad during a period dominated by Donald Trump, Gaza, Iran and profound instability across the Middle East. That is why I find Cooper's sudden conversion to the virtues of Andy Burnham rather difficult to swallow. She was hardly known historically as one of Burnham's great political supporters, yet she appears to have discovered remarkably quickly that his style of leadership is everything Starmer's supposedly was not. Perhaps Burnham is more collegiate. Perhaps he enjoys discussing the problems before deciding upon the solution. There is nothing inherently wrong with that. But neither does it automatically make him a better Prime Minister. There is an important difference between political style and effective government. Burnham may speak with greater emotion and promise a more inclusive conversation, but eventually every Prime Minister encounters the same uncomfortable realities: money has to be found, policies have to work, departments have to deliver and difficult decisions have to be taken. Starmer's great political failing may ultimately have been that caution and methodical government are considerably harder to sell than populism. He rarely promised instant solutions because he understood that there weren't any. That may not have produced the excitement some wanted, but it does not follow that the approach itself was wrong. And perhaps those who served at the very heart of his government, benefited from the considerable authority he gave them and accepted promotion to some of the highest offices in the land should exercise a little caution themselves before retrospectively explaining everything he supposedly did wrong. It is remarkably easy to discover the virtues of the new Prime Minister when he is the person now determining your political future.

Brexit has been a disaster for our city and country. I welcome steps to strengthen our relationship with the EU that help businesses grow and create jobs. From architects and engineers to tech firms and creatives, London thrives when talent can work across borders.

Brexit has held our economy back. I welcome steps to strengthen our relationship with the EU that help businesses grow and create jobs. From architects and engineers to tech firms and creatives, London thrives when talent and expertise can work across borders.

BURNHAM? HE’S NOT UNDOING BREXIT. LABOUR’S RED LINES ARE ALIVE AN WELL! There’ll be no rejoining the Single Market and the Customs Union and no roadmap to rejoin the EU. Instead we’re going to get months, if not years, of negotiating minor modifications to the Brexit deal. THIS IS MADNESS! Apparently, Burnham thinks he has to stick to the red lines in Labour’s manifesto because that’s what people voted for. Oh for heaven’s sake! At the last election very few people voted FOR Labour let alone those farcical red lines! Before he starts, Burnham has revealed himself to be what we hoped he wouldn’t be, ‘Starmer lite’. And just like Starmer, he’s decided to raise a finger to the majority who want to rejoin the EU, and just like Starmer he’s not giving us any explanation for his decision. This is a bad day for Britain and a really bad day for Burnham and the Labour Party, who yet again, have never missed the opportunity to miss an opportunity. Labour’s death wish is alive and well. @andyburnham @UKLabour @HFalconerMP

Burnham’s ‘feelgood’ domestic politics takes us further away from Europe A postponed Brussels summit has yet to be rearranged, pro-EU ministers have been shuffled out of the cabinet and the new PM has not so far met any of the bloc’s leaders ✍️ @TomBaldwin66 bit.ly/3Ul3TUW

Anyone who thought that Burnham was likely to favour the EU over MAGA needs to seriously consider why Because ALL the facts point to a Nationalist Populist Govt controlled by the BrexStein classes pro MAGA Blue Labour and 2026 Bored of Peace Blair Hate To Say I Told You So

Labour seeking ‘deeper relationship’ with EU under Burnham, new minister says Exclusive: Hamish Falconer wants ‘sense of renewed pace’ in post-Brexit talks while staying within Labour’s red lines theguardian.com/politics/202…

My cook plays the Gayatri Mantra every day when he enters my kitchen, and I listen to it every day and like it. But my question is: Why was the Gayatri Mantra played at an IIT convocation? It wasn’t a religious event. Our educational spaces should be free from religious slogans and chants of all religions

This was yet another Starmer government policy that you have appropriated. If someone appropriated all your work, when you had done all the research, consultation and preparation- how would you react? It's endemic, post-coup behaviour. Give credit where credit is due Angela. Now.