So many people had this story for years before the Times picked it up. @BylineTimes and @carolecadwalla were writing about George Cottrell over five years ago. The difference is that the Murdochs have made an executive decision that they've finally had enough of Farage.

“Keir Starmer did nothing good in his two years”? Really?

All the fkin time SKS was being bullied with frankly libellous muck on here and other platforms, driving the absurdly disproportionate unpopularity just accepted by MSM, the Labour mafia wing ignored it. Now their coup's succeeded, suddenly social media is a top concern? Wtaf?

Despite this being a big plug for England, this is excellent. @Keir_Starmer is enjoying his final two weeks in office and why not, he’s worked harder than any PM in recent years. @UKLabour will regret turfing him out.

This is absolutely true. And just shows the complete disregard for the public Burnham and the conspirators have shown

Well done England. What a match!

This Labour mistake will go down as the biggest political own goal in history. Selfishness, arrogance and sheer greed has deprived a country of a leader destined to be one of its all time greats. I won't forgive them. Guided by personal ambition and social media clicks. Traitors!

Wonder why the wider MSM particularly The Murdoch Filth chose to sit on this the entire time whilst they whitewashed Farage and openly promoted him 24-7🧐 Why did they need to wait for the Blue Labour Blairites to take back control of the Labour Party before they caught up🧐

Watching Kuensberg this morning demonstrates everything that is wrong with our politics. Not a single guest represented the normal person in the street.

Pretty ironic that the media are now exposing Reform misdeeds just as Burnham has thrown Labour into chaos. What fools thought it a good idea to get rid of decency?

I have a bad feeling about the Burnham administration. He is so flaky, many MPs will be disappointed and I haven’t seen a Burnham bounce. How long before buyers remorse kicks in?

Labour comes third place in Greater Manchester ward. Guess that @andyburnham magic is running out. theboltonnews.co.uk/news/262…

Burnham's Reddit AMA is certainly a novel form of "communication". Unfortunately, it's also bolstering the impression that he is a fool for whom every question and every difficulty has the same answer because "Whitehall is out of touch".

The campaign to remove Keir Starmer isn’t about what’s best for Britain. It’s driven by hostile media, political opponents & constant misinformation, while his achievements are ignored. He’s delivered far more than he’s given credit for. This has all the hallmarks of a coup

Are you actually reading the comments, @andyburnham ? If I were in your shoes, I would be deeply concerned. These are not bots or anonymous setup accounts. These are real people, traditional supporters, and members of your own party who feel completely taken for granted. When people look at your takeover and openly call you a 'one-trick pony' or 'Starmer MK3', the performative PR machine has officially failed. You cannot claim to offer change while ignoring the very grass roots that hold the line for the party. The anger out here is real, it is organic, and it is growing. It is time to drop the stage management and face the fact that people are seeing right through the narrative. #UKPolitics #AndyBurnham #LabourParty #VotersFirst

It is fascinating to watch three senior political editors join forces to paint a masterpiece of media spin, calling a complete lack of accountability an 'evolution of communication style'. My school teacher would have looked at this and asked these three 'brilliant' journalists a simple question: Are you earning your living writing glossy PR reviews, or are you actual journalists meant to hold the line for the truth, even when the politician is from your own Labour stable? Let us scan your report using her golden rule of journalism and check the facts you completely ignored. WHO The players are three Westminster editors acting as a personal protective shield for Andy Burnham, treating his hand-picked communication team and anonymous 'allies' as the gospel truth. WHAT You are celebrating a politician who delivered a monologue and took precisely zero questions. You call it a 'broad media plan' when he gatecrashes Reddit and Instagram to answer softball questions instead of facing proper scrutiny. WHERE The setting is Manchester, but the mentality is entirely trapped inside a lazy Westminster echo chamber. Instead of investigating what the public actually wants, you are worried about whether political editors from London will bother to catch an early train. WHEN This is happening right now, just two weeks before parliament breaks for summer and Burnham expects to walk into Number 10. The timing is perfect to use 'whimsical social media videos' to put the public to sleep while cabinet seats are traded behind closed doors. WHY Your own report admits the real reason he took no questions was a desire to protect his vision from being 'demolished' by unanswered queries. Why are you writing reviews for a leader whose vision collapses the moment a real journalist asks a real question? The Fact Check If any of you had bothered to do some basic fact-checking, you would see that Burnham’s speech is just a glossy remake of the English Devolution White Paper published by Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner back in December 2024. Slapping flashy new stickers like 'Manchesterism' and 'No 10 North' onto existing legislation is a masterclass in political marketing, but it is not original leadership. Finally, it would be highly interesting if you actually went onto his social media profiles and read the comments. Not the comments of bots, because there are none, but the comments of actual, traditional Labour members who are making it crystal clear that they do not want him and do not accept this backroom style of leadership takeover. Let us not forget: Andy has tried twice before to become the leader of the Labour Party, and he failed both times. Looking at the public backlash today, I wonder why. My teacher would have given this trio a 2/10. We deserve political editors who interrogate the text, not a PR clubhouse protecting a politician from his own voters. #UKPolitics #AndyBurnham #PippaCrerar #Guardian #MediaScrutiny #FactCheck #Manchesterism

The thing is all of the factions Burnham has been promising stuff to seem to think it will all come to pass, so at the moment they are all behind him. I predict a riot.

I believe the greatest abuse within our media landscape comes not from ordinary members of the public, but from the mainstream media organisations themselves. If the Government is serious about regulation, it should begin by ensuring that public service broadcasters such as GB News, the BBC, ITV and Sky News are held to the highest standards of impartiality and accuracy, particularly in relation to their political editors and the content they publish. The same principle should apply to sections of the national press. Newspapers such as the Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph and Daily Express too often appear willing to sacrifice balance and factual accuracy in favour of sensationalism. Narratives are manufactured, speculation is presented as fact, and individuals, whether ministers or private citizens, are subjected to relentless campaigns until the weight of public pressure becomes overwhelming. Before seeking to curtail the ability of ordinary citizens to respond on social media, your department should first address the standards of those media organisations that shape public debate on a daily basis. The Government has both the authority and the responsibility to ensure that those with the greatest influence are held properly to account. I have already written to you on these matters. As the minister responsible for this department, your response was profoundly disappointing. Public life inevitably attracts criticism. If you are unwilling to engage with robust scrutiny or withstand legitimate criticism, then you should seriously question whether you are suited to hold ministerial office. Freedom of the press comes with responsibilities. When media organisations cross the line by abandoning accuracy, fairness and impartiality, they must be held accountable. Those with the greatest influence over public opinion should also bear the greatest responsibility for exercising that influence wisely.

Well, well, well. The Immigration Services Union says Brexit has meant a convicted people smuggler has been able to hide in the UK because Britain no longer has access to EU data-sharing to check the criminal and immigration records of asylum seekers. @KemiBadenoch @michaelgove

Labour under Burnham are walking into trouble and strife. All the factions now with an agenda. What a mess.