Ride that Labour ship right to the bottom of the sea, Keir.
Posted on 06/19/2026 8:35:12 AM PDT by MinorityRepublican
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Friday he would not walk away, vowing to fight any challenge from his leading party rival Andy Burnham and potentially ushering in a new bout of political instability.
Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor, won a decisive victory for Labour to claim a parliamentary seat in northwest England, and has signalled that he will use it to enter any contest to replace Starmer.
The scale of his victory in Makerfield in northwest England prompted more Labour lawmakers to say Starmer, unpopular and under pressure from the populist Reform UK in surveys, should consider stepping down to enable an orderly handover to Burnham.
That would mean Britain installing its seventh prime minister in just over a decade, the highest turnover in nearly two centuries - a reflection of voter anger at successive failures to improve living standards and public services and tackle illegal immigration.
But Starmer, who led a landslide election victory in 2024, said he was "not going to walk away", reeling off a list of actions: closer ties to the European Union, stabilising the economy and reducing waiting times in the health service.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Dear FRiends,
We need your continuing support to keep FR funded. Your donations are our sole source of funding. No sugar daddies, no advertisers, no paid memberships, no commercial sales, no gimmicks, no tax subsidies. No spam, no pop-ups, no ad trackers.
If you enjoy using FR and agree it's a worthwhile endeavor, please consider making a contribution today:
Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you,
Jim
“after leading rival Burnham wins big”
F’n Reuters, yeah winning big with 35% of the vote.
The economy isn't getting any weaker. Hurrah!
The economy isn't getting any stronger. Hurrah?
Ride that Labour ship right to the bottom of the sea, Keir.
When you have 5 different candidates from 5 different parties running for the office, that's pretty good.
It is one of the effects of the Electoral College that if forces what would be separate parties to form coalitions in order to have the capability to win the Presidency.
The Democrats would likely be the Social Democrat Party, the Green Party and some part of the Libertarian Party if not for the Electoral College.
In our system we form coalitions before elections, in the parliamentary system they form coalitions after the election.
Both systems seem equally messed up.
Our system is superior because of checks & balances plus we have the states.
Our system is designed to have gridlock so any change is supposed to be incremental and very difficult.
It was designed that way. Then we messed it up with the 14th and 17 amendments. You might throw the 19 amendment in there as well.
Nah.
The 19th Amendment.
IMHO.
Can you clarify your meaning please?
19th Amendment is the culpit.
The 19th was catastrophic but inevitable. No way it could have been avoided and the damage it has caused is impossible to overstate.
Seems like Israel is doing the "Starship Troopers" model. If you live in Israel, you have to join in the army. And in the process, you become a "citizen".
“In our system we form coalitions before elections, in the parliamentary system they form coalitions after the election.
Both systems seem equally messed up.”
Neither is perfect but I like ours better.
Because of our winner take all system (rather than proportional representation) it becomes a two party system. It forces parties to try to form competitive coalitions with a unified platform and message that voters can choose from.
In proportional representation the unified agenda/platform isn’t really defined until after the election so the “winning” voter has no clue of what the agenda is going to be when he’s voting.
If Senators were still elected by the State Legislatures the Republicans would have a supermajority in thee Senate.
Of course without the 17th amendment we would live in a different world and the same is true for the 14th and 19th.
Well said.
And Open Society Foundations will contribute $$$ to 50 legislatures so 100 Senators will be handpicked by Soros today.
OUT OF FRYING PAN?
INTO THE FIRE???
It would be harder for Soros to accomplish this in the States
Who state Senators are is largely controlled by the local parties Central Committee.
Unless Soros buys the committee members he is not likely to succeed.
I'll have to make the argument that it'll be easier to corrupt the local parties Central Committee.
We are already seeing this happening to our judiciary system.
To me by far the biggest game changers were the 16th and 19th amendments.
The 16th gave politicians and bureacrats full access to our pocketbook and the 19th paved the way to the matriarchy that we’re quickly becoming, resulting in a more emotionally driven governance over one that’s more rational.
I can’t say I’m very optimistic about our future.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.