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PaperclipPerfector  10hr ago (text post)   1735 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of June 22, 2026

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A few weeks ago, I mentioned that the UK held an election for local authorities, in which Labour were soundly trounced, losing a whopping 1,375 seats. Almost immediately, Labour back-benchers began clamouring for incumbent prime minister Keir Starmer (he of "two-tier" fame) to resign.

This morning, he followed that recommendation.

Starmer is expected to be succeeded in the role by Andy Burnham, former minister for health under Gordon Brown. I was unfamiliar with him before this morning, but those more familiar with his political career are generally unimpressed:

As health minister, he was liked by officials but known to be indecisive and incurious about policy detail. He made party-pleasing noises about being anti-privatisation but essentially passed through without touching the sides. Once he became mayor of Manchester, he no longer had to even bother with that onerous stuff. On national issues he could make gestures in the politically expedient direction without having to square them with his record or his plans.

The result is that he can sound startlingly vacuous. We all know the remark about not wanting to be “in hock” to the bond markets, without seeming to understand what bond markets are or why we are in hock to them, but it was hardly an anomaly. He mouths the phrase “fiscal rules” without ever giving the impression that he knows what they are or why they matter. Here’s how he answered a question about the EU, during Labour’s conference last September:

Journalist: “Rejoin the EU or stay out?”

Andy Burnham: “I want to rejoin. I hope in my lifetime, I want to rejoin the European Union. I believe in the unions of all kinds. The union of the UK. The EU benefitted this country. Trade unions. People prosper more when they’re part of unions.”

I’m sorry to break the flow of my Flaubertian prose, but - fuck me. I believe in the unions of all kinds. It’s like something from an essay by a primary school pupil. That’s the extent of his thinking, on one of the most important geopolitical questions of the age?

Similarly, Spiked characterises him as "just Keir Starmer in jeans".

Get ready for the UK's sixth prime minister in a decade. I wonder if he'll stick around until the next general election. At least he'll last longer than Liz "Lettuce" Truss.

I wonder if he'll stick around until the next general election.

How long after Starmer's replacement is installed until the "not directly elected - no mandate - not legitimate - call an election" drums start beating?

The media always run a "the new PM needs to call an early general election to seek a personal mandate" campaign because general elections are good for business. The only PM to listen was Theresa May, and look how well it worked out for her. Burnham will ignore them.

We don't have a presidential system of government in the UK, and the media wanting one is not a reason to change the constitution, let alone a process for changing it.

The media always run a "the new PM needs to call an early general election to seek a personal mandate" campaign because general elections are good for business.

Not related to the UK situation but I wonder if anyone else has given thought to just outright banning all sorts of op-eds from any media that pretends to be purveyor of news?

It appears to me that a lot of media outlets use the prestige from running news stories to elevate their opinion columns over that of some random guy ranting on the internet.

They'll just slip their opinion pieces into their news stories, partially just via editorializing, partially via which interviewees/quotes they choose to include (with or without pushback/context, as desired).

So basically, what's being done now, but without the pressure relief valve of being able to have op-eds.

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