There aren’t many good jokes about politicians, and fewer suitable for publication, but one doing the rounds in Westminster should provoke a wry smile. Goes like this: “A Blairite, a Brownite, and a Corbynite walk into a bar. The barman says: ‘What are you drinking, Andy?’”.
It’s funny because it’s true, as they say, and it gets directly to the essence of Andy Burnham’s great strength and his great weakness as a prospective replacement for Sir Keir Starmer. The attraction is that he is one of politics’ more flexible players, and his supporters can read what they will into current vague lefty vibes. The negative is that his record suggests he might not be any more devoted to principle than the openly pragmatic Keir Starmer.
Sir Keir Starmer, Andy Burnham and fellow leadership candidate Angela Rayner meet pupils during a visit to a school breakfast club ((Paul Ellis/PA))
No one, however, doubts his ambition for the premiership, even though it has taken him on a circuitous route – via the North. In fact, it would not be the first time that the mayor of a big city went on to become head of their country’s government, though it’s unusual. Three US presidents have done so (Andrew Johnson, Grover Cleveland, Calvin Coolidge), and in Europe there are the highly notable examples of Chancellor Willy Brandt (graduating from West Berlin), and Jacques Chirac (Paris). Here, of course, we saw Boris Johnson perfecting his populist skills in London before, in due course, graduating to the premiership. The question for 2026 is whether Andy Burnham can make a similar journey from his mayoral HQ at the Tootal Building in Manchester to 10 Downing Street. The by-election in the usually safe Labour seat of Gorton, well inside Burnham’s northern fiefdom, opened up at least the possibility that Burnham might repeat Johnson’s feat. His candidature was, though, blocked by Labour’s National Executive Committee. The good reason was that he might not have won, and, even if he did, his candidature would trigger a by-election for the Greater Manchester mayoralty – and risk the loss of a powerful Labour fiefdom. The more tawdry cause for him being blocked was that Starmer was frightened of having such a rival or critic sitting on the benches behind him, or even around the cabinet table and an obvious replacement for him. Arguably, given that Burnham is still not an MP, and cannot replace Starmer until he is one, Starmer’s Stalinist tactic worked. On the other hand, perhaps Starmer’s Labour would be stronger now and there’d be no leadership crisis. Hypotheticals; but some kind of psychodrama developing in due course was likely.
Burnham, a minister in the Blair and Brown governments and who served in Ed Miliband and Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinets, reborn as the mayor of Greater Manchester since 2017, has already been almost prime minister, you know. He may presently be the “King of the North”, enjoying marginally better ratings than the party nationally, but he could now be trying, for the third time, for a rather more exalted position – leader of the Labour Party, and with it, the premiership. It was a laughable proposition for almost the whole of Sir Keir Starmer’s period of previously unassailable dominance, but suddenly, before last autumn’s party conference, in a panicky mood, the Labour Party seemed to have caught what might be termed “the Tory disease” – the delusion that a change of leader can solve all its problems, coupled with an addiction to plotting. Burnham, away from Westminster for most of the past decade, seemed to be the nearest thing they have to a fresh start. Now that there has been a fresh outbreak of that disease, in a far more virulent variant, his name has become prominent in all the speculation once again.
Burnham was blocked from standing in the Gorton and Denton by-election, which was eventually won by Green Party candidate Hannah Spencer – pictured here with leader Zack Polanski (PA Wire)
Last time round, didn’t go that well for our Andy. He seemed to wilt under the heat of media attention, never quite managing to answer that perennial question “will you rule out becoming leader” – an impossible one, to be fair. Then, as now, he refuses to be drawn, a little too obviously torn between a certain vestigial preference for straight talking, his obvious ambition (having tried for the leadership twice before) and some genuine hesitation about the timing – not least because he he’s not an MP and there is no such thing as a safe Labour seat into which he can be dropped. Burnham might have built up some more momentum if he’d had anything more substantial than a sort of vague “soft left” agenda, summed up in the amorphous term “Manchesterism”, which hasn’t exactly caught on. Lucy Powell, fair to say a friend of his, beat Starmer ally Bridgette Philipson for the deputy leadership, which confirmed the membership’s preference for a tilt to the shoft left, but nothing much came of that after.
Last year, despite more government U-turns, more scandals and resignations and ever more dismal poll ratings over the autumn, there was a feeling that Labour had stared into the abyss of a leadership contest, and drawn back. The possible unprovoked attack on another leadership rival, Wes Streeting, by a rogue No 10 spinner seems to confirm that the picture of a leader surrounded by rivals willing to wound but afraid to kill. Neither Streeting nor Burnham, nor the latest party star, Shabana Mahmood, nor Angela Rayner have presented a convincing alternative to Starmer’s policies, and there’s no overwhelming evidence that they’d transform the party’s electoral prospects. Starmer is weak, but his enemies are divided.
Advertisement
That is still true, but they all seem to be much more in earnest these days. Burnham’s ally, Clive Lewis, has published a sort of manifesto making the case for more government borrowing. Given that no one’s taken any notice of it, it’s only fair to quote a key chunk about fiscal responsibility:
“Bond markets do not have ideological preferences. They have functional ones. They prefer clarity, credible revenue streams, productive investment, and a state with a plan. What they punish is not public ambition but incoherence. A properly designed productive state programme would not be a leap into fiscal fantasy. It would be an attempt to end the much costlier fantasy that Britain can keep borrowing to compensate for broken markets while refusing to repair them.”
In any case, this would surely be his final throw of the dice. Even Burnham must be tired of being Labour’s perennial “nearly man”. It feels distant now, but way back in 2015, after Ed Miliband had led Labour to a poor election result and quit the leadership, Burnham was the favourite to succeed him. Had some Labour MPs – who should have known better – not “lent” their nominations to put Jeremy Corbyn on the ballot, Burnham might well have won, beating Yvette Cooper and Liz Kendall. As it was, Burnham lost miserably to Corbyn – 19 per cent to 59 per cent. It was not much better than when he fought, and lost, the leadership election after the 2010 defeat when Gordon Brown stood down. He got 9 per cent and finished behind Ed Miliband, David Miliband, and Ed Balls, and only just ahead of Diane Abbott.
(Left to Right) Liz Kendall, Andy Burnham, Yvette Cooper and Jeremy Corbyn – the Labour leadership candidates in 2015 (Getty)
In 2010, Burnham was too young, but in the 2015 contest, his defeat was his own fault. A late tilt leftwards came too late to rescue him from the Corbynite wave, yet alienated some in his own camp. Then again, he was, and remains, an ill-defined proposition; “soft left” is such an amorphous concept, after all. Still, probably thanks to being vague, Burnham has spotted the opportunity presented by Starmer’s unpopularity in the country – Labour’s 16 per cent opinion poll rating is scarcely believable – and among parliamentarians.
It’s no accident that Burnham was one of the prominent voices in opposition to the government’s attempts to reform welfare, in stark contrast to Angela Rayner’s doomed attempt to strike a deal with the backbench rebels. Rayner, however – the once undisputed Queen of the North – is no longer a rival to Burnham’s ambitions. Burnham could have killed off the destabilising speculation about a leadership challenge last year with one simple, unequivocal statement. Instead he has dodged the question, just as he has so often in the past.
Advertisement
Far from declaring his support for Starmer, Burnham has been busily building up his own support network, Mainstream, for “radical realists”. It’s a leftish version of the Starmerite Labour Together grouping, a Burnham fan club thinly disguised as a think tank or pressure group. Even more audaciously, Burnham virtually launched Lucy Powell’s campaign for the deputy leadership in a television interview shortly after Rayner resigned.
But it came to nought. The pattern in Burnham’s surprisingly long career is that he strikes to wound without thus far having had any success in finishing off his opponents. Even now, it is possible – there’s some wild speculation out there – that Ed Miliband, who could become leader immediately, could overtake him, or somehow recruit Burnham as an ally. The atmosphere is febrile, and memories of Ed’s doomed general election campaign in 2015 are fading. Maybe Ed still believes that “Hell yes, I’m tough enough”.
In 2010, Burnham was too young, but in the 2015 contest, his defeat was his own fault (AFP/Getty)
His two failed attempts to be Labour leader hurt Burnham, who has a peculiar quality of personal sensitivity that is rare in a front-rank politician, yet is allied to extraordinary resilience. It must be self-belief. He tried to put the best spin he could on being beaten by Corbyn a few years later, once he was safely ensconced in power as elected mayor of Greater Manchester: “It’s hard – especially being the frontrunner– but nothing is a given in politics, hence why I fell out of love with Westminster.
“The defeat was bruising; leadership elections always are. Getting rejected [by] people you know was tough, but it epitomised the shallowness of Westminster. I was always the loyal Labour person, a team player, and thought it would serve me well, but it didn’t come my way, and it exposed the fickleness of politics at a national level.”
After a brief spell as Corbyn’s shadow home secretary – this once-rising New Labour star (and now former Starmer loyalist) is ideologically flexible – he ran to be the first mayor of Greater Manchester: in effect, the voice of the North. It has plainly been the making, or at least the refashioning, of Andy Burnham.
Advertisement
Consciously or not, he looks different these days. In his diaries, Alastair Campbell wrote of a 38-year-old Burnham in 2008, shortly after he’d been promoted to Gordon Brown’s cabinet: “Andy seems so young. He needs to get himself some decent suits.” Burnham never looked particularly comfortable in any business wear, and he’s been transformed these days into a rather hip-looking Mancunian, all smart-casual with fashionable specs and the old monobrow neatly bifurcated. He still comes across as a bit needy and put upon, but it suits the new persona, and the new political dynamic, perfectly. If Oasis – Manchester’s favourite sons – can come back, why not Andy?
The impassioned speeches Burnham delivers also sound different from the old New Labour automaton – emotional but authentic, with a real political edge to them. It’s just as well he’s kept his accent. He found a ready audience for the message that his region was being cheated of its financial rights for the sake of a quibble with Boris Johnson over £5m. The North was not going to be picked off on the cheap by a government that was “grinding communities down through punishing negotiations”, nor its citizens “treated as the canaries in the coal mine for an experimental regional lockdown strategy”.
Having said that, Burnham was knocked sideways as Johnson demolished the red wall in the 2019 general election. There is as yet no clear reason to believe that Burnham will stop a similar assault by Nigel Farage and Reform UK, in the North or nationally.
Burnham understands populism, even if he’s not the best exponent of it. He carefully refers to those who work in pubs, and bookies, and drive taxis as “people too often forgotten by those in power”. He has skilfully forged a broad, if fragile, cross-party regional front against the prime minister. “The North, c’est moi” might sum up Burnham, so completely has he merged his identity (and interests) with those of 5 million disparate people in a disparate region.
Advertisement
Within what passes for the United Kingdom these days, only Sadiq Khan is a match for him in this new game of territorial politics. The reborn Baron Burnham is a national figure to be reckoned with. His future, whether regional or national, looks brighter these days. After all, Johnson proved his campaigning ability as a two-term mayor of London. As in the US and France, a mayoralty can be an enviable base for a politician on the make (provided Burnham can get a Westminster seat).
Andy Burnham and Sadiq Khan outside Downing Street after a meeting with Keir Starmer earlier this year (PA Wire)
If Burnham wants to return to national politics, he now has the best chance he’s ever had – though the party and the government he seizes might be irreparably damaged by the resulting divisions. In the past, Burnham has complained about not being invited to address the Labour conference, and being left out of the 2019 election campaign. These days he has no difficulty finding a platform: he’s more box office, has some momentum, and is getting harder for the leadership to ignore.
He is a professional northerner, if not yet a master craftsman in the Geoffrey Boycott/Michael Parkinson/Peter Kay league. The placenames on the Burnham CV are evocative, though he’s never claimed, Rebecca Long-Bailey style, to have been born virtually on the pitch at Goodison Park (he’s a lifelong Evertonian). Maybe a racecourse, though: Andrew Murray Burnham was born in Aintree on 7 January 1970. The family lived in Formby, and his mum (a receptionist) and dad (a telephone engineer) met at Maghull phone exchange. They were Protestant and Catholic respectively, but sectarian doubts about Burnham’s father being a suitable husband were assuaged when his girlfriend’s dad realised they’d both been to support Everton against Blackburn.
Burnham was brought up a Catholic, and he holds to the faith – a surviving example of an older type of working-class Labour MP, often as not with Irish Catholic roots and a tendency to social conservatism. Burnham has sometimes been embroiled in controversies about LGBT+ rights. He says his political heroes are the late Paul Goggins (Catholic Labour) and David Blunkett, whose instincts were (and remain) very old-fashioned. There’s a contrast there, in Labour culture, between the metropolitan liberalism of Corbyn or Starmer and the more cautious approach of Blunkett or Burnham.
In due course, the family moved to Leigh, Greater Manchester – at the time a solid Labour seat, which Burnham would proudly represent in the Commons from 2001 to 2017. His first unpaid job was as a newspaper reporter on the Middleton Guardian. Grandad drove a lorry for Tate and Lyle.
Advertisement
His socialism was sparked early on, when he was only nine: “I remember very clearly going to Chester Zoo, not long after the 1979 election. There was a sticker on the car in front that said ‘Don’t blame me, I voted Labour’, and I asked my dad what it was. I remember him saying, ‘Well, there’s a woman called Maggie… ’.” By 14, Burnham had joined the Labour Party, just in time for the miners’ strike.
He says he got his ambition from his gran, who sounds a bit of a proto-Thatcherite: “She grew up in Great Mersey Street and worked for the brewery as a cleaner or in the kitchens. One day she walked over the fields, unbeknown to my grandad Jimmy, and put a deposit down on one of the new houses being built. He couldn’t believe what she had done.” Perhaps it wasn’t such a surprise that Burnham’s doomed 2015 leadership bid had the theme “aspirational socialism”.
Burnham has boosted his profile since becoming the mayor of Greater Manchester (PA Archive)
He was certainly socially mobile, and has become quietly cosmopolitan. He met his Dutch wife, Marie-France van Heel, known as Frankie, when he was studying English at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge. Married in 2000, they have three children.
Curiously, Burnham is unlike many of the Labour Party’s modern-day household names in that he can be described as a typical “professional politician”. He was a parliamentary researcher and special adviser before getting his seat and ministerial office. He worked for Tessa Jowell, Chris Smith, David Blunkett and Patricia Hewitt, and was a Treasury minister, culture secretary and health secretary under Gordon Brown. Although he often protests that he’s never been part of the Westminster in-crowd, he certainly gives the impression of it.
In an interview with The Spectator in 2006, after winning the magazine’s “Minister to Watch” award, he admitted to knowing the Miliband brothers, James Purnell, and other youthful outriders of the Blair cult, but tried to imply a certain distance when asked about cosy meals at their homes in Primrose Hill. “The thing that excites me at the moment is a chip shop I’ve found which sells both mushy peas and gravy,” he said. “That’s more me than Primrose Hill. And that is where I do not fit the archetypal New Labour mould.” Like I say, a professional northerner.
Advertisement
To be fair, though, in that same interview you can see how Burnham detected a mood swing in the North that was later to do so much damage to Labour, and urged his party to pause and reflect on people who had become “lost along the way”. Criticising David Cameron, he made a sensitive point about the coming culture wars: “Most of my constituents can’t afford wind turbines on their houses. I sense the metropolitan world being very much wooed. But the larger country is asking, ‘What the hell is this all about?’.”
When he was in government, in the course of quite a long and varied career, Burnham wasn’t too heavily tested. After he was booed at a 20th-anniversary commemoration of the Hillsborough disaster, he persuaded Brown to set up the inquiry that eventually led to justice for the 96. Now, after much lobbying and a change of government, Starmer is reportedly ready to introduce the Hillsborough Law, compelling a duty of candour on public officials. It’s the right thing to do, and partly a result of Burnham’s pressuring for it, but it does handily spike Burnham’s guns a bit.
As health secretary he was accused of failings in the Mid Staffs hospital scandal, but was never officially censured. His two leadership bids were disappointments. The capture of Labour by the Corbynites, the scale of which was aided by Burnham’s lacklustre campaign, left him isolated and at a dead end. Yet the Manchester job has turned out to be much more than some cushy early retirement gig. Weeks after he took over as mayor, he had to respond to the terror attack at the Manchester Arena, which he did in a dignified way, and his recent struggles with Whitehall have given him a national profile. No matter that Johnson just bypassed Burnham and dished out £60m directly to the individual boroughs in Burnham’s fiefdom, Burnham had the better of the politics of it all.
There’s a contrast in Labour culture between the metropolitan liberalism of Corbyn or Starmer and the more cautious approach of Blunkett or Burnham (PA Wire)
People say Burnham is a bit of a flip-flop, but to have survived anywhere near the top of Labour politics in the past couple of decades requires a degree of pragmatism, and Burnham has certainly been all over the place on Brexit – but who hasn’t? Burnham has enjoyed success in fighting Covid, and has done his best to secure better transport links for his region and the North more widely – the cancellation of the Northern extension portion of HS2 was a bitter disappointment. He has, though, taken the best innovative features of integrated public transport in London and applied them to Greater Manchester.
He is popular there, and continues to pursue a war on homelessness in his city region, in the past condemning the “top-down London-centric Labour Party” and banging on about converting the House of Lords into a PR-elected chamber. Rather late in the day, he has added his voice to those calling for a proper public inquiry into the rape gangs scandal.
Advertisement
Probably the best thing that ever happened to him was losing the Labour leadership in 2015 and avoiding the internal traumas of the past decade. At just 55 years of age, Burnham is younger than Starmer, let alone Farage, with whom he shares a certain “authentic” appeal. He’s fond of the band The Courteeners, and once, perhaps tellingly, tweeted the lyrics to their single “Take Over the World”: “I’m only a paperboy from the North West/ But I can scrub up well in my Sunday best.”
Having been a bit of an underperformer, could it at last be coming true for Our Andy? Yes, in a purely tactical sense. The real question remains – why would Burnham would necessarily do things better than Starmer? How would he fix the public finances? Make the economy grow faster? Reform social security? Stop the boats? Placate Trump? It’s time for Andy to once again speak up.
Northumbrian Water crews are working to repair the burst main on the junction of Northgate and Corporation Road in Darlington this afternoon (May 13).
Three-way traffic lights have been installed to manage traffic, with delays expected, and the water board saying the will carry out repairs as quickly as possible.
A Northumbrian Water spokesperson said: “We have been made aware of a large burst on a water main on the junction of Northgate and Corporation Road in Darlington.
“Our teams are on site and working as quickly as they can in order to carry out repairs, and there is currently no disruption to customer supplies.”
Advertisement
Traffic building due to the flooding. (Image: DARLINGTON BOROUGH COUNCIL)
A video taken from the junction shows cars slowly driving through pools of water.
One eyewitness described the scene, saying they saw water “gushing” onto the road.
They said: “It was absolutely gushing – the force of it had lifted the pavement.”
Darlington Borough Council confirmed the water company is responding to the urgent leak.
Advertisement
A council spokesperson said: “Northumbrian Water is responding to an urgent leak on Northgate at the junction of Corporation Road – multi-way signals will be in place. Traffic delays are expected.”
Northumbrian Water has not yet confirmed how long the repairs are expected to take.
A Los Angeles judge has ruled in favor of the 28-year-old daughter of the late pop star after she raised concerns last year over $625,000 in bonuses that were paid by executors John Branca and John McClain to third-party law firms in 2018.
Now, the money will have to be returned to the estate in a new ruling demanding transparency in the way that the family’s money is spent.
“Paris has always been focused on what’s best for her family and this ruling is a massive win for them,” representatives for Paris said in a statement shared with The Independent.
Advertisement
“After years of delay, the Jackson family will finally get the transparency and accountability measures Paris has fought for. The Jackson Estate is supposed to be a prudent, fiscally responsible entity that supports the Jackson family – not a slush fund to help John Branca live out his Hollywood mogul fantasies.”
The statement continued: “After months of engaging in sexist, scorched-earth tactics against a beneficiary, it’s time for John Branca to acknowledge his many missteps and act in the best interest of the family he has a fiduciary duty to protect.”
Paris became one of the beneficiaries of Michael’s estate after his death in 2009, along with her brothers Prince and Bigi.
Neville Jones later told officers investigating the incident that it was something he wanted to do, “in a Benny Hill way”, referring to the bawdy slapstick humour of the late comedian.
He conceded the officer did not consent and did not know what he was about to do as she had her back to him at the time, but he claimed there was no sexual intent in the slap and added it was “just a bit of fun”.
The incident was said to have taken place during an event in Newton Aycliffe in September 2024, which he was attending in his capacity as a councillor.
Jones, who was the Durham County Council member for Aycliffe East ward at the time, was attending the event with his wife, Jo, who was involved with him in the Community Spirit group in the town. At the time, she was the deputy mayor for Newton Aycliffe.
Advertisement
Newcastle Crown Court heard that the officer was talking to someone else when the incident took place.
“He didn’t tap me on the bottom, he slapped me hard on the bottom,” she told the jury.
She agreed Jones then said words to the effect that he, “always wanted to do that” and added: “He definitely made some comment about it being a police officer.”
Asked if she thought it was “a joke”, she replied: “No, I didn’t think it was a joke.”
Advertisement
She said she made a nervous laugh as she was talking to someone she hardly knew, but was “in shock and upset” as she had not expected it to happen.
“I was embarrassed at the time and humiliated because it was a public arena.”
She said she reported it to colleagues and Jones was arrested later in the day.
At a police interview that evening he said he was surprised he had been arrested, but was now “sorry” he did it, the jury heard.
Advertisement
In details of the interview read to the court he agreed he had not asked the officer and said he probably made a remark afterwards along the lines of having wanted to do it.
“Just what I said: ‘I’ve always wanted to do that’, in a Benny Hill way,” he said.
Ex-Durham county councillor Neville Jones pictured leaving an earlier court hearing in the case, (Image: The Northern Echo)
Jones told police, “her bum was there to be slapped,” but he said he had not slapped anyone else’s bottom.
Asked if at any time he thought it was all right to slap a police officer’s bottom, he told the officer: “I wish she was here, I would apologise to her.”
Advertisement
He claimed there was “no sexual intent” to what he did.
“I don’t know. I just did it”, he said.
Asked about the reaction to it, he said he did not expect to end up in police custody.
When asked if he found the officer attractive, he told the police interviewer she was “bonny”, but denied finding her sexually attractive, replying: “No, no absolutely not.
Advertisement
“It’s just a thing to do, and I regret it.”
Jones, 60, of Van Mildert Road, Newton Aycliffe, who was a Durham County Council and Great Aycliffe Council member, from 2021 to 2025, denies sexual assault by touching.
He also denies a similar charge arising from a subsequent separate allegation, relating to an incident involving another woman some years earlier.
A defiant Sir Keir has told his remaining supporters he will fight any challenge, but it is now understood that as many as five other ministers, all allies of Mr Streeting, are on a resignation watchlist to deliver a further blow to their embattled leader, joining the four who quit on Tuesday.
One Starmer loyalist minister told The Independent: “They [Mr Streeting and his supporters] will want to hit as hard as possible. There will definitely be other ministers resigning with him.”
Advertisement
Health secretary Wes Streeting held talks with Keir Starmer in Number 10 on Wednesday morning (James Manning/PA) (PA Wire)
Supporters of defence minister Al Carns, who is thought to be eyeing his own leadership bid, suggested he may quit if the health secretary goes and declares for the contest.
Along with Mr Streeting, supporters of energy secretary Ed Miliband, who was defeated as Labour leader in 2015, say he now has the numbers to launch a bid, while former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner could also challenge, despite facing questions over her tax affairs.
There were also fresh reports that Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham may have found a seat to run in with the hope he could return as a potential leadership candidate.
With fevered speculation across Westminster overshadowing the King’s Speech and State Opening of Parliament, there were also suggestions, denied by Downing Street, that Mr Streeting had been pulled from the morning broadcast round. According to his office over the weekend, he was due to do some interviews regarding NHS data being published on Thursday.
But despite the continued undermining of Sir Keir’s government, Downing Street insisted that the prime minister has “full confidence” in his health secretary. It came after the two had a Wednesday morning meeting at No 10, where Mr Streeting was expected to demand the PM explain how he would get Labour “out of this mess”, but it ended after just 16 minutes.
Advertisement
Mr Streeting, meanwhile, did not dampen speculation of a leadership bid, with a post on X (formerly Twitter), failing to deny briefings that he was about to quit the government.
He said: “Under Labour, NHS waiting lists are falling, ambulances are arriving faster, there are more GPs, and higher patient satisfaction.
“Lots done, lots to do. The Health Bill will boost the impact of our investment and modernisation: cutting bureaucracy to invest in patient care.”
However, another minister loyal to Sir Keir speculated that if Mr Streeting “bottles out again” and fails to resign, “it will be the end of his political career”.
Advertisement
In a sign of the problems that Mr Streeting could face in any leadership race, former shadow chancellor John McDonnell posted on X a reminder that the health secretary was an ally of the disgraced former peer Peter Mandelson, Sir Keir’s sacked ex-chief of staff Morgan McSweeney and the controversial thinktank Labour Together, which has been accused of smearing Labour politicians and journalists.
He said: “Just a thought. Wes Streeting owes his political status to the support he’s received over [the] years from Peter Mandelson and Morgan McSweeney at Labour Together. He wouldn’t make a move against Keir Starmer without Mandelson’s say-so. So look on this as Mandelson’s and Morgan’s revenge.”
In exchanges in the Commons after the King’s Speech, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch mocked Sir Keir for being “in office but not in power”.
Turning to Mr Streeting, she questioned if he had “been a bit distracted lately” over his failure to scrap NHS England, 14 months after the PM announced the move.
Advertisement
She added: “He’s chuntering now. Why don’t you just do your job? …There’s no point in him giving me dirty looks. We all know what he has been up to.”
The row completely overshadowed the second King’s Speech of Sir Keir’s premiership, where he laid out 35 bills for a new programme for government, 22 months after Labour won the 2024 general election.
But even the King’s Speech had hints of Sir Keir’s weakened authority with no legislation listed for welfare reform after he suffered a humiliating rebellion last summer, which forced him to retreat on plans to cut benefits.
Keir Starmer returns to the House of Commons after listening to the King’s Speech (Reuters)
There was also nothing to back up his plans to increase defence spending, suggesting that the “welfare over defence” argument was being won in Labour against his desire to bring it to above 3 per cent.
As the Commons sat for the start of the King’s Speech debate, Labour MPs were noticeably stony-faced.
Advertisement
Sir Keir tried to make light of the situation with a joke as he responded to the King’s Speech. As he took to the podium, he referred to backbencher MP Naz Shah’s opening address: “Members across the House will have read her remarkable new book. Her list of endorsements is truly impressive, reaching well over 100 members – at last, a list that we could all get behind.”
More than 90 Labour MPs have publicly demanded that he quit, while another 100 have signed a letter asking him to stay as the party splits over his future.
The prime minister defended his government’s record with Labour MPs still smarting from last week’s humiliating election results, which saw the party almost wiped out in Wales, suffer its worst defeat in Scotland and lose around 1,500 council seats in England.
But looking ahead, Sir Keir told the Commons the government was proposing “bills to increase the pace of change in our NHS, in law enforcement, in controlling our borders and more”.
Advertisement
He added: “Whilst immigration is down, we need to do more. Whilst violent crime is down, it needs to be lower.
“Whilst NHS waiting lists are down, we must go further – a rewiring of the state so the working people of this country feel that it serves their interests.”
Kemi Badenoch mocked Starmer and Streeting in a post-King’s Speech debate (PA)
Sir Keir later told MPs: “We will, as a defining act of this government, rebuild our relationship with Europe – Britain back at the heart of a stronger Europe.
“That is good for growth. It will reduce the cost of living and strengthen our security. There is no good reason to oppose it. So, for our economic security, for our Labour values, this government will act.”
But in a sign of the troubles Sir Keir faces, Labour MP Barry Gardiner could be seen sitting behind the prime minister in the Commons holding a copy of The Fraud by Owen Jones, a book highly critical of Sir Keir’s leadership of the Labour Party.
Everything you need to know as Man City take on Crystal Palace
Manchester City welcome Crystal Palace to the Etihad Stadium tonight in a massive clash that could define the Premier League title race.
Advertisement
Pep Guardiola’s side find themselves five points behind league leaders Arsenal and simply cannot afford a slip-up in this game in hand.
Palace, meanwhile, arrive in Manchester looking to play the role of spoilers as the season enters its final stretch.
Here is everything you need to know about the fixture.
What time is Man City v Crystal Palace kick-off?
The game kicks off at 8pm on Wednesday, May 13, at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester.
Advertisement
Is Man City v Crystal Palace on TV?
Yes, the match is being broadcast live in the UK. Coverage will be split across Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League.
Coverage begins at 7pm.
What about a live stream?
Sky Sports subscribers can stream the match live via the Sky Go app on supported mobile devices, tablets, and PCs.
Alternatively, you can watch the game through NOW TV by purchasing a Sports Day Membership for £14.99 or a Monthly Membership.
Advertisement
What is the latest team news?
Manchester City are sweating on the fitness of midfield lynchpin Rodri, who has been sidelined with a muscular issue.
Defender Abdukodir Khusanov is also a doubt after picking up a knock against Everton, which could see Nathan Ake continue in the heart of the defence alongside former Palace man Marc Guéhi.
Palace, meanwhile, are likely to be without Eddie Nketiah and Cheick Doucouré. However, Jean-Philippe Mateta is pushing for a start after his goal-scoring cameo against Everton at the weekend.
Match Odds
Man City win: 2/11
Draw: 7/1
Crystal Palace win: 10/1
(Odds courtesy of SkyBet and correct at time of publishing. 18+ please gamble responsibly)
John Siddell, 41, and his brother, James Siddell, 44, were exposed for leading a “double life” that included faking paralysis while secretly attending social clubs and Elvis Presley tribute nights.
A trial at Leicester Crown Court heard that John Siddell presented himself as a mute, wheelchair-bound individual who was physically unable to hold up his own head. This charade was supported by his brother, James, who spoke for him during psychiatric evaluations to convince experts he was unfit for trial.
Click here to hear the latest from Manchester’s courts in our newsletter
Their “scheming and devious” act was ultimately dismantled by digital and physical evidence.
Advertisement
Images showed John walking unaided, smiling for selfies, and drinking at a social club, while video footage captured John pushing his wheelchair like a “trolley” to move household items over a mile. Hospital staff described John as “the most verbal non-verbal person” they had encountered.
Earlier this week, Judge Keith Raynor condemned the brothers for a “not-so-covert double life” that wasted precious NHS resources and “entirely corrupted” the course of justice. Prosecutor Claudia James said the brothers’ “busy social lives in part unravelled their deception”.
John Siddell was handed a 15-year custodial sentence with an additional two-year extended license. He previously pleaded guilty to 15 counts of sexual assault and inciting sexual activity involving three boys under the age of 14.
James Siddell was sentenced to two years and nine months for his role in the cover-up.
Advertisement
While the defence argued the family was “generationally dysfunctional” and that John suffered from genuine conditions like autism and epilepsy, the prosecution emphasised the cruelty of the deception.
Nicola Potts of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) noted that while the public may focus on the brothers’ “lies and antics,” the heart of the case remains the three victims.
“His cynical lies and the support he received from James was a further insult to these victims,” she stated.
Advertisement
The victims, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, provided a statement to the court confirming they are still dealing with the profound effects of the abuse.
The brothers, of Ashington, Northumberland, did not attend their sentencing hearing on Tuesday (12 May).
The episode was penned solely by Gregor Sharp, who said at the time: ‘I think we all felt we wanted to make sure that Simon would have approved, adding: ‘The togetherness that everyone’s shown has really helped us all just get through it and it’s made this quite a happy and joyous experience to be back together again.’
Now, it has been announced that series eight is officially on the way, with Sharp saying in a new statement: ‘It was a lot of fun putting the band back together for the Christmas episode last year, so I’m really excited to be coming back with some new tunes, which we hope will turn out just as special.
Advertisement
‘The cast are the most talented group of performers you could wish for, and I can’t wait to get started.’
More to follow.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
We’ve looked at some of the lowest‑priced listings on Rightmove to highlight five of the cheapest homes currently for sale in the town.
All prices and details were correct at the time of writing, but homes can sell or be withdrawn at short notice.
This is not a definitive list of the very lowest asking prices, but a snapshot of some of the cheapest options available right now based on advertised prices.
Advertisement
Five of the cheapest homes for sale in Darlington right now
1. £40,000 semi-detached house with garden and garage – Carnaby Road, Darlington (DL1)
A three-bedroom semi-detached house on Carnaby Road is on the market with a guide price of £40,000. You can see the full listing here.
The freehold property has two reception rooms, a separate kitchen, front and rear gardens and a driveway leading to a garage, but it needs full modernisation inside.
It is being sold with vacant possession ahead of an auction, which could appeal to investors or buyers looking for a project.
Advertisement
Listing from Rightmove/McHugh & Co – price and availability correct at time of writing.
2. £50,000 three-bedroom terrace close to town centre – Borough Road, Darlington (DL1)
A three-bedroom mid-terraced house on Borough Road has a guide price of £50,000 and is due to go under the hammer at an auction later this month. The full details are available here.
The property, close to Darlington town centre, includes a living room, dining room, kitchen, three bedrooms and a bathroom, with a yard to the rear.
It is being offered with vacant possession, making it a potential option for buyers who want to move quickly or landlords looking for a rental investment.
Advertisement
Listing from Rightmove/Auction House – price, auction date and details correct at time of writing.
In the Branksome area of Darlington, a two-bedroom terraced house on Branksome Terrace is listed with a guide price of £50,000. The listing can be viewed here.
The home offers an open‑plan living space, fitted kitchen and a private garden, and is described as being in generally good condition but with scope for buyers to put their own stamp on it.
Advertisement
With amenities, schools and transport links nearby, the property could suit both first-time buyers and investors.
Listing from Rightmove/Holbrook & Co – price and availability correct at time of writing.
4. £60,000 two-bedroom terrace in North Road area – Cumberland Street, Darlington (DL3)
A two-bedroom terraced property on Cumberland Street, in the North Road area of Darlington, is on the market for £60,000. You can see the listing here.
Advertisement
Downstairs there are two reception rooms and a kitchen, with two bedrooms and a separate bathroom on the first floor, plus a yard at the back.
The agent describes it as a good opportunity for an investor or first-time buyer wanting a home within reach of local shops and transport links.
Listing from Rightmove/Bridgfords – price and availability correct at time of writing.
Advertisement
5. £65,000 two-bedroom terrace with potential to improve – Locomotive Street, Darlington
On Locomotive Street, a two-bedroom terraced house is being advertised with offers in the region of £65,000. The full listing is available here.
The property has a lounge, kitchen with space for a dining table, two bedrooms and a bathroom, and has been well maintained but offers scope for further improvement.
Located in a popular residential area with bus services, schools and shops within walking distance, it is available with no onward chain and has a courtyard to the rear with an up‑and‑over door, greenhouse and outside WC.
Advertisement
Listing from Rightmove/Ann Cordey – price and availability correct at time of writing.
How we chose these Darlington properties
These homes were selected by looking at Darlington listings on Rightmove sorted by lowest asking price and picking out a sample of lower‑priced properties across different parts of the town.
We focused on standard sales rather than shared‑ownership or retirement homes and included auction lots where the guide price reflects the lower end of the market.
Asking prices and availability can change quickly, and buyers should check the latest details directly with the agents and carry out their own independent checks.
Advertisement
Why homes in Darlington can be cheaper than elsewhere
Darlington and wider County Durham have long been among the more affordable housing markets in England, with average sale prices significantly below the national average.
Terraced streets close to the town centre and older estates on the outskirts often offer some of the lowest entry points for first-time buyers and investors.
However, prices can vary street by street, and modern estates, larger family homes and properties near top-performing schools or transport hubs command higher figures.
The event was cancelled in 2025 due to ‘rapidly rising costs’
A Cambridge festival that’s coming back after a year off is set to have an Area 51 space theme. The Strawberry Fair has been running in Cambridge for 50 years, providing audiences with free musical entertainment.
Advertisement
In 2025 it was cancelled due to “rapidly rising costs”. However, the fair will return to Midsummer Common on June 6 after great fundraising efforts from organisers were able to bring it back.
“We are coming back bigger and stronger,” said Mark Evans, chair of the Strawberry Fair committee. With this year’s fair being the 51st, its theme is based on Area 51. On the alien-inspired theme, Mark said: “Last time it ran it was for 50 years. The next is for 51 so it’s a play on words for Area 51.”
Mark added that people should “expect a lot of aliens and space themes across the site”. He said: “It gives people an excuse to dress up as their favourite sci-fi character.”
While last year was cancelled due to financial struggles, Mark said organisers have been raising money to keep the event going. He said: “There has been lots of fundraising going on with various events. We are looking at how we can sustain it for years to come.”
Advertisement
In the lead up to June 6, Mark added that it has been a “manic” time for volunteers. He said: “I can report that everyone is working flat out. We are working a lot smarter than we have before, and having a year off has given us time to refocus.”
Mark described the Strawberry Fair as a “unique” event. He added: “It’s free to access and it’s for the people of Cambridge. It’s what the people of Cambridge deserve. There’s nothing quite like it. Cambridge should be proud of it and people should enjoy themselves.”
The Strawberry Fair is a volunteer-run festival and is free to attend. Anyone who would like to volunteer or find out more information about the event can visit the fair website.
Former England wicketkeeper Sarah Taylor will take on a groundbreaking role with the men’s national side after being appointed as fielding coach for next month’s Test series against New Zealand.
Taylor, a World Cup winner in 2017, has been part of the England and Wales Cricket Board’s coaching set-up for a couple of years and worked as an assistant coach for the Lions in Australia this winter under Andrew Flintoff.
But her new role with Ben Stokes’ side is a watershed moment, marking the 36-year-old out as the most senior female coaching appointment for a major England men’s team.
It is not her first time smashing through glass ceilings. She was once called ‘the best wicketkeeper in the world’ by the great Adam Gilchrist, who made it clear he was speaking without reference to gender, joined the Sussex coaching staff in 2021 and was drafted by Hundred franchise Manchester Originals the following season. Back in 2015, she even earned the distinction of becoming the first woman to play first-grade cricket in Australia when she took the gloves for Northern Districts.
Advertisement
She will work with Jamie Smith and James Rew in the three-match series against the Black Caps, with previous fielding consultant Carl Hopkinson involved at the Indian Premier League with Mumbai Indians.
Rob Key, managing director of men’s cricket, said: “She’s done a lot of work in the Lions. We’ve been thoroughly, unbelievably impressed with her and the way that she goes about her business.
“I just think she’s one of the best in the business at what she does. She’s been outstanding, and she’s worked a lot with Andrew Flintoff and (performance director) Ed Barney. They can’t speak highly enough of her.
“So from what we can see, she’s one of the best in the business. She’s stepped up to come and do this and she’ll continue to work with the Lions when that’s required. She’ll be someone that we’ll definitely look at and continue to use.”
Advertisement
One of Taylor’s former international team-mates, Alex Hartley, has previously worked as spin coach for Multan Sultans in the Pakistan Super League, with Ireland’s Cath Dalton also on staff as fast bowling coach.
In football, FA chief executive Mark Bullingham has previously spoken encouragingly about the idea that Lionesses boss Sarina Wiegman could one day take charge of the England men’s team.
Marie-Louise Eta was named as interim boss of Bundesliga outfit Union Berlin in April, while further down the English pyramid Hannah Dingley was briefly in charge of Forest Green on a caretaker basis in the summer of 2023.
Even further back, former British tennis number one Andy Murray became the first elite level male player to employ a female coach, working with Amelie Mauresmo from 2014-2016.
.jpg)
![[The Financial Hub] EL CONSUMIDOR VS. EL MERCADO](https://wordupnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/1778694258_maxresdefault-80x80.jpg)
You must be logged in to post a comment Login