John McTernan
@johnmcternan
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Strategist and commentator. Formerly Tony Blair's Political Secretary and Julia Gillard's Comms Director. No 2, PR Influencer Index.
London, England
Joined February 2009
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That more people voted in the Strictly final than in the North Shropshire by-election tells us everything we need to know about the low regard in which politics is held today.
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My Mum died today.
A socialist whose ideals will ever die.
The work goes on!
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Labour got no votes in London, Wales or Scotland on Thursday.
Just think what that means for the general election!
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Mick Lynch at
@TWT_NOW
calls for labour unity, then gets the biggest cheer of the night by calling for Keir Starmer to resign.
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"Now the top rate of tax isn't being abolished, I am seriously relaxed about my mortgage repayments doubling", said no-one ever.
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The far left - despite having lived in this country for a very long time, probably all their lives, they don’t understand English metaphor either
John McDonnell brands 'call off the dogs' comments 'grossly offensive'
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If Chris Whitty and Patrick Vallance are at the PM's press conference this afternoon they should be asked if they will still wear masks. And, if so, why.
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Swift and appropriate apology from Diane Abbott. She has been subjected to vile racist abuse throughout her career, and her apology should be accepted in the spirit it is offered.
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The biggest obstacle to Labour's electoral success currently is the inability of the Corbynite wing to accept that 2017 was a catastrophic defeat.
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No. The giggling is BECAUSE we understand the identity issues at the heart of the Leave vote. And we think they are absurd.
@SebastianEPayne
And btw, the giggling of Remainers about blue passports suggests they still don't understand the identity issues at heart of Leave vote
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Tories hoping that wedge issues can win a general election should look at Australia where Labor have defeated an incumbent Coalition government who had no policies but tried to divide the nation.
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one more time
elections are won by having more votes than your opponents
not by having more votes than you had in an election that you lost
Labour won. But let's look at the numbers.
Turnout almost halved. Wellingboro +107 👇
In Kingswood Lab lost 5416 votes to achieve 11176.
Tories lost 19038 votes.
LibDems lost cc2500 in each seat.
But was this a VICTORY 🥳🥳 or was it down to the pitiful Tory turnout?
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Peter Mandelson: "I do pray for the day when we stop receiving lectures on winning elections from the architects of our 2019 annihilation and their Unite backers.”
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Last year young people woke up to Brexit - the shocking future older voters wanted for them. Tomorrow is payback time. Vote Labour.
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I am literally in favour of liberal democracy. It created the welfare state, smartphones, the minimum wage, supersonic travel, human rights and equality, the 4th industrial revolution, paid holidays, craft beer, rising living standards, techno & so on. And it defeated Communism!
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That’s the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine everywhere in the world that doesn’t hate England. A shameful tweet.
The roll-out of the Astrazeneca vaccine is underway in Scotland with patients in Tayside among the first to receive their initial dose. 82 year old James Shaw said he was "delighted" to be receiving the vaccination.
@NHSTayside
Read more ➡️
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Keir Hardie flying the very flag that enrages the “left”
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.
@JamesDalyMP
why didn’t you write to
@LancsPolice
about this case?
The Conservatives have suspended MP Mark Menzies over allegations, reported in the Times newspaper, that he misused campaign funds.
Chief political correspondent Henry Zeffman had more details on
#BBCBreakfast
- which are strenuously denied by the Fylde MP…
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“However, that nice Mr Johnson is a very different case…”
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The condescension is visible from the Moon.
The 93% of us who sent our kids to state schools do NOT lack aspiration.
🏫 Labour's war on private schools shows a fundamental misreading of middle class aspiration. The party seems to have forgot that not every independent school is Eton and their plans risk putting more even pressure on the state.
Latest
@theipaper
column
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Cannot see how Keir Starmer recovers from this blow.
Westminster voting intention:
LAB: 48% (+2)
CON: 25% (-1)
LDEM: 9% (-1)
REF: 7% (-)
GRN: 5% (-)
via
@Omnisis
, 12 - 13 Apr
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“Obtained”, my arse.
This was live-streamed!
But sure, a five day old clip of Keir saying nothing new is BREAKING NEWS.
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There are days when you have to wonder, what is the point.
Labour to ditch £28bn annual green investment pledge, party sources say
“The change, after a spate of recent government attacks”
No 10 must love that at least someone takes them seriously
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Actually if we teach them properly we will definitely have some Tories, because conservatism is an honourable political tradition not a kind of false consciousness
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This is beyond terrible for Starmer.
After this he has to answer - who will you go into coalition with?
Nowcast Model + Interactive Map (15/05):
LAB: 403 (+201) - 44.5%
CON: 162 (-203) - 28.4%
LDM: 35 (+24) - 10.5%
SNP: 26 (-22) - 3.4%
PLC: 4 (=) - 0.6%
GRN: 1 (=) - 5.1%
RFM: 0 (=) - 6.2%
Others: 0 (=) - 1.4%
LAB Majority of 156.
Changes w/ GE2019.
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Constantly amazed that so many Scots believe that the best way to increase public spending is to start by losing £10bn a year - permanently.
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#TellTomWatson
? You know what? I will! He’s doing a brilliant job. Standing up for members on Europe. Standing against anti-semitism in the party and the incompetence of the machine. Making the case for social democracy. Precisely what we voted for.
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I must say I am furious with the Labour Party!
Why aren’t they announcing a raft of transformative policies that will bring hope and deliver change but don’t cost a penny?
I can think of dozens! They are so obvious I don’t even need to mention them.
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Travelling by train to Edinburgh and as I pass through Durham I am reminded of the immense contribution that Laura Pidcock and Jeremy Corbyn made to British politics - especially their stunning work on behalf of the Conservative party.
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Increasingly looking as though Scotland are the toughest team to beat in the Euros.
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On the Metro in Paris. Nearly 100% mask wearing. Political leadership has a direct impact.
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Time to give Diane Abbott back the Labour whip. No better time to show solidarity!
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This would be a huge and historic error.
EXCL: Labour considering scaling back £28bn green investment fund amid fears Tories will weaponise flagship pledge during election campaign 👇🏼
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This
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Trying to imagine a Labour Party that couldn’t happily contain Mark Drakeford, Nadia Whittome, Clive Lewis, and me ever gaining power.
And realising there would really be no point.
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Given what she did to the UK in only 49 days, imagine what Liz Truss could do to the West in 10 years.
My book Ten Years To Save The West will be published in 2024 by
@BitebackPub
in the UK and
@Regnery
in the U.S.
It will set out what we must do to counter the disastrous ideas of the global left and halt the rise of totalitarian regimes. More here👇🏻
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Things looking good for Labour.
Government refuse commit to full publication of Gray Report.
Labour can us next opposition day debate for “A Humble Address” demanding publication in fill.
Tories rebel and Labour wins.
Tories vote against publication, Labour wins.
Win, win.
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'Keir Starmer shouldn't employ an Israeli', isn't the compelling argument you think it is.
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The trick is to win more votes and seats than your opponent, not more votes and seats than Ed Miliband or Michael Foot.
Three Labour leaders have led the party to winning 40% or more in a general election since 1970.
Can you name them John? One starts with a ‘C’ and ends with an ‘n’.
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"And that's why we are going to restrict access to university..."
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Eliminate those centrists Wilson, Attlee and Blair from Labour history and you get 0 years of majority Labour government in 117 years.
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The government's vote not to suspend Owen Patterson MP is the most successful reset in UK political history.
🚨NEW SNAP POLL🚨
💥69% say PM responsible for LOTO being harassed
💥54% 2019 Con also say this
💥68% say he should publicly apologise to Starmer
💥68% say he should withdraw comments
💥64% say politics has gotten nastier in last 5 yrs
1,094 UK adults, 8 Feb 2022
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To be clear, those who criticise Israel the country for the actions of an Israeli government do not come to the debate with clean hands. Delegitimising Israel as a country is part of a systematic strategy to undermine its existence. Anti-Zionism is anti-semitism, plain and simple
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The beginning of the end.
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Narrator: successful parties give voters what they want, not members
The left have won a massive victory in Labour's internal NEC elections.
The message is very clear: the membership want radical policies that transform Britain, and Keir Starmer has to stick to the cast iron policy pledges he made to get elected as leader.
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Labour as a moderate centre left party: 3 elections in a row and 13 years in power. Labour as a cult: angry impotent antisemitism.
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The desire of Corbynites to attack a Labour staffer because he was in military service in the armed forces of one of the UK's closest allies is as revealing as it is disturbing.
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Feel sorry that Arthur Scargill’s contribution to decarbonising the UK is being overlooked.
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The brutal backlash against Labour continues.
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Brandon Lewis told
@BBCr4today
that the garden is an “integral part of No 10”.
When I was Political Secretary to Tony Blair I was privileged to have a ground floor office, looking into the garden.
I was only ever in the garden on a few special occasions - almost all parties.
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Seems the Labour leadership decided that a policy that was popular and distinctive from the Tories gave them an unfair advantage in an election year.
There will be plenty on the Labour benches who think Lab should have stuck to the £28bn. But for Reeves and team, they simply don’t want to give the Tories a stick to beat them with in the run up to GE
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“Don’t tell him, Pike!”
Raab: “There was speculation that the May 20 party was held in my honour to thank me, it’s just ridiculous.”
@KayBurley
: So it was a party!
“No, exactly, er, no, er, the, no no no no. This is the claim that was made, it was nonsense, I wasn’t invited and I didn’t attend.”
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Excellent, as ever, from
@JonnElledge
. Making the point many miss - that by governing Labour will change the political frame.
Once it wins Labour can set the terms of debate
@NewStatesman
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Caps a terrible few days for Labour
Westminster Voting Intention:
LAB: 46% (+4)
CON: 26% (=)
LDM: 9% (-1)
RFM: 8% (-2)
GRN: 6% (=)
SNP: 2% (-1)
Via
@wethinkpolling
, 15-16 Feb.
Changes w/ 8-9 Feb.
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My political party has been stolen.
Have you experienced a petty crime in London? Click to tell us your story.
(Your submission may be selected for publication.)
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Philip Hammond admits on
@BBCr4today
that the economy will be smaller as a result of Brexit. And says staying in the single market would be better economically.
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Those Labour “coalition negotiations”:
SNP: Give us a referendum!
Starmer: You going to vote with the Tories?
SNP: No!
Starmer: Close the door on the way out!
LDs: Give us PR!
Starmer: You going to vote with the Tories?
LDs: No!
Starmer: Close the door on the way out!
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Wait till Owen finds out who the Soviets were allies with until 1941. He’ll be furious.
It's about time we stopped airbrushing the reality of Winston Churchill from our history: from the Bengal Famine to Tonypandy.
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Five Blair-era special advisers in Keir's new Shadow Cabinet now!
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2016: Brexit will be a success because you have beat the Nazis in WWII. 2019: Brexit must be done otherwise the Nazis will be cross.
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Spot on by
@Dannythefink
:
“The country is becoming more urban, more diverse and more liberal. In the long term there isn’t much future in travelling in the opposite direction. Yet this appears to be the Tory plan.”
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My solidarity with the Jewish community and with Israel has led to me being reported to the General Secretary. This, sadly, is today’s Labour Party.
.
@UKLabour
@JennieGenSec
@johnmcternan
I wish to lodge a formal complaint against John McTernan. Please see below for evidence supporting the complaint.
Please confirm receipt of this complaint and advise me of next steps.
I await your response.
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She’s right. There is no Magic Money Tree.
A labour candidate saying there’s no ‘magic money tree’.
This is after the Tories run a £300 billion deficit. You really can’t make this stuff up.
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Pitch-perfect. Every detail correct down to the flag, family, and patriotism.
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‘even some of Jeremy Corbyn’s left-wing colleagues know it. Their leader is a politician of low intellectual calibre which, alloyed with rigid and obstinately held ideological beliefs, renders him stupefied, or stupid, or both’
Don’t read this before you go to bed. It is so brutally brilliant and brilliantly brutal it’ll give you nightmares
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I have seen an old video circulating of ann appearance I made on LBC and am happy to repeat the public apology I made on-air, and made privately and personally, to
@jeremycorbyn
for hurtful and untrue remarks I made.
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Corbyn and his policies have been decisively rejected. He has to go immediately. And his far left ideas with him.
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And whatever you think of her, she has dealt with it uniformly badly.
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Hard to see how Keir Starmer recovers from this.
Labour hails ‘biggest byelection shock in history’, taking Tamworth and Mid Bedfordshire from Tories – live
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‘Winning is the first betrayal!’
The Democrats were handed the election on a plate - and they nearly threw it all away.
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Epic trolling
With the warm weather and long weekend, please don’t be complacent – we are not out of the woods yet. That’s why we are urging people to stick to the guidance around
#Covid19
, act sensibly and use common sense
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Where is the money for keeping a £2 bus fare coming from?
(Not HS2 - that’s capital).
Labour would be asked this question endlessly - why won’t the government.
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The problem with the “Netflix model” for the BBC is that Netflix loses money.
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By that logic, the £20 cut in UC must be the biggest tax hike the low paid have ever had.
For every extra pound earned by someone in receipt of Universal Credit they will keep 45p, up from 37p. This is, in effect, something that Conservatives have not seen for some time: a tax cut.
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Centrist leadership wins landslide
BREAKING: Jacinda Ardern has won a second term in office after her rival conceded in New Zealand's general election.
She's thanked voters "who trusted us to continue with leading New Zealand's recovery".
More on this breaking story:
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This has aged very badly.
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Well, I hope the moron who leaked this is pleased they have taken the pressure of Rishi Sunak.
EXC: Starmer will finally kill off the £28bn green pledge *tomorrow*. Labour leader to make his biggest policy u-turn yet after weeks of speculation. Full story here:
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@JGForsyth
@DPJHodges
Surely the Speaker privileging the Commons over the government is him doing his job, not a question of impartiality.
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Missed the reference to Tony Blair’s legislation - the Gangmasters Act
Fifteen years ago in Morecambe Bay over 20 Chinese workers died.
In their memory we must end exploitation.
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That unbreakable populist surge continues
Danish exit polls forecast a centre-left victory - and a more than halving of the vote for populists
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My piece for
@guardian
on why Keir should bury the Tories not praise them.
A word to the wise, Keir Starmer: whoever advised you to praise Thatcher got it wrong
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Something pathological about desire to blame anyone but Tory Party for referendum they called, campaign they ran, negotiations they mess up
Fact that cannot be stated enough: Jeremy Corbyn is far more to blame for Brexit than Theresa May. No Jezza, no Brexit.
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Party Political Broadcast for the Labour Party.
"I'm not going to apologise... what was done was done."
Former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng refuses to apologise over his time in office alongside Liz Truss, and tells
@cathynewman
he would like to see lower taxes under Rishi Sunak.
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Things really did get better
Children living near Sure Start centres did better at GCSEs, study suggests
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Corbyn was the ‘opposition’:
- lost in 2017
- lost in 2019
- gifted the Tories a landslide
- reduced Labour to 200 MPs
- triggered an EHRC investigation into the party
- refused to accept the EHRC report in full
Corbyn was the proper opposition:
- the racists hated him
- the zionists hated him
- the corporations hated him
- the tax evaders hated him
- the criminals hated him
- the oppressors hated him
- the abusers hated him
So, Murdoch, Rothermere and the Barclay brothers hated him too
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Labour can fight and win on
the Green Prosperity Fund if they focus on outcomes - should call it an industrial strategy.
My
@guardian
piece
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Oddly, I think stockpiling blood and insulin because of government policy is the definition of failure for the government
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Shameful retreat, if true.
Labour needs to have ambitions, not abandon them.
"It is unlikely a Labour government will be able to meet its ambition to spend £28bn a year on green initiatives, a source close to Sir Keir Starmer has told the BBC."
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I agree. Jeremy Corbyn should never, ever be forgiven.
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Question: Why did you give the Tories a landslide, and Labour their worst election result since 1935?
Voters: Because we overwhelmingly back Labour’s policies.
@SimonWe63114983
The domestic programme of Corbyn's Labour was overwhelmingly backed by the electorate. That's why we almost won in 2017, and why Starmer promised to continue it.
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