I always wonder if local democracy and postcode lottery are the same thing? If some regions are newly more successful than others, will the postcode lottery accusation come to the fore?
That was a tough sentence and I hope it made sense.
I take from this you’re saying it will be a challenge for Andy to bring the party together? I understand MPs have been frustrated but I’ve been wondering in recent months if this has been the leakiest PLP ever? (Good for journalists, but not great for unity, and I don’t think the public is impressed by internal squabbling). Hopefully MPs will be engaged with and listened to more and their feedback from constituents taken on board. Imagine the discourse being mostly about the policies, about a National Care Service for example, rather than political gossip? I wish him the *very* best of luck, and I’m excited by this new chapter for the party!
Side note- It’s not ‘anti-London’ to recognise power and opportunity is still concentrated in the capital. London is an amazing city (despite the fact that it’s increasingly expensive for people to live there). It’s also the case that my kid and their friends are struggling to find good jobs in the North and are looking to move to London because so many vacancies and opportunities are there and in the SE. I wish they didn’t have to move away to achieve their dreams 🤷♀️.
Thank you very much, Patrick. Much appreciated
It was such a wonderful piece.
1987 was nearly 40 years ago!
I always wonder if local democracy and postcode lottery are the same thing? If some regions are newly more successful than others, will the postcode lottery accusation come to the fore?
That was a tough sentence and I hope it made sense.
I take from this you’re saying it will be a challenge for Andy to bring the party together? I understand MPs have been frustrated but I’ve been wondering in recent months if this has been the leakiest PLP ever? (Good for journalists, but not great for unity, and I don’t think the public is impressed by internal squabbling). Hopefully MPs will be engaged with and listened to more and their feedback from constituents taken on board. Imagine the discourse being mostly about the policies, about a National Care Service for example, rather than political gossip? I wish him the *very* best of luck, and I’m excited by this new chapter for the party!
Side note- It’s not ‘anti-London’ to recognise power and opportunity is still concentrated in the capital. London is an amazing city (despite the fact that it’s increasingly expensive for people to live there). It’s also the case that my kid and their friends are struggling to find good jobs in the North and are looking to move to London because so many vacancies and opportunities are there and in the SE. I wish they didn’t have to move away to achieve their dreams 🤷♀️.
Of course it’ll be a challenge. But let’s see. He’s set a much clearer political direction much more sensitively than his predecessor.
And I’m from Southport so I very much understand what you are talking about on the latter point.
Yes, I know you are 🙂 (and you wrote beautifully about Merseyside’s history in your piece about Andy’s Catholicism).