Karen Tandy

WATCH: Lucy Powell Says Teachers Are Too Politically Impartial order-order.com/2026/10/21/w…

I want to be honest about how we’ve got to a place where British billpayers are paying some of the highest energy costs in Europe. Over the past 40 years, we’ve given up control of our necessities, outsourced our essentials and privatised the basics. Water, transport, housing. And of course, energy. Now the public are paying the price. We haven’t invested in the infrastructure we need. Conflict overseas has pushed up energy costs and it’s hurting our businesses and families. That’s why we need to take back greater control of our energy system. This week, I announced Great British Grid, which will speed up connections and push down bills. We’re also giving mayors, local leaders and communities a stronger role. With funding for People’s Power projects, communities will be able to build solar panels on libraries and town halls, hydro schemes in rivers or publicly owned windfarms on local land. But it’s not just energy we need stronger public control over. It’s also water, housing, transport and care. So we’re repealing the ban on public ownership of water companies. We’re building more council homes than this country has seen since the end of World War Two. We’re reforming the leasehold system so families aren’t squeezed for every penny. And we’re opening up home ownership for first time buyers who can’t rely on the bank of mum and dad. This week I also announced my determination to introduce a National Care Service, to put people above profit and to give pensioners peace of mind. Together, we’ll rewire the country from top to bottom so that it works for all people in all places. That is the only way to put Britain back on the right path. It’s the only way to put power back in people’s hands. And it’s the only way we will bring hope again.

Blames Brexit *yawn* … high street failure (without mentioning online deliveries) will be fixed (doesn’t say how) Wealth should be taken from the wealthy and given to everyone else. The government he leads will give people control and growth … he says this with confidence (as most MPs laugh) He says he has experience bucking the low growth trend (entirely forgetting that’s almost entirely in football and banking, neither of which he had anything to do with) Number 10 north to try and devolve Cornwall. In fact he’s going to ask everyone if they want to be devolved huh? Didnt we do this in the 5th century? (Basically this speech is mental.) His theory of growth is having authority from central government and number 10. So he’ll focus on growing the civil service in the regions LOL (more state employees) Energy is too expensive and grid connection too slow (even though he’s doubled down on climate change) plans for greater public control of this (sounds like we will have to pay more) Massive expansion of building council houses *yawn* (he doesn’t mention his climate change policies have crippled builders) Supporting young people into work (doesn’t mention that there isn’t any work) He’s going to deindustrialise Britain with public money …. But doesn’t say what that growth is. And since he’s ‘doubling down’ on climate change policies he must mean green growth which is er …. Subsidised by us and mostly automated. He’s now calling himself a circuit breaker… says it’s a credible plan to growth and optimism. This speech is still mental) Blaa blaa no more rough speaking or waste tips …. Sounds like more tax payer money. But Britain must believe again and have hope. Er. No hope and Bob Hope! … Now Kemi ⬇️

🚨 NEW: Andy Burnham has privately agreed to reverse Keir Starmer's cuts and increase international aid spending to 0.7% of GNI [@theipaper]

The Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Zaker Choudhry, declared “Kashmir is ours." By “ours” he means Pakistan’s. What’s that got do with the people of Birmingham he’s supposed to represent? Choudhry is ostensibly a well-integrated immigrant. But even his primary loyalty is to a foreign country. We must dismantle the disastrous multicultural project that has torn our country apart and reassert our national identity again. Only @reformparty_uk will stand up for British interests and British people alone.

It is hard to overstate how insanely impressive the GCSE results from Michaela/@Miss_Snuffy were, yet again. 1 in 9 pupils got a 9 ('super A*) in 8+ GCSEs. National average: 1 in 526. 82% of grades were 7-9. Average: 23% 98% of grades were 5-9. Average: 55% (1/2)

Today marked one month since I became Prime Minister. Cutting tax on electricity bills. Capping bus fares at £2 in England. Making subscriptions easier to cancel. Cracking down on fake discounts. Giving 14-year-olds early access to technical education. Opening 159 new mental health centres. Investing to get all rough sleepers off the street this winter. Supporting farmers affected by the drought. Cutting business rates for pubs, clubs, and music venues. Shutting down 13 more asylum hotels. Giving mayors a share of income tax. Extending the 16-17 Saver Railcard. Bringing buses in the West Midlands under public control. Fast-tracking new homes near train stations. Cleaning up illegal waste dumps. Giving communities and councils more power over what opens on their high street. Opening No10 North. Giving disabled people 24/7 free bus travel. Delivering the biggest transfer of power, funding and responsibility from Westminster in a generation. It's a start, but I’m not complacent. I know that people need more and I promise that I will do everything I can to make yours and your family’s lives better. We're doing things differently to give people more breathing space and bring back hope. Here’s to the next month.

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Too many people feel like modern life is designed to catch them out. It should be just as easy to cancel a subscription as it is to start it. And if something is advertised as half price, it should actually be half price. So I'm taking action. We’re taking every opportunity to get the cost of living down. It’s about fixing the every day hassles that cost people time, money and patience. These two are just the start. theguardian.com/commentisfre…

No amount of headline-chasing, or following Reform to the extremes, can conceal the damage the Tories did to housing in this country. People without ILR are already ineligible for social housing, so the Tories are targeting refugees and long-term UK residents who have contributed to this country but are not British citizens, including NHS staff. It would leave more families at risk of homelessness, while driving up the use of temporary accommodation at taxpayers’ expense. This unserious, unworkable proposal, copied from Reform, would do nothing to tackle the housing crisis the Tories themselves created. telegraph.co.uk/politics/202…