Is it time to move on from 'Tinder politics?'
"You get bored, you start swiping again, you see who you can replace them with.
"It hasn't worked so far," says Labour councillor @sebastiansalek.com
@goldbergradio.bsky.social @bylinetimes.bsky.social
open.spotify.com/episode/4TU7...
Sorry, just seeing this. Yes, it’s passed so will go for Royal Assent.
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There’s still lots to do.
The waiting list needs taming, for one.
But amid a gloomy national mood, let’s not overlook the things that are, quietly, on the up.
4. Half a million unnecessary appointments avoided
Thanks to Advice and Guidance, GPs accessed consultant advice directly for patients.
That prevented 500,000+ unnecessary hospital referrals between April and August.
3. Tests and checks jump
The NHS delivered almost 7.5m tests and checks.
That’s over 250,000 more than last summer.
2. Record cancer diagnoses
More than 654,000 patients received a cancer diagnosis (or had it ruled out) within 28 days.
That’s 28,000 more than summer 2024.
Plus, an extra 2,400 patients starting cancer treatment within 62 days of a diagnosis.
1. Record elective cases
4.6m cases were managed by the NHS between June and August. That’s up 138,000 on last year.
Treatments per working day also rose 4.4% on last August.
The NHS just had a record summer.
That’s despite resident doctors striking in July. But no one is talking about it!
4 impressive stats:
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So the polls may not look great for Labour right now.
And the Caerphilly result was nothing to celebrate.
But the good news is that 2029 is very much still in play.
Green, Lib Dem, and Tory voters won’t love this.
But they know that voting anything other than Labour in a winnable seat helps Farage win.
And the polling shows they won’t take the risk.
Starmer (45%) was way ahead of Farage (33%).
That lead remains when they stripped away the names and asked about Labour (46%) vs Reform (34%).
So either way, the anti-Reform bloc holds strong.
The next general election looks like a straight Starmer vs Farage fight.
It’ll probably have echoes of Macron vs Le Pen in France.
And when YouGov asked voters who they’d prefer as PM, the result was clear.
Those who will do anything to stop Farage.
In Caerphilly they rallied behind Plaid Cymru – and won.
In 2029, the data suggests they’ll back Labour.
In Caerphilly, Reform won 36% of the vote.
That’s way above the ~30% they’re polling at nationally.
But it STILL wasn’t enough to win, because of a quiet voter group we never talk about:
Labour’s poor showing in the Caerphilly by-election wasn’t a shock.
We all knew it wasn’t going to be a good night.
What’s much more surprising is Reform’s performance.
Labour can completely win in 2029.
Strangely, the path to a second term is buried in the Caerphilly result.
Here’s a simple explainer:
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8. Crackdown on employers underpaying staff
Labour has named and shamed almost 500 employers who failed to pay the minimum wage.
They’ve been fined, and around 42,000 workers have been repaid.
7. Mental health support to get people back into work
The £80m package will target areas with the highest unemployment.
Plus, Labour is investing £50m into mental health research.
6. Knife robberies down
Offences fell 10% among the seven police forces most impacted by knife crime.
Comes as part of a taskforce crackdown that started last year.
5. Toughest Russia sanctions yet
Labour announced 90 new sanctions on oil companies, including giants Rosneft and Lukoil.
4. Protecting Jewish communities
Labour announced record funding for security around synagogues and Jewish schools.
Stats show religious hate crime at highest ever levels, with Jewish people most targeted.
3. £84m homelessness package
Funding will help families cover essentials like food, school travel, and laundry.
Children and families in temporary accommodation will be prioritised.
2. Stronger planning laws to boost building
The changes will prevent locals from blocking housing using judicial reviews.
They’ll also speed up new reservoirs and onshore wind farms.
1. Half of rail operators publicly owned
Greater Anglia's services entered public ownership on Sunday.
Public operators now run 33% of all passenger rail journeys.
Labour has a lot to celebrate this week.
Not all of it made the papers, but there was plenty of good news for progressives.
8 important changes:
If you’re interested in what’s going in Parliament, my newsletter explains the bills MPs are debating each week.
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7. Record fraud crackdown
Fraudsters were stopped from stealing £480m of public money in the government’s biggest ever fraud crackdown.
That means more funding for schools, hospitals, and other public services.
