Breaking news: Congratulations to Andrew Gwynne who wins the ministerial sack race of 2025

This makes my blood boil. 😡

Ah yes, anyone can make mistakes

Not sure if Angela Eagle has seen all these WhatsApps, but years of vile messages cannot be called mistakes

Shinamae.

The Labour Party will close ranks because it fears a by-election which Reform will win.

the way Labour ministers excuse truly appalling behaviour by talking it down 'anyone can make mistakes'.

Still The Sun's headline today was thaat the new Minister n the Deptof Health believes that people can idenitfy as a Llama (the furry kind, not the Tibetan Buddhist religious leaders).

I thinkI will identify as dormouse and bury myself under some leaves for the duration of this government.

Gerald Cooney, former Leader of Tameside council, said he he had reported messages from this group several times last year to Andy Smith, Labour's Head of regional governance in the North-West. No action was taken, despite several conversations between Cooney and Smith.
Apparently, 'no formal complaint was received.'

I thinkI will identify as dormouse and bury myself under some leaves for the duration of this government.
M0nica 😂

Surely this person was taking the Michael? If not, that is really worrying.

M0nica

the way Labour ministers excuse truly appalling behaviour by talking it down 'anyone can make mistakes'.

Still The Sun's headline today was thaat the new Minister n the Deptof Health believes that people can idenitfy as a Llama (the furry kind, not the Tibetan Buddhist religious leaders).

I thinkI will identify as dormouse and bury myself under some leaves for the duration of this government.

Said MP evidently also believes that women can have a willy

"The new Minister of The Dept of Health believes that people can identify as Llamas" I'm conflating this notion with the other thread "Should we have Identity Cards?" Hypothetical I know, but if one does identify as a Llama, I'm wondering would the picture on the identity card be as they are, presumably sort of un Llama like, which kinds of disproves their desired identity. Or an actual Llama? I'm kinda wrestling with this conundrum it kept me awake last night. I think the latter would be more appropriate and I believe the opinion of The new Minister is we should respect that desire to be a Llama, I'd rather be an Alpaca though, they're kind of cuter. .

I'm just loving this lovely new concept, It gives us all a whole new spectrum of who we could become, one day a Llama, the next a can of beans, some would of course want to go for the inanimate, we should be mindful of that too and of course respectful.

Do Llamas have their own WhatsApp groups do you imagine Anyone?

Boz

Shinamae.

The Labour Party will close ranks because it fears a by-election which Reform will win.

Didn't Angela Rayner say that Starmer wasn’t fit to run a bath?
Obviously trying to backpedal furiously on that now..
I think few of them are fit for purpose 🤦‍♀️

What a bloody shower…🤬🤬
Rotten to the core..

What a mess tonight in Tameside. Part of Greater Manchester.
Wonder if Andy Burnham (Labour, Mayor) might have a comment to make about this rag-tag band of councillors? Eleven of them on their WhatsApp group. 9 from Tameside Council, 2 from Stockport. All now named and shamed in the Manchester Evening News.

At least they have been suspended. Good for Starmer.

And now 11 Labour councillors have become runners up in the sack race!

Good, it is what they deserve, all this 'being there to serve the people', while really thinking they are dirt to be trodden on.

It’s a nightmare ! Thank goodness for Andy Burnham who so far as I know, is ethical, likeable and hard working.
I’ve heard an interview on radio 4j just now about the met police being unable to sack officers accused by multiple women of sexual abuse. There are so many people with misogynistic attitudes - (men)

Hmm. With luck you might be able to distract the thread onto the police rather than who it’s actually about😬🙄

No need to be snippy Lathryrus3. Also imo, misplaced snippy response.
So far as I’m aware, the majority of people involved in this whatsap group, and who the Met want rid of, are men. Yes, I could start a new thread that but my comment is relevant to this thread
Are you suggesting my left leaning politics mean I’m trying to stop discussion on the whatsap group? Couldn’t be more wrong

TerriBull

"The new Minister of The Dept of Health believes that people can identify as Llamas" I'm conflating this notion with the other thread "Should we have Identity Cards?" Hypothetical I know, but if one does identify as a Llama, I'm wondering would the picture on the identity card be as they are, presumably sort of un Llama like, which kinds of disproves their desired identity. Or an actual Llama? I'm kinda wrestling with this conundrum it kept me awake last night. I think the latter would be more appropriate and I believe the opinion of The new Minister is we should respect that desire to be a Llama, I'd rather be an Alpaca though, they're kind of cuter. .

I'm just loving this lovely new concept, It gives us all a whole new spectrum of who we could become, one day a Llama, the next a can of beans, some would of course want to go for the inanimate, we should be mindful of that too and of course respectful.

Do Llamas have their own WhatsApp groups do you imagine Anyone?

Since my accident last week I now identify as a sloth🦥

This is what his constituents think of him - doubt he’ll take the advice though!

Iam64

No need to be snippy Lathryrus3. Also imo, misplaced snippy response.
So far as I’m aware, the majority of people involved in this whatsap group, and who the Met want rid of, are men. Yes, I could start a new thread that but my comment is relevant to this thread
Are you suggesting my left leaning politics mean I’m trying to stop discussion on the whatsap group? Couldn’t be more wrong

Oh ok.

That’s just that distraction from the topic as first thing that sprang to mind when I saw you were introducing the Met police, alleged sexual abuse and dismissal practices in the Police force into a discussion about Labour MPs and Councillors, a Whatsapp group and a call for resignations.

I simply couldn’t see any other reason for that. I still don’t see the connection frankly, other than they are men behaving badly.

In terms of the process, from the snippets of the WhatsApp conversations that I’ve seen so far, a lot of the group were bitching about other MPs and other councillors, rather than about the public. A number of the councillors involved were women too. I imagine all the conversations will need to be reviewed to see who said what, who endorsed unacceptable behaviour by others and who, if anybody, disagreed with what was said. It will probably take quite a while for a full investigation to conclude, and the outcome in terms of dismissal, length of suspension etc. it will be individual to each person on the group, if political investigations follow a similar path to others.

GrannyGravy13

TerriBull

"The new Minister of The Dept of Health believes that people can identify as Llamas" I'm conflating this notion with the other thread "Should we have Identity Cards?" Hypothetical I know, but if one does identify as a Llama, I'm wondering would the picture on the identity card be as they are, presumably sort of un Llama like, which kinds of disproves their desired identity. Or an actual Llama? I'm kinda wrestling with this conundrum it kept me awake last night. I think the latter would be more appropriate and I believe the opinion of The new Minister is we should respect that desire to be a Llama, I'd rather be an Alpaca though, they're kind of cuter. .

I'm just loving this lovely new concept, It gives us all a whole new spectrum of who we could become, one day a Llama, the next a can of beans, some would of course want to go for the inanimate, we should be mindful of that too and of course respectful.

Do Llamas have their own WhatsApp groups do you imagine Anyone?

Since my accident last week I now identify as a sloth🦥

I'm a koala - sleep, eat, sleep, repeat
🐨

Casdon

In terms of the process, from the snippets of the WhatsApp conversations that I’ve seen so far, a lot of the group were bitching about other MPs and other councillors, rather than about the public. A number of the councillors involved were women too. I imagine all the conversations will need to be reviewed to see who said what, who endorsed unacceptable behaviour by others and who, if anybody, disagreed with what was said. It will probably take quite a while for a full investigation to conclude, and the outcome in terms of dismissal, length of suspension etc. it will be individual to each person on the group, if political investigations follow a similar path to others.

Yes, very much the case, a group with a particular agenda originally politically.

Remember some members of the group didn't hold any council positions at all. (but can still of course be suspended from the LP as within any political party)

I commend Starmer's very rapid action on the ring leaders - toxic poisonous lot (yes included women) and yes what you say re the remaining members of the group.