u/GlacialTurtle

>But in a sign that the fight is going to get nasty, a close ally of the prime minister said: “You have to look at what the price is for the support of the Socialist Campaign Group on the left for Andy. It could be bringing Corbyn back and a hard line on Israel. How would that work when we have peak antisemitism as a problem at the moment, not least with the attack in Manchester? That’s what colleagues need to think about.”

Antisemitism apparently means we can't be more critical of Israel and its ongoing genocide, or that Corbyn who has already left Labour and started Your Party is somehow going to come back under Burnham.

>Then a wildcard arrived out of nowhere. Talks opened with Josh Simons, the 32-year-old Makerfield MP who has long been disillusioned with Starmer and came to believe Burnham should be the next prime minister more than a year ago. The pair became close over the last two years, after Burnham, not Whitehall, came to his aide after major floods in Platt Bridge. > >“I think being a constituency MP radicalised Josh to how broken the country is,” said one friend. “He is so young, it is such a sacrifice.” > >Another close friend said: “Burnham knows how to advocate for the people and not for the system.” > >Simons only began to seriously consider giving up his seat this week, the Guardian understands. The final decision was made after Burnham went to see Simons at home with his wife, Leah, an American economist who Simons met at Harvard and who has recently given birth to their third child. They spent two hours asking in-depth questions about Burnham’s plan for government, his economic strategy, his position on financial markets, and what he could really do in office. > >Then, at 5.14pm on Thursday, a little over five hours after Streeting’s resignation, Simons announced he was stepping aside to pave Burnham’s way to Westminster.

So either:

1) Josh Simons, a guy who launched investigations into journalists and smearing them as they uncovering Labour Togethers dodgy dealings had some genuine change of heart

or:

2. Burnham has convinced him he won't rock the boat too much and will not stray too far from what Keir has already been doing and anyone pinning their hopes on Burnham is being taken for a ride (again).

Some candidates do stray too far into more conspiratorial territory, but most claims are at least partly based in fact (we know Israel has harvested Palestinian organs without permission in the past, we know zionist orgs bribe politicians as a means to help ensure support for Israel no different than corporations and other governments have and continue to do) and quite a few others are simply non-controversial.

For example, criticising NATO, thinking the IDF should be proscribed, supporting Bob Vylan and Palestine Action, being part of a Just Stop Oil protest and questioning Britain owning the Falklands are all presented as somehow intrinsically bad and scary that they don't even need to be explained why they're supposed to be bad.

https://x.com/londonlabour/status/2051936705322627368