Absolutely gutted for Mayor Jamie Driscoll, for his team, and for the North East.

But let’s celebrate the brilliant campaign he ran, galvanising so many, and offering hope in the dark.

He absolutely should keep on building and organising because I believe people will soon be disappointed.

I have to say I am bloody gutted for poor Jamie in the North East Mayoral Election.

Baron Ben Houchen, the man responsible for one of the biggest corruption scandals ever in the North East, is reelected and I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.

So that concludes all the #PartyOfWomen votes. Best placed but least votes (42) in Wolverham, Cheshire west, most votes, 2nd to last (161) in Fallings Park Wolverhampton. Everyone else (3) finished last.

This is MASSIVELY bad for Labour. Elswick is a v working class area in Newcastle, large Muslim population. Should be Lab every time. Yet voters have deserted Lab for the Green Party - who got 45% of the vote. Wow! 💚💚💚💅

Thanks to all the voices on 'the left' telling me to pipe down about Galloway's rhetoric on gay people which has had the surprising result of unleashing a vicious homophobic verbal assault on me.
Solidarity is so important to 'our movement', isn't it.

Wes Streeting admits gains for Independent Socialist, Green and Workers Party have something to do with Labour's stance on Gaza.

The story of the day is Tory collapse and the likelihood of a Labour government, but there is room for alternatives to emerge.

Starmer is learning tonight that political options aren’t binary & guilt tripping us into voting for politics we don’t support as a lesser evil won’t work
Don’t see there’s really any way out for him
Impossible to win socialists back without pissing off his business backers

So far the Green wins + Independent wins is equal to Labour wins. They have to fight much harder under first past the post to get the same result and of course have far, far less funding. It might look like Starmer is doing well, but actually he should be doing a heck of a lot…

Turkey seems to have finally cut trade with Israel.

In 2022 alone, that trade was worth almost $10 billion. If it is comprehensive and sticks, this will be very significant.

🚨 National Demo:

🇵🇸 #Nakba76 #EndtheGenocide 🇵🇸

⏰Sat 18 May - 12 Noon
📍BBC Portland Square to Whitehall, London

76th anniversary of the ethnic cleansing & colonisation that saw 750,000 Palestinians driven into exile, whilst Israel's genocide in Gaza continues. Join us! 🇵🇸

Jurgen Klopp didn't hold back during today's press conference 😂

Wish I’d had the confidence to write Charlotte’s journey and turn it into a book but I don’t. I’m not ashamed to say I left school in 1976 with no qualifications. My first primary school report many years ago said ‘Alex is basically thick’. Then they didn’t mince their words!…

Dolly incarcerated in the Moor Hospital Lancaster for having an illegitimate child in her early teens she never left, from the exhibition Life goes on @saltsmill For the history & background of this inhuman treatment read The undesirables by Sarah Wise

Boycott called off as Bristol’s Arnolfini apologises for anti-Palestinian censorship

Arnolfini apologised “without reservation” for cancelling Palestinian events amid “ongoing devastation and loss of life in Gaza, the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Israel”
artistsforpalestine.org.uk/2024/05/03/boy…

'These are not just potatoes, these are M and S new or baby new potatoes grown in Israel' [on land stolen from Palestinian farmers forced to become refugees]
via West Midlands Palestine Solidarity Campaign

I know those closely involved in Mayor Jamie Driscoll’s campaign will be hurting a bit right now, but they should be very proud. It was always going to be tough, but 126,652 votes for a candidate with no political machine behind them is very respectable & part of a (re)building of the left.

I'm just going to say this.
Yesterday a clip of Galloway speaking about gay issues was released by Novara.
I objected and was told I'd 'fallen' for a 'trap'.
Today I'm getting called a 'pervert', a 'freak' and a paedophile.
The two things are not unrelated.
Language matters.

Bauhaus artist, metal work designer and photographer Grit Kallin-Fischer, Self portrait with Cigarette (c.1928) #WomensArt