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Sebastian Payne
@SebastianEPayne
Leaders and columns for @TheTimes. Exploring 'Where Power Lies' for @panmacmillan (2027).
Blandford Forum and Mortehoe
Born July 2
Joined July 2010
Posts
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    🥀 I still can't believe that Reform won Gateshead, my home town, last week. Amid all of the Labour chaos, we've almost lost sight of the electoral earthquake. The red wall has collapsed again — this time it is likely for good. Latest @thetimes column
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    This is how you do a parliamentary speech
    00:00
    Talk
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    Snap YouGov poll on Partygate fines: - 57% say Johnson should quit - 57% say Sunak should quit - 75% said Johnson "knowingly lied about breaching Covid-19 rules"
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    Little noticed by-election in the heart of the red wall tonight: Labour gain in West Auckland ward of County Durham, following sudden death of incumbent Tory councillor. Independent: 187 Conservative: 554 Labour: 956 Doesn’t bode well for Wakefield by-election
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    I've had 15 WhatsApp messages from Conservative MPs in the last 30 mins. Not a single one thinks Boris Johnson can remain prime minister until the autumn. Conversations are taking place with Sir Graham Brady about whether the contest will be sped up.
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    It boggles the mind that Downing Street resisted suspended Chris Pincher for almost 24 hours when it was *completely inevitable* their position was unsustainable and would have to shift. After three years, No10 still can’t see around obvious corners.
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    Don't think former Tory chancellor Lord Ken Clarke is a fan of this week's budget - speaking to the World This Weekend: "I'm afraid that's the kind of thing that's usually tried in Latin American countries without success."
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    Remarkable: the Queen's first prime minister, Sir Winston Churchill, was born 101 years before her current PM Liz Truss. She is not only a connection to the second world war but the Victorian era
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    Keir Starmer's #lab22 conference speech was solid, but crucially it was plausible. For the first time in a decade, it's easy to see both the Labour party and its leader in power. There's a palpable sense Starmer now believes (for the first time) he can and will be prime minister.
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    NEW: former chief whip @Mark_J_Harper calls on Boris Johnson to resign. First Tory voice in the Partygate statement to state the PM should go.
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    The vibe shift between the two party conferences is remarkable. Labour was disciplined, united and focused on power; the Tories are now squabbling, at war and focused almost entirely on themselves. Liz Truss will have to try and instil discipline soon or she'll never recover.
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    Superb @spectator cover perfectly sums up how the UK is getting it wrong
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    In just another day for a completely normal country, the Daily Star has riffed off @TheEconomist and has started a live stream to see whether Liz Truss can outlast a piece of lettuce over ten days youtube.com/watch?v=Sm-RE9…