Andy Burnham costs UK £5m as Keir Starmer finally puts Britain first

Andy Burnham is being sold as Labour's great hope. The man who can supposedly ride into Westminster, rescue the party and replace Keir Starmer when the time comes. Well, I'm not buying it for a second. All I see is a career politician once again putting personal ambition ahead of the people he promised to serve.

The Makerfield by-election alone is costing taxpayers £226,208. Why? Because a Labour MP decided to conveniently step aside and make room for Burnham's Westminster comeback. But it gets worse, because if the King of the North wins in Makerfield, he'll then have to resign as Mayor of Greater Manchester, and that would in turn trigger another mayoral election expected to cost taxpayers around £4.7million.

So altogether, we're looking at nearly £5million of public money being spent not on fixing roads, tackling crime, improving local services, supporting struggling families or cutting NHS waiting lists, but on one man's political ambitions. And this is exactly the kind of thing that drives ordinary people mad about politics. We're all sick of political games being played by people who really have no idea about what the majority of this country is feeling.

Keir Starmer took plenty of criticism last week, especially from Kemi Badenoch, over the decision to ease sanctions on Russian oil. His critics say it helps fund Russia's war in Ukraine - and they're right. Yet for once, Starmer also appears to be putting British people first.

Because however uncomfortable it may sound, cheaper diesel and jet fuel ultimately help British households and businesses already being hammered by high costs. Energy prices affect everything from food prices to flights to deliveries. So if easing restrictions saves ordinary people money, many voters will quietly welcome it. Yes, it looks hypocritical but sadly that's politics.

The reality is Western countries regularly balance morality against economic self-interest. Britain sends aid to Gaza while still supplying arms and technology connected to Israel. America talks tough on foreign policy while still doing business where it suits them. Even Donald Trump has already taken a similar approach with Russian sanctions. So if other nations put themselves first, why shouldn't Britain do the same?

Now before the usual suspects start shouting at me, yes, I know £5million is a drop in the ocean compared to overall government spending. I'm not pretending it bankrupts the Treasury, but it's still a staggering amount of money to waste when communities are crying out for investment. That money could fund a small community health centre. It could pay for specialist hospital units or operating theatres. It could help train a few nurses and doctors too. Instead, taxpayers may end up funding a giant political reshuffle designed purely to advance one Labour politician's career.

The thing that I am perhaps most aggrieved about is how embarrassing this is for the Labour party and what it says about our political class. Labour have more than 400 MPs sitting in Parliament, yet they still appear unable to find a convincing replacement for Starmer from within their own ranks.

The message they're effectively sending to the country is: "None of us are good enough, so we need to get someone in who the party members rejected before."

That's hardly a ringing endorsement of the current government. It wasn't that long ago that Burnham was trying to become an MP again. He wanted to run in Gorton and Denton and was blocked. Now he's back once more because Westminster power is clearly too tempting to resist. However, I believe the people of Manchester deserve a mayor who actually wants to stay and fight for them rather than using City Hall as a stepping stone back to the Capital. Equally the people of Makerfield deserve an MP who sees them as a community to represent - not merely the next rung on somebody else's political ladder.

Donald Trump is once again paying tribute to our late great Queen Elizabeth II, and frankly, it's hard not to admire the respect he continues to show Britain's longest-serving Monarch. Trump already proudly displays a portrait of the late Monarch by Basia Hamilton at Mar-a-Lago, but now the same portrait is set to hang in the White House itself after being gifted to him by publisher Bobby Jenkins of queenportrait.com

Queen Elizabeth II wasn't simply Britain's Queen - she was a global symbol of duty, dignity and stability in a world that increasingly lacks all three. For more than 70 years she represented continuity, grace and quiet strength while politicians came and went around her. So seeing her portrait displayed alongside America's Presidents feels entirely appropriate. In many ways, she transcended politics altogether. But perhaps the most revealing part of this story was Trump's own words following King Charles III's recent visit to Washington.

In a letter to Jenkins, Trump praised the visit, saying: "The historic state visit of King Charles III and Queen Camilla was absolutely incredible, and it was a true honor to celebrate the enduring bond between America and the United Kingdom." That sentence matters because it highlights something bigger than personalities or party politics - the special relationship between Britain and America still matters deeply on both sides of the Atlantic.

At a time when so much history and tradition is casually dismissed, it's refreshing to see respect still being shown to one of the greatest Monarchs of modern times.

Green MP Hannah Spencer has shone a light on one of Westminster's stranger traditions - drinking on the job. Spencer says MPs shouldn't be knocking back pints while deciding matters that affect millions of Brits, and taxpayers certainly shouldn't be helping to pick up the tab. She has a point. Parliament is a workplace, not a pub crawl.

That said, I'm not convinced alcohol needs to be banned outright. Being an MP can be a stressful job and there's nothing wrong with colleagues sharing a drink after hours. The simple solution is to stop serving alcohol until after 5pm, just as most people would expect in any professional environment.

What's harder to justify for me is the subsidy. MPs already earn a basic salary of £93,904 a year. If they fancy a round after work, they can afford to buy it themselves.

Mission Impossible for the King

Sadly, I think the King's reported hopes of bringing William and Harry back together are doomed to fail. This ain't a family squabble that can be solved over a cuppa and a heartfelt chat. The resentment between the brothers has become deeply entrenched. Harry believes he was let down by the institution and his family, while William remains furious about the accusations, interviews and revelations that followed Harry's departure from Royal life.

Then there's the small matter of their wives, whose relationship appears no warmer. I admire Charles's determination, but I think this is one relationship even the Trump-whisperer can't fix.