Special Advisor to the Prime Minister, based in No 10 North and Downing Street. Also a Manchester red.

Manchester, England
Joined December 2008
In case you forgot what a U.S. president beloved by the world looks like. 🇺🇸 🇬🇧 Live in Manchester: An Evening with President Barack Obama. The arena holds up to 23,500 people with standing room, and the event was SOLD OUT.
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The front page of tomorrow's edition of the Manchester Evening News. RIP, Pat Karney. We'll miss you.
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Kevin Lee retweeted
I’m deeply saddened to hear that Pat Karney has died. Pat gave nearly 50 years of his life to serving Manchester. He saw the city through some of its toughest times and played his part in the growth and transformation that followed. I knew Pat for many years. He loved Manchester deeply and was a tireless champion for the people he represented. I’ll miss him greatly. My thoughts are with his family and everyone who knew and loved him.
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One of the men in this picture is a politician currently serving 10 and a half years in prison for accepting Russian bribes. The other was his boss and doesn't think there's evidence of Russia interfering in UK politics.
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Farewell and thank you, Mr Manchester - tomorrow's front page.
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So sorry to learn of the passing of the wonderful Cllr Pat Karney. Pat loved and championed this city and all communities. I remember laughing with him that he would have started the Christmas markets in July he loved them so much. He was a great politician and a true friend.
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Kevin Lee retweeted
Russia has intensified its strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure over the weekend. This is an attack on Ukrainian civilians, plunging them into cold and darkness. The UK strongly supports President Trump's call today for a sustained energy ceasefire to start now. I discussed this with @zelenskyyUa yesterday: Ukraine is ready if Russia stops its attacks. This is the best route to get energy and fuel back into world markets.
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Andy Burnham becomes first PM to confirm Russian interference in Brexit referendum @campbellclaret and @RoryStewartUK's exclusive interview with @andyburnham on tomorrow's episode of Leading is out in full at midnight.
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Kevin Lee retweeted
The Prime Minister @andyburnham's personal commitment to making dementia a central priority for his Government is clear. His announcement of £48 million for dementia research is an important step towards accelerating the development of urgently needed new treatments and better support for people living with dementia. Every day, our Admiral Nurses support families who are crying out for a system that is there when they need it, rather than leaving them to navigate fragmented services alone. We share the Prime Minister’s ambition to ensure that people living with dementia get the care and support they need. We cannot let this opportunity for progress pass us by.
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Kevin Lee retweeted
Three years on from the October 7 attacks on Israel, we remember those who were senselessly killed by Hamas terrorists. The impact of the attacks has been felt not just in Israel, but in Jewish communities across the world who still bear the burden of the tragic events that day. In the years since, we have seen a disturbing rise in antisemitic behaviour in the UK. A year ago we witnessed a horrifying terrorist attack on the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation in Manchester, with further attacks against Jewish people and institutions since. I want Britain’s Jewish community to hear this from me directly. We stand with you. Abuse and violence against you, in any form, will not be tolerated. Not on our streets, not online, not in our schools or universities. That’s why we are funding protection for synagogues, schools and community buildings, and why we will come down hard on antisemitism wherever it is found - in classrooms, on campuses and in neighbourhoods. At home, we are committed to protecting our citizens from vile hatred. Abroad, we continue to work towards a two-state solution, with Israelis and Palestinians living side by side in peace and security. An attack on Jewish people in Britain is an attack on all of us. Antisemitism has no place in this country, and we will do everything we can to stamp it out.
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Artist Stanley Chow has hit out at the Tory party after water bottles which appeared to use his image of Andy Burnham were handed out at their conference in Birmingham. Mr Chow produced an image of the Prime Minister in his iconic style, which was used by the Labour Party. But he said he became aware earlier today (October 4) that there were water bottles at the Conservative Party conference which featured the image, as well as the headline 'Bottler Burnham' and '0% strength'. He then took to Instagram and shared a post which read: "It seems like Conservatives have been using my artwork without my permission at their conference party... regardless of whatever your political allegiances are, it's still copyright infringement... I'll be seeking legal advice."
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Kevin Lee retweeted
I wanted to explain to you directly my announcement on creating a National Care Service and the triple lock. Fundamental change is needed to protect the NHS and give older people the support they need. At Labour conference, I announced a plan to create a National Care Service in the next parliament. To fund it, I am proposing an adjustment to the triple lock on the state pension. This will form the basis of a new settlement for older people in our country. I want to explain why this is necessary and what it would mean for pensioners. Everyone knows that our social care system is broken. And yet, for decades, politicians have failed to fix it. Shamefully, millions of older people have unmet care needs. Far too many see everything they have worked for – their home, pension and savings – wiped out by care bills. The personal cost can be devastating, but we should not make the mistake of thinking the price is paid only by older people and their families. I am convinced that if we carry on as we are, our broken social care system will eventually break our NHS too. Every day, older people who should be receiving support at home or in care settings are unnecessarily admitted to A&E. Meanwhile, hospital beds are occupied by people who are fit to leave but have nowhere to go because the care they need is not in place. Go to any hospital and you will see the effect. Corridor care is no longer simply the result of winter pressures. It is a commonplace indignity suffered by thousands of patients every day. It is time for fundamental change. The best chance we have of saving our NHS is to build a high-quality care service. The National Care Service I am proposing will be based on NHS principles: everyone contributes and everyone is covered. It will give people peace of mind about their care needs and protect what they have built up over their lifetime. It will provide free personal care – support with the most basic human needs: eating, dressing and bathing. And it will be integrated with the rest of the system, preventative in nature, and deliver care at home wherever possible, exactly where older people want and should be. A National Care Service, I believe, would become as significant as the creation of the NHS itself. But we need to be honest about the changes that are needed to pay for it. And I do not believe it makes sense to preserve the current triple lock while so many pensioners face the risk of catastrophic care costs. We can give pensioners greater financial security. I am proposing to adjust the triple lock. This is not an easy decision, but I believe it is the right one. We pledged in our manifesto that we would keep the triple lock throughout this parliament, and I will keep that promise. This means the state pension is set to rise by more than £2,000 a year, reaching around 30 per cent of average earnings by the end of the decade – its highest ever level. From April 2030, under our adjusted triple lock, we will guarantee that the state pension rises every year by either inflation or 2.5 per cent, whichever is higher. It will also increase by more than this when necessary to ensure that it holds its value relative to average earnings. This means that if inflation spikes, pensioners will be protected. If wages rise, pensioners will share in that rising prosperity, with the state pension tracking earnings over time. Nobody’s pension will ever go down. And the state pension will be put on a sustainable footing for decades to come. I want to be upfront about what I am proposing because this adjustment will bring change. The state pension will not increase as quickly as it otherwise would if we kept the triple lock in its current form. However, the adjustment will enable us to fix social care for everyone by building a National Care Service that provides older people with free personal care at the point of need. I believe this is a better deal for pensioners. I do not expect people to support this plan without seeing the full detail. We will start laying the ground now for the National Care Service and introduce it as soon as possible in the next parliament. Louise Casey’s review will advise us on exactly how and we will build the maximum consensus around her recommendations. It will be fully funded – and not through borrowing. I appeal to everyone to engage in this debate responsibly and urge politicians to continue the cross-party talks that began over the summer. We need less point scoring and more problem solving. The situation is too serious for us to play politics. Care workers struggling on low pay, families stretched to breaking point, older people fearful of losing everything they have worked for. We need to give them reason to hope again. I have wanted to fix social care for a long time. As health secretary in 2009, I tried to find a cross-party solution. Since then, I have watched the challenges grow more acute and the consequences become more severe. It is a profound failure of politics that we have known about this problem for so long and yet failed to act. I would never forgive myself if I did not try now. This is the settlement I am offering to pensioners: a state pension that rises every year, no care charges and a high-quality National Care Service to give peace of mind in later life. I do not pretend this will be easy. But in the end, politics is about finding a way. I gave my word that I would do everything in my power to build a care system worthy of the people who provide it and all those who depend on it. This is how we can achieve it.
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There’s only 1 ANDY BURNHAM
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Kevin Lee retweeted
2010, Team Burnham on a night out after the Leadership election. Down but far from out, we know and believed his day would come. Today, sixteen years later after a brilliant Leaders speech our belief and trust in Andy Burham has been more than justified. Hope again. @KevinLee @andyburnham @Emma4Wanstead @mickswales
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Labour is putting Britain on a new path.
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Kevin Lee retweeted
A Britain that can hope again. If this is the country you want to help build, join Labour today. Bring your voice, your energy and your ideas. Help us turn this plan into a future people can believe in. Let’s do it together. labour.org.uk/join-us
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Kevin Lee retweeted
With the Triple Lock reform set out accurately and the savings hypothecated to a National Care Service, a clear majority back it: 64% support it and 15% oppose: net +49. Support outnumbers opposition in every age group, including those most affected: -> 55-64: 61% support, 16% oppose -> 65+: 55% support, 27% oppose 5/6
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It’s brilliant to have @UKLabour back in Liverpool. 🌹 I’ve had the privilege of representing this place both in parliament and as Mayor - so I know what it is capable of. And I genuinely don’t think there has been a more exciting time for our region in my lifetime.
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Kevin Lee retweeted
We can't carry on as we are. Politics as usual has taken Britain backwards, and more of the same won't get us where we need to be. Today, I'll set out a different path for our country. That means having an honest conversation about the things we've ignored for too long, from fixing social care and tackling youth unemployment to giving people more control over energy, water and housing. Hope comes from honesty. It comes from saying the things politicians usually avoid, being straight about the challenges we face, and having the courage to fix them. That's exactly what I will do.
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