The Conservatives will not be standing a candidate in this fake by-election.

📚 NEW ESSAY COLLECTION TO RESTORE COMMUNITY PRIDE AND TACKLE POLLUTION Contributors include: @VictoriaAtkins, @RicHolden, @SWDevonRebecca, @AphraBrandreth, @andy4wm, @aled_rj, and @boys_nicholas. Covered by @thetimes, @theipaper, @Daily_Express and more.

.@edballs - “The @conservatives are back!”

💯

I've found £23 billion in welfare savings already. More than four times what Burnham needs. Will he have the guts to make savings to keep our country safe? Or will he do what Labour does best, duck welfare reform and leave taxpayers to foot the bill?

There may be a deal with the Netherlands for new amphibious shipping but no answer on when these vessels will be ready. Will there be a capability gap when the current RFAs go out of service in 2034? Disappointed there are no timescales in the DIP.

Yes! Because there’s more to the UK than London and Manchester. It takes just 2 hours 10 mins to get between the two by train. From Plymouth, you’re lucky if it’s 3 hours to London. Let’s get some perspective. Pre-PM seems tone deaf. It’s already getting tedious.

Andy Burnham wants to be Prime Minister but he won’t answer questions. He’s terrified of being exposed. If you want somebody who has a plan and will answer questions, you can come to me.

British people are tired of footing the bill for Benefits Street. Tired of seeing welfare claimants living lives of luxury at their expense. Strengthening the Benefit Cap would end golden tickets to unlimited welfare and save £1bn. Why won't the Minister do it?

It’s madness. The government is rolling out subsidies to get businesses to hire young people. Thing is, those same businesses were hiring them subsidy-free before Labour’s job taxes were implemented.

Well done Bickleigh Down Primary!!!

The next Conservative government will create a 50,000-strong Armed Forces Reserve. Here’s how ⬇️

Congratulations to the wonderful team at the @theboxplymouth for this incredible award!! bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gy…

Couldn’t have said it better myself!

The Government is pressing ahead with a conversion therapy ban so broadly drawn that parents, therapists and even religious leaders could face prosecution for ordinary conversations about sex and gender. Sign and share our petition to tell Andy Burnham that this assault on free speech must be dropped

Great way to further alienate the far south west … 🙄

Chilling analysis…

A draft conversion practices bill has now been published. We will continue scrutinising the detail, but we believe this bill constitutes an indefensible incursion by the state into family life with devastating impacts for parents who are trying to support their children in what is already a hostile environment. gov.uk/government/publicatio… Individual parents, parent-led support groups like @BayswaterSG, and healthcare professionals (including the NHS paediatric gender services) continue to be subjected to a barrage of false accusations that they are engaging in "conversion". This draft bill adds the threat of criminal prosecution to those wildly inaccurate claims. Even if the bar for prosecution is high, the chilling effect and the detrimental impact on public understanding of transgender identity is profound. One thing we can be sure of is that accusations of conversion will come thick and fast, as they have done over the last decade. Escaping prosecution will be scant consolation for those subjected to this onslaught of fabrication and intimidation. The threat of being prosecuted for corporate conversion means that schools will be even more inclined to affirm a child's attested cross-sex identity, despite safeguarding advice to exercise caution. The potential psychological and lifelong medical consequences for the child will be less of a concern to a school than its own legal risk under poorly defined legislation. The press release for the bill claims "robust thresholds that protect open conversations, and free speech", but those are nowhere to be seen in the bill itself. Instead, the bill relies on subjective assessments to define what constitutes criminally "abusive" conduct, stating that this would need to involve "controlling or coercive words or behaviour" or "use of psychological or emotional pressure". Accusations of psychological or emotional abuse are rife when it comes to transgender identity. If this bill becomes effective, parents will justifiably fear that such accusations could now escalate into a threat of a criminal offence that carries a penalty of imprisonment up to 5 years. But that is not the only concern for parents who must now worry about the prospect of a "conversion practice protection order" should they disagree with their child over the merits of a "transgender identity" as the explanation for the child's experience. Any parent who fails to affirm their child's "transgender identity" or who voices concerns about a belief that mind and body can be mismatched in this way could be accused of exerting "psychological or emotional pressure" under the terms of this bill. None of this will help the parents of a distressed young teenager who is convinced that her "transgender identity" means she needs to source DIY testosterone to modify her body in line with her identity. Or parents frantic with concern over their young adult son, who is failing to hold down work or social relationships, all while pinning his hopes of happiness on a medical transformation with significant risks to his long-term health and well-being. Most importantly of all, this bill will harm the very people it purports to protect by enshrining in law a belief that is inextricably bound up with rejection of the body and psychological distress.

Conversion Therapy Bill As feared, asking your gender-questioning child about their feelings is set to become illegal. You could go to prison. For being a good parent. Completely subjective criteria too. How have we got to this place.