Best Of

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So today we find out how fixed the Labour DL contest has become.

Would be ironic if DL means that some up and coming keen type misses out on the top job if Starmer loses it…

Starmer is desperately trying to stabilise the ship, burt if Philipson wins he will have an element of muttering on the backbenches of a fix, if he loses he probably has to live with a thorn in his side. But does he care ? Probably beyond that now.

I don't think so. It looks like Phillipson vs Powell, but Phillipson has a lot of backbench support too.

It's notable that Thornberry and Ribero-Addy got just a handful of nominations, and those from the usual suspects. It doesn't look like either a major fight or a stitch up.

The Mandleson affair was very foolish of Starmer. I posted here on the folly of appointing him at the time. It was a job for a career diplomat who has been trained for it. This isn't America where ambassadorships are handed out as payback for political favours.

Every few years the ratchet moves a further notch, and we adopt yet more American ways of doing things. Not a good direction of travel.

And now BBC pundits saying they can’t sack Mandelson because it might upset Trump. Incredible.

Given what’s come out in the last 24 hours, Mandy’s got no chance of holding on to that position.

Trump very clearly and publicly disassociated himself from Epstein before his first conviction, and is very unlikely to want to have anything to do with someone who’s just been exposed as a good friend and supporter well after he was imprisoned.

Starmer might want to see this, as his predecessor’s advisor once said, as a good day to bury bad news in the US.

With a diplomatic slant like that you should be the next Ambassador.

Trump only disassociated himself from Epstein because of a duplicitous real estate deal. Trump may or may not have settled the score by informing the FBI on Epstein's activities.

I don't believe as you are implying Trump unhitched himself from Epstein because he was outraged at the child sex trafficking which to that point he had been unaware of.

Err no, Trump disassociated himself from Epstein because he was being a creep towards staff at Mar-a-Lago.

'That's my job!'

So today we find out how fixed the Labour DL contest has become.

Would be ironic if DL means that some up and coming keen type misses out on the top job if Starmer loses it…

Starmer is desperately trying to stabilise the ship, burt if Philipson wins he will have an element of muttering on the backbenches of a fix, if he loses he probably has to live with a thorn in his side. But does he care ? Probably beyond that now.

I don't think so. It looks like Phillipson vs Powell, but Phillipson has a lot of backbench support too.

It's notable that Thornberry and Ribero-Addy got just a handful of nominations, and those from the usual suspects. It doesn't look like either a major fight or a stitch up.

The Mandleson affair was very foolish of Starmer. I posted here on the folly of appointing him at the time. It was a job for a career diplomat who has been trained for it. This isn't America where ambassadorships are handed out as payback for political favours.

Every few years the ratchet moves a further notch, and we adopt yet more American ways of doing things. Not a good direction of travel.

And now BBC pundits saying they can’t sack Mandelson because it might upset Trump. Incredible.

Given what’s come out in the last 24 hours, Mandy’s got no chance of holding on to that position.

Trump very clearly and publicly disassociated himself from Epstein before his first conviction, and is very unlikely to want to have anything to do with someone who’s just been exposed as a good friend and supporter well after he was imprisoned.

Starmer might want to see this, as his predecessor’s advisor once said, as a good day to bury bad news in the US.

Let’s hope then Trump tells his lapdog Starmer to fire Mandelson . No 10 seems to be telling everyone that they can’t fire him until after the state visit . If he’s not gone before hand then he won’t be going at all as the media will get bored of the story and the pressure on Starmer to get rid of him will fall .

The unspoken and ironic thing about Mandelson and being Ambassador to Trumpistan is that Starmer, being a pragmatist, wanted a slimeball for the role who could schmooze other slimeballs. So he will be being sacked for the very same quality that got him the job in the first place.

Where on earth did Labour find Mike Tapp ?

I was expecting him to say Gary Glitter was our new ambassador to Russia

Good morning

Last night on the immigration debate on Sky he wore a union jack tie so much a tradition for labour politicians

This morning, again on Sky, he was evasive about Mandelson being asked to attend FO affairs committee and even said everything is out now about Mandelson

I am very much in agreement with Labour mps and others that Mandelson has to go now

Epstein v Trump - cannot control Trump's position

Epstein v Andrew - ostracised by society

Epstein v Mandelson - cannot be moved because it may upset Trump

Since when have we lost our moral compass?

Ooh , ooh I know that one. When Boris Johnson became Foreign Secretary.

Nick Watt on Newsnight: Mandelson is finished.

This is the weakness of Starmer, everyone can see he's done for but he won't swing the axe until after the weekend meaning it will drag on and damage his own reputation and the government's ratings for no gain.

Surely Mandy has to hang on until after the Trump bun fight next week.

Why

So as not to humiliate Trump who despite turning FBI informant over Epstein's crimes, may have once accidentally brushed past Epstein on Park Avenue.

Are we really worried about humiliating Trump rather than doing the right thing?

In a world where we are currently far too dependent on the business and military goodwill of the USA, sadly yes.

It would be better if we weren't, but we are where we currently are as a result of decades of British choices. Most of which were sensible enough at the time, because nobody really expected an American President like this.

So yes, in the short term, we do have to tiptoe around Trump's ego. Mostly for our economic sake, but also for Ukraine's sake. It's horrible and humiliating, but that's where we are.

The bigger question is, what the heck was Mandelson thinking when he agreed to take the job? And why is he regarded as a political genius, when he's roughly as self-inflicted-disaster-prone as BoJo?

That's a huge fucking hell moment. And the shooter is still at large apparently.

It is, and the nutters are already using it as a rallying cry for a civil war.

Nutter 1 is @Leon

I’m chilling out with a free glass of Cannonau in Sardinia!

Not that insane

I am merely pointing out the Directionality of the Moment. The Left apparently wants war to defend Wokeness

If that’s what they want, it will happen

"The left wants" - utter bullshit.

This - like the assassination only two months ago of two Democratic state senators, which you seem to have forgotten - was very probably the act of another lone gunman.

You're not "merely pointing out" anything but your own desires.