Have to laugh. Labour wrestle back control from Jezbollah. Installs Blairites all over the machinery of government.
Who sinks the government? The Prince of Darkness himself. Thus sinking his fellow Blairites and instigating the age of whatever we get next. Anyone seen to be associated with *that* will be out.
Weren’t you a Blairite before you flounced from Labour ?
Starmer is b*ggered and rightly so. He rolled the dice and he lost.
For me, that sums it up exactly. While people are working themselves up 'Why, oh, why, would Starmer appoint someone with so much obvious baggage to such a high profile role?' the answer is simple, he shares much of that baggage with the tempestuous, venal toddler in the White House. That's why Starmer ignored the risks and took the gamble. And he lost.
He probably didn't think it might end his premiership, otherwise he probably wouldn't have taken it, but that's the game.
The problem is that Mandelson wasn't some outsider but one of the handful of key figures responsible for shaping the modern Labour party. In that context, his appointment wasn't supposed to be a risky punt on someone with baggage but putting a safe pair of hands in a key role.
I'm not so sure about that, it wasn't like appointing Cameron to be FS. Mandelson already had the whiff of Epstein about him, in addition to being previously implicated (albeit being mostly cleared of impropriety, iirc) in a string of financial scandals. Mandelson being taken out by some kind of scandal was always the obvious way for his diplomatic career to end. I'm not sure, even before all this, Mandelson would have been characterised as a safe pair of hands. An effective operator, but a risky one.
It's possible that in the long run the Palestine Action verdict could be more problematic for Labour than Mandelson.
This is the sort of thing that leads to hard right governments.
I can live with juries aquiting on the basis of the cause rather than because they didn't think them guilty (see Colston trial in Bristol) but that ought not happen when someone has been savagely assaulted, and I suspect/hope that there is a retrial for that.
Sorry but I can't agree on that. It would be open season on people to damage property so long as it aligns with their 'cause'. One reason I thought those on here championing the Colston acquittal were very silly. We can all have our causes. Some of the worst crimes in history were committed because people believed in causes. It's just a recipe for complete anarchy.
I tend to agree, tbh. I thought the Colston lot should have been found guilty, albeit with a low penalty, as there was so much public support. In the Palestine Action case, I'm not privy to the details of the damage that they have been aquited for. Clearly there is still the assault, which will surely be re-tried.
Just as well for Labour they happily cancelled all those local elections in May where they would have been trounced.
Theres 33 Lab Majority councils still up outside of London, i think they'll lose control of everything not electing by thirds and any of the 'thirds' that arent red rosette on a donkey councils
Not many, if any, red rosette on a donkey wards in the entire country.
The sooner Starmer goes the better. What is the alternative on offer? More of the same 2016 to 2024 Conservative- Conservative broken Britain chaos or more of the same 2016-2024 Conservative -Reform broken Britain chaos.
Starmer isn't up to the job of either repairing Britain broken by Johnson, Truss and Farage or a World broken in two by Trump.
For the love of God, man, go!
@Mexicanpete is fucking detestable. He’s a traitor. He’s obnoxiously venal and narcissistic. He’s stupid. He’s stupefyingly embarrassing on the world stage, He can’t even walk down a fucking Chinese carpet without making me cringe to be British
Have to laugh. Labour wrestle back control from Jezbollah. Installs Blairites all over the machinery of government.
Who sinks the government? The Prince of Darkness himself. Thus sinking his fellow Blairites and instigating the age of whatever we get next. Anyone seen to be associated with *that* will be out.
Indeed. New Labour died last Saturday. No one mourned, which I think is a shame bearing in mind what came next.
Have to laugh. Labour wrestle back control from Jezbollah. Installs Blairites all over the machinery of government.
Who sinks the government? The Prince of Darkness himself. Thus sinking his fellow Blairites and instigating the age of whatever we get next. Anyone seen to be associated with *that* will be out.
Weren’t you a Blairite before you flounced from Labour ?
It's nearly as bad as being owned by zheng and dung having got rid of yeung.. Kro
I'm sure it's a commonplace observation, but what an irony it will be, if a British Prime Minister who, personally, seems quite a decent person, is forced out due ultimately to Epstein, who he never met. While the egregiously indecent Trump, who was a close friend of Epstein (at the very least) remains securely in the White House.
Well, here I am, about to fill out my ballot for a local election, and no one has offered to bribe me, or tried to intimidate me. Millions of dollars are involved, so you would think someone would care enough to do one or the other -- or maybe even both.
Is it possible that observers in the UK are ignoring the possibility of vote fraud, and, unfashionable as this thought may be, over-estimating the amount of intimidation affecting votes in the US?
(For the record: In recent years, Republicans in the US often accuse Democrats of vote fraud; Democrats often accuse Republicans of intimidation. There is a little truth to both accusations, but far less than many commenters here, and elsewhere, seem to think.)
Just don’t see how Starmer survives these hourly revelations
***NEW*** Peter Mandelson had much deeper links to Russia than previously known, including potentially compromising activity, the Epstein files reveal, raising fresh questions about his vetting for the US ambassador job.
In one email in 2013, Mandelson tells Epstein he is travelling to St Petersburg. Mandelson says “it’s a rave” and there will be what he calls “tastey models and dancing.”
In another message from 2011, Mandelson tells Epstein he is sitting in a club in Moscow after receiving a massage.
In another Mandelson appears to joke about Epstein being accompanied by a woman who is “20 years old and Russian.”
The emails make repeated other references to Mandelson visiting Russia time and again over a period of several years. Several emails allude to extensive business activity in Russia.
Mandelson appears to have openly discussed what he was up to while in Russia on non-secure communications with Epstein.
It goes without saying that this is personally high-risk activity for anyone planning to return to public life, let alone to a sensitive diplomatic posting.
It raises further serious questions about the government vetting process for his appointment as US ambassador.
Comments
Regional then.
Starmer as a person is not a bad person.
Same as Sunak, Cameron Major
He's fundamentally not a politician
He lacks basic political instinct and grounding.
Is it possible that observers in the UK are ignoring the possibility of vote fraud, and, unfashionable as this thought may be, over-estimating the amount of intimidation affecting votes in the US?
(For the record: In recent years, Republicans in the US often accuse Democrats of vote fraud; Democrats often accuse Republicans of intimidation. There is a little truth to both accusations, but far less than many commenters here, and elsewhere, seem to think.)
Why was he so desperate to obtain the approval of very wealthy people and cross any boundary in so doing?