Did Starmer choose Mandelson, or did Mandelson choose Starmer?
Wasn't the story that Blair convinced Starmer to get into politics and that the New Labour team rolled the pitch for him to make sure it all went as smoothly as possible to him up the leaderboard ASAP.
Starmer gets a boost for dealing with Mandy’s betrayal.
No boost for Farage/Kemi.
Not according to the detail
Kemi improves her rating ahead of Farage and well ahead of Starmer
Also Starmer only narrowly beats Kemi as best PM
Plus over 50% want Starmer to resign
If that is a boost for Starmer well it's a view
Kemi still trailing Starmer as preferred PM is not great for Kemi given recent scandals in the government
Good analysis. Farage needs overhauling and I would be very surprised if Badenoch can do that. Hunt (and I've met him and he's a bit odd) is still your best hope.
Starmer gets a boost for dealing with Mandy’s betrayal.
No boost for Farage/Kemi.
Not according to the detail
Kemi improves her rating ahead of Farage and well ahead of Starmer
Also Starmer only narrowly beats Kemi as best PM
Plus over 50% want Starmer to resign
If that is a boost for Starmer well it's a view
Kemi still trailing Starmer as preferred PM is not great for Kemi given recent scandals in the government
Its a lot better than Cleverly or any other conservative would achieve just now
I expect her improvement to increase as this crisis continues
Well, we don't know yet. Perhaps the optimal position is Badenoch as Prime Minister of a Labour Government.
She wouldn't be the first popular leader of an unpopular party.
My point is that Kemi has undeniably improved and her clever and well delivered questions resulting in Starmer's admission on Mandelson
That is widely accepted and apparently at her last news conference they had to quickly add more chairs for the number who came
Whilst Starmer and labour face an existential crisis and the last thing the conservative party need is another leadership crisis
The party is behind her and @HYUFD is, for reasons that I cannot fathom and at a time she needs loyallty, doing everything to undermine her
Of course there are those who want to do this, that is politics, but not when it is supposedly someone on your own side
He is traumatised by Johnson's leaving and views everything through that lense when we all know Johnson was his own worse enemy, then the party elected Truss [I voted for Sunak] and the rest is history
I reckon Cleverly has promised him a run at a safe seat
Cleverly was loyal to Boris to the end, unlike say Kemi and Jenrick and Rishi and Braverman.
However, he also served Rishi loyally as he is serving Kemi, he is a decent chap
In the GE Campaign often as the Tories main spin room guy he came accross brilliantly, especially when up against Streeting or Ashworth.
He'd stand his ground, discuss, argue, banter. At the end he'd always hold his hand out shake the other guys hand.
What about all the references to ordering “pizza and grape soda “ in the files then?
I refer you to the link provided. I note that people do eat pizza.
That article does nothing other than explain pizzagate. It doesn’t refute it considering the references within the latest release. Was Epstein a fan of pizza on his Island or a fan of pizza?
Pizzagate claimed that "cheese pizza" was a code for child pornography. There are references in the Epstein files to pizza. Are they talking about pizza or are they using "pizza" as a code? We don't know. Nothing actually suggests that it's a code beyond this prior idea. Everything else about pizzagate remains nonsense, like the pizza restaurant still has no basement, despite this being a key part of the conspiracy. There is a suggestion that maybe some elements of the Epstein story leaked into or influenced the pizzagate conspiracy, but we don't know.
They’re clearly using “pizza” to refer to children. It’s a Code. Ignore the restaurant. That’s nothing to do with it. They’re shitposting “pizza”. Or if you truly believe the emails relate to actual actual pizza being delivered to the island, then well, I dunno.
We all know very wealthy people on islands dont have chefs, they phone dominos
You think the private chef can't make pizza?
He wouldnt have it brought in which is what much of the excessive discussion of pizza in the emails is about
Lots of the references are just to eating pizza, with no mention of its origin. Would you like to give some examples that you think prove your case?
Harry Fisch < To: Jeffrey Epstein Subject: Re: Date: Sun, 03 Jun 2018 18:46:34 +0000 Inline-Images: IMG-7847.JPG Holy shit. Chunky!!!! I forgot about that. What time do you want to get pizza and grape soda tomorrow?
Grape soda !
Sounds vile.
Yeah. Yeah, it is. But we’ll go on pretending this isn’t as bad as it really is. Because that’s safer for all of us.
Remember you're arguing with someone who thinks "conspiracy theorists" are worse than the perpetrators. I think because he doesn't like the light they shine on the elites he so desperately would like to be part of.
You deduced all that because I said the concept of Grape Soda was vile !!
“Grape soda” isn’t nice. You’d definitely pass.
I fermented 5 litres of Sainsbury’s grape juice last year. Usually cartons of fruit juice fement well into a strong wine. This was not good.
Ain't that what they do in Winson Green
I doubt they use a demijohn, no rinse cleaning agent and Mango Jacks cider years. So I’d guess not.
Starmer gets a boost for dealing with Mandy’s betrayal.
No boost for Farage/Kemi.
Not according to the detail
Kemi improves her rating ahead of Farage and well ahead of Starmer
Also Starmer only narrowly beats Kemi as best PM
Plus over 50% want Starmer to resign
If that is a boost for Starmer well it's a view
Kemi still trailing Starmer as preferred PM is not great for Kemi given recent scandals in the government
Good analysis. Farage needs overhauling and I would be very surprised if Badenoch can do that. Hunt (and I've met him and he's a bit odd) is still your best hope.
That is an absolutely AWFUL poll for Kemi. For the Tories to be on just 16%, a rating that used to be about par for the LDs and 7% behind a deeply unpopular Starmer Labour and a massive 15% behind first placed Reform is very bad news indeed,
I suppose at this stage we Tories should be grateful we are still ahead of the Greens and LDs so poor is that poll. Kemi has got to drastically shake things up and improve by May or if the local and devolved elections are as bad for the party as Opinium is tonight she will be gone and replaced by Cleverly
It's not Kemi, it's the Conservative brand that's trashed and will be for a long time.
In fact it may be so tarnished the Conservative brand never recovers.
The problem isn't so much that the Conservative brand has been trashed (though it has), it's that someone else has come along and nabbed two-thirds of the right-of-centre market.
I don't know when the Conservatives had their last chance to strangle Faragism at birth, but they didn't take it.
When they made Boris leader in 2019 as the Brexit Party surged, then in their idiocy removed Boris in 2022 enabling the Farage comeback in 2024
Back to Boris
I give up
It's a fair point; Boris was (among other things) a clear answer to "Farage is going to steal our lunch, what can the Conservatives do about that?" It was the "among other things" that was the problem- Boris was so predictably ethically compromised that it was bound to end in tears- remind you of anyone?
Boris simply had to go; had Paterson, Partygate, Pinchergate not got him, Pantsonfiregate would have. And if by some miracle he had survived that, something else was bound to come up, because Boris was Boris.
As for when Farage needed to be fired into the Sun, I suspect the key moment was much earlier than 2019.
Brexit was always going to be a mess, and the parties in government collect the flak. Farage set the conditions and just to had to wait.
Starmer gets a boost for dealing with Mandy’s betrayal.
No boost for Farage/Kemi.
Not according to the detail
Kemi improves her rating ahead of Farage and well ahead of Starmer
Also Starmer only narrowly beats Kemi as best PM
Plus over 50% want Starmer to resign
If that is a boost for Starmer well it's a view
Kemi still trailing Starmer as preferred PM is not great for Kemi given recent scandals in the government
Its a lot better than Cleverly or any other conservative would achieve just now
I expect her improvement to increase as this crisis continues
Well, we don't know yet. Perhaps the optimal position is Badenoch as Prime Minister of a Labour Government.
She wouldn't be the first popular leader of an unpopular party.
My point is that Kemi has undeniably improved and her clever and well delivered questions resulting in Starmer's admission on Mandelson
That is widely accepted and apparently at her last news conference they had to quickly add more chairs for the number who came
Whilst Starmer and labour face an existential crisis and the last thing the conservative party need is another leadership crisis
The party is behind her and @HYUFD is, for reasons that I cannot fathom and at a time she needs loyallty, doing everything to undermine her
Of course there are those who want to do this, that is politics, but not when it is supposedly someone on your own side
He is traumatised by Johnson's leaving and views everything through that lense when we all know Johnson was his own worse enemy, then the party elected Truss [I voted for Sunak] and the rest is history
I reckon Cleverly has promised him a run at a safe seat
The tiny problem there is finding a Tory "Safe seat"
Starmer gets a boost for dealing with Mandy’s betrayal.
No boost for Farage/Kemi.
Not according to the detail
Kemi improves her rating ahead of Farage and well ahead of Starmer
Also Starmer only narrowly beats Kemi as best PM
Plus over 50% want Starmer to resign
If that is a boost for Starmer well it's a view
Kemi still trailing Starmer as preferred PM is not great for Kemi given recent scandals in the government
Its a lot better than Cleverly or any other conservative would achieve just now
I expect her improvement to increase as this crisis continues
Well, we don't know yet. Perhaps the optimal position is Badenoch as Prime Minister of a Labour Government.
She wouldn't be the first popular leader of an unpopular party.
My point is that Kemi has undeniably improved and her clever and well delivered questions resulting in Starmer's admission on Mandelson
That is widely accepted and apparently at her last news conference they had to quickly add more chairs for the number who came
Whilst Starmer and labour face an existential crisis and the last thing the conservative party need is another leadership crisis
The party is behind her and @HYUFD is, for reasons that I cannot fathom and at a time she needs loyallty, doing everything to undermine her
Of course there are those who want to do this, that is politics, but not when it is supposedly someone on your own side
He is traumatised by Johnson's leaving and views everything through that lense when we all know Johnson was his own worse enemy, then the party elected Truss [I voted for Sunak] and the rest is history
It was Kemi who recently trashed centrists who she desperately needs to shore up the party after rightwingers have been defecting to Reform.
Did Starmer choose Mandelson, or did Mandelson choose Starmer?
Wasn't the story that Blair convinced Starmer to get into politics and that the New Labour team rolled the pitch for him to make sure it all went as smoothly as possible to him up the leaderboard ASAP.
That’s interesting, but I don’t think that it answers my question
Starmer gets a boost for dealing with Mandy’s betrayal.
No boost for Farage/Kemi.
Not according to the detail
Kemi improves her rating ahead of Farage and well ahead of Starmer
Also Starmer only narrowly beats Kemi as best PM
Plus over 50% want Starmer to resign
If that is a boost for Starmer well it's a view
Kemi still trailing Starmer as preferred PM is not great for Kemi given recent scandals in the government
Good analysis. Farage needs overhauling and I would be very surprised if Badenoch can do that. Hunt (and I've met him and he's a bit odd) is still your best hope.
Starmer gets a boost for dealing with Mandy’s betrayal.
No boost for Farage/Kemi.
Not according to the detail
Kemi improves her rating ahead of Farage and well ahead of Starmer
Also Starmer only narrowly beats Kemi as best PM
Plus over 50% want Starmer to resign
If that is a boost for Starmer well it's a view
Kemi still trailing Starmer as preferred PM is not great for Kemi given recent scandals in the government
Its a lot better than Cleverly or any other conservative would achieve just now
I expect her improvement to increase as this crisis continues
Well, we don't know yet. Perhaps the optimal position is Badenoch as Prime Minister of a Labour Government.
She wouldn't be the first popular leader of an unpopular party.
My point is that Kemi has undeniably improved and her clever and well delivered questions resulting in Starmer's admission on Mandelson
That is widely accepted and apparently at her last news conference they had to quickly add more chairs for the number who came
Whilst Starmer and labour face an existential crisis and the last thing the conservative party need is another leadership crisis
The party is behind her and @HYUFD is, for reasons that I cannot fathom and at a time she needs loyallty, doing everything to undermine her
Of course there are those who want to do this, that is politics, but not when it is supposedly someone on your own side
He is traumatised by Johnson's leaving and views everything through that lense when we all know Johnson was his own worse enemy, then the party elected Truss [I voted for Sunak] and the rest is history
I reckon Cleverly has promised him a run at a safe seat
Cleverly was loyal to Boris to the end, unlike say Kemi and Jenrick and Rishi and Braverman.
However, he also served Rishi loyally as he is serving Kemi, he is a decent chap
In the GE Campaign often as the Tories main spin room guy he came accross brilliantly, especially when up against Streeting or Ashworth.
He'd stand his ground, discuss, argue, banter. At the end he'd always hold his hand out shake the other guys hand.
Hard but fair with respect for his opponent
Yes and he has some gravitas and presence and was a Senior Cabinet Minister, I increasingly think Cleverly is Michael Howard to Kemi's IDS (though even IDS never saw the Tories fall as low as 16%!)
Starmer gets a boost for dealing with Mandy’s betrayal.
No boost for Farage/Kemi.
Not according to the detail
Kemi improves her rating ahead of Farage and well ahead of Starmer
Also Starmer only narrowly beats Kemi as best PM
Plus over 50% want Starmer to resign
If that is a boost for Starmer well it's a view
Kemi still trailing Starmer as preferred PM is not great for Kemi given recent scandals in the government
Its a lot better than Cleverly or any other conservative would achieve just now
I expect her improvement to increase as this crisis continues
Well, we don't know yet. Perhaps the optimal position is Badenoch as Prime Minister of a Labour Government.
She wouldn't be the first popular leader of an unpopular party.
My point is that Kemi has undeniably improved and her clever and well delivered questions resulting in Starmer's admission on Mandelson
That is widely accepted and apparently at her last news conference they had to quickly add more chairs for the number who came
Whilst Starmer and labour face an existential crisis and the last thing the conservative party need is another leadership crisis
The party is behind her and @HYUFD is, for reasons that I cannot fathom and at a time she needs loyallty, doing everything to undermine her
Of course there are those who want to do this, that is politics, but not when it is supposedly someone on your own side
He is traumatised by Johnson's leaving and views everything through that lense when we all know Johnson was his own worse enemy, then the party elected Truss [I voted for Sunak] and the rest is history
I reckon Cleverly has promised him a run at a safe seat
The tiny problem there is finding a Tory "Safe seat"
As rare as unicorn manure nowadays.
Why would Cleverly care if he can’t keep his promise to give HYUFD a safe seat?
Starmer gets a boost for dealing with Mandy’s betrayal.
No boost for Farage/Kemi.
Not according to the detail
Kemi improves her rating ahead of Farage and well ahead of Starmer
Also Starmer only narrowly beats Kemi as best PM
Plus over 50% want Starmer to resign
If that is a boost for Starmer well it's a view
Kemi still trailing Starmer as preferred PM is not great for Kemi given recent scandals in the government
Its a lot better than Cleverly or any other conservative would achieve just now
I expect her improvement to increase as this crisis continues
Well, we don't know yet. Perhaps the optimal position is Badenoch as Prime Minister of a Labour Government.
She wouldn't be the first popular leader of an unpopular party.
My point is that Kemi has undeniably improved and her clever and well delivered questions resulting in Starmer's admission on Mandelson
That is widely accepted and apparently at her last news conference they had to quickly add more chairs for the number who came
Whilst Starmer and labour face an existential crisis and the last thing the conservative party need is another leadership crisis
The party is behind her and @HYUFD is, for reasons that I cannot fathom and at a time she needs loyallty, doing everything to undermine her
Of course there are those who want to do this, that is politics, but not when it is supposedly someone on your own side
He is traumatised by Johnson's leaving and views everything through that lense when we all know Johnson was his own worse enemy, then the party elected Truss [I voted for Sunak] and the rest is history
It was Kemi who recently trashed centrists who she desperately needs to shore up the party after rightwingers have been defecting to Reform.
Not me!
Good point. "Right wingers you can f. off to Reform and left wingers you can f. off to the Libs".
Starmer gets a boost for dealing with Mandy’s betrayal.
No boost for Farage/Kemi.
Not according to the detail
Kemi improves her rating ahead of Farage and well ahead of Starmer
Also Starmer only narrowly beats Kemi as best PM
Plus over 50% want Starmer to resign
If that is a boost for Starmer well it's a view
Kemi still trailing Starmer as preferred PM is not great for Kemi given recent scandals in the government
Its a lot better than Cleverly or any other conservative would achieve just now
I expect her improvement to increase as this crisis continues
Well, we don't know yet. Perhaps the optimal position is Badenoch as Prime Minister of a Labour Government.
She wouldn't be the first popular leader of an unpopular party.
My point is that Kemi has undeniably improved and her clever and well delivered questions resulting in Starmer's admission on Mandelson
That is widely accepted and apparently at her last news conference they had to quickly add more chairs for the number who came
Whilst Starmer and labour face an existential crisis and the last thing the conservative party need is another leadership crisis
The party is behind her and @HYUFD is, for reasons that I cannot fathom and at a time she needs loyallty, doing everything to undermine her
Of course there are those who want to do this, that is politics, but not when it is supposedly someone on your own side
He is traumatised by Johnson's leaving and views everything through that lense when we all know Johnson was his own worse enemy, then the party elected Truss [I voted for Sunak] and the rest is history
I reckon Cleverly has promised him a run at a safe seat
Cleverly was loyal to Boris to the end, unlike say Kemi and Jenrick and Rishi and Braverman.
However, he also served Rishi loyally as he is serving Kemi, he is a decent chap
In the GE Campaign often as the Tories main spin room guy he came accross brilliantly, especially when up against Streeting or Ashworth.
He'd stand his ground, discuss, argue, banter. At the end he'd always hold his hand out shake the other guys hand.
Hard but fair with respect for his opponent
Credit too for turning up to face the press when so many colleagues were washing their hair.
Starmer gets a boost for dealing with Mandy’s betrayal.
No boost for Farage/Kemi.
Not according to the detail
Kemi improves her rating ahead of Farage and well ahead of Starmer
Also Starmer only narrowly beats Kemi as best PM
Plus over 50% want Starmer to resign
If that is a boost for Starmer well it's a view
Kemi still trailing Starmer as preferred PM is not great for Kemi given recent scandals in the government
Good analysis. Farage needs overhauling and I would be very surprised if Badenoch can do that. Hunt (and I've met him and he's a bit odd) is still your best hope.
Starmer gets a boost for dealing with Mandy’s betrayal.
No boost for Farage/Kemi.
Not according to the detail
Kemi improves her rating ahead of Farage and well ahead of Starmer
Also Starmer only narrowly beats Kemi as best PM
Plus over 50% want Starmer to resign
If that is a boost for Starmer well it's a view
Kemi still trailing Starmer as preferred PM is not great for Kemi given recent scandals in the government
Its a lot better than Cleverly or any other conservative would achieve just now
I expect her improvement to increase as this crisis continues
Well, we don't know yet. Perhaps the optimal position is Badenoch as Prime Minister of a Labour Government.
She wouldn't be the first popular leader of an unpopular party.
My point is that Kemi has undeniably improved and her clever and well delivered questions resulting in Starmer's admission on Mandelson
That is widely accepted and apparently at her last news conference they had to quickly add more chairs for the number who came
Whilst Starmer and labour face an existential crisis and the last thing the conservative party need is another leadership crisis
The party is behind her and @HYUFD is, for reasons that I cannot fathom and at a time she needs loyallty, doing everything to undermine her
Of course there are those who want to do this, that is politics, but not when it is supposedly someone on your own side
He is traumatised by Johnson's leaving and views everything through that lense when we all know Johnson was his own worse enemy, then the party elected Truss [I voted for Sunak] and the rest is history
I reckon Cleverly has promised him a run at a safe seat
To be fair, Cleverly had the leadership wrapped up before he played silly buggers trying to choose his opponent in the final round, so there is merit in considering him a better choice
I like Kemi, but she is not the finished article. With so much chopping and changing on policy and personnel in the other parties, I think it would do the Tories good to keep calm and carry on, as someone used to say
Starmer gets a boost for dealing with Mandy’s betrayal.
No boost for Farage/Kemi.
Not according to the detail
Kemi improves her rating ahead of Farage and well ahead of Starmer
Also Starmer only narrowly beats Kemi as best PM
Plus over 50% want Starmer to resign
If that is a boost for Starmer well it's a view
Kemi still trailing Starmer as preferred PM is not great for Kemi given recent scandals in the government
Its a lot better than Cleverly or any other conservative would achieve just now
I expect her improvement to increase as this crisis continues
Well, we don't know yet. Perhaps the optimal position is Badenoch as Prime Minister of a Labour Government.
She wouldn't be the first popular leader of an unpopular party.
My point is that Kemi has undeniably improved and her clever and well delivered questions resulting in Starmer's admission on Mandelson
That is widely accepted and apparently at her last news conference they had to quickly add more chairs for the number who came
Whilst Starmer and labour face an existential crisis and the last thing the conservative party need is another leadership crisis
The party is behind her and @HYUFD is, for reasons that I cannot fathom and at a time she needs loyallty, doing everything to undermine her
Of course there are those who want to do this, that is politics, but not when it is supposedly someone on your own side
He is traumatised by Johnson's leaving and views everything through that lense when we all know Johnson was his own worse enemy, then the party elected Truss [I voted for Sunak] and the rest is history
I reckon Cleverly has promised him a run at a safe seat
The tiny problem there is finding a Tory "Safe seat"
As rare as unicorn manure nowadays.
I was wondering about safe seats in general - other than the Speaker's seat, the next six safest were all for Labour, and were: Bootle, Liverpool Walton, Liverpool West Derby, Knowsley, Liverpool Garston, and Liverpool Riverside.
Something of a theme.
The safest Tory seat comes a loooong way down the list, which shows they were closer to destruction than they'd care to think, and was...Rishi Sunak's seat.
So if he wants to go get a job elsewhere to give someone a shot I guess that's the one.
I don't think the press have anything more to move the story on if this is all they can run with..
Times - Despite his Epstein disgrace, the Labour veteran secured an exit payment equivalent to three months’ salary
There's this too.
In fresh revelations from the files:
● Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted child sex trafficker and Epstein’s former partner, inherited millions of dollars from secret trusts set up by her late father, Robert Maxwell, the disgraced newspaper tycoon.
● One of the King’s most senior aides who previously served as a commander at Scotland Yard was drawn into the scandal after it emerged that two royal protection officers stayed at Epstein’s New York mansion for more than a week despite his conviction.
I don't think the press have anything more to move the story on if this is all they can run with..
Times - Despite his Epstein disgrace, the Labour veteran secured an exit payment equivalent to three months’ salary
There's this too.
In fresh revelations from the files:
● Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted child sex trafficker and Epstein’s former partner, inherited millions of dollars from secret trusts set up by her late father, Robert Maxwell, the disgraced newspaper tycoon.
● One of the King’s most senior aides who previously served as a commander at Scotland Yard was drawn into the scandal after it emerged that two royal protection officers stayed at Epstein’s New York mansion for more than a week despite his conviction.
I don't think the press have anything more to move the story on if this is all they can run with..
Times - Despite his Epstein disgrace, the Labour veteran secured an exit payment equivalent to three months’ salary
Famous last words, but based on the papers so far and the Opinium polling, there doesn't seem to be enough here to kill this Premiership.
Starmer's lost a life, sure, but it's like cats or video games- Prime Ministers get to lose several lives before it's game over. It's not what his enemies on the left or right will want to hear, or political hacks desperate for another fix, but we all continue.
Starmer gets a boost for dealing with Mandy’s betrayal.
No boost for Farage/Kemi.
Not according to the detail
Kemi improves her rating ahead of Farage and well ahead of Starmer
Also Starmer only narrowly beats Kemi as best PM
Plus over 50% want Starmer to resign
If that is a boost for Starmer well it's a view
Kemi still trailing Starmer as preferred PM is not great for Kemi given recent scandals in the government
Its a lot better than Cleverly or any other conservative would achieve just now
I expect her improvement to increase as this crisis continues
Well, we don't know yet. Perhaps the optimal position is Badenoch as Prime Minister of a Labour Government.
She wouldn't be the first popular leader of an unpopular party.
My point is that Kemi has undeniably improved and her clever and well delivered questions resulting in Starmer's admission on Mandelson
That is widely accepted and apparently at her last news conference they had to quickly add more chairs for the number who came
Whilst Starmer and labour face an existential crisis and the last thing the conservative party need is another leadership crisis
The party is behind her and @HYUFD is, for reasons that I cannot fathom and at a time she needs loyallty, doing everything to undermine her
Of course there are those who want to do this, that is politics, but not when it is supposedly someone on your own side
He is traumatised by Johnson's leaving and views everything through that lense when we all know Johnson was his own worse enemy, then the party elected Truss [I voted for Sunak] and the rest is history
It was Kemi who recently trashed centrists who she desperately needs to shore up the party after rightwingers have been defecting to Reform.
Not me!
Good point. "Right wingers you can f. off to Reform and left wingers you can f. off to the Libs".
How to make friends and influence people.
It's what Conservatives want to hear
There might not be many of us left right now, but it's what the Tories need to be
Downing Street has refused to say whether Sir Keir Starmer knew Palantir was a client of Peter Mandelson’s lobbying firm when they both visited the company in Washington last February — ahead of it winning a £240mn UK government contract.
Brown's attempts to clothe himself in virtue are, frankly, nauseating.
- It was Brown who brought Mandelson back into government, which is what gave him value to Epstein and others. - It was Brown who allowed him to use a private email address for government business - a grotesquely stupid and negligent act. Or ran a government which permitted this. - And it was Brown who had an advisor spinning revolting sexual lies about the wives of Tory MPs and had to apologise for it. This affair is not - remember - just about - nor even primarily about - how it affects some male Labour politicians but about how a class of privileged entitled men treat and abuse women. Easily forgotten as once again, a story about how men treat women becomes a story about what it means for men and how they feel about it.
As for the Palantir links with Mandelson, I raised a few days ago the question of who else had been given information by Mandelson. It seems laughable to mention the Nolan Principles of Public Life since they are honoured more in the breach than the observance. But Mandelson having a share in Global Counsel created an obvious potential conflict of interest and an actual one the moment someone realised one of its clients was Palantir. Mandelson should have divested himself of his holding in Global Counsel (or put it in a blind trust) when he became a public servant. He should never have been involved in meetings with them, whether on or off the record.
It should also be mandatory for all communications by government Ministers and advisors to be on government media and for their private email addresses and phone numbers to be provided so that they can be monitored and reviewed. This is similar to what happens in private practice.
I don't think the press have anything more to move the story on if this is all they can run with..
Times - Despite his Epstein disgrace, the Labour veteran secured an exit payment equivalent to three months’ salary
Famous last words, but based on the papers so far and the Opinium polling, there doesn't seem to be enough here to kill this Premiership.
Starmer's lost a life, sure, but it's like cats or video games- Prime Ministers get to lose several lives before it's game over. It's not what his enemies on the left or right will want to hear, or political hacks desperate for another fix, but we all continue.
He is lucky in some respects that is already on such a low score, there isn't really much further to fall. When you only have positive approval of 12-15%, you are already down to the Labour PM til I die lot.
Pretty good for Labour that. Strange that the Tories are so far behind, despite Kemi being 35 pts better off than Sir Keir in the leader ratings
It doesn’t say the dates the polling took place.
I see it was the 4th. Plenty more since then. Need a week or so for it to take effect.
It is no longer hypothetical. Nobody cares too much about Kemi as they know there's no chance of her ever being PM. The same phenomenom used to happen with Thatcher. No one liked her but she kept on winning because it was thought that she knew what she was doing. There's nothing like a crisis to concentrate minds
Lib Dem’s have insitututed a ‘review’ - kick it into the long grass ?
‘ It’s been THIRTEEN years since @Channel4News first reported on sexual harassment allegations against the Lib Dem peer Lord Rennard. Then, the Lib Dems were in government. This week their leader was in Parliament haranguing @Keir_Starmer about why Peter Mandelson was still in the House of Lords. That incensed @aligoldsworthy - one of the women who originally came forward. She emailed @EdwardJDavey and passed the email to me on @TimesRadio . We interviewed her again and before I came off air Sir Ed said he wanted Lord Rennard out of the second chamber. Change is happening. Lord Rennard continues to deny the allegations.’
A sex story! Cathy Newman will be the happiest woman in the world!
She was tenacious on the investigation of John Smyth abusing schoolboys which led to the downfall of the Archbishop of Canterbury. She is a serious journalist.
Who will be the first one to resign from the Cabinet? I think maybe Wez!
Surely if anyone was going to resign they would have done it today with a big splash in one of the broadsheets and TV interviews tomorrow morning?
Can't see anyone. They are a pretty tight experienced bunch.
One rumour yesterday was that Hillary Benn was wavering.
Now given the respect he has across the whole Party that would be seismic. A hiroshima moment for Starmer.
Can't see it though.
I think I saw that on PB and I agree that that would change the game completely. But if no one has moved today I think we are on to May where things may get highly problematic for Starmer.
Starmer gets a boost for dealing with Mandy’s betrayal.
No boost for Farage/Kemi.
Not according to the detail
Kemi improves her rating ahead of Farage and well ahead of Starmer
Also Starmer only narrowly beats Kemi as best PM
Plus over 50% want Starmer to resign
If that is a boost for Starmer well it's a view
Kemi still trailing Starmer as preferred PM is not great for Kemi given recent scandals in the government
Its a lot better than Cleverly or any other conservative would achieve just now
I expect her improvement to increase as this crisis continues
Well, we don't know yet. Perhaps the optimal position is Badenoch as Prime Minister of a Labour Government.
She wouldn't be the first popular leader of an unpopular party.
My point is that Kemi has undeniably improved and her clever and well delivered questions resulting in Starmer's admission on Mandelson
That is widely accepted and apparently at her last news conference they had to quickly add more chairs for the number who came
Whilst Starmer and labour face an existential crisis and the last thing the conservative party need is another leadership crisis
The party is behind her and @HYUFD is, for reasons that I cannot fathom and at a time she needs loyallty, doing everything to undermine her
Of course there are those who want to do this, that is politics, but not when it is supposedly someone on your own side
He is traumatised by Johnson's leaving and views everything through that lense when we all know Johnson was his own worse enemy, then the party elected Truss [I voted for Sunak] and the rest is history
It was Kemi who recently trashed centrists who she desperately needs to shore up the party after rightwingers have been defecting to Reform.
Not me!
Good point. "Right wingers you can f. off to Reform and left wingers you can f. off to the Libs".
How to make friends and influence people.
Yes the mental health quote that she must have seen and authorised was disgusting.
I don't care who it is aimed at you don't cross that line as Derek Draper found out.
I disagree with @HYUFD about Badenoch's ouster should the Tories poll below Labour in May. And yet another leadership contest would just bring ridicule and derision on the party whoever emerged as the victor. It's not going to happen.
However, he is on much stronger ground criticising her dismissal of the Ruth Davidson/Andy Street initiative and others on the one-nation wing. That was not good politics when the Conservatives need to expand their support, particularly if they stand any chance of regaining the dozens of seats lost to the LibDems in what were once their heartlands.
Things seem to have calmed down at least a bit today.
Starmer 2026 exit has drifted a touch from 1.4 to 1.46.
And the market doesn't seem to agree with HYUFD - Kemi 2026 exit is now out to 3.8.
You would have to think the chances of Lab beating Con on NEV in May are a fair bit shorter than 3.8 - probably about evens (or 2 in Betfair language).
Downing Street has refused to say whether Sir Keir Starmer knew Palantir was a client of Peter Mandelson’s lobbying firm when they both visited the company in Washington last February — ahead of it winning a £240mn UK government contract.
Brown's attempts to clothe himself in virtue are, frankly, nauseating.
- It was Brown who brought Mandelson back into government, which is what gave him value to Epstein and others. - It was Brown who allowed him to use a private email address for government business - a grotesquely stupid and negligent act. Or ran a government which permitted this. - And it was Brown who had an advisor spinning revolting sexual lies about the wives of Tory MPs and had to apologise for it. This affair is not - remember - just about - nor even primarily about - how it affects some male Labour politicians but about how a class of privileged entitled men treat and abuse women. Easily forgotten as once again, a story about how men treat women becomes a story about what it means for men and how they feel about it.
As for the Palantir links with Mandelson, I raised a few days ago the question of who else had been given information by Mandelson. It seems laughable to mention the Nolan Principles of Public Life since they are honoured more in the breach than the observance. But Mandelson having a share in Global Counsel created an obvious potential conflict of interest and an actual one the moment someone realised one of its clients was Palantir. Mandelson should have divested himself of his holding in Global Counsel (or put it in a blind trust) when he became a public servant. He should never have been involved in meetings with them, whether on or off the record.
It should also be mandatory for all communications by government Ministers and advisors to be on government media and for their private email addresses and phone numbers to be provided so that they can be monitored and reviewed. This is similar to what happens in private practice.
So let ne get this right - a majority of voters think that Starmer should resign, but he's still preferred as PM to Kemi.
There's shite, then there's Kemi.
It is worth remembering how May led in the polls for months despite her government being utterly paralysed and riven with intractable infighting, and it was some time before the party collapsed entirely.
Granted, her opponent was Corbyn (well, her real opponent was Boris, but officially Corbyn was it), but the public sometimes seem to take awhile to catch up to their own thoughts.
Downing Street has refused to say whether Sir Keir Starmer knew Palantir was a client of Peter Mandelson’s lobbying firm when they both visited the company in Washington last February — ahead of it winning a £240mn UK government contract.
Brown's attempts to clothe himself in virtue are, frankly, nauseating.
- It was Brown who brought Mandelson back into government, which is what gave him value to Epstein and others. - It was Brown who allowed him to use a private email address for government business - a grotesquely stupid and negligent act. Or ran a government which permitted this. - And it was Brown who had an advisor spinning revolting sexual lies about the wives of Tory MPs and had to apologise for it. This affair is not - remember - just about - nor even primarily about - how it affects some male Labour politicians but about how a class of privileged entitled men treat and abuse women. Easily forgotten as once again, a story about how men treat women becomes a story about what it means for men and how they feel about it.
As for the Palantir links with Mandelson, I raised a few days ago the question of who else had been given information by Mandelson. It seems laughable to mention the Nolan Principles of Public Life since they are honoured more in the breach than the observance. But Mandelson having a share in Global Counsel created an obvious potential conflict of interest and an actual one the moment someone realised one of its clients was Palantir. Mandelson should have divested himself of his holding in Global Counsel (or put it in a blind trust) when he became a public servant. He should never have been involved in meetings with them, whether on or off the record.
It should also be mandatory for all communications by government Ministers and advisors to be on government media and for their private email addresses and phone numbers to be provided so that they can be monitored and reviewed. This is similar to what happens in private practice.
Looking at your proposal. When I worked I was in supply chain. I made contracts, agreed pricing and payment terms and placed orders.
My company had a strict policy. Had I accept anything other than a calendar at Xmas I’d have to speak to my line manager and get written approval. Otherwise it’s deemed undue influence.
Starmer gets a boost for dealing with Mandy’s betrayal.
No boost for Farage/Kemi.
Not according to the detail
Kemi improves her rating ahead of Farage and well ahead of Starmer
Also Starmer only narrowly beats Kemi as best PM
Plus over 50% want Starmer to resign
If that is a boost for Starmer well it's a view
Kemi still trailing Starmer as preferred PM is not great for Kemi given recent scandals in the government
Its a lot better than Cleverly or any other conservative would achieve just now
I expect her improvement to increase as this crisis continues
Well, we don't know yet. Perhaps the optimal position is Badenoch as Prime Minister of a Labour Government.
She wouldn't be the first popular leader of an unpopular party.
My point is that Kemi has undeniably improved and her clever and well delivered questions resulting in Starmer's admission on Mandelson
That is widely accepted and apparently at her last news conference they had to quickly add more chairs for the number who came
Whilst Starmer and labour face an existential crisis and the last thing the conservative party need is another leadership crisis
The party is behind her and @HYUFD is, for reasons that I cannot fathom and at a time she needs loyallty, doing everything to undermine her
Of course there are those who want to do this, that is politics, but not when it is supposedly someone on your own side
He is traumatised by Johnson's leaving and views everything through that lense when we all know Johnson was his own worse enemy, then the party elected Truss [I voted for Sunak] and the rest is history
It was Kemi who recently trashed centrists who she desperately needs to shore up the party after rightwingers have been defecting to Reform.
Not me!
Good point. "Right wingers you can f. off to Reform and left wingers you can f. off to the Libs".
How to make friends and influence people.
Yes the mental health quote that she must have seen and authorised was disgusting.
I don't care who it is aimed at you don't cross that line as Derek Draper found out.
Things seem to have calmed down at least a bit today.
Starmer 2026 exit has drifted a touch from 1.4 to 1.46.
And the market doesn't seem to agree with HYUFD - Kemi 2026 exit is now out to 3.8.
You would have to think the chances of Lab beating Con on NEV in May are a fair bit shorter than 3.8 - probably about evens (or 2 in Betfair language).
I would expect Con to beat Lab on NEV in May. There are still a lot of Tory voters out in Shire villages.
The Tories tend to hold up better in Local Elections (and possibly in GE too) compared to polling. Those pensioners quiver their lips but hold on to nurse for fear of finding something worse.
As a gay man....who hardly sweats and loves Pizza Express....
Despite telling the BBC presenter he had only seen “middle-aged housekeepers”, he (Mandelson) spent an evening with Epstein and two female students at the paedophile’s New York home in 2012, and went underwear shopping before the occasion.
Hold the front page. Peter Mandelson swings both ways!
Two points. Mandelson's continued friendship with a vile criminal rapist and pervert puts him in the same line as a whole bunch of other mover and shaker perverts. That is not to defend him but contextualise his personal potential criminality that I will suggest in my second point.
As serving Business Secretary he provided sensitive insider information regarding Cabinet policy to a foreign financier. This is the hanging offence.
Not speaking about why he saw at Epstein's homes is also a hanging offence and a serious one. It's the failure to speak up about misbehaviour which allows such misbehaviour to grow, spread and worsen.
I disagree with @HYUFD about Badenoch's ouster should the Tories poll below Labour in May. And yet another leadership contest would just bring ridicule and derision on the party whoever emerged as the victor. It's not going to happen.
However, he is on much stronger ground criticising her dismissal of the Ruth Davidson/Andy Street initiative and others on the one-nation wing. That was not good politics when the Conservatives need to expand their support, particularly if they stand any chance of regaining the dozens of seats lost to the LibDems in what were once their heartlands.
I think her stategy is to take on Reform especially on the economy and certainly their dubious links, hence her commitment to leave the ECHR on restricting our borders. She did say not to do this in a cruel way
She will not pivot to rejoin the EU but seek closer ties
I would be very surprised if she did not have meetings with prosper going forward
Starmer gets a boost for dealing with Mandy’s betrayal.
No boost for Farage/Kemi.
Not according to the detail
Kemi improves her rating ahead of Farage and well ahead of Starmer
Also Starmer only narrowly beats Kemi as best PM
Plus over 50% want Starmer to resign
If that is a boost for Starmer well it's a view
Kemi still trailing Starmer as preferred PM is not great for Kemi given recent scandals in the government
Its a lot better than Cleverly or any other conservative would achieve just now
I expect her improvement to increase as this crisis continues
Well, we don't know yet. Perhaps the optimal position is Badenoch as Prime Minister of a Labour Government.
She wouldn't be the first popular leader of an unpopular party.
My point is that Kemi has undeniably improved and her clever and well delivered questions resulting in Starmer's admission on Mandelson
That is widely accepted and apparently at her last news conference they had to quickly add more chairs for the number who came
Whilst Starmer and labour face an existential crisis and the last thing the conservative party need is another leadership crisis
The party is behind her and @HYUFD is, for reasons that I cannot fathom and at a time she needs loyallty, doing everything to undermine her
Of course there are those who want to do this, that is politics, but not when it is supposedly someone on your own side
He is traumatised by Johnson's leaving and views everything through that lense when we all know Johnson was his own worse enemy, then the party elected Truss [I voted for Sunak] and the rest is history
I reckon Cleverly has promised him a run at a safe seat
The tiny problem there is finding a Tory "Safe seat"
As rare as unicorn manure nowadays.
I was wondering about safe seats in general - other than the Speaker's seat, the next six safest were all for Labour, and were: Bootle, Liverpool Walton, Liverpool West Derby, Knowsley, Liverpool Garston, and Liverpool Riverside.
Something of a theme.
The safest Tory seat comes a loooong way down the list, which shows they were closer to destruction than they'd care to think, and was...Rishi Sunak's seat.
So if he wants to go get a job elsewhere to give someone a shot I guess that's the one.
We could, and should be preventing this. Russia's attacks on power infrastructure are aimed almost entirely at civilians, and are also counter to European interests. The moral and practical case in overwhelming.
Russia attacked the Western Ukrainian substation for the first time, which is the largest in Europe.
This is a key facility in Ukraine's energy infrastructure, which provides power transmission to the western regions, connecting the networks of the Khmelnytskyi and Rivne nuclear power plants.
As a gay man....who hardly sweats and loves Pizza Express....
Despite telling the BBC presenter he had only seen “middle-aged housekeepers”, he (Mandelson) spent an evening with Epstein and two female students at the paedophile’s New York home in 2012, and went underwear shopping before the occasion.
Hold the front page. Peter Mandelson swings both ways!
Two points. Mandelson's continued friendship with a vile criminal rapist and pervert puts him in the same line as a whole bunch of other mover and shaker perverts. That is not to defend him but contextualise his personal potential criminality that I will suggest in my second point.
As serving Business Secretary he provided sensitive insider information regarding Cabinet policy to a foreign financier. This is the hanging offence.
Not speaking about why he saw at Epstein's homes is also a hanging offence and a serious one. It's the failure to speak up about misbehaviour which allows such misbehaviour to grow, spread and worsen.
And BTW, why on earth was there not a Proceeds of Crime action against Ghislaine Maxwell in respect of these "secret trusts". Her father stole tens of millions from pension funds. How on earth was she allowed to keep it?
I disagree with @HYUFD about Badenoch's ouster should the Tories poll below Labour in May. And yet another leadership contest would just bring ridicule and derision on the party whoever emerged as the victor. It's not going to happen.
However, he is on much stronger ground criticising her dismissal of the Ruth Davidson/Andy Street initiative and others on the one-nation wing. That was not good politics when the Conservatives need to expand their support, particularly if they stand any chance of regaining the dozens of seats lost to the LibDems in what were once their heartlands.
Well I disagree, if the Tories poll BELOW the most unpopular government of the last 50 years after the Truss administration in May, let alone below Reform too, then Tory MPs will see their seats as gone anyway, letters will flood into the 1922, a VONC will be held and Kemi will be gone by the summer.
It wouldn't be the leadership contest that would have brought derision on the party, it would be voters deciding Kemi's leadership had done that, most UK voters would have decided Kemi was so bad they wouldn't even pick her over Starmer let alone Farage!
Your second paragraph is spot on, having already lost the Jenrick wing of the party to Reform, for Kemi to then trash the centrist One Nation wing that until then were loyal to her too was a major error. It will have sent the likes of Davidson and Street from allies to enemies and they will I expect already be plotting to replace her with Cleverly
I don't think the press have anything more to move the story on if this is all they can run with..
Times - Despite his Epstein disgrace, the Labour veteran secured an exit payment equivalent to three months’ salary
Famous last words, but based on the papers so far and the Opinium polling, there doesn't seem to be enough here to kill this Premiership.
Starmer's lost a life, sure, but it's like cats or video games- Prime Ministers get to lose several lives before it's game over. It's not what his enemies on the left or right will want to hear, or political hacks desperate for another fix, but we all continue.
I want him to stay for a while longer, he needs to squirm more than this
As a gay man....who hardly sweats and loves Pizza Express....
Despite telling the BBC presenter he had only seen “middle-aged housekeepers”, he (Mandelson) spent an evening with Epstein and two female students at the paedophile’s New York home in 2012, and went underwear shopping before the occasion.
Hold the front page. Peter Mandelson swings both ways!
Two points. Mandelson's continued friendship with a vile criminal rapist and pervert puts him in the same line as a whole bunch of other mover and shaker perverts. That is not to defend him but contextualise his personal potential criminality that I will suggest in my second point.
As serving Business Secretary he provided sensitive insider information regarding Cabinet policy to a foreign financier. This is the hanging offence.
Not speaking about why he saw at Epstein's homes is also a hanging offence and a serious one. It's the failure to speak up about misbehaviour which allows such misbehaviour to grow, spread and worsen.
And BTW, why on earth was there not a Proceeds of Crime action against Ghislaine Maxwell in respect of these "secret trusts". Her father stole tens of millions from pension funds. How on earth was she allowed to keep it?
It's based on a JP Morgan assessment (they were her bankers.)
If I read it correctly the trusts were set up and funded years before Robert Maxwell plundered the Mirror pension funds so were outside the scope of the recovery process.
I disagree with @HYUFD about Badenoch's ouster should the Tories poll below Labour in May. And yet another leadership contest would just bring ridicule and derision on the party whoever emerged as the victor. It's not going to happen.
However, he is on much stronger ground criticising her dismissal of the Ruth Davidson/Andy Street initiative and others on the one-nation wing. That was not good politics when the Conservatives need to expand their support, particularly if they stand any chance of regaining the dozens of seats lost to the LibDems in what were once their heartlands.
Well I disagree, if the Tories poll BELOW the most unpopular government of the last 50 years after the Truss administration in May, let alone below Reform too, then Tory MPs will see their seats as gone anyway, letters will flood into the 1922, a VONC will be held and Kemi will be gone by the summer.
It wouldn't be the leadership contest that would have brought derision on the party, it would be voters deciding Kemi's leadership had done that, most UK voters would have decided Kemi was so bad they wouldn't even pick her over Starmer let alone Farage!
Your second paragraph is spot on, having already lost the Jenrick wing of the party to Reform, for Kemi to then trash the centrist One Nation wing that until then were loyal to her too was a major error. It will have sent the likes of Davidson and Street from allies to enemies and they will I expect already be plotting to replace her with Cleverly
Have you asked Cleverly if he would stand against Kemi ?
As a gay man....who hardly sweats and loves Pizza Express....
Despite telling the BBC presenter he had only seen “middle-aged housekeepers”, he (Mandelson) spent an evening with Epstein and two female students at the paedophile’s New York home in 2012, and went underwear shopping before the occasion.
Hold the front page. Peter Mandelson swings both ways!
Two points. Mandelson's continued friendship with a vile criminal rapist and pervert puts him in the same line as a whole bunch of other mover and shaker perverts. That is not to defend him but contextualise his personal potential criminality that I will suggest in my second point.
As serving Business Secretary he provided sensitive insider information regarding Cabinet policy to a foreign financier. This is the hanging offence.
Not speaking about why he saw at Epstein's homes is also a hanging offence and a serious one. It's the failure to speak up about misbehaviour which allows such misbehaviour to grow, spread and worsen.
And BTW, why on earth was there not a Proceeds of Crime action against Ghislaine Maxwell in respect of these "secret trusts". Her father stole tens of millions from pension funds. How on earth was she allowed to keep it?
How on earth were a couple of dozen probable child rapists in at least three US states given non prosecution agreements ?
Reference polling Worth remembering that the result of the 2024 election saw a lower Labour lead than in any of the hundreds of polls from Sept 29th 2022 till polling day. And it's not like Rishi had a storming campaign.
Opinion polls are a measure of public mood, not a weather vane for a potential result. The majority of people haven't seriously thought about who they'll vote for next time
I can’t believe that Starmer doesn’t know that he’s done
I’m quite convinced that he’s sitting on whilst his successor is arranged
Whilst we've certainly had a shortening of PM tenure since Blair left, it does put into perspective how remarkable his and Thatcher's leadership was given you have to go back to 1902 to find the last PM who had served longer than them.
Length of tenure does not guarantee excellence of course, but it is also very clearly very hard to achieve.
Starmer gets a boost for dealing with Mandy’s betrayal.
No boost for Farage/Kemi.
Not according to the detail
Kemi improves her rating ahead of Farage and well ahead of Starmer
Also Starmer only narrowly beats Kemi as best PM
Plus over 50% want Starmer to resign
If that is a boost for Starmer well it's a view
Kemi still trailing Starmer as preferred PM is not great for Kemi given recent scandals in the government
Good analysis. Farage needs overhauling and I would be very surprised if Badenoch can do that. Hunt (and I've met him and he's a bit odd) is still your best hope.
He's several orders of magnitude better than Kemi and everyone following politics knows it. If it wasn't that he's a Leaver I would have considered him a reasonable prospect. He can be very witty
I disagree with @HYUFD about Badenoch's ouster should the Tories poll below Labour in May. And yet another leadership contest would just bring ridicule and derision on the party whoever emerged as the victor. It's not going to happen.
However, he is on much stronger ground criticising her dismissal of the Ruth Davidson/Andy Street initiative and others on the one-nation wing. That was not good politics when the Conservatives need to expand their support, particularly if they stand any chance of regaining the dozens of seats lost to the LibDems in what were once their heartlands.
Well I disagree, if the Tories poll BELOW the most unpopular government of the last 50 years after the Truss administration in May, let alone below Reform too, then Tory MPs will see their seats as gone anyway, letters will flood into the 1922, a VONC will be held and Kemi will be gone by the summer.
It wouldn't be the leadership contest that would have brought derision on the party, it would be voters deciding Kemi's leadership had done that, most UK voters would have decided Kemi was so bad they wouldn't even pick her over Starmer let alone Farage!
Your second paragraph is spot on, having already lost the Jenrick wing of the party to Reform, for Kemi to then trash the centrist One Nation wing that until then were loyal to her too was a major error. It will have sent the likes of Davidson and Street from allies to enemies and they will I expect already be plotting to replace her with Cleverly
Have you asked Cleverly if he would stand against Kemi ?
If Tory MPs removed Kemi by VONC he wouldn't need to, the job would be his anyway
As a gay man....who hardly sweats and loves Pizza Express....
Despite telling the BBC presenter he had only seen “middle-aged housekeepers”, he (Mandelson) spent an evening with Epstein and two female students at the paedophile’s New York home in 2012, and went underwear shopping before the occasion.
Hold the front page. Peter Mandelson swings both ways!
Two points. Mandelson's continued friendship with a vile criminal rapist and pervert puts him in the same line as a whole bunch of other mover and shaker perverts. That is not to defend him but contextualise his personal potential criminality that I will suggest in my second point.
As serving Business Secretary he provided sensitive insider information regarding Cabinet policy to a foreign financier. This is the hanging offence.
Not speaking about why he saw at Epstein's homes is also a hanging offence and a serious one. It's the failure to speak up about misbehaviour which allows such misbehaviour to grow, spread and worsen.
And BTW, why on earth was there not a Proceeds of Crime action against Ghislaine Maxwell in respect of these "secret trusts". Her father stole tens of millions from pension funds. How on earth was she allowed to keep it?
How on earth were a couple of dozen probable child rapists in at least three US states given non prosecution agreements ?
DOJ's 86-page prosecution memo listing possible co-conspirators in the Epstein case - and the victim's allegations against those possible co-conspirators -- disappeared from their website after the Miami Herald questioned them about the list. https://x.com/jkbjournalist/status/2020134655207325768
Starmer gets a boost for dealing with Mandy’s betrayal.
No boost for Farage/Kemi.
Not according to the detail
Kemi improves her rating ahead of Farage and well ahead of Starmer
Also Starmer only narrowly beats Kemi as best PM
Plus over 50% want Starmer to resign
If that is a boost for Starmer well it's a view
Kemi still trailing Starmer as preferred PM is not great for Kemi given recent scandals in the government
Good analysis. Farage needs overhauling and I would be very surprised if Badenoch can do that. Hunt (and I've met him and he's a bit odd) is still your best hope.
He's several orders of magnitude better than Kemi and everyone following politics knows it. If it wasn't that he's a Leaver I would have considered him a reasonable prospect. He can be very witty
I disagree with @HYUFD about Badenoch's ouster should the Tories poll below Labour in May. And yet another leadership contest would just bring ridicule and derision on the party whoever emerged as the victor. It's not going to happen.
However, he is on much stronger ground criticising her dismissal of the Ruth Davidson/Andy Street initiative and others on the one-nation wing. That was not good politics when the Conservatives need to expand their support, particularly if they stand any chance of regaining the dozens of seats lost to the LibDems in what were once their heartlands.
Well I disagree, if the Tories poll BELOW the most unpopular government of the last 50 years after the Truss administration in May, let alone below Reform too, then Tory MPs will see their seats as gone anyway, letters will flood into the 1922, a VONC will be held and Kemi will be gone by the summer.
It wouldn't be the leadership contest that would have brought derision on the party, it would be voters deciding Kemi's leadership had done that, most UK voters would have decided Kemi was so bad they wouldn't even pick her over Starmer let alone Farage!
Your second paragraph is spot on, having already lost the Jenrick wing of the party to Reform, for Kemi to then trash the centrist One Nation wing that until then were loyal to her too was a major error. It will have sent the likes of Davidson and Street from allies to enemies and they will I expect already be plotting to replace her with Cleverly
Have you asked Cleverly if he would stand against Kemi ?
If Tory MPs removed Kemi by VONC he wouldn't need to, the job would be his anyway
Tory mps wont VONC her and he may not even want it
Starmer gets a boost for dealing with Mandy’s betrayal.
No boost for Farage/Kemi.
Not according to the detail
Kemi improves her rating ahead of Farage and well ahead of Starmer
Also Starmer only narrowly beats Kemi as best PM
Plus over 50% want Starmer to resign
If that is a boost for Starmer well it's a view
Kemi still trailing Starmer as preferred PM is not great for Kemi given recent scandals in the government
Its a lot better than Cleverly or any other conservative would achieve just now
I expect her improvement to increase as this crisis continues
I suspect Cleverly would at least manage to be preferred to the second most unpopular PM of my lifetime (after Truss) as Farage is tonight and could also manage not to lose another 8% on the 24% Rishi got in 2024, itself the worst Tory general election result since 1832
Starmer is less popular than Truss was. And frankly the fact that you're going out of your way to attack an ex-Tory PM in favour of a current Labour PM highlights why the Tory Party is so lost. It is riven by sad factional squabbles and petty disloyalty, and frankly unfit for purpose from top to bottom. No wonder Kemi is so much more popular than the party she leads.
I disagree with @HYUFD about Badenoch's ouster should the Tories poll below Labour in May. And yet another leadership contest would just bring ridicule and derision on the party whoever emerged as the victor. It's not going to happen.
However, he is on much stronger ground criticising her dismissal of the Ruth Davidson/Andy Street initiative and others on the one-nation wing. That was not good politics when the Conservatives need to expand their support, particularly if they stand any chance of regaining the dozens of seats lost to the LibDems in what were once their heartlands.
Well I disagree, if the Tories poll BELOW the most unpopular government of the last 50 years after the Truss administration in May, let alone below Reform too, then Tory MPs will see their seats as gone anyway, letters will flood into the 1922, a VONC will be held and Kemi will be gone by the summer.
It wouldn't be the leadership contest that would have brought derision on the party, it would be voters deciding Kemi's leadership had done that, most UK voters would have decided Kemi was so bad they wouldn't even pick her over Starmer let alone Farage!
Your second paragraph is spot on, having already lost the Jenrick wing of the party to Reform, for Kemi to then trash the centrist One Nation wing that until then were loyal to her too was a major error. It will have sent the likes of Davidson and Street from allies to enemies and they will I expect already be plotting to replace her with Cleverly
Have you asked Cleverly if he would stand against Kemi ?
If Tory MPs removed Kemi by VONC he wouldn't need to, the job would be his anyway
Tory mps wont VONC her and he may not even want it
If the Tories are third in May they definitely will VONC her, as Tory MPs would see their seats as gone otherwise
Starmer gets a boost for dealing with Mandy’s betrayal.
No boost for Farage/Kemi.
Not according to the detail
Kemi improves her rating ahead of Farage and well ahead of Starmer
Also Starmer only narrowly beats Kemi as best PM
Plus over 50% want Starmer to resign
If that is a boost for Starmer well it's a view
Kemi still trailing Starmer as preferred PM is not great for Kemi given recent scandals in the government
Its a lot better than Cleverly or any other conservative would achieve just now
I expect her improvement to increase as this crisis continues
I suspect Cleverly would at least manage to be preferred to the second most unpopular PM of my lifetime (after Truss) as Farage is tonight and could also manage not to lose another 8% on the 24% Rishi got in 2024, itself the worst Tory general election result since 1832
Starmer is less popular than Truss was. And frankly the fact that you're going out of your way to attack an ex-Tory PM in favour of a current Labour PM highlights why the Tory Party is so lost. It is riven by sad factional squabbles and petty disloyalty, and frankly unfit for purpose from top to bottom. No wonder Kemi is so much more popular than the party she leads.
Except she isn't, when Kemi took over the Tories had got 24% even in 2024, she has now lost even a third of that vote and taken it to just 16% tonight
I disagree with @HYUFD about Badenoch's ouster should the Tories poll below Labour in May. And yet another leadership contest would just bring ridicule and derision on the party whoever emerged as the victor. It's not going to happen.
However, he is on much stronger ground criticising her dismissal of the Ruth Davidson/Andy Street initiative and others on the one-nation wing. That was not good politics when the Conservatives need to expand their support, particularly if they stand any chance of regaining the dozens of seats lost to the LibDems in what were once their heartlands.
Well I disagree, if the Tories poll BELOW the most unpopular government of the last 50 years after the Truss administration in May, let alone below Reform too, then Tory MPs will see their seats as gone anyway, letters will flood into the 1922, a VONC will be held and Kemi will be gone by the summer.
It wouldn't be the leadership contest that would have brought derision on the party, it would be voters deciding Kemi's leadership had done that, most UK voters would have decided Kemi was so bad they wouldn't even pick her over Starmer let alone Farage!
Your second paragraph is spot on, having already lost the Jenrick wing of the party to Reform, for Kemi to then trash the centrist One Nation wing that until then were loyal to her too was a major error. It will have sent the likes of Davidson and Street from allies to enemies and they will I expect already be plotting to replace her with Cleverly
I wonder whether part of the problem is that both Labour and the Tories share the same brand. They're both establishment parties and if the very idea of establishment parties are discredited then voters will turn away from both. To give a simplified analogy, say BYD's electric cars suddenly develop exploding batteries. That may then drive a lot of business to Tesla's electric cars. If Tesla's batteries start to explode too, people aren't going to go back to BYD again. They'll start buying petrol cars instead.
As a gay man....who hardly sweats and loves Pizza Express....
Despite telling the BBC presenter he had only seen “middle-aged housekeepers”, he (Mandelson) spent an evening with Epstein and two female students at the paedophile’s New York home in 2012, and went underwear shopping before the occasion.
Hold the front page. Peter Mandelson swings both ways!
Two points. Mandelson's continued friendship with a vile criminal rapist and pervert puts him in the same line as a whole bunch of other mover and shaker perverts. That is not to defend him but contextualise his personal potential criminality that I will suggest in my second point.
As serving Business Secretary he provided sensitive insider information regarding Cabinet policy to a foreign financier. This is the hanging offence.
Not speaking about why he saw at Epstein's homes is also a hanging offence and a serious one. It's the failure to speak up about misbehaviour which allows such misbehaviour to grow, spread and worsen.
And BTW, why on earth was there not a Proceeds of Crime action against Ghislaine Maxwell in respect of these "secret trusts". Her father stole tens of millions from pension funds. How on earth was she allowed to keep it?
It's based on a JP Morgan assessment (they were her bankers.)
If I read it correctly the trusts were set up and funded years before Robert Maxwell plundered the Mirror pension funds so were outside the scope of the recovery process.
Her bankers? Her bankers? Christ. Two tier justice yet again. And does anyone seriously believe that the pilfering of the Mirror Pension funds was Maxwell's first larceny? He used vexatious libel litigations to shut up everyone criticising him for decades before the wheels came off. I wonder what her brothers got.
Starmer gets a boost for dealing with Mandy’s betrayal.
No boost for Farage/Kemi.
Not according to the detail
Kemi improves her rating ahead of Farage and well ahead of Starmer
Also Starmer only narrowly beats Kemi as best PM
Plus over 50% want Starmer to resign
If that is a boost for Starmer well it's a view
Kemi still trailing Starmer as preferred PM is not great for Kemi given recent scandals in the government
Good analysis. Farage needs overhauling and I would be very surprised if Badenoch can do that. Hunt (and I've met him and he's a bit odd) is still your best hope.
He's several orders of magnitude better than Kemi and everyone following politics knows it. If it wasn't that he's a Leaver I would have considered him a reasonable prospect. He can be very witty
So is he proposing to cut welfare spending in Finland to increase defence spending ?
They have increased defence spending. Whether they get to the proposed level may be another question. Finland plans to raise its defence spending to five percent of gross domestic product by 2032, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said on Saturday at the National Coalition Party’s spring council meeting.
Comments
The Ipsos poll of 2024 Tory voters last year had Boris, then Cleverly, then Rishi preferred to succeed Kemi if she was removed, Hunt was only 6th
https://conservativehome.com/2025/08/07/the-return-of-boris-tory-voters-are-looking-back-to-the-future/
He'd stand his ground, discuss, argue, banter. At the end he'd always hold his hand out shake the other guys hand.
Hard but fair with respect for his opponent
Farage set the conditions and just to had to wait.
Planned or not, it's worked out well for him.
As rare as unicorn manure nowadays.
Not me!
You are the only declared conservative on here trying to undermine Kemi
How to make friends and influence people.
Times - Despite his Epstein disgrace, the Labour veteran secured an exit payment equivalent to three months’ salary
I like Kemi, but she is not the finished article. With so much chopping and changing on policy and personnel in the other parties, I think it would do the Tories good to keep calm and carry on, as someone used to say
Something of a theme.
The safest Tory seat comes a loooong way down the list, which shows they were closer to destruction than they'd care to think, and was...Rishi Sunak's seat.
So if he wants to go get a job elsewhere to give someone a shot I guess that's the one.
https://electionresults.parliament.uk/general-elections/6/majority
Fay dingers
There's shite, then there's Kemi.
In fresh revelations from the files:
● Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted child sex trafficker and Epstein’s former partner, inherited millions of dollars from secret trusts set up by her late father, Robert Maxwell, the disgraced newspaper tycoon.
● One of the King’s most senior aides who previously served as a commander at Scotland Yard was drawn into the scandal after it emerged that two royal protection officers stayed at Epstein’s New York mansion for more than a week despite his conviction.
Starmer's lost a life, sure, but it's like cats or video games- Prime Ministers get to lose several lives before it's game over. It's not what his enemies on the left or right will want to hear, or political hacks desperate for another fix, but we all continue.
There might not be many of us left right now, but it's what the Tories need to be
One rumour yesterday was that Hillary Benn was wavering.
Now given the respect he has across the whole Party that would be seismic. A hiroshima moment for Starmer.
Can't see it though.
- It was Brown who brought Mandelson back into government, which is what gave him value to Epstein and others.
- It was Brown who allowed him to use a private email address for government business - a grotesquely stupid and negligent act. Or ran a government which permitted this.
- And it was Brown who had an advisor spinning revolting sexual lies about the wives of Tory MPs and had to apologise for it. This affair is not - remember - just about - nor even primarily about - how it affects some male Labour politicians but about how a class of privileged entitled men treat and abuse women. Easily forgotten as once again, a story about how men treat women becomes a story about what it means for men and how they feel about it.
As for the Palantir links with Mandelson, I raised a few days ago the question of who else had been given information by Mandelson. It seems laughable to mention the Nolan Principles of Public Life since they are honoured more in the breach than the observance. But Mandelson having a share in Global Counsel created an obvious potential conflict of interest and an actual one the moment someone realised one of its clients was Palantir. Mandelson should have divested himself of his holding in Global Counsel (or put it in a blind trust) when he became a public servant. He should never have been involved in meetings with them, whether on or off the record.
As for Brown's proposals to put matters right, I suggested a much better solution back in November 2021 - see here: https://www1.politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2021/11/12/honourable-members/ - a proper Outside Business Interests Policy, effectively enforced.
It should also be mandatory for all communications by government Ministers and advisors to be on government media and for their private email addresses and phone numbers to be provided so that they can be monitored and reviewed. This is similar to what happens in private practice.
Tides of History
@labour_history
John Burton, who was credited with discovering Tony Blair and helping him win Sedgefield has died.
https://x.com/labour_history/status/2020222652233793579
I don't care who it is aimed at you don't cross that line as Derek Draper found out.
https://www.thetimes.com/article/711a9e41-1bed-4bda-81eb-3bb6c51a6fa6?shareToken=4ae932e6666a2b196d6cfe923d9911d7
However, he is on much stronger ground criticising her dismissal of the Ruth Davidson/Andy Street initiative and others on the one-nation wing. That was not good politics when the Conservatives need to expand their support, particularly if they stand any chance of regaining the dozens of seats lost to the LibDems in what were once their heartlands.
Starmer 2026 exit has drifted a touch from 1.4 to 1.46.
And the market doesn't seem to agree with HYUFD - Kemi 2026 exit is now out to 3.8.
You would have to think the chances of Lab beating Con on NEV in May are a fair bit shorter than 3.8 - probably about evens (or 2 in Betfair language).
Whistleblower says that Tulsi Gabbard blocked agency from sharing report and delivered it to White House chief of staff
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/07/nsa-foreign-intelligence-trump-whistleblower
Granted, her opponent was Corbyn (well, her real opponent was Boris, but officially Corbyn was it), but the public sometimes seem to take awhile to catch up to their own thoughts.
@InstituteGC
Statement from Tony Blair on John Burton https://bit.ly/4knPkZW
https://x.com/InstituteGC/status/2020179401523228905
My company had a strict policy. Had I accept anything other than a calendar at Xmas I’d have to speak to my line manager and get written approval. Otherwise it’s deemed undue influence.
So that's ok then.
Thank goodness the Senate confirmation process keeps out the terrible picks, eh?
https://x.com/i/status/2020233605079871528
The Tories tend to hold up better in Local Elections (and possibly in GE too) compared to polling. Those pensioners quiver their lips but hold on to nurse for fear of finding something worse.
She will not pivot to rejoin the EU but seek closer ties
I would be very surprised if she did not have meetings with prosper going forward
After all this is a 3 year project
Russia's attacks on power infrastructure are aimed almost entirely at civilians, and are also counter to European interests.
The moral and practical case in overwhelming.
Russia attacked the Western Ukrainian substation for the first time, which is the largest in Europe.
This is a key facility in Ukraine's energy infrastructure, which provides power transmission to the western regions, connecting the networks of the Khmelnytskyi and Rivne nuclear power plants.
The substation also connects Ukraine's energy system with the EU, making it critically important for balancing the system.
https://x.com/Maks_NAFO_FELLA/status/2020091062287515884
It wouldn't be the leadership contest that would have brought derision on the party, it would be voters deciding Kemi's leadership had done that, most UK voters would have decided Kemi was so bad they wouldn't even pick her over Starmer let alone Farage!
Your second paragraph is spot on, having already lost the Jenrick wing of the party to Reform, for Kemi to then trash the centrist One Nation wing that until then were loyal to her too was a major error. It will have sent the likes of Davidson and Street from allies to enemies and they will I expect already be plotting to replace her with Cleverly
- Alexander Stubb
Finnish President
https://x.com/DakdaR22/status/2020219434682532173
If I read it correctly the trusts were set up and funded years before Robert Maxwell plundered the Mirror pension funds so were outside the scope of the recovery process.
I’m quite convinced that he’s sitting on whilst his successor is arranged
Irrespective, I would not be surprised if many want to join to vote on the next leader
https://x.com/OpiniumResearch/status/2020238638114607110?s=20
Keir Starmer’s net approval has fallen to -44, down 3 points from a fortnight ago.
https://x.com/OpiniumResearch/status/2020226055638806909?s=20
He was rock bottom before this week.
Worth remembering that the result of the 2024 election saw a lower Labour lead than in any of the hundreds of polls from Sept 29th 2022 till polling day. And it's not like Rishi had a storming campaign.
Opinion polls are a measure of public mood, not a weather vane for a potential result. The majority of people haven't seriously thought about who they'll vote for next time
Length of tenure does not guarantee excellence of course, but it is also very clearly very hard to achieve.
Lammy: I warned Starmer about Mandelson
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2026/02/07/lammy-turns-on-starmer-over-mandelson/
https://x.com/jkbjournalist/status/2020134655207325768
Cleverly is fucked, if he wants to be leader
Positioning going on ?
Who next ?
Six Nations has lost a piece of its soul with Wales’ demise
This fixture was once a guarantee of blood and thunder but Welsh surrender was so meek you worry whether their tailspin will only deepen
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/2026/02/07/england-wales-has-become-complete-no-contest/
Epstein: I warned Starmer about Mandelson.
Basic search of google without needing the security services deep dive: I warned Starmer about Mandelson.
His 12 year old tried it and decided to play hockey instead
I fear Welsh rugby will not recover
Finland plans to raise its defence spending to five percent of gross domestic product by 2032, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said on Saturday at the National Coalition Party’s spring council meeting.
The country is already committed to increasing defence expenditure to 3.5 percent of GDP, following a proposal by NATO’s defence minister Mark Rutte. The new target exceeds both NATO’s two percent baseline and Rutte’s proposal, aligning more closely with demands made by US President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly urged allies to raise military budgets to five percent
https://www.helsinkitimes.fi/finland/finland-news/domestic/27074-finland-aims-to-raise-defence-spending-to-5-of-gdp-by-2032.html