An analog prime minister in a digital age. Like a number of people who came to politics in middle age, he seems to have very little idea of how to do politics other than to proclaim “we’re not as bad as the last lot” - a fairly low bar.
Rayner, who holds the housing brief in the Labour government and has forged a reputation as one of its most forthright speakers, has often railed against those who deliberately underpay tax, particularly those in the preceding Conservative administration, which Labour replaced in July 2024.
Starmer defended his deputy during weekly prime minister’s questions in Parliament, adding that he was “very proud to sit alongside” Rayner.
But surely, just a minor oversight–it was only 40,000 pounds she avoided spending.
And she’s gone. Great day for king-across-the-water Andy Burnham, I would have thought. The party needs a token senior northerner to fill the gap left by Our Ange, so that it can pretend to still be the party of labour, a role pioneered by John Prescott.
Someone would have to retire and generate a by-election to get him back into the Commons.
Meanwhile, children, this is very naughty indeed:
A very worrying and yet quite hilarious security breach.
Numerous jokes about ‘I can see clearly, now the Rayner’s gone’.
Also not good for the PM:
As I mentioned on the other thread. This is god-damned depressing, Stamer is sooo bad at this. This is a completely self inflicted wound. All the dodginess with Mandleson and Epstein happened a decade or two before Stamer took office, he could have acted immediately and taken a hard line: “These allegations are disgusting and I expect Madelsons resignation on my desk by the end of the day, he should expect an interview from the Met’s child protection task force about what he witnessed with his time with Epstein”.
He would have looked strong and the decision would have been universally popular. Instead he defended him for a while and then eventually caved and sacked him when more evidence appeared. So he looks both weak and willing to protect party grandees who are associated a paedophile.
It like he’s trying to get Farage elected FFS
Can be arranged. This is the Labour Party we are talking about here.
From the cite-
Mandelson had been under mounting pressure over his relationship with Epstein after US lawmakers on Monday released a “birthday book,” compiled for Epstein’s 50th birthday in 2003, in which the veteran Labour party politician had penned a handwritten note describing Epstein as “my best pal.”
This was in 2003, before any allegations or arrests had been made. It is no big deal.
As in when he was actually doing all the child.abuse (or most of it, I don’t actually know if he carried on after the sweetheart deal Trump’s buddy got him in 2008, he probably did but it was more on the DL).
It was completely the right call to sack someone from your government who, it transpires, was part of Epstein’s circle in 2003. There may have been no formal legal allegations in 2003 but everyone involved either knew what he was up to or was too dumb to be a ambassador of anywhere.
There was substantial continuing support after the allegations and arrests:
Why doesn’t anybody ever tell Keir anything?
Christ, he is so bad at this.
I didn’t previously know Mandelson was friends with Epstein. I did, however, know he was a corrupt and odious scumbag.
It’s an old joke that the first item on the agenda for any new leftwing movement is “The Split”, so no surprises here:
You are going to received a sternly worded letter from the People’s Front of Judea.
They are struggling together!