Or because our US ambassador was going to have to operate in a political and social swamp, and this was an environment in which Mandelson had plenty of experience. That was reasonable judgement for Starmer to have made, and a good defence of the appointment, but unfortunately not the sort of defence he could publicly admit to.
Perfectly put Alan and exactly what I've been thinking all along. It seems obvious to me that Trump must keep all of his Epstein buddies as close to him as possible and Mandelson was therefore a perfect fit for ambassador.
Alan, I think you are right about Mandelson being the only one that Trump would agree to. That leads on to the "why?".
First, Graham Evans' reply explains that our US ambassador was going to have to operate in a political and social swamp, making the UK prepared to choose an ambassador with connections.
The "why?". An ambassador agreeable to Trump was going to be someone with connections to Trump or connections to people connected to Trump. Anyone fitting that requirement was going to have connections to Epstien or Russia, or both.
Well said Bear. However, there’s another element to all this which is being overlooked and causes me much greater alarm/concern, Mandelson also introduced Starmer to Palantir, a company in his Global stable. If you don’t know about this company, it’s been given million pound contracts in our NHS, MoD, several Police Forces and the Cabinet Office. It’s been involved with the IDF and ICE and its founder was very much in Epstein’s sphere. If I, a senior citizen, can learn this why can’t No. 10 Spads?
Dangerous days indeed Bear. I know a week in politics is a long time but this merry go round is making me feel sick! There's more to come out over Mandelson, maybe it will directly affect Kier, so hes still not secure. Im dreading the May Council elections, the £9million Reform have been gifted will pay for huge amounts of glossy propaganda & voters are easily swayed. The thought of a Reform Prime Minister & Government fills me with fear/ dreading. Our NHS our Benefits even our work/ life balance will be shredded all to benefit the wealthy & businesses. Dark duplicitous days
I agree that appointing Mandelson was by no means Starmer's most egregious failure. Appointing McSweeney and following his crazy advice to piss off core voters (child benefit cap, PIP, imitating far right racism) in the forlorn hope of winning over some thick racists was far more serious.
I think there needs to be several decades of context here. To win an election Labour became New Labour in the 90s. In doing so it started to fill a giant skip with the consequences of poor policy and bad decisions.
After their defeat in 2010 Glasman and the NL holdovers founded Blue Labour. In fine Labour style the party then elected two leaders who lost.
Blue Labour subsequently did a job on the membership and shoe horned in Starmer. Who was gifted a GE win by the Tories.
The final kindling hurled into that giant skip has been the plethora of tactical and strategic blunders imposed upon a weary and impatient nation by a team of senior ministers who are tone deaf, incompetent and in thrall to Thatcherite dogma. Still! 👀.
The appointment of Mandelson was the accelerant and the revelations about his close relationship with Epstein and acts of political treason the final spark.
Result conflagration.
Labour now has two choices. The first and very much the preferred route for the press is to follow the Tory example of appointing a series of short lived inadequates on the road to perdition.
The second is to give Starmer a chance. Grip him firmly and painfully by his personal spheroids and force him to do his job.
The first thing? Spill more blood and send Reeves, Cooper and Mahmoud into the political void. Then build a new cabinet to deliver outcomes for ordinary people rather than the army of vested interests that currently overwhelm policy making.
Good article. Mandelson was always trouble and thats why Starmer should not have touched with a barge pole. I bet his initial instinct was a No. However Starmer is a good man and in my view the best PM this country has had since Tony Blair. We have got to stop the media incensed line of getting Starmer (and Labour) out. The media press barons want Farage. They will continue to wage war on Starmer until they get that outcome. That outcome will be a bigger disaster for this country than Brexit.
Starmer has turned the Labour Party into a version of the Tories. Same fiscal "rules", same performative cruelty. He supports genocide and claimed that Israel had a right to cut off the water & electricity in Gaza. He criminalised Palestine Action to protect the arms manufacturers while RAF planes were providing targeting data to the IDF.
He cannot survive the May elections and he needs to go.
I, too, agree with all you have written. A well thought out, balanced report. However, Starmer should have realised that Mandelson was always a poisoned chalice and he will, henceforth, be on notice that his position has been seriously compromised and every action from now on will come under more scrutiny than ever before. Leaving him in place, for the moment, is the right thing to do but he’s now on trial like never before. He’s had all the chances from the electorate he’s going to get and May will be a possible watershed.
This is good. For me he crossed the line with his support of Israel and banning Palestine Action, plus some pretty silly mismanaged decisions. He just seems to be a bit of a dick when it comes to difficult decisions. But I agree kicking him out now would be a mistake and would reward the right wing press. Can he develop backbone? I don’t know…
A superb piece and an accurate skewering of the dilemma. The defensive wagons have now circled the PM, Starmer has made it clear he's not walking away. But this avoidable catastrophe has yet to be publicly owned by Starmer in a way that feels real and genuine, certainly for me. With megaphone mouth Farage constantly grabbing attention and Streeting now sniping the atmosphere remains sour and depressed. That said, over the horizon May elections loom and those outcomes may create an UHD viewing spectacle. The clock is ticking.
Well that’s fortunate as I would have had to disagree with you if you had joined the calls for his resignation. Strangely more people have defended him over this, perhaps because we are tiring of demands for resignation at every turn. I have worked in the NHS for over 30years and for most of that time there have been calls for an “airline style systems approach” to incidents, I imagine I will have left before it becomes a reality however it is a sound idea and the same could be applied to this whole furore. People like Epstein and Saville before him have managed to get themselves into high places and ensure they have contacts amongst the most powerful people in the world. If we are satisfied with the resignation of someone caught in the web of collateral damage then we fail to learn how to prevent this. If Starmer had rejected Mandelson no doubt the call would now be for having known the reason for rejection and not taken it further. I don’t see how anyone can be open and honest in this environment and that gets us nowhere.
I don’t see a way out for Starmer and it’s moved from that he should go to wanting him to go . Labour were / are supposed to be different to the Tories .
People expect the Tories to be callous , unprincipled , ruthless but deliver on the economy , stability and prosperity . That’s the payoff . Starmer isn’t meant to be a morphological figure of Johnson or Cameron .
He was voted in as a protest vote against the Tories accepted to be boring but also decent and crucially deliver on meaningful change people can feel and see . To be bold , genuine and authentic . Instead we get incremental pigeon steps , self imposed red lines that would get growth whilst the rich get richer and a PM who as as much warmth and understanding and command of rhetoric as a wet kipper .
What matters most is who is the best person to beat Farage . Starmer thinks he can build his way back to victory . A man who lacks ideology . He is an analogue PM in a digital age . We need colour , vibration , vigour , emotional intelligence and connection as well as an intelligence . Starmer must go now . Why wait for more rot to set in .
It's the severe polarisation within politics that I'm finding particularly irksome currently.
Yes, Starmer ballsed up the appointment of Mandelson, big time. But ....
There would have been strong reasons for his decision.
There would have been arguments both for & against. There would have been information available and information occluded.
What I find frustratingly absent is an acknowledgement of nuance, an acknowledgement of the spectrum of influences that are required to navigate a course for successful government/governance.
The MSM (and in particular Mason & Kuensberg) who continually seem to want their personal opinion to become part of the narrative, has to be abated.
I want facts, upon which I can formulate my own opinion. I don't want to have to fight against being told what to think. You can shove your Orwellian "Ingsoc" where the sun don't shine, thank you.
In short Mr Bear, I'm with you. A little dazed and bewildered, but, NOT calling for a seismic leadership change ..... again.
Let's instead, examine, interrogate and ponder. Think. Then, later, act.
I am no fan of Starmer. He has made some truly spectacular blunders, not just with Mandelson, but the Gaza genocide, welfare cuts, pandering to the far right with regards to immigrants, etc.
However, there is no-one else on the front bench worthy (in my opinion!) of the privilege of running this country.
I'm convinced that we got Mandelson because he was the only one that Trump would agree to. Which is the reason that Mr Starmer could never admit to.
Or because our US ambassador was going to have to operate in a political and social swamp, and this was an environment in which Mandelson had plenty of experience. That was reasonable judgement for Starmer to have made, and a good defence of the appointment, but unfortunately not the sort of defence he could publicly admit to.
I agree - spot on. + People of other political shades agreed. Hold the horses + think again ''inspirational"...But!
Perfectly put Alan and exactly what I've been thinking all along. It seems obvious to me that Trump must keep all of his Epstein buddies as close to him as possible and Mandelson was therefore a perfect fit for ambassador.
Alan, I think you are right about Mandelson being the only one that Trump would agree to. That leads on to the "why?".
First, Graham Evans' reply explains that our US ambassador was going to have to operate in a political and social swamp, making the UK prepared to choose an ambassador with connections.
The "why?". An ambassador agreeable to Trump was going to be someone with connections to Trump or connections to people connected to Trump. Anyone fitting that requirement was going to have connections to Epstien or Russia, or both.
Well said Bear. However, there’s another element to all this which is being overlooked and causes me much greater alarm/concern, Mandelson also introduced Starmer to Palantir, a company in his Global stable. If you don’t know about this company, it’s been given million pound contracts in our NHS, MoD, several Police Forces and the Cabinet Office. It’s been involved with the IDF and ICE and its founder was very much in Epstein’s sphere. If I, a senior citizen, can learn this why can’t No. 10 Spads?
Dangerous days indeed Bear. I know a week in politics is a long time but this merry go round is making me feel sick! There's more to come out over Mandelson, maybe it will directly affect Kier, so hes still not secure. Im dreading the May Council elections, the £9million Reform have been gifted will pay for huge amounts of glossy propaganda & voters are easily swayed. The thought of a Reform Prime Minister & Government fills me with fear/ dreading. Our NHS our Benefits even our work/ life balance will be shredded all to benefit the wealthy & businesses. Dark duplicitous days
I agree that appointing Mandelson was by no means Starmer's most egregious failure. Appointing McSweeney and following his crazy advice to piss off core voters (child benefit cap, PIP, imitating far right racism) in the forlorn hope of winning over some thick racists was far more serious.
Well put Bear.
I think there needs to be several decades of context here. To win an election Labour became New Labour in the 90s. In doing so it started to fill a giant skip with the consequences of poor policy and bad decisions.
After their defeat in 2010 Glasman and the NL holdovers founded Blue Labour. In fine Labour style the party then elected two leaders who lost.
Blue Labour subsequently did a job on the membership and shoe horned in Starmer. Who was gifted a GE win by the Tories.
The final kindling hurled into that giant skip has been the plethora of tactical and strategic blunders imposed upon a weary and impatient nation by a team of senior ministers who are tone deaf, incompetent and in thrall to Thatcherite dogma. Still! 👀.
The appointment of Mandelson was the accelerant and the revelations about his close relationship with Epstein and acts of political treason the final spark.
Result conflagration.
Labour now has two choices. The first and very much the preferred route for the press is to follow the Tory example of appointing a series of short lived inadequates on the road to perdition.
The second is to give Starmer a chance. Grip him firmly and painfully by his personal spheroids and force him to do his job.
The first thing? Spill more blood and send Reeves, Cooper and Mahmoud into the political void. Then build a new cabinet to deliver outcomes for ordinary people rather than the army of vested interests that currently overwhelm policy making.
Good article. Mandelson was always trouble and thats why Starmer should not have touched with a barge pole. I bet his initial instinct was a No. However Starmer is a good man and in my view the best PM this country has had since Tony Blair. We have got to stop the media incensed line of getting Starmer (and Labour) out. The media press barons want Farage. They will continue to wage war on Starmer until they get that outcome. That outcome will be a bigger disaster for this country than Brexit.
Starmer has turned the Labour Party into a version of the Tories. Same fiscal "rules", same performative cruelty. He supports genocide and claimed that Israel had a right to cut off the water & electricity in Gaza. He criminalised Palestine Action to protect the arms manufacturers while RAF planes were providing targeting data to the IDF.
He cannot survive the May elections and he needs to go.
If only it was as straightforward as that. Swop Starmer for another believer in the status quo and where are we?
I, too, agree with all you have written. A well thought out, balanced report. However, Starmer should have realised that Mandelson was always a poisoned chalice and he will, henceforth, be on notice that his position has been seriously compromised and every action from now on will come under more scrutiny than ever before. Leaving him in place, for the moment, is the right thing to do but he’s now on trial like never before. He’s had all the chances from the electorate he’s going to get and May will be a possible watershed.
This is good. For me he crossed the line with his support of Israel and banning Palestine Action, plus some pretty silly mismanaged decisions. He just seems to be a bit of a dick when it comes to difficult decisions. But I agree kicking him out now would be a mistake and would reward the right wing press. Can he develop backbone? I don’t know…
Spot on as usual Bear!
A superb piece and an accurate skewering of the dilemma. The defensive wagons have now circled the PM, Starmer has made it clear he's not walking away. But this avoidable catastrophe has yet to be publicly owned by Starmer in a way that feels real and genuine, certainly for me. With megaphone mouth Farage constantly grabbing attention and Streeting now sniping the atmosphere remains sour and depressed. That said, over the horizon May elections loom and those outcomes may create an UHD viewing spectacle. The clock is ticking.
Well that’s fortunate as I would have had to disagree with you if you had joined the calls for his resignation. Strangely more people have defended him over this, perhaps because we are tiring of demands for resignation at every turn. I have worked in the NHS for over 30years and for most of that time there have been calls for an “airline style systems approach” to incidents, I imagine I will have left before it becomes a reality however it is a sound idea and the same could be applied to this whole furore. People like Epstein and Saville before him have managed to get themselves into high places and ensure they have contacts amongst the most powerful people in the world. If we are satisfied with the resignation of someone caught in the web of collateral damage then we fail to learn how to prevent this. If Starmer had rejected Mandelson no doubt the call would now be for having known the reason for rejection and not taken it further. I don’t see how anyone can be open and honest in this environment and that gets us nowhere.
I don’t see a way out for Starmer and it’s moved from that he should go to wanting him to go . Labour were / are supposed to be different to the Tories .
People expect the Tories to be callous , unprincipled , ruthless but deliver on the economy , stability and prosperity . That’s the payoff . Starmer isn’t meant to be a morphological figure of Johnson or Cameron .
He was voted in as a protest vote against the Tories accepted to be boring but also decent and crucially deliver on meaningful change people can feel and see . To be bold , genuine and authentic . Instead we get incremental pigeon steps , self imposed red lines that would get growth whilst the rich get richer and a PM who as as much warmth and understanding and command of rhetoric as a wet kipper .
What matters most is who is the best person to beat Farage . Starmer thinks he can build his way back to victory . A man who lacks ideology . He is an analogue PM in a digital age . We need colour , vibration , vigour , emotional intelligence and connection as well as an intelligence . Starmer must go now . Why wait for more rot to set in .
It's the severe polarisation within politics that I'm finding particularly irksome currently.
Yes, Starmer ballsed up the appointment of Mandelson, big time. But ....
There would have been strong reasons for his decision.
There would have been arguments both for & against. There would have been information available and information occluded.
What I find frustratingly absent is an acknowledgement of nuance, an acknowledgement of the spectrum of influences that are required to navigate a course for successful government/governance.
The MSM (and in particular Mason & Kuensberg) who continually seem to want their personal opinion to become part of the narrative, has to be abated.
I want facts, upon which I can formulate my own opinion. I don't want to have to fight against being told what to think. You can shove your Orwellian "Ingsoc" where the sun don't shine, thank you.
In short Mr Bear, I'm with you. A little dazed and bewildered, but, NOT calling for a seismic leadership change ..... again.
Let's instead, examine, interrogate and ponder. Think. Then, later, act.
I agree with every word you've written.
an extended version of exactly what i think, well thought out and explained in detail.
I am no fan of Starmer. He has made some truly spectacular blunders, not just with Mandelson, but the Gaza genocide, welfare cuts, pandering to the far right with regards to immigrants, etc.
However, there is no-one else on the front bench worthy (in my opinion!) of the privilege of running this country.