The Prime Minister suffers another self self delusion. He thinks that he is a great international statesman, and wrongly assumes that will make him more popular and help his party in the May elections. Instead it looks as if his over involvement in foreign affairs and the matters of the Foreign Office will do more to bring him down than anything else.
I have recently written about how his alleged great strength as a lawyer determined to govern under the strictures of international law has turned to dust and unpopularity. He was slowly being destroyed by his failings to understand the limited powers of the ICJ, his wrong view on Chagos, by the way the ECHR stopped his Smash the gangs policy and the boomerang that was his holier than thou approach to government in opposition followed by the sleazy realities of some of his now ex Ministers and government deeds.
This has all been surpassed by jetting around the world giving cash and overseas territories away and above all by his gross mishandling of the US relationship. I was one of the few that advised not to sack the talented professional Ambassador he inherited in Washington who did a great job for him in the early months. I thought Lord Mandelson was a risky appointment because he had been forced out twice before from senior government roles over conduct issues. The links with Epstein were well known and the last thing the President wanted was a UK Ambassador that revived memories of that man every time he entered the Oval Office for talks. It has proved to be even more spectacularly stupid than I imagined.
There was the need for Mandelson to back pedal on his past unfortunate comments about Trump. There was the sacking when they discovered he had been closer to Epstein for longer than they thought. There was the need to accuse Mandelson of lying to explain how it was he got through the appointment process. There was the need to fire Starmer’s Chief of Staff, blaming him for recommending the appointment. There was the need to respond to Parliament’s demand to see the papers surrounding the appointment and Mandelson’s work as Ambassador, still not properly complied with. Now there is the latest biggest disaster that it emerges Mandelson failed the original security vetting by the Cabinet Office.
The PM has sacked the top official at the Foreign Office and claims the Foreign Office overrode the security warnings without telling any Minister or any senior staff at No 10. This is difficult to believe as the Foreign Office Head made clear to Parliament the appointment of Mandelson was a personal political appointment made by the PM. The PM failed to tell the Commons of this new news on Wednesday when he could have done so. By Monday afternoon when the PM gets round to making a statement there will be days of adverse press and media speculation. The PM has once again left his MPs and party workers to explain the mess whilst he flies to Paris to pretend to have influence over a war he is trying to sit out despite the bombs and threats against our shipping and our bases.
April 18, 2026
Exactly.
A man totally unsuitable to be PM in every way. A compass 180 degrees out on every single issue and with zero honesty, morality or understanding of human nature.
It seems Chancellor Rachel Reeves has indicated that she will not spend more on defence because it is “too male.” So will he not be spending more on schools or NHS nurses as far more teachers and nurses are female?
Is doom loop Reeves completely mad? Will she also refuse more spending on energy, engineering, mining, drilling, fracking, physics, nuclear power, maths, economics as she will find these are rather male dominated too?
April 18, 2026
Starmer will not resign until he’s completed his wrecking tactics.
He’s determined to give away Chagos and make us associate member of he EU.
His handlers will keep him in place until jobs completed.
Who these shadowy people are, i don’t know but they have their own agenda. It’s not in Britain’s interest.
April 18, 2026
I can only see one scenario where the PM & Ministers were not told that Mandelson failed SV: because the PM had made clear in advance that Mandelson was to be the ambassador whatever ,and the civil service should “make it so”. What I don’t know I can’t tell.
April 18, 2026
Starmer is the Labour party’s Mrs May. Both tried to do terrible ‘back-door’ deals with untrustworthy parties, without checking with those who had a veto, with May it was the DUP. Both can’t wait to leave the country to go to ‘talks’ with their ‘friends’ in the EU. Both disagreed with Trump on Iran. Ollie Robbins is a key player in both administrations. Starmer looks like he’s going to be removed from office in the same way as May.
April 18, 2026
The confidence and supply agreement was a Hobson’s Choice issue because, believe it or not, the Conservatives were the best option at that time.
Note that the DUP voted against May’s treacherous Brexit deal in January and March 2019, which did I. Fact bring her, but not the Conservative Govt down.
So this is a very different case.
April 18, 2026
Why did she send Ollie Robbins behind David Davies back? Why did she not spend the time before sending in the ‘we’re leaving letter’ to put the UK into a strong negotiating position. Why agree the money give away before knowing what terms of ongoing trade relations would be? Look at the evidence, May didn’t want to leave, she wanted ‘dynamic alignment’, NI was left to swing.
April 18, 2026
And he kept on about Boris and a slice of cake. This guy continues to be an embarrassment to the Country. His contempt for the people he is meant to serve knows no bounds…….this man is a habitual liar and is not fit to my PM
Slimy Starmer being a lawyer, he knows every dirty trick in the book. And parliament being full of lawyers he will probably find a way to slip out of this. If there was ever any honour in politics, it vanished decades ago.He should just go and call a General Election so we can get this bunch of idiots out off office
April 18, 2026
Starmer will surely have to be dragged kicking and screaming from No 10.
April 18, 2026
Good morning.
I agree. Very difficult to believe. Why would the FCO do such a thing ? There is no reason for them to do so.
But I guess, as you sow, so shall you reap. And the reaper will come after the May elections. If he will not go then we must consider impeachment. Even if not possible it would be a good thing to float this idea after it was used the threaten Alexander Johnson when he was PM.
April 18, 2026
He believes his thick skin will see him through. It will take more than dynamite to make him resign and he is determined to be there for the full 10 years.
His persuasive comments to Zelensky to keep going betrays his lust to have a poke at Russia, but much more than that he is not a man who responds to others well, particularly when it all goes against his wishes.
Through ignorance and garbled soundbites he will find ways to avoid confronting his own treachery, even if it means sacking half the cabinet.
April 18, 2026
He told the country quite blatantly that he would rather be in Davos, hobnobbing with the Global power-brokers, than in the Mother of Parliaments, which he considers to be a tribal pantomime.
He spends his time travelling around the world, pitching up for oh-so-serious meetings with similarly-inclined individuals (like Macron and Zelensky) which achieve absolutely nothing because (like Red Ed) he is touting for his next lucrative career in the Global Quangocracy when he is kicked out of Office here – which won’t be long now.
He is a man completely unsuitable for the role of Prime Minister; a Legal Android who is not working in the UK’s interests and, if he is to be believed (I don’t), his Senior Officials and Senior Civil Servants don’t seem to bother to involve him in any of the nations affairs. So he might as well not be there.
He doesn’t have an ounce of integrity.
April 18, 2026
Spot on Donna
April 18, 2026
With Starmer, he always blames others or Brexit when anything goes wrong. No wonder he wants to rejoin the EU. What happened to his message that he never throws colleagues under the bus and always takes responsibility for what his staff do? He is either not in control or incompetent. The problem we have is that there is no one even remotely suitable to replace him. Things will only get worse if he goes.
April 18, 2026
Yes, much as I want him gone, the likely replacements are even worse. Who will rid us of this troublsome Party?
April 18, 2026
Iran has declared the Strait of Hormuz “completely open” to commercial traffic as of April 17, 2026, during a 10-day ceasefire, causing global oil prices to plunge over 10%. Brent crude fell to around
$87−$90 a barrel after previously soaring above $100 during the crisis.
I assume Ed Miliband will be very disappointed by this as Ed clearly wants fossil fuels use to be deterred and stamped out by being vastly expensive – unless of course it is for Labour Ministers or perhaps King Charles’s personal use.
Also their doom loop, tax, borrow, waste and over regulate economic policies (which have so wrecked the economy) will be harder to try to blame on Trump.
April 18, 2026
Starmer is comically unsuited (if it were actually funny) to being PM. His inadequacy for the role combined with his leftist world view and policies make him the worst we’ve ever had. The single most damaging thing by far is his trashing of the US relationship. That has put us all in real danger. Putin has now made explicit threats to attack specific parts of the UK. Unlikely perhaps as Russia can’t defeat Ukraine let alone NATO. But given how governments the last 30 years have run down defence, the most important thing any UK govt needs to do is make sure that if the UK gets attacked the US is on our side.
It’s difficult to know what to wish for. On the one hand Starmer is clearly useless and most likely deceitful, on the other hand any replacement could be even worse. And to the extent Labour continue to be lumbered with an unpopular leader, it makes a centre-right victory at the next election more likely. My Goodness if we do get another chance the Conservatives (with or without reform) better not squander as they did last time.
April 18, 2026
Clearly if Starmer actually had any integrity he would now resign whether he has technically misled parliament or not. His sanctimonious posturing and hounding of boris Johnson over the ludicrous episode of the cake in the meeting means he can’t possibly remain in office with any credibility now.
April 18, 2026
The PM is a weak man with limited ability. Under pressure in the office, those weaknesses and limited abilities become more apparent. Since he became PM, things have gone from bad to worse with Starmer. I have not forgotten his “Island of Strangers” speech, which he rapidly disowned, and admitted he had not read before giving it. Should we add “lazy” to his other failings?
It is a joke to say no one told him or any other Minister about Mandelson failing his security vetting. Surely, for the UK’s most important ambassador position, the PM should want to know and double-check everything?
Weak people always lie to get themselves out of trouble, only to dig themselves even deeper into the mess.
It is difficult to believe that Labour can record any support in opinion polls!
April 18, 2026
With every action the PM displays the fact that he has absolutely no judgement.
Imagine aligning yourself with Macron and expecting that to boost your popularity. Posing for public photographs which look as if they are pap shots, two unstable ‘men’ clinging together.
And etc ed
What a ride!
April 18, 2026
It is a matter of record that the Prime Minister appointed Mandleson in December 25 without waiting for security clearance and despite the whole country knowing that this person had a history of questionable behaviour.
Now we know that the newly appointed chief civil servant dealing with the security clearance signed off the appointment of Mandleson despite the security clearance advising against the appointment. Also we know that he may have decided not to advise the Prime Minister that Mandleson was unsuitable.
The case shows without doubt that both Starmer and Robbins are unsuitable for continued employment.
April 18, 2026
How much longer can this charlatan remain in office. U-turns galore, policy failures piling up and now exposed as a liar over the Mandelson affair.
It’s difficult to believe he can survive this latest scandal. If his own party are too cowardly to turn on him, he may muddle on until the local elections. Hopefully Labour get wiped out and Starmer disappears never to be seen again.
April 18, 2026
Starmer has released the minutes of a meeting last Tuesday at which he claimed he didn’t know Mandelson had failed DV vetting and says these minutes are “proof” he didn’t know Mandelson had failed DV vetting. This is such a peculiar claim one wonders what his attitude to evidence and “proof” was when he was DPP – just write something down on a bit of paper and that makes it true ?
Bit harsh on the Straits though John, within three hours of him arriving in Paris to host a remote Zoom meeting (obviously doesn’t understand what “remote” means) the Straits were open. A triumph. (Let’s brush over the fact Trump immediately told NATO to stay out of it).
Reply And then Iran said they were not open
April 18, 2026
Timeline…
The Prime Minister has today(Published 20 December 2024 by the UK Government) confirmed the appointment of Lord Peter Mandelson to be the next British Ambassador to the United States of America.
The Cabinet Secretary, with the approval of the Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister, has announced the appointment of Sir Oliver (Olly) Robbins as the new Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO). (Published 8 January 2025 by the UK Government) – at time off appointment it states he is currently Partner and Head of Europe, Middle East and Africa at Hakluyt, a global strategic advisory firm.
When did the vetting take place?
Something smells…