Labour Isn't Working - Thread 30

[WaffleBomb]

A chat thread for those who don't like this Labour government. 💙

The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.

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The Times reporting that the most likely person to take over from Olly Robbins is Karen Pierce!

Yeah I heard Milliband this morning. Separating himself from Starmer with those comments. Just shows how powerful he is atm. Scary.

Yep. OR has more decency than any of them.

Listening to that committee Starmer should go and Olly Robbins should get his job back.

I can’t believe how much KS has fucked up on this.

Can’t understand why re Miliband / because he didn’t lose that election that badly? Odd how his reputation has improved…I saw him saying he warned KS - one of many it seems!

He's a modern Rasputin

I’m not surprised about Milliband, let’s face it he must be bloody ruthless to decide to go up against his own brother! He’s not as bad as Vance and Rubio, but he’s of the same ilk - ie he’ll do whatever it takes to get close to power.

That’s a good point @CaveMum re his brother! He’s all charm isn’t he…

Three things strike me about the coverage that I’ve seen of Robbins’s evidence.

It is now obvious and confirmed that Starmer wanted Mandelson irrespective of any checking process. That makes his supposed “outrage” at finding out last week of Mandelson’s negative vetting result laughable. More to the point, unbelievable. That’s the ‘newsy’ bit. It’s easy for newspapers to get their readers interested in.

Starmer tried to get Matthew Doyle a senior diplomatic post. And that Lammy was not to be told. That’s a political bombshell but more of interest to Westminster and the civil service.

And nobody seems to be able to get an answer about whether Starmer knew in September 2025 that there had been a negative vetting result, when the Independent ran their story - after putting it to Starmer’s press chief. The absence of an answer to that - and Starmer was asked in Parliament yesterday - speaks volumes. But that’s again one, for now, for Westminster.

I cannot see how Starmer can possibly survive after May however the elections go.

@DenizenOfAisleOfShame Commentators are saying his survival seems to be based solely on the fact there are no obvious successors. I said it yesterday, we're being governed by donkeys.

Olly's performance today was impressive - a mixture of humility, honesty and above all, credibility from hugely intelligent and thoughtful man; a huge loss to the FO and actually, our national security.

Am I missing something obvious - where is Keir Starmer this afternoon for the emergency debate in the commons ?

It started about 2.20pm for me?

No-one knows. At the beginning of the meeting Kemi commented negatively on his absence, but no-one defended him or explained.

@DancingFerret .. I missed the start- thank you

Yes very strange, I hadn’t noticed he wasn’t there until Kemi noted it! (Only half an eye on it…)

We can only hope that finally, long overdue, he is finally going to do the decent thing and resign.

Frit.

Milliband, Cooper, and Lammy all on resignation watch. Who will be the first to try and claim some moral high ground? Or will the Bollard finally get the message and feck off?

ETA: my money’s on Cooper...

Where did you see that @TheNoWord?

I hope so re resignation watch

Oh I didn’t see it anywhere really, just my analysis after seeing a clip of Milliband on GMTV this morning, hearing reports of a stony faced Cooper heading into the back of No10, and Lammy, well anything is possible.

I just think these three are the most likely to jump: Cooper has a fair shot at claiming to be ‘a safe pair of hands’ while a leadership election is held, Milliband clearly thinks he still has a shot at the top job, and Lammy has clearly been undermined when he was Foreign Sec and possibly also believes as deputy PM he has a claim to be the ‘safe pair of hands’.

Streeting is too tied to Mandelson so will keep his head down, and Mahmood I think knows she has no chance of the leadership as the PLP think she is Farage in a frock over immigration.

He's another Weasel who'd sell his own granny for a shilling.

Excellent from Madeline Grant in the Speccie

NO one claims moral high ground quite like Yvette Cooper.

From the Spectator: "Robbins took a wrecking ball to Sir Keir's narrative..."

Not half!😂

https://archive.ph/qhTId

I’m reading a book about the Cambridge spy ring called “Stalin’s Apostles”. The men basically got their government jobs and stayed in them because they were part of what the author called the “chapocracy”. Ex Cambridge, networked at the right London clubs, moved in the “right” circles etc.

I almost feel history has repeated itself with Mandelson. The attitude of No. 10 seemed to be. “He doesn’t need to go through your poxy clearance process, he’s one of us”.

Milibad!

He tried to distance himself and lammy.

My money is on him.