Keir starmer is dead in the water

[Bertiebiscuit]

The UK cannot have a prime minister who gave a plum job to a man when all the time he knew that Mandelson was still close friends with an ex-con who was convicted for trafficking children for sexual abuse. Starmer is destroying the reputation of the UK, he is an embarrassment and shoukd resign, if not the Labour party should demand his resignation.

Not just poor judgement though

Starmer made a previously undisclosed visit to Palantir’s Washington HQ in Feb 2025, a visit arranged by Mandelson while his firm, Global Counsel, represented Palantir.

That meeting did not appear in the PM’s official register and only came to light later.

Later that same year, Palantir received a £240m MOD “strategic partnership” by direct award and not open competition.

🤣🤣🤣 Yes thats it! Farage is the one we should be looking at everyone! Despite him not being PM or in government or involved in passing on state secrets obtained while in government!

They're policies that have destroyed Starmer and ensured that the public will get rid of Labour at the earliest opportunity.

Yes thats a clear case of jobs for mates which I always thought Labour were morally appalled by! Perhaps only when the Conservatives do it....because Labour are "good" so they are allowed to do bad things.

Makes you wonder if Mandelson had something on KS hence he was given the job - the Epstein thing is like a disease - spreading into all our lives.

Mc Donnell was on C4 news last night.

But what he said made perfect sense.

No I dont think that. I think otherwise that would mean the whole of government are corrupt which I dont think is true. I tbink KS was just desperate to get a past "successful" politician on board. Same as Jonathan Powell.

McDonnell is already all over Sky News.
I knew Boris and cronies would be dreadful.
I knew the Lib Dems are in bed with the the puberty blocker crowd, the Greens have lost interest in the planet.
I had hope in KS.
It makes the disappointment worse I suppose.

@WildJoker he was given the job because he was liked and could get on with Trump - which is pretty crucial, given the role.

There is precisely zero evidence that Mandelson ‘had something on him’ - a paranoid world to live in.

This appears to be a case of Mandelson having a number of people around him crediting and endorsing him - difficult to go against the grain when his reputation has previously been unquestioned. Like all good fraudsters, I suppose.

If only Labour were allowed to do bad things, the Conservative Michelle Mone would be stripped of her peerage.

John McDonnell. Such a depressing blast from the past.

Starmer's a terrible PM and made yet another idiotic decision. But I still hope he stays as I think all the alternatives are much, much worse. There's barely anyone even semi-competent in the entire Labour party, and the couple there are don't seem to be in the running for leader.

Which is the main problem; Starmer keeps running into trouble because of the actions of the people he's appointed, but then when I wonder who he should have chosen instead, I come up totally blank. This has to be the most ridiculously and embarrassingly underqualified and inept government we have ever had. I don't think it's even close. And yes, I am including every single iteration of the last Conservative debacle.

I suspect thats not high up on the nation's list of current priorities.

I picked a bit on how influential Mandelson was for getting them into power. It’s all that new Labour Blairite stuff, the spin and the sleaze coming back. Starmer owes his power to McSweeney and he’s in that set.

Why not? Why is something that happened in 2009 more of a priority than something that happened in 2020?

@Pineneedlesincarpet in should be. Whiplash, amnesia news and short memories.

There was a perfectly good ambassador in Karen Pierce who was doing a great job and had good relations with the republicans. Even George Osbourne would have been better as hes besties with Vance. But no. We had to have the Dark Lord.

The BBC are reporting that one of the questions Starmer asked in the vetting process was

"Why was he reported to have stayed in one of Epstein's homes while the financier was in prison?"

What do the Starmer defenders think could possibly have been acceptable answers? Maybe it was just a really unfortunately AirB&B booking coincidence?

.

I don't think Mandelson had anything on Kier. I believe that he was appointed in desperation as Kier is only too aware of his party's shortcomings, lack of quality and competence. He was so desperate for a few 'grown ups' that he decided to put his fingers in his ears and 'La la la' out anything he didn't want to hear.

Starmer now giving a speech saying that Mandelson lied to him. He still doesn't get it. The question is, when Mandelson was lying, why did he believe him? Why didn't he listen to all the red flags that were put in front of him? Why didn't he consider all the scandal already attached to Mandelson enough to preclude him from becoming ambassador?

Right. Well...you crack on trying to push the Michelle issue while everyone else looks at Profumo 2026 which is a lot more interesting.

You do know Starmer, Mandelson and Epstein are in the press rn?

Its weird. Apparently they asked him three questions and he gave false answers. And they relied on those answers to appoint him. Im not sure this is the best vetting system???

I'm no fan of Farage, but surely the difference is that while Mandelson and Farage are clearly both unpleasant individuals with dubious morals and a sense of entitlement that comes from being a big fish in a small pond, Mandelson was actually in Government and sharing confidential information almost in real time to curry favour with Epstein and for personal gain.

What it underlines for me is just how insecure and out of his depth financially he was. Mandelson was in his 40s at the time...he'd had a reasonably long, reasonably well paid career to that point, and had made (or borrowed, or been given...) money from various property transactions, and yet was still grubbing around for a few thousand dollars here and there, ostensibly to fund his husband osteopathy course. Surely anyone in their mid 40s with an even vaguely professional career could have laid their hands on the money needed; it really is pathetic.

Yes what was the answer to this?