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.

I don't agree with your view of the motivation of these changes.

It does not benefit huge businesses to have SMEs brought to their knees. It benefits them that they open new markets and then they buy them. In hospitality the models are clear, it benefits the big chains that there are more hospitality businesses in any one area.

Nothing Labour has done so far, ime, has been done with the intention of benefitting big business or billionaires, quite the reverse.

The tax situation was pre-existing and continue.

I still wait for anyone to tell me what specific policies Labour have introduced with the intention of benefitting big business and billionaires, however much Latin you spout 🤣

Incorrect. My point was very specifically about Burnham's dodging of making any move that might be interpreted as support for women and their rights or otherwise upsetting the T+. I wouldn't trust him as a leader to follow the SC ruling if he thought it might upset some omnicause supporters.

As to your more general observations, you obviously haven't been paying attention to this particular issue.

I am sick to death of hearing public demands for the resignation of our PMs & whatever party they represent. It's no wonder nothing gets done no matter which party is in government. They might as well fit a revolving door in No.10. So Starmer believed Mandelson when he lied about the degree of involvement with Epstein. Well, we've all believed a liar somewhere along the way - eg Boris and Farage about Brexit. I believed my ex-husband when he said he wasn't cheating. Not a nice feeling knowing I'd been a mug, but hey, I got over it. What Mandelson did when in Tony Blair's Government should not impact on Starmer today. They need to get over it and move on. The police should investigate Mandelson and the PM should control his party and get in with government

Sorry, but that doesn’t wash.

Starmer has made error, after error.

And deep down, you know, if it’s not this that does for him, it will be something else - whether its an electoral wipe out in May, or information that he was naughty over the arrest and sentencing of Lucy Connolly (something like that).

He is incompetent and unlikeable, with zero political nous, and is on borrowed time.

He will not be missed by many of us.

Of course that was known.

The Question Starmer et al faced was whether, in spite of that, Mandy's skills at schmoozing Trump and potentially getting a US trade agreement, meant he was worth a punt.

I spent my entire working life in the government and then charitable sectors. Both had policies that said previous history, even if criminal, should not automatically disbar; facts needed to be assessed against value in the role they were recruited to and probability of repeat offending. Obvs but criminal activity overlooked had to be low probability/low consequence stuff

Looked at that way it's not incomprehensible that Mandy was seen as a risk but one worth taking.

It was known he had a close relationship with him in that he stayed in his NYC apartment. This was directed to Starmer by Jim Pickard FT before Mandelson was appointed.

Starmer’s ‘he lied to me’ defence is pretty gross and inexcusable.

I'm guessing the low level criminal activity routinelg overlooked by the British government and charity sectors didn't typically extend to being part of paedophile financiers' human trafficking rings, and Starmer just made an exception for Mandy?

You still have some standards, right? Or did Mandelson just let everyone down by having hard evidence against him in the form of photographs and email exchanges?

Im sick to death with people in public life not taking responsibility for their mistakes. No one resigns or if they do they have a little stint on the backbenches and then sooner or later are back in government.

That’d work if Starmer didn’t appoint him as ambassador in his own government.

I hope the investigation covers whether Mandelson passed valuable /confidential/sensitive information to other “friends” and also whether they were putting money into his or his husband’s account as has been alleged with Epstein.

Quite. And did he pass on any information in his roll as US Ambassador.

What an odious, spineless, pathetic small man Starmer is.

Yet to take actual accountability for anything, and seems to spend his career covering up for pedophiles. ‘He lied to me’ is the most pitiful excuse.

That fraternising with pedophile human traffickers is not a red line for him speaks volumes. He despises us, and the feeling is mutual. Get rid of him Labour (and check his hard drives on the way out)

This made me laugh. Thanks. Having said that, she's not so bad.

‘Arf at the “sick of people calling for PMs to go”. Yeah, I’m sure you were all arguing for Johnson to stay put. As was Labour, natch.

Since Labour positioned themselves in opposition as sleaze busters and responsible politicians who’d do the right thing, it’s doubly important for Starmer to pack his bags. We wouldn’t want a PM with terrible judgement, a stench of sleaze and who’s a hypocrite, would we?

And who ever comes next in the revolving PM post will be another in a long line of "useless" PMs (as defined by party members, the opposition, people who vote, people who don't bother to vote, the newspapers - endless detractors of one shade or another). It's been like this since Cameron left. No matter what party, no PM stands a real chance in this country because either their own party or the opposition will not let the government do what they were elected to do - run the country.

Well said !!!!

Why can't we have a good PM that is whiter than white and not riddled by association with sleazemongers?

You thought someone trying to set fire to his house might have brought about his downfall? Why?

Who would be a better PM? Who’d be your pick?

🤣🤣 it’s my phone’s fault!

All that is true, but better candidates aren'y exactly obvious, in Labour, or elsewhere.

TBC, I don't think Starmer deserves to stay in office; he has been an appalling PM.

Will people stop saying “rent boys”. It’s an offensive term which I’ve read a few times on here recently.

Agree!

It's quite an old term for "young male prostitutes and trafficking victims, particularly those working the street, who are exploited for sex in exchange for cash by older, wealthier men."

It's certainly better to use a two word term than all that waffle.

What's offensive is the wealthy men exploiting young men and boys for sex, surely