To not want yet another new Prime Minister right now.

[paddleboardingmum]

I'm not a massive Starmer fan, but at least he's doing okay on the international stuff. What with the war, Trump and everything I feel like we just need some stability and the thought of a whole leadership contest and yet another change of PM just seems like too much. Fed up with the constant drama of the news.

Mine are 11 and we laugh that at their age I was just getting my 2nd prime minister, while they are on 6.

Re the above, my twins were then 4.5yo and could remember 3 PMs!

In fact, GirlTwin randomly loved Liz Truss, I think largely out of perversity, and used to boo Sunak for "taking her away".

To the point, I do not like Starmer and I do think he is a liar in any normal sense of the word, but I do not think he will go after the council elections/ Senedd and SP elections. But I think he will be a lame duck and key members of the Cabinet will be running the show, whilst others make their quiet preparations over a 12-18 mo timeframe.

Agree. Not because I rate Starmer but because we look like a banana republic to the outside world we change our leaders so often, and quite honestly he has brought some stability.

We some stability to attract investment and encourage businesses to invest in the UK. Changing course (again) now makes us look ridiculous in the eyes of the markets.

He’s terrible but the others in his sham party are worse. Labour voters have a lot to answer for.

Yesterday, the senior civil servant at the Cabinet Office confirmed that what Starmer told the HoC was correct. Cat Little said that "full due process was followed" which is what Starmer said. He has not lied. He is being constantly undermined, yes, but that is what causes the instability. There are constant interferences, from outside of our country, that wish to destabilise and mess us up. They would like to see Farage in charge.

The question that remains is why choose a person who had twice had to leave government for other scandals?

Farage or Starmer. Out of 70 million people is that really what the choice has come down to? I’m sorry, but neither are fit for office and both lead questionable back benchers.

Yes, I agree. We will hear from Morgan McSweeney this week - he had to go over it so maybe he can enlighten us ....

I haven't heard why Starmer is not fit for office. Farage would be a disaster. The Labour Party has about 165 MPs so they are not going to be all who we would chose. Reform only has 8 and half of them were in the GE as Tories - but Jenrick, Braverman are very divisive.

We won’t be getting one because they are all crap. There is no one out of all those MPs that is suitable

Can't get past this bit. Why Mandelson with his history of sleaze/corruption (and more recently coming out selling state secrets and treason). The "cos Trump" reasons are flimsy considering somehow David Lammy is mates with Vance and Farage offered to play Trump whisperer as well. It points to either corruption or some form of blackmail occurring. Mandelson wanted to be US ambassador and they made it happen for him by burning their rules and process and hounding civil servants. Why?

Starmer is far worse than Johnson could ever have been, even in the fantasises of the most fervent Labour shill. From the squalid freebies to the corruption to the sheer incompetence, no one comes near.

Starmer is also the 1st PM I've known who doesn't try to do what they genuinely think is the right thing for the country even if that is inevitably wrong and it fails. Even Cameron, who up until now I'd have said was the worst PM I'd known as an adult, had a vision whether you agreed with it or not (and I obviously didn't). Truss had a direction, albeit that direction was splat to the ground, you still know what she stood for though. But Starmer - there is nothing there. He doesn't even try. We can't afford to keep him but he won't go.

Imagine if Farage had been PM. He was champing at the bit to get involved in Iran in the first few days of the conflict. He only changed his mind when he realised that the UK population was against it. Starmer has been disappointing, but he has managed well on the international stage. Imagine if Farage or Kemi were in charge right now. We'd be America's lackey and even further isolated from our true allies. The only people who really want a new PM right now in the current unstable climate are Reform/Restore nutters, and the media who want something else to fill their 24/7 rolling news.

A powerful element in all of this, which hasn't been factored in, is the Cabinet Office. They have been crucial in these recent developments - releasing the template of the relevant form with the traffic light system that was used in the vetting process.
The Cabinet Office has the direct responsibility to the PM - it was them who released the email that security clearance should not he granted for Mandelson. The Foreign Office, under Olly Robbins, then cleared him. Maybe we will find out at the Select Committee hearings.

Farage was literally telling Trump to apply tariffs to the UK. Farage doesn't actually care about the UK and would have used the position to enrichen himself and stab the UK populace in the back. He's not a patriot in the slightest. He's a wannabe strongman. What patriot was singing Nazi songs in the 70s less than 30 years after the end of WWII. He will have grown up surrounded by veterans and was singing the songs of the 'enemy' in his youth. He's a fascist, a liar, and a scoundrel. Nothing more.

No, not what I said before. There are aload of stats around income levels of parents whose children are independently educated. I'll try to pull them out later, no time right now. My children got a 50% fee remission (scholarships) so it was affordable for us but it isn't now. The fees come out of my salary which unfortunately hasn't miraculously increased by 20%

We're not at a "typical London day school" yawn so your stats are way off

Yes scary re: Iran. Also, Kemi was very hawkish and aggressive about our troops. Starmer's stance on Iran has been sensible and measured and he has had to endure jibes from Trump in an unpleasant way. These are national matters not party political and Starmer has been the statesman.

Farage was never the point it was that there were many less controversial paths to Trump, why Mandelson? Just because he wanted it and had some sort of leverage. Did he promise someone something? This is why I want a new Prime Minister, this one seems to be compromised. And if he's compromised by Mandelson, he's compromised by many more actors.

They would have been aware he had sold government info last year. There is no way he would have ever been a fit ambassador or got security clearance. So the Cabinet Office was right. Why did the Foreign Office overrule them (just kidding we know No 10 told them to, though they didn't listen to them obviously and used their own judgement). It's pure corruption.

He is a genocidalist and a liar. Not a leader I wish to remain in post.

Oooooookay … how does his genocidalism exhibit itself?

I just counted for My Dad. He had 18 different PMs in his 90 years. I have only counted Churchill, Heath and Wilson once. So that's an average of 5 years.

I asked a colleague who used to work in the civil service, at one point under Mandelson's directorate, why he kept getting reappointed despite his obvious character flaws. My colleague said Mandelson was fantastically able to get things done, he was brilliant at his job and driving and implementing policy - which is very hard to do within the internecine structures of the civil service. Everyone knew Mandelson was able to get what he wanted, he is apparently very gifted and clever. Unfortunately he is also an utter shit.