Olly Robbins has just nuked the premiership of Sir Keir Starmer

[ProudAmberTurtle]

What are the implications of Olly Robbins’s testimony for Starmer?

There was so much in his testimony that was damaging but surely the worst was that:

• He was instructed by No. 10 to find an ambassador's job for Starmer's then director of communications, Matthew Doyle
• He was told not to tell the foreign secretary about this
• Robbins considered leaving his role because this request was so unusual and inappropriate
• Doyle was then suspended from the Labour Party due to his links with a convicted paedophile (not Epstein).

And on Mandelson, he said there was "constant pressure" for him to fast-track the appointment, there was no interest in the vetting from the PM, concerns about the vetting were dismissed by No. 10 and Mandelson had already been given IT access that should only have been granted after the vetting process.

What can Starmer do now? Say Robbins was lying?

Not any more. Jenrick has said they will reimpose the cap in full.

Is that because some of it goes overseas? Again, I am all for child benefit as it is not the children’s problem. But it should never be paid to overseas accounts or for children not living in this country surely?

The news today is that UK government borrowing significantly fell last year.

Unfortunately the impact of Trump's war will mean this will not last.

UK government borrowing fell last year, but analysts say the improvement is not expected to last because of the impact of the Iran war. (BBC)
^^
Borrowing, the difference between spending and income from taxes, fell £19.8bn to £132bn in the year to March, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

I am a bit nanny state when it comes to children. They need to be in school if parents want child benefit? This whole trend of homeschooling has gone too far. Yes I know that is quite radical and some kids have SEND and cannot cope and the system is failing them. But the vast majority of kids need to be in school and have good attendance.

But only for certain people, something to do with being British

And they changed their mind on that.

Refom are not keen on women's rights, or any rights.

Ofcourse if you worry about Mandelson's Russia links, then..

The cap is nothing to do with child benefit. It is for universal credit. No cap on child benefit (apart from the earnings cut off, but that is a different thing).

I agree with the fact that children should go to British schools to assimilate to British culture and values, especially if their parents do not speak English well etc. It is absolutely key is it not? Not sure that is right wing at all. It is to protect children and integrate them into society long term and actually welcome them into the system and give them a fair chance at life here.

Has this Government implemented £40 billion in tax rises over the last two years? Has the Government implemented an additional £30 billion in stealth taxes by the end of the decade? Have working people, employers, non state schools, landlords and farmers been the sole bearers of these tax rises?
Has the Government increased benefits for economically inactive people (non pension)?

Has unemployment gone up? Has rent gone up? Has the number of vacancies per capita gone down? Has the number of available properties to rent gone down? Has the number of schools decreased? Has youth unemployment dramatically increased? Has the property market and job market almost ground to a halt?has cost of living gone up?

Its all in the data.

Sorry but the left right divide is not that simple anymore! A lot of working class Labour strong hold are voting Reform and it is important to understand why? Especially for those on the liberal left?

So get rid of international schools?

Immigrants, sorry expats, in Dubai for instance should attend local schools?

And what exactly are 'British schools'?

You said "It’s the Labour voters who need to start working". The data shows that they do. The unemployed are actually more likely to favour right wing parties or not vote at all.

This is because they have hiked taxes and also extended the freeze on income tax and NI thresholds for another three years, until 2031. As wages rise more people will get pulled into higher tax bands and the effect is that the gov pulls in more tax from the public without overtly changing tax rates.

British state schools following the national curriculum. Where teachers can oversee the most vulnerable children. Do not care what the international elite do in Dubai, whataboutery?

Oh..British citizens. That seems reasonable? Why should we pay for non British citizens?

What's Reform's beef with women?

Subsidising the wealthiest through taxation? Further subsidies through tax cuts? WTF?

This only makes sense if you start off at the view that anything less than a 100% tax is a subsidy. Which I think possibly is what some Labour supporters do think.

My kids went to an American school in UK. They know they are British - not sure what your point is?

Thats good. Most people seem to agree with that.

They are now going to reimpose it for everyone, so that is now a moot point.

Reform just want women to churn out babies. Well, what they deem the right sort of babies.

Support British people having children?

I think the test should be for children in Britain going to British state schools.

The barriers of entry to British citizenship are now extremly high. The citizenship test is complex, most Brits would have to study for it and even with study, many would fail!
So you cannot limit financial help to children in Britain who are British or from British families. Besides, some countries do not even allow dual nationality, eg China.

It is completely normal to put your own population first. That is surely why Reform are pickling up loads of white working class Brits? To just dismiss it as basic is quite dangerous. Labour absolutely know they went too far with their focus on the metropolitan elite and the liberal left. That is surely why there are also adjusting their immigration policies. It is all lovely to be happy clappy welcome all and sundry, but against a backdrop of WW3 brewing and a whole lot of nasty influences from all angles, it is completely naive. Also surprise surprise selling your soul and country for economic growth does not work either, there have to be parameters/boundaries and they are constantly being redefined.
Whatever Labour or Reform stand for in April 2026 is not necessarily exactly what they will stand for in the next general election.

Children in Britain going to British state schools

That will be the majority then, or am I missing something here?

How do you define British people?

For instance a English-American couple, do they qualify? People with IRL?

My view on Farage is irrelevant. Starmer, once again, has shown a complete lack of judgement. Labour’s vetting process, if they have one, seems to be totally inadequate or they seem to think they can do exactly as they want. To then throw other people under the bus for their own inadequacies shows their true colours.

I do not understand why people bring up Richard Tice. When the real discussion point is Zia Yusuf. Parents of Sri Lankan origin, NHS doctor and nurse, Muslim British, clearly British, rich, bright, confused or not?

“As a Reform UK spokesman, Yusuf has expressed support for British values which he terms as rule of law and cultural cohesion. He has described himself as formerly being on the political left during his time at the London School of Economics prior to joining the Conservative Party and later Reform. At the time he opposed the Iraq War and supported the election of Barack Obama.[33][34] More recently, Yusuf has expressed support for the re-election of Donald Trump and attended the second inauguration of Donald Trump in Washington DC in 2025.”

Why Donald Trump? For political gain?
He is self made financially, not married into wealth, like Sunak.

I do not think this man is married. What are his view on women? This is MN after all.