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 to mention Tice’s tax evasion which had conveniently been virtually ignored thanks to the obsession with Mandelson’s appointment.

Who is "they"?

And so what if TR endorses the Conservatives? Anyone can endorse any party they like. Are you suggesting voters can't decide for themselves how to judge a party? What if he endorsed Labour?

Yes they are all as bad as each other. But Labour are the ones in power not Reform, so are the ones we need to be focusing on at the moment.

Economic inactivity does not equal not paying tax. Plenty of people are economically inactive, but pay tax.

We need to be focusing on anyone with aspirations to power as well otherwise how are we supposed to make sensible voting decisions?

Over all though. What is better...being economically active or not?

Mandelson is more important than Richard Tice at this present moment. So the attention is rightly on the government. Would you have been more interested in Richard Tice paying too much tax at the time of partygate for example?

It depends how the figures break down. For example if early retirees are paying tax on their occupational pension and are using their retirement to go to the gym, eat out, go to the theatre etc. that is all good for the economy.

Quite! And let’s also totally ignore Johnson pushing through a peerage for Lebedev - his friend and son of a former KGB agent - despite security failures by MI5 and MI6. Or reports that when he was Foreign Secretary, Number 10 and security services limited Johnson’s access to intelligence because he was deemed a risk, and yet, the Conservative Party were happy to enable him to become PM. I could go on and on and on…

That being said, Mandelson was a terrible appointment and it should never have happened (my thoughts from the first announcement of his role being appointment). However, we need stability in such a complex, shifting, tense time in geopolitics - and whatever criticisms I may have of Starmer, he is good at foreign politics. Let’s not forget, if it was Badenoch or Farage as PM we’d be far more embroiled in Trump and Netanyahu’s disastrous, heinous attacks in Iran without a plan.

Deflection from Labour. Starmer is wrong and it will keep coming back to bite. Relying on sacking people won’t do it.

I think the main concern is young people. Important they get jobs and work experience at the start of their lives.

The Boomers have had it good for a long time so while its good that they are economically inactive yet still able to pay tax I think its not great that young people are not able to start work mainly due to Reeves's tax policies. Not great for the long term tax take?

Starmer is "good at foreign politics". How so? Does his choice of ambassador to the most important country in the world reflect well on the Uk for example?

It can focus on both. Compare and contrast how the press hounded Rayner to their focus on Tice - I saw a Spectator article this week that stated Tice’s ‘tax trickery’ (direct quote) was the sign of patriotism and exactly the type of entrepreneurship needed to make Brexit work. Both need scrutiny and accountability. It’s the hypocrisy and inconsistency that stink. The right-wing media despise Labour, we know this and any Labour government should expect it - and I’m sure it will continue to ramp up as Starmer stands against Trump and tries to bring closer ties between the UK and the EU again.

I would say that Lisa Nandy is doing a poor job, needs replacing and we need a radical overhaul on media reforms.

The difference is that Labour are in power.

We can look at Tice and Polanski and all the minor party members of course. But they aren't making the laws that affect all of us. And if you are making the laws you presumably should be following the law too? So the media needs to hold those in power to account more than those who are not on power.

As I’ve clearly stated, no it does not and I’ve thought that since I first learnt of the appointment - it shouldn’t have happened. I think people in Downing Street were so desperate to please Trump under such high stakes that they ignored all sense and decency to put Mandelson in place. It doesn’t cancel out all of the graft and diplomacy that Starmer has achieved.

Re-establishing closer ties with the EU country leaders after Brexit - perhaps reflect on how he is viewed by those leaders and the progress made since the shambles of the Johnson era.

His co-ordination and leadership on the ‘Coalition of the Willing’ and unity behind Ukraine in the immediate aftermath following the horrendous treatment of Zelensky in the White House.

These are a couple of examples, but there are plenty more if you read widely.

I totally disagree. We need to be looking closely at anyone who has aspirations to power otherwise we can’t make informed choices when voting for the next government. It’s a shame nobody was keeping a close eye on Johnson before he won a landslide.

I disagree. Those with power over us need the most scrutiny.

The same amount works for me.

On that basis, did the right-wing media hold the previous government to account in the same way it is doing with Labour? Do you know as much about Lebedev’s appointment as you do about Mandelson’s?

Come and talk to me about Tory party members (and former MPs - Rees-Mogg) and current Reform MPs who have their own segments on GB News, and the like. There’s a great investigation into this by The New World should you wish to read up on it.

Yes the media should report / investigate / scrutinise ALL politicians - as I said in my previous post, it’s the hypocrisy and inconsistency that stinks.

The EU reset is a disaster and won't help anyone. Why align ourselves with a body that is doing worse economically than we are at the expense of trading with other countries and the deals we already have. The EU standards will be imposed on us and apply to domestic transactions too btw. Apparently EU rules will have direct effect again. And we will end up having to open our borders again I bet..the EU will always ask for more. Starmer is being shafted. And this was not in his manifesto.

Ukraine hes just following the policies of the previous government. Agreed re supporting Zelensky after the White House meeting. The hug KS gave Z outside Number 10 is one of the few times Ive liked KS.

Coalition of the Willing...how many members does that have?

Yes the media did hold previous governments to account. I'm sure you didn't complain at the time.

The Tice tax story has been covered. It was all over The Times.

Of course they did. And it was discussed on here as Labour is now.

Or that the Conservative Party, civil servants and media who should have been (and probably where keeping a close eye) didn’t do a more robust job of highlighting their concerns before they merrily cheered him on to become PM.

People may like to pretend that this example of Mandelson’s appointment is a one-off and all due to Starmer alone - but that would be ignoring the system (which is something else that needs a complete overhaul and reform).

I disagree. I think Labour are worse, thats all. So the reporting is worse.

Was Lebedev appointed as Ambassador to the US, given the highest security clearance and yet have a proven track record of leaking state secrets for example?

Yes Johnson did eat a cake that's right.