What next for Starmer?

 Apparently last night the Labour Party, decided to come out in force to support the prime minister. The general consensus was - this isn’t the time for regicide and to give him the benefit of the doubt. In addition the full cabinet came out to support him. This was a - parlous position for Starmer yesterday and he could have lost control of the party. However he has the chance to turn things around. Will he meet the task or will it be more of the same? It’s - make or break time. 

Was he pushed or did he jump?

 Another person is leaving the - sinking ship of state. This time it’s Tim Allan, the director of communications. Was he pushed or did he jump? On Sunday we had  Morgan McSweeney resignation. It’s very evident that the - communications system in Downing Street hasn’t been functioning for some time now. So this gives the prime minister an opportunity for a - reset and he desperately needs one? I still think he will be gone by Easter - as there is a sense of mutiny in the air and the Labour Party troops - are not happy. Nevertheless - is this becoming a form of blood sport? We cannot tolerate anything other than perfection in our politicians. If this is the case - this will seriously undermine the democratic process and we might regret this sudden rush to judgment. 

Morgan McSweeney has resigned.

 Out of the blue the leading figure in this fiasco the prime minister’s - right hand man has resigned. This is an attempt to - close the door after the horse has bolted.  This will save Keir Starmer, in the short term, but not in the long term. It was him who appointed Peter Mandelson, as our ambassador in Washington. It’s his judgement that is wanting. This doesn’t end the story, but opens up another front for attack by Kemi Badenoch. I still think he will be crucified by Easter. 

Barack Obarma.

 On president Trump’s X podcast the other day - he posted a racist trope about Barack and Michelle Obama - looking like two apes. Their faces superimposed on two individual apes. He claims that it was put there by a ‘staff member’. It’s impossible to take Trump at face value as he is such an - inveterate and habitual liar. Moreover it’s part of his endless attempts to undermine the presidency of Obama and his wife Michelle. This basic assumption is racist in its motivation. 

A tragic political figure.

 In the House of Commons on Wednesday - we witnessed the - beginning of the end of Starmer. His personal authority drained away after admitting to Kemi Badenoch, he ‘knew Mandelson had continued his friendship with Epstein, after his conviction’. This was his fate being sealed as if - on a public scaffold. What a tragic lonely political figure - he was in the House of Commons on Wednesday afternoon. He will be gone by Easter. 

Is this the most consequential political crisis?

 I cannot recall a more febrile and fractured politician atmosphere than today - in the wake of the Mandelson scandal. Even during the dark days of the Boris Johnson - partygate fiasco and the proroguing of parliament- there was at least the feeling that eventually the - ship of state would right itself. But this scandal is different in a number of ways: a recently serving member of the administration as our ambassador to Washington, a history of bad and immoral behaviour, friendship with a convicted paedophile, taking sums of money, conducting a business meeting in his underpants, betraying his own government during the financial crisis of 2008/9, a wayward disregard for his friendship with the prime minister Gordon Brown, during this financial crisis. Mandelson was at the very heart of the new Labour project for over forty years. It could turn out to be the most consequential crisis and lead to the end of Starmer? 

Walking a tightrope.

 There can be few more difficult jobs in journalism than being the BBC correspondent in Moscow. Steven Rosenberg, is that chap and has been for over twenty years. In the time he has witnessed many extraordinary events - not least the current war in Ukraine. Of course in Russia you cannot refer to it as a war, but the ‘military intervention’. George Orwell, is alive and well. The difficulty for Rosenberg, is how to remain relevant, when the Russian state is keeping its eyes on you all the time. Moreover he is also in personal danger and the state can easily decide you are a threat to national security. That sense of intimidation and claustrophobia pervades this excellent programme on BBC One last night in Our Man in Moscow.