Lies, betrayal, scandal and civil war – but can the Conservatives benefit now it’s not them going through it
This deserves loud pushback.
It has everything the media could want and the country could do without.
A paedophile sex trafficker, a big beast politician who has held high office and been sacked three times, possibly the Russians, countless victims of the first with horrific stories of abuse, a Prime Minister, Advisers, spooks and two former Princes: one once of the House of Windsor the other of ‘Darkness’
Political hacks, and I’ve been one, will occasionally play, for their own amusement, a game of who can come up with a scandal that has it all. This one, had anyone dared suggest it, fits the bill.
Many outside the media bubble are describing it as the biggest ever scandal in British politics, edging Profumo and Kelly out to allow the name Mandelson to overtake it. His former Lordship clearly felt his last two falls from grace were not sufficiently spectacular enough and he’s decided third time unlucky.
Only luck has nothing to do with it.
Despite his lucrative dismissal from the highest diplomatic position Britain has to offer, the choice to appoint in the first place was made in Downing Street, against warnings – and even David Lammy, the then Foreign Secretary who actually did the appointing, has let it be known he warned about it – as the PM’s rivals, sorry, colleagues, dive for cover.
Last Wednesday Kemi Badenoch fired the potential kill shot.
She simultaneously proved that whilst strong performances at PMQs are not enough to make someone Prime Minister, on occasion they matter enormously, and that when you disprove naysayers who complain you weren’t good enough at it, being consistently better and better is seemingly never enough.
The impact of forcing this Prime Minister to damn himself at the dispatch box in one word was nothing short of sesimic.
Part of Badenoch’s personal revival has been built on an impressive collection of scalps. Hitherto it’s contained a gaggle of Ministers, a deputy leader and deputy Prime Minister, the infamous Mandelson himself, and now she’s going for the big two. The Prime Minister’s chief of staff and the PM himself.
Downing Street this weekend is seething with anger and resentment. Starmer has been swinging between enough foul-mouthed fury to fuel a power plant, and a sense of bitter betrayal that is souring dealings with a cabinet that have concluded Labour would be better off following the Tories past example and swapping horses mid race.
That there is ‘no way back’ for Sir Keir is now old news. He may still cling on, his own fall is not a done deal, but he can’t ‘turn it around’ now. When he answered Badenoch’s question whether security vetting had mentioned Mandelson’s ongoing relationship with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, post-conviction with a hesitant ‘Yes’ he confirmed what everyone felt they knew. And so did he, but …
This deserves loud pushback.
It has everything the media could want and the country could do without.
A paedophile sex trafficker, a big beast politician who has held high office and been sacked three times, possibly the Russians, countless victims of the first with horrific stories of abuse, a Prime Minister, Advisers, spooks and two former Princes: one once of the House of Windsor the other of ‘Darkness’
Political hacks, and I’ve been one, will occasionally play, for their own amusement, a game of who can come up with a scandal that has it all. This one, had anyone dared suggest it, fits the bill.
Many outside the media bubble are describing it as the biggest ever scandal in British politics, edging Profumo and Kelly out to allow the name Mandelson to overtake it. His former Lordship clearly felt his last two falls from grace were not sufficiently spectacular enough and he’s decided third time unlucky.
Only luck has nothing to do with it.
Despite his lucrative dismissal from the highest diplomatic position Britain has to offer, the choice to appoint in the first place was made in Downing Street, against warnings – and even David Lammy, the then Foreign Secretary who actually did the appointing, has let it be known he warned about it – as the PM’s rivals, sorry, colleagues, dive for cover.
Last Wednesday Kemi Badenoch fired the potential kill shot.
She simultaneously proved that whilst strong performances at PMQs are not enough to make someone Prime Minister, on occasion they matter enormously, and that when you disprove naysayers who complain you weren’t good enough at it, being consistently better and better is seemingly never enough.
The impact of forcing this Prime Minister to damn himself at the dispatch box in one word was nothing short of sesimic.
Part of Badenoch’s personal revival has been built on an impressive collection of scalps. Hitherto it’s contained a gaggle of Ministers, a deputy leader and deputy Prime Minister, the infamous Mandelson himself, and now she’s going for the big two. The Prime Minister’s chief of staff and the PM himself.
Downing Street this weekend is seething with anger and resentment. Starmer has been swinging between enough foul-mouthed fury to fuel a power plant, and a sense of bitter betrayal that is souring dealings with a cabinet that have concluded Labour would be better off following the Tories past example and swapping horses mid race.
That there is ‘no way back’ for Sir Keir is now old news. He may still cling on, his own fall is not a done deal, but he can’t ‘turn it around’ now. When he answered Badenoch’s question whether security vetting had mentioned Mandelson’s ongoing relationship with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, post-conviction with a hesitant ‘Yes’ he confirmed what everyone felt they knew. And so did he, but …
Lies, betrayal, scandal and civil war – but can the Conservatives benefit now it’s not them going through it
This deserves loud pushback.
It has everything the media could want and the country could do without.
A paedophile sex trafficker, a big beast politician who has held high office and been sacked three times, possibly the Russians, countless victims of the first with horrific stories of abuse, a Prime Minister, Advisers, spooks and two former Princes: one once of the House of Windsor the other of ‘Darkness’
Political hacks, and I’ve been one, will occasionally play, for their own amusement, a game of who can come up with a scandal that has it all. This one, had anyone dared suggest it, fits the bill.
Many outside the media bubble are describing it as the biggest ever scandal in British politics, edging Profumo and Kelly out to allow the name Mandelson to overtake it. His former Lordship clearly felt his last two falls from grace were not sufficiently spectacular enough and he’s decided third time unlucky.
Only luck has nothing to do with it.
Despite his lucrative dismissal from the highest diplomatic position Britain has to offer, the choice to appoint in the first place was made in Downing Street, against warnings – and even David Lammy, the then Foreign Secretary who actually did the appointing, has let it be known he warned about it – as the PM’s rivals, sorry, colleagues, dive for cover.
Last Wednesday Kemi Badenoch fired the potential kill shot.
She simultaneously proved that whilst strong performances at PMQs are not enough to make someone Prime Minister, on occasion they matter enormously, and that when you disprove naysayers who complain you weren’t good enough at it, being consistently better and better is seemingly never enough.
The impact of forcing this Prime Minister to damn himself at the dispatch box in one word was nothing short of sesimic.
Part of Badenoch’s personal revival has been built on an impressive collection of scalps. Hitherto it’s contained a gaggle of Ministers, a deputy leader and deputy Prime Minister, the infamous Mandelson himself, and now she’s going for the big two. The Prime Minister’s chief of staff and the PM himself.
Downing Street this weekend is seething with anger and resentment. Starmer has been swinging between enough foul-mouthed fury to fuel a power plant, and a sense of bitter betrayal that is souring dealings with a cabinet that have concluded Labour would be better off following the Tories past example and swapping horses mid race.
That there is ‘no way back’ for Sir Keir is now old news. He may still cling on, his own fall is not a done deal, but he can’t ‘turn it around’ now. When he answered Badenoch’s question whether security vetting had mentioned Mandelson’s ongoing relationship with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, post-conviction with a hesitant ‘Yes’ he confirmed what everyone felt they knew. And so did he, but …
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