Miriam Cates: Starmer and Johnson are very different men, but their downfalls are very similar
This affects the entire country.
Miriam Cates is the former MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge.
Among those of us who sat as Conservative MPs in the last parliament, the current political turmoil evokes a strong sense of deja-vu. The parallels between the Mandelson affair and the last weeks of Boris Johnson’s premiership are uncanny. Although Partygate and the Epstein files are worlds apart in terms of their seriousness, both scandals bolstered campaigns to oust sitting prime ministers with large parliamentary majorities.
Both Johnson and Sir Keir Starmer relied on powerful advisors who became lightning rods for backbench discontent. Although Dominic Cummings resigned 18 months before Johnson’s demise, he played a similar role to Morgan McSweeney, who on Sunday was scapegoated for the Mandelson debacle and left Downing Street. In the run up to his departure, Johnson ‘revamped’ his Number 10 operation, losing key aides Dan Rosenfeld and Munira Mirza, and bringing in Guto Hari and Steve Barclay to ‘reboot’ his comms strategy. Similarly for Starmer, Tim Allen is out, standing down to allow “a new No 10 team to be built”.
The first signs of the end for Johnson – and perhaps for Starmer – began with being publicly undermined by a string of senior MPs calling publicly for their Party leader to step down. I will never forget watching David Davis rise to his feet in a packed House of Commons in January 2022 and implore Johnson “for the love of God man; go”. Clive Lewis’ scathing tweets about our current prime minister are somewhat less rousing.
In another parallel between the two cases, the beleaguered prime ministers’ Scottish deputies were among the first to break ranks. In January 2022, Ruth Davidson declared Johnson ‘unfit for office’; on Monday, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar called for Starmer to step down. Politicians north of the border are clearly ahead of the curve.
Ultimately, Johnson was toppled by a slew of ministers resigning en masse; so far Starmer’s cabinet is holding firm, although the support expressed in their tightly coordinated loyal social media posts seems neither heartfelt nor unconditional. And, just as then-chancellor Rishi Sunak was accused of starting a covert leadership campaign early in 2022, so Wes Streeting is thought to be on manoeuvers now.
After a well-received performance at the Parliamentary Labour Party meeting on Monday, Starmer seems safe for now – as did Johnson after he won (narrowly) a vote of no confidence in June 2022. Yet as it was for Johnson, this may yet be a temporary reprieve. Seven weeks after that vote, Johnson was gone, brought down by the fallout from accusations that Chris Pincher, the deputy chief whip drunkenly groped a man in the Carlton Club. For Starmer, any number of potential bumps in the road in the coming weeks may …
This affects the entire country.
Miriam Cates is the former MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge.
Among those of us who sat as Conservative MPs in the last parliament, the current political turmoil evokes a strong sense of deja-vu. The parallels between the Mandelson affair and the last weeks of Boris Johnson’s premiership are uncanny. Although Partygate and the Epstein files are worlds apart in terms of their seriousness, both scandals bolstered campaigns to oust sitting prime ministers with large parliamentary majorities.
Both Johnson and Sir Keir Starmer relied on powerful advisors who became lightning rods for backbench discontent. Although Dominic Cummings resigned 18 months before Johnson’s demise, he played a similar role to Morgan McSweeney, who on Sunday was scapegoated for the Mandelson debacle and left Downing Street. In the run up to his departure, Johnson ‘revamped’ his Number 10 operation, losing key aides Dan Rosenfeld and Munira Mirza, and bringing in Guto Hari and Steve Barclay to ‘reboot’ his comms strategy. Similarly for Starmer, Tim Allen is out, standing down to allow “a new No 10 team to be built”.
The first signs of the end for Johnson – and perhaps for Starmer – began with being publicly undermined by a string of senior MPs calling publicly for their Party leader to step down. I will never forget watching David Davis rise to his feet in a packed House of Commons in January 2022 and implore Johnson “for the love of God man; go”. Clive Lewis’ scathing tweets about our current prime minister are somewhat less rousing.
In another parallel between the two cases, the beleaguered prime ministers’ Scottish deputies were among the first to break ranks. In January 2022, Ruth Davidson declared Johnson ‘unfit for office’; on Monday, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar called for Starmer to step down. Politicians north of the border are clearly ahead of the curve.
Ultimately, Johnson was toppled by a slew of ministers resigning en masse; so far Starmer’s cabinet is holding firm, although the support expressed in their tightly coordinated loyal social media posts seems neither heartfelt nor unconditional. And, just as then-chancellor Rishi Sunak was accused of starting a covert leadership campaign early in 2022, so Wes Streeting is thought to be on manoeuvers now.
After a well-received performance at the Parliamentary Labour Party meeting on Monday, Starmer seems safe for now – as did Johnson after he won (narrowly) a vote of no confidence in June 2022. Yet as it was for Johnson, this may yet be a temporary reprieve. Seven weeks after that vote, Johnson was gone, brought down by the fallout from accusations that Chris Pincher, the deputy chief whip drunkenly groped a man in the Carlton Club. For Starmer, any number of potential bumps in the road in the coming weeks may …
Miriam Cates: Starmer and Johnson are very different men, but their downfalls are very similar
This affects the entire country.
Miriam Cates is the former MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge.
Among those of us who sat as Conservative MPs in the last parliament, the current political turmoil evokes a strong sense of deja-vu. The parallels between the Mandelson affair and the last weeks of Boris Johnson’s premiership are uncanny. Although Partygate and the Epstein files are worlds apart in terms of their seriousness, both scandals bolstered campaigns to oust sitting prime ministers with large parliamentary majorities.
Both Johnson and Sir Keir Starmer relied on powerful advisors who became lightning rods for backbench discontent. Although Dominic Cummings resigned 18 months before Johnson’s demise, he played a similar role to Morgan McSweeney, who on Sunday was scapegoated for the Mandelson debacle and left Downing Street. In the run up to his departure, Johnson ‘revamped’ his Number 10 operation, losing key aides Dan Rosenfeld and Munira Mirza, and bringing in Guto Hari and Steve Barclay to ‘reboot’ his comms strategy. Similarly for Starmer, Tim Allen is out, standing down to allow “a new No 10 team to be built”.
The first signs of the end for Johnson – and perhaps for Starmer – began with being publicly undermined by a string of senior MPs calling publicly for their Party leader to step down. I will never forget watching David Davis rise to his feet in a packed House of Commons in January 2022 and implore Johnson “for the love of God man; go”. Clive Lewis’ scathing tweets about our current prime minister are somewhat less rousing.
In another parallel between the two cases, the beleaguered prime ministers’ Scottish deputies were among the first to break ranks. In January 2022, Ruth Davidson declared Johnson ‘unfit for office’; on Monday, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar called for Starmer to step down. Politicians north of the border are clearly ahead of the curve.
Ultimately, Johnson was toppled by a slew of ministers resigning en masse; so far Starmer’s cabinet is holding firm, although the support expressed in their tightly coordinated loyal social media posts seems neither heartfelt nor unconditional. And, just as then-chancellor Rishi Sunak was accused of starting a covert leadership campaign early in 2022, so Wes Streeting is thought to be on manoeuvers now.
After a well-received performance at the Parliamentary Labour Party meeting on Monday, Starmer seems safe for now – as did Johnson after he won (narrowly) a vote of no confidence in June 2022. Yet as it was for Johnson, this may yet be a temporary reprieve. Seven weeks after that vote, Johnson was gone, brought down by the fallout from accusations that Chris Pincher, the deputy chief whip drunkenly groped a man in the Carlton Club. For Starmer, any number of potential bumps in the road in the coming weeks may …
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