Keir Starmer’s Failure Is Nearly Complete
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World
/ February 13, 2026
Keir Starmer’s Failure Is Nearly Complete
The wildly unpopular UK prime minister is likely doomed in the wake of an Epstein-related scandal entirely of his own making. He deserves every bit of the hell he’s in.
Evan Robins
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Keir Starmer delivers a speech at Horntye Park Sports Complex in St Leonards-on-Sea, England, on February 5, 2026.
(Peter Nicholls / Pool / AFP via Getty Images)
In 1964, Marxist historian Tom Nairn identified corrupt, half-hearted, mediocre leadership as one of the defining features of the British Labour Party. “It is doubtful, indeed,” he wrote, “if any other working-class movement has produced as many ‘traitors’—or at least as many unashamed, magnificently naked traitors—as has Labourism.”
Sixty-two years have passed since Nairn’s assessment. But he easily could have been referring to the current UK prime minister, Keir Starmer. Starmer is engulfed in a cataclysmic scandal entirely of his own making, involving the close ties between Peter Mandelson, a longtime Labour power broker and Starmer’s handpicked former ambassador to the United States, and pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. And, in the manner of a desperate traitor on the verge of banishment, Starmer has sought to save himself by playing the part of an aggrieved faithful, insisting that Mandelson had lied to him about the depth of his relationship with Epstein.
“[Peter] Mandelson betrayed our country, our Parliament and my party,” he declared last week. “If I knew then what I know now, he would never have been anywhere near government.”
When first announcing Mandelson’s appointment to the prized diplomatic post, Starmer piled on the superlatives. “Peter will bring unrivalled experience to the role and take our partnership from strength to strength,” he crowed. This was despite the very publicly known fact that Mandelson had been a close friend, confidant, and co-conspirator of Epstein, including after Epstein’s 2008 conviction for child sex offenses.
Starmer’s decision to ignore these ties has now brought his already historically unpopular government to the edge of oblivion. He was first forced to fire Mandelson last fall, after the Justice Department released files showing Mandelson had privately decried Epstein’s conviction. Then, last week, a new cache of Epstein files provided confirmation that Mandelson had been with Epstein in the presence of young women; that he received $75,000 in financial gifts from Epstein; that Mandelson coordinated with Epstein to lobby against post-financial crisis banking regulation; and that he leaked market-sensitive, confidential government information to his …
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Keir Starmer’s Failure Is Nearly Complete
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Current Issue
World
/ February 13, 2026
Keir Starmer’s Failure Is Nearly Complete
The wildly unpopular UK prime minister is likely doomed in the wake of an Epstein-related scandal entirely of his own making. He deserves every bit of the hell he’s in.
Evan Robins
Share
Copy Link
X (Twitter)
Bluesky Pocket
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Keir Starmer delivers a speech at Horntye Park Sports Complex in St Leonards-on-Sea, England, on February 5, 2026.
(Peter Nicholls / Pool / AFP via Getty Images)
In 1964, Marxist historian Tom Nairn identified corrupt, half-hearted, mediocre leadership as one of the defining features of the British Labour Party. “It is doubtful, indeed,” he wrote, “if any other working-class movement has produced as many ‘traitors’—or at least as many unashamed, magnificently naked traitors—as has Labourism.”
Sixty-two years have passed since Nairn’s assessment. But he easily could have been referring to the current UK prime minister, Keir Starmer. Starmer is engulfed in a cataclysmic scandal entirely of his own making, involving the close ties between Peter Mandelson, a longtime Labour power broker and Starmer’s handpicked former ambassador to the United States, and pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. And, in the manner of a desperate traitor on the verge of banishment, Starmer has sought to save himself by playing the part of an aggrieved faithful, insisting that Mandelson had lied to him about the depth of his relationship with Epstein.
“[Peter] Mandelson betrayed our country, our Parliament and my party,” he declared last week. “If I knew then what I know now, he would never have been anywhere near government.”
When first announcing Mandelson’s appointment to the prized diplomatic post, Starmer piled on the superlatives. “Peter will bring unrivalled experience to the role and take our partnership from strength to strength,” he crowed. This was despite the very publicly known fact that Mandelson had been a close friend, confidant, and co-conspirator of Epstein, including after Epstein’s 2008 conviction for child sex offenses.
Starmer’s decision to ignore these ties has now brought his already historically unpopular government to the edge of oblivion. He was first forced to fire Mandelson last fall, after the Justice Department released files showing Mandelson had privately decried Epstein’s conviction. Then, last week, a new cache of Epstein files provided confirmation that Mandelson had been with Epstein in the presence of young women; that he received $75,000 in financial gifts from Epstein; that Mandelson coordinated with Epstein to lobby against post-financial crisis banking regulation; and that he leaked market-sensitive, confidential government information to his …
Keir Starmer’s Failure Is Nearly Complete
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Keir Starmer’s Failure Is Nearly Complete
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Current Issue
World
/ February 13, 2026
Keir Starmer’s Failure Is Nearly Complete
The wildly unpopular UK prime minister is likely doomed in the wake of an Epstein-related scandal entirely of his own making. He deserves every bit of the hell he’s in.
Evan Robins
Share
Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky Pocket
Email
Ad Policy
Keir Starmer delivers a speech at Horntye Park Sports Complex in St Leonards-on-Sea, England, on February 5, 2026.
(Peter Nicholls / Pool / AFP via Getty Images)
In 1964, Marxist historian Tom Nairn identified corrupt, half-hearted, mediocre leadership as one of the defining features of the British Labour Party. “It is doubtful, indeed,” he wrote, “if any other working-class movement has produced as many ‘traitors’—or at least as many unashamed, magnificently naked traitors—as has Labourism.”
Sixty-two years have passed since Nairn’s assessment. But he easily could have been referring to the current UK prime minister, Keir Starmer. Starmer is engulfed in a cataclysmic scandal entirely of his own making, involving the close ties between Peter Mandelson, a longtime Labour power broker and Starmer’s handpicked former ambassador to the United States, and pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. And, in the manner of a desperate traitor on the verge of banishment, Starmer has sought to save himself by playing the part of an aggrieved faithful, insisting that Mandelson had lied to him about the depth of his relationship with Epstein.
“[Peter] Mandelson betrayed our country, our Parliament and my party,” he declared last week. “If I knew then what I know now, he would never have been anywhere near government.”
When first announcing Mandelson’s appointment to the prized diplomatic post, Starmer piled on the superlatives. “Peter will bring unrivalled experience to the role and take our partnership from strength to strength,” he crowed. This was despite the very publicly known fact that Mandelson had been a close friend, confidant, and co-conspirator of Epstein, including after Epstein’s 2008 conviction for child sex offenses.
Starmer’s decision to ignore these ties has now brought his already historically unpopular government to the edge of oblivion. He was first forced to fire Mandelson last fall, after the Justice Department released files showing Mandelson had privately decried Epstein’s conviction. Then, last week, a new cache of Epstein files provided confirmation that Mandelson had been with Epstein in the presence of young women; that he received $75,000 in financial gifts from Epstein; that Mandelson coordinated with Epstein to lobby against post-financial crisis banking regulation; and that he leaked market-sensitive, confidential government information to his …
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