[Tubby Isaacs]

Labour MP calls for Starmer’s resignation to end ‘psychodrama’ – UK politics live
Jonathan Brash says ‘own goals’ are distracting from Labour’s achievements

He's one of these Man In The Pub Caucus.

I'm sure the new leader will be given space by the media to glorify Labour's achievements, Jonathan. Just like the media were really nice to Michael Foot, Neil Kinnock, Gordon Brown, Ed Milliband and co. And those were relatively innocent pre-social media days.

[Tubby Isaacs]

This is absolutely pitiful stuff, from a serial self-publicist bullshitter, who now irritates me more than almost everybody.

Lib Dems call for inquiry into who was lobbying for Doyle to get diplomatic job
Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, has followed up his question to Keir Starmer at PMQs (see 12.22pm) by calling for an inquiry into who was lobbying for Matthew Doyle to be offered a diplomatic job.

Ed froths about a supporter of a sex offender being found a "plum job". It's been established that Starmer didn't know that he'd supported a sex offender. Most people accept that Ed didn't know what the Post Office wasn't telling him about Horizon. But let's play Ed's game. Let's accuse him of knowingly sending postmasters to jail. Let's add something about Ed getting promoted to a plum job (as he was, to Energy and Climate Change Secretary).

Inquiry into the PM (who gets to appoint ambassadors) asking about an aide possibly being an ambassador. Not appointing, asking about possibly appointing.

As an aside, I'm deeply irritated by (you know who)'s constant use of "lobbying" to make things sound sinister. Government needs to meet business, most people would agree. "Lobbying". Government accepts that business might have a point about one of its policies. "Watered down after lobbying". Normal process of government framed as corruption.

Does the Editor of the Guardian "lobby" her own staff, perhaps?

[Tubby Isaacs]

The revelations keep coming. The Cabinet had a discussion with different views. Starmer can't survive this.

Ministers speak out in cabinet meeting over Keir Starmer’s sacking of Olly Robbins

This is an actual headline. The media isn't going to give up. It wants a new Prime Minister, right now, during a massive international crisis. They haven't made the allegation of lying to Parliament stick, but like Macbeth, they've waded so far in that they can't back.

If these revelations dry up, then they'll alight on something going wrong somewhere in government (every government has things that don't work) and it'll be evidence he has to go because he's too distracted.

[Tubby Isaacs]

There's been an update. Or rather there hasn't been an update. Some dissenting voices in Cabinet are a crisis apparently. Crerar, Stacey and Elgot still think they're Woodward and Bernstein.

Divisions emerge in Keir Starmer’s cabinet over his sacking of Olly Robbins
PM under increasing pressure over Mandelson vetting scandal as sources say ministers spoke up at tense meeting

Olly Robbins (with no reason to protect the PM) backed his story, after days of allegations that he lied to Parliament. I thought that was pretty high pressured. But we're still on "increasing pressure" apparently. I'm surprised the PM hasn't been vaporized. Being generous, perhaps they mean that the pressure over Olly Robbins is increasing. That seems like a bate and switch though. Do they really not think Starmer had a point that Robbins should have told him, and has effectively almost cost him his job?

[Tubby Isaacs]

After Starmer and Robbins, McSweeney faces a grilling on Mandelson. Can this government survive? Our panel responds
Polly Toynbee, Ed Davey, Alex Thomas, Diane Abbott and John McTernan

What a group of open minded experts. Abbott's executive experience amounts to being Head of Press at Lambeth Council in 1987.

Another thing I don't get. Morgan McSweeney already resigned. As far as we know, he has nothing to do with vetting, which is why Robbins was called in. Why is McSweeney being called in on Monday?

[mattomac]

I do wonder if it will have the opposite effect soon enough and people will start to lose interest.

I’m already bored with it, it’s also not allowing Labour to campaign as they would normally in this period.

[Youngian]

How this tedious nonsense is playing with the politically unengaged I do not know. I thought ignoring it might make it go away but I was wrong.

[Oboogie]

I do wonder if it will have the opposite effect soon enough and people will start to lose interest.

I’m already bored with it, it’s also not allowing Labour to campaign as they would normally in this period.

Agreed. I'm also bored with it, especially with the media hyperbole - NB it's not just the MSN either, all the political podcasts I usually listen to agree this is the greatest crisis since 1066.
If political nerds like us are bored, just imagine how normal people feel!
I'm having to seek out news of Ukraine, Iran and Trump from foreign media sources as, in Britain, these stories are over shadowed by this utter bollocks.

[Youngian]

A slightly embarrassed but sneary Emma Barnet this morning; 'For those of you who think we talk about nothing else, Keir Starmer's been trying to focus on other things...' Which was Starmer redefining English patriotism for St George's Day. A rushed report from a resentful correspondent who probably knows little else in the past ten years but reporting incompetent government dramas.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Migrant care workers to leaflet Shabana Mahmood constituents over longer wait to settle

And so they should. I back Andrea Egan on this. Mucking around with people already here legally is a very bad idea.

[Tubby Isaacs]

This is absolutely ridiculous stuff. Nobody demanded vetting details of every appointee they didn't like under any previous government. Of course the PM shouldn't answer.

This Ken Starr-style fishing, with the full connivance of the media, with the aim of bringing Starmer down. The way that lots of the left have gone along with it is particularly galling- I thought it was bad when critics of Corbyn "joined in with the rightwing media". I guess that's one of those irregular verbs

You join in rightwing media smears
We speak for Britain

[Boiler]

Mmmm, something be broken, Tubbs...

Screenshot 2026-04-23 at 09-58-15.png (63.91 KiB) Viewed 27 times

[Tubby Isaacs]

It's not displaying for you? It's a Tory MP asking for details about Jonathan Powell's vetting. Starmer, quite rightly, doesn't provide them.

[Tubby Isaacs]

A senior civil servant called Cat Little has now had to stop whatever else she was doing to answer questions on MANDELSON'S VETTING. So far she seems to have confirmed that it was in order. She's also said that Olly Robbins wouldn't show her the material even when it was needed to comply with the humble address. I'm not criticizing Robbins there particularly, because the whole process is extraordinary and he does have a responsibility to confidentiality of sources as well as a duty to Parliament. But I think it tells us that the procedure wasn't exactly in line with "Of course Starmer must have known Mandelson failed vetting".