[Tubby Isaacs]

I've been reminded of Allegra Stratton being forced to resign. I don't recall Bozo stepping up and saying "Hey, Allegra, you only made a joke, you stay I'll front this out!"

And, you know, I didn't expect Bozo to do that. It's politics- the PM has responsibility across the board, Stratton didn't, and she took the bullet. That's politics, always has been, Lord Carrington took a bullet for Thatcher when the Falklands was invaded. Leon Brittan took a bullet for Thatcher over Westland. Norman Lamont took a bullet (not very contentedly) for John Major over devaluation. James Callaghan took a bullet for Harold Wilson over devaluation, if you want to go further back. Amber Rudd took a bullet for Theresa May over Windrush.

This narrative that it's a particular character failure of Starmer to sack Robbins is such bullshit.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Just in case Simon Hart looked too partisan, here's Kiran Stacey with analysis, to make the same "like Bozo" point.

Partygate v Mandelson: Keir Starmer faces attack from his own playbook
Kiran Stacey
Policy editor

Johnson was ousted in the wake of allegations that he had attended parties in Downing Street during a pandemic lockdown he presided over. Starmer is alleged to have allowed his officials to bypass normal security vetting procedures to install the Labour veteran Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington, as revealed by a Guardian investigation last week.

Johnson wasn't ousted for that, and there was endemic law breaking- he did attend these events, nobody seriously argues he didn't. Nobody's accusing Starmer of lawbreaking. Note how "Mandelson failed vetting (and Starmer must have known)" has been cunningly shifted to "allegations that he allowed his officials to bypass normal procedures". What does that even mean? His officials didn't have control of the vetting process, as Olly Robbins made clear. That went ahead as normal.

This is dreadful stuff. Stacey, Elgot and Crerar and their editors have lost their minds. Hysteria for a week, leading to nothing much.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... n-playbook

[Tubby Isaacs]

Matthew Doyle was sacked ages ago. I can't even be bothered to read this. All that's happened since is Olly Robbins dropped in that he'd had a conversation once about appointing Doyle to a job and nothing had subsequently happened. This sort of article is crap at the best of times. "Prime Minister (who I don't like) is epitomized by this one thing I've picked out (which I don't like)".

"Zombie Government" means me and my mates have decided the PM has to resign. The Employment Rights Act has just come into effect, minimum wage has just gone up. Some good economic figures too. Not covered by the dictionary definition of epitome, by the look of it.

[Tubby Isaacs]

I'm increasingly struck by similarities between the treatment of Starmer and John Major. Major was incredibly grim in terms of funding public services and investment, but sensible I lots of ways. He copped a lot of shitty "John Major's Government Is Summed Up By The Cones Hotline" stuff. This is the same with Starmer.

[Youngian]

Ken Clarke's economic stewardship was a turnaround from the Lamont period. Made little difference to Major's polling doldrums. Although Badenoch is no Tony Blair waiting in the wings.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Clarke (and Major) were competent and wages did well in latter years, but lots of the public realm was very grim. Major got taxes down lower than Thatcher had managed and it showed. Paradoxically, the tax rises in the 1993 Budget (after which Lamont was sacked) meant that they didn't really get any credit for the low taxes either. That's a bit Starmer like, with not many people giving Starmer credit for increasing spending to fund public services.