POLITICS CORNER

[Whyperion]

Didnt realise Lammy got Justice as well as DPM - does that get him the Admiralty Flat ? Will Rayner be looking for a London flat on taxpayer expenses now ? Steve Reed gets housing - which might mean a more sensible pace to creating place. Indeed some of the lesser changes are a bit less shuffling deckchairs but a fairly considered response to fitting right people to right roles. The captain is still heading for the iceberg though.

[Tripps]

I note that Baroness Poppy Gustaffson has 'left the Government' . (Ed note - who she?)

In 10 October 2024, Gustafsson was appointed to the government as Minister of State for Investment by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.[9] She was created a life peer as Baroness Gustafsson, of Chesterton in the City of Cambridge, on 15 November 2024 to allow her to sit in the House of Lords.[1] On 5 September 2025, Gustafsson resigned as Minister, on the same day as Angela Rayner.[10] Her position will be reassigned in the 2025 British cabinet reshuffle.

She has had the peerage for just nine months or so - and has now quit the job she was given it to do.
Presumably she'll be handng the peerage back in too. However she is only 42, and the attraction of £350 'ish exes per day, and the use of the best work's canteen in London, for the rest of her life, may colour her judgment in the matter.

[Stanley]

Well spotted David! I would have missed that.... We used to talk about Jobs for the Boys....
Here's Laura Kuenssberg's take on the reshuffle in BBC In Depth.
Welcome to the weird world of UK politics 2025. The TV presenter Jeremy Kyle announces to a huge crowd of Nigel Farage supporters at Reform UK's party conference that David Lammy is the new number two in government and they boo, panto-style. And there's a YouTube video of the (now former) deputy prime minister dancing in a tracksuit and chunky gold chain waving wads of cash that's been watched more than 1.5m times. These might both sound like parodies, but only the video of Angela Rayner rapping "How Many Homes Can Rayner Buy" was a joke. And what was planned as No 10's "get back in charge week" has been blown up by a row you couldn't make up – the housing secretary in trouble for not paying tens of thousands of pounds of tax on her expensive new house. Her exit pushed the button on a chunky shakeup of Sir Keir Starmer's team. The start of this political season has been wild.

[Stanley]

See THIS revival of what was originally a Tory policy.
The defence secretary has said the government is looking at expanding the use of military sites to house asylum seekers, as it seeks to move people out of hotels. John Healey also confirmed officials were considering other types of "non-military" accommodation. Just over 32,000 asylum seekers are currently in hotels, which represents about a third of the total number being housed in taxpayer-funded accommodation. Labour wants to accelerate its plan to end the use of hotels, which have become a focal point for anti-migrant protests. Reports say that Shabana Mahmood, who replaced Yvette Cooper as home secretary on Friday, is set to announce proposals to house asylum seekers on military land within weeks. Two former military sites - MDP Wethersfield, a former RAF base in Essex, and Napier Barracks, a former military base in Kent - are already being used to house asylum seekers after being opened under the previous Tory government.
Will this option be any cheaper than using hotels? Has anybody considered the unthinkable, allow the asylum seekers to work and fend for themselves....

[Julie in Norfolk]

The unthinkable would be quite easy to undertake. The food manufacturing industry is always short of people. The language barriers are overcome in most factories one way or another. We used to take on Polish, Lithuanian, Portuguese and Bulgarian people to work in my last job, with microsoft's help and some proof reading by various people we got by. We did a complete personnel, food safety and health and safety induction with them.

[Stanley]

Just think of the rash of Union Flags on lamp posts we would get then!

[Stanley]

See THIS Intervention in the deputy leader race from Baroness Harman...
Former Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman said the party must pick a woman from outside London to replace Angela Rayner as the party's deputy. The party's ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) has set out a sped-up schedule for a deputy leadership race, shaping up to be a battle over the direction of the party. Nominations open on Tuesday, with a winner announced on 25 October. To stand, candidates must have the backing of at least 80 MPs, and either 5% of local parties or three Labour affiliated groups. Baroness Harman, who served as deputy to Gordon Brown and Ed Miliband, said the party needed to pick a replacement who will "broaden the reach of the leader and galvanise the party".
As usual Harriet speaks good common sense.
My only comment is that it's a pity they aren't voting for a leader as well. I suspect I'm not the only Labour supporter who thinks on these lines.

[Julie in Norfolk]

I can't imagine anything further away from a Labour Party that I could support wholeheartedly than the current leadership, except for another party of course.

[PanBiker]

I have always thought of Starmer as a bit of a wet sheep, certainly not an ounce of socialism in him. Threatening senior protesters with years in prison for writing a poster was too far against civil liberties for me. Since jacking, I have a lot more time for other stuff now.

[Stanley]

I certainly don't have any guilt about resigning. I am a Clause IV socialist not a Blairite.
Ian Starmer is at heart a solicitor. Boring and middle of the road.

[PanBiker]

I have the sanity of the ILP to fall back on. Proper banter with like minded socialists.

[Tizer]

This is going to de-stabilise the Middle East even further - and Trump gave his support for it. 15 Israeli fighter jets, firing 10 munitions against a single target, which was the building in Doha where the Hamas leaders were meeting to consider their response to Trump's proposals to end the war in Gaza. (And the building is close to a US air base.)
`Questions about how and why Israel struck Doha rage across the region' BBC

[Stanley]

See THIS assessment by Jeremy Bowen....
Almost exactly a year ago I interviewed the Hamas leader and chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya in Doha. I met him in a house not far from the building that Israel attacked on Tuesday afternoon. From the beginning of the war in Gaza, al-Hayya had been the chief Hamas negotiator, sending and receiving messages to the Israelis and Americans via Qatari and Egyptian intermediaries. At moments where ceasefires were thought likely, al-Hayya, along with the men who were also targeted this afternoon, were only a short distance from the Israeli and American delegations. When they were attacked, al-Hayya and the other top Hamas leaders were discussing the latest American diplomatic proposals to end the war in Gaza and free the remaining Israeli hostages. Israel's swift declaration of what it had done immediately fuelled speculation on social media that the latest American proposals were simply a ruse to get the Hamas leadership in one place where they could be targeted.
There is more in the article. This cannot forward the 'peace talks' and is proof that the Israelis are fuelled by blind fury and not an genuine desire for peace. They want all Palestinians out of Gaza and the West Bank so they can take over, resettle with Israelis and bury any idea of a two state solution for good.

Closer to home.... See THIS report by Chris Mason on the Labour Deputy leadership contest.
The ripple effects of the Angela Rayner saga roll on. A cacophony of Labour voices now, via an official party process, are offering their views in public about whether the government is any good or not. You don't need to be steeped in political strategy to grasp why some in and around Downing Street could really have done without this and want it all over as quickly as possible. So far, we have seen a limited amount of the contenders: the Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson gave a speech to trades unionists at the TUC Congress in Brighton, in which she made no reference to the contest at all......... And already Thornberry has been punchily critical of the government, in just one post on social media. "We've made mistakes and must listen. Welfare. Gaza. Wealth tax," she wrote, adding, archly that she wouldn't "just nod along," a line seemingly aimed at Phillipson and Alison McGovern, the other candidate who is also a government minister. Imagine Labour's deputy leader, were Thornberry to win, spending the autumn talking up a wealth tax, in the weeks before the Budget in November.
Reading between the lines, there is a strong undercurrent of criticism of Starmer's leadership. As far as he's concerned, the sooner this is over the better. However, he may find that accelerating the process was a mistake. Voices are being raised already complaining about the fairness of the process....

[PanBiker]

On the bright side and a little windfall from the Constituency Labour Party. We won £40.00 in the 200 club to which we subscribed and forgot to cancel. Badgers parting gifts.

[Stanley]

Well done Ian! Nice to hear something positive about membership!

See THIS BBC report. Starmer's problems increase....
5 hours ago
Sir Keir Starmer is facing pressure over US ambassador Lord Mandelson, after the emergence of fresh revelations about his links to the late convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. It comes after US lawmakers released a number of documents, which included a letter in which the Labour peer called Epstein his "best pal". In an interview with Harry Cole Saves the West, external, Lord Mandelson suggested further "embarrassing" exchanges would emerge. The Sun newspaper has reported he allegedly sent supportive messages to Epstein while he was facing charges in 2008. Lord Mandelson told the BBC: "I relied on assurances of his innocence that turned out later to be horrendously false." He added in response to the Sun's report: "His lawyers claimed that it was a shake down of him, a criminal conspiracy. I foolishly relied on their word which I regret to this day." The Conservatives and some Labour MPs have called for Lord Mandelson to be sacked but the prime minister has stood by the diplomat. According to the Sun newspaper, Lord Mandelson allegedly told Epstein to "fight for early release" shortly before Epstein was sentenced to 18 months in prison for soliciting prostitution from a person under the age of 18. Speaking to the Harry Cole earlier, Lord Mandelson admitted he had continued his association with Epstein for "far longer than I should have done". At Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, Sir Keir said Lord Mandelson had "repeatedly expressed his deep regret" for his relationship with Epstein, who died in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. A senior Trump administration official told the BBC the White House is continuing to work together with Lord Mandelson on a whole range of issues despite the furore surrounding his relationship with Epstein. Lord Mandelson spent almost an hour with US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Tuesday.
I know it doesn't matter one bit but I have never trusted Peter Mandelson...... Nothing would surprise me.
At the very least this increases pressure on Starmer......

[Stanley]

See THIS breaking news on the BBC....
Keir Starmer sacks Peter Mandelson as the UK's ambassador to the US, after he faced mounting scrutiny over his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. The Foreign Office says the decision was made "in light of additional information" from emails between the two men. They show that "the depth and extent of Peter Mandelson's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein is materially different from that known at the time of his appointment," the statement says - read it in full here

[Tripps]

Keir Starmer sacks Peter Mandelson as the UK's ambassador to the US,

Let's hope they do a thorough job this time with the wooden stake at midnight and the garlic cloves. There are already rumours that he will return as the next Archbishop of Canterbury. (Post still vacant).

Perhaps the same treatment could be given to Prince Andrew now? Why not - there is similar evidence.
Actually it's more likely that he will be made the new ambassador.

[Stanley]

I was cheered up by THIS BBC report from Brazil....
Updated 34 minutes ago
The former president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, has been sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison after being found guilty of plotting a military coup. A panel of five Supreme Court justices handed down the sentence just hours after they had convicted the former leader. They ruled he was guilty of leading a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Four of the justices found him guilty while one voted to acquit him. Bolsonaro's lawyers have called the sentence "absurdly excessive" and said that they would file "the appropriate appeals". The Supreme Court panel also barred him from running for public office until 2033.
Regardless of the appeal, this looks like a convincing reaction against a far-right Trump imitator....

Also, here in the UK, see THIS update on the Mandelson affair.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is facing questions over his appointment of Peter Mandelson as the UK's ambassador to the US, after he was sacked over his links to the late convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Sir Keir fired Mandelson after reviewing emails that showed the Labour peer sent supportive messages to Epstein as he faced charges for sex offences in 2008. The government said new information about the "depth" of Lord Mandelson's relationship with Epstein had not been known when he was appointed last year. The Conservatives are calling for the publication of all vetting material, while some Labour MPs are criticising Sir Keir for appointing Mandelson in the first place. The prime minister's spokesman said vetting was handled by government departments and "any suggestion that No 10 was involved is untrue". They also said Sir Keir found the emails "reprehensible". The Conservatives said the prime minister "needs urgently to come clean" on what he knew when he appointed Lord Mandelson and before Sir Keir backed the Labour peer during Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday. The party demanded the publication of all papers, vetting documents and communications between Downing Street and Lord Mandelson regarding his appointment.
Is this the third or fourth time Mandelson has been sacked from public office?

[PanBiker]

The government said new information about the "depth" of Lord Mandelson's relationship with Epstein had not been known when he was appointed last year.

Absolute rubbish, all he had to do was ask the spooks, they would have had the skinny.

Failed on two counts as he already had a dodgy track record from previous posts under other leaders. Never liked or trusted the bloke, he looks like a weasel.

[Stanley]

And he had some very dodgy business associations when in public office...

See THIS update on the affair.
Labour MP Clive Lewis has said Sir Keir Starmer "doesn't seem up to the job" as anger grows over Peter Mandelson's appointment as an ambassador and the handling of his sacking. Mandelson was fired over links to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. The men's friendship had been known about at the time of his appointment but No 10 said new information about their relationship only came to light this week. Lewis, an outspoken voice on the Labour left, told the Radio 4's Week in Westminster: "It feels that he [the prime minister] has lost control within the first year". Minister Douglas Alexander said the PM had "acted quickly" on Mandelson and the government was looking forward "to moving on". Lewis said there was "a very, very dangerous atmosphere" among Labour MPs adding: "People are concerned, slightly downtrodden, a little bit browbeaten and feeling as if the party has seen better days". The Norwich South MP said the thought of Reform UK leading in the polls "terrifies me, it terrifies my constituents and it terrifies a lot of people in this country... we don't have the luxury of carrying on this way".
Labour MP Paula Barker said Mandelson's appointment as the ambassador to the US was "an absolute betrayal" of Labour's promise to raise standards. Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live's Matt Chorley, she said: "My colleagues, who represent their constituents every single day, diligently, and stood up against welfare cuts, some of those were suspended for doing the right thing, for standing up for their constituents. "Yet we have a man like Mandelson, who is just basically allowed to get away with this - I just think it's absolutely disgusting, quite frankly."
The writing is on the wall and Number 10 are in denial. Starmer was given a mandate by the country after the disastrous 15 years of Tory mismanagement and has squandered it on an attempt to shift back to Blairite policies that focus on moving to the Right and completely ignoring basic Social Democratic principles. The fears expressed about the ascendency of the far right ReformUK party are valid and unless something is done about Starmer and his policies they stand a very good chance of succeeding at the next general election.....
One is allowed to be wise before the event and I have been voicing doubts about Starmer since he was elected leader. They are stronger than ever.