Pure political dynamite just blew up in Starmer’s face – PM will never recover from this | Politics | News

Sir Olly Robbins did not deliberately set out to destroy Keir Starmer’s reputation today. But he did it anyway. This was two and a half hours of pure dynamite and it will be absolutely impossible for the Prime Minister to recover from it. Yesterday we watched countless politicians ask Starmer a series of questions designed to make his position untenable. Two even accused him of lying. But even as a collective they failed to counter the blow that Robbins delivered with such devastating Civil Service prudence, manners and integrity. Three things stand out. First, Sir Keir was so desperate to appoint Lord Mandelson to an important post such as Ambassador to Washington that he announced to the world that he had done so without waiting to obtain security clearance as he had been advised to do.

And remember, we’re not talking about just any career diplomat here. We are talking about a man who was twice dismissed from his ministerial post due to unethical behavior. Secondly, despite demanding that the Foreign Office significantly reduce staffing, which meant the sacking of good, senior diplomats, the Prime Minister’s Office had lobbied Robbins to find an ambassadorial post for Number 10 Communications Director Matthew Doyle, who had no diplomatic experience and, as we later learned, campaigned for the election of an accused sex offender.

Finally, thanks to Robbin’s meticulous planning of Mandelson’s appointment, we now know that he and his team acted with integrity and integrity throughout the process.

The Prime Minister’s decision to sack him on Thursday night was therefore an utterly terrible mistake, terribly premature and entirely designed to bolster his own position and shift blame elsewhere.

If yesterday was evil for Sir Keir, today was much worse and Labor MPs must realize the game is up. They must understand that the man who portrays himself as Mr. Integrity, Mr. Process, and Mr. Following the Rules is actually a man of disastrously poor judgment, a man who combined the original sin of appointing Mandelson to Washington with a series of other deceptions and missteps, each one digging an even deeper hole. They need to realize that Sir Keir is leading them into electoral disaster.

We understand that these Labor MPs may be looking at possible successors, scratching their heads and concerned that there is no-one who can do the job. They’ll think street art has too much to do with Mandelson. Rayner was forced to resign in disgrace.

Miliband was flatly rejected by voters just a decade ago. Burham isn’t even an MP. We understand your difficulty. But given this morning’s events, they might reframe that question and ask not who could be better, but how it could be worse.

I have no personal grudge against Keir Starmer. I have no reason to believe that he is an unpleasant person. But I see a man who is unfit for office, who has poor common sense, who consistently fails to live up to the high standards he sets for others, and who will harm our country as long as he remains Prime Minister.

From freeloading, to flip-flopping, to sacking countless officials, to dodging questions and violating manifesto commitments, I can’t think of a worse prime minister in my lifetime.

None of Miliband, Rayner, Burham or Streeting inspires my confidence. But I can honestly say that any of these would be an improvement. Let’s pray that it happens soon.