Tony

For her?

I can remember that our first phone line had an exchange name and number.

Glad you made it. Great concert.

To be fair to Case, he wasn't a SPAD, he was a senior Civil Servant. He just wasn't a very good one.

Him resigning "on his own terms" is even worse for Starmer than him remaining. It makes Starmer look completely ineffectual. You can predict the question "Why did McSweeny resign after you said you had full confidence in him?"

He should not have been appointed. I said, at the time, that ambassadors should be career diplomats, not former politicians; Mandelson was just a particularly odious one. We have a career diplomat in place now and the relationship with Trump does not seem appreciably different.

Well done Gordon Brown. I never liked the idea of anyone who was not a career diplomat being appointed as an ambassador. But appointing Mandelson was especially stupid.

I'm not sure Starmer resigning would be in Reform's best interest.

Mandelson should testify in US Congress about Epstein links, UK minister says Documents released in US appear to show the convicted child sex offender sent former US ambassador $75,000

"No recollection" of receiving £75,000? Come on. Nobody would forget receiving that much money in 2009. Either he received it or he didn't. And I rather suspect he did.

That's just silly.

Somebody I otherwise like and seems quite sensible posted this bollocks on Facebook a couple of days ago. How can you reason with stupid?

Do they actually want to tow the British Isles out into the Atlantic?

Andy Burnham stood for the Labour leadership in 2010 and 2015 and lost comprehensively both times. If Labour does need a new leader (open to question), surely there's someone already in Parliament who hasn't already failed twice? Maybe even a female MP.

It would be wrong whichever way they decided. If he was allowed to stand, then lost and Labour also lost the mayoralty (all possible with the current polls), what price would Labour have paid for Burnham's ambition?

'Somalians are low IQ people." How is the audience still sitting there?

He needs another cognitive test. Rambling stream of (un)conciousness.

Whereas the USA has merely elected one.

We have to remember that there is no real deadline. Can you imagine on, say, 7th June that Farage will tell a potential defector "No. You stay with the Tories. We don't want any more of you"? Unless it's Liz Truss, of course.

I think it's more to do with not wanting to be asked about Trump, Greenland and tariffs.

And this why I have still doubts about voting Green (despite also not being convinced by everything Labouris doing). This total rejection of any sort of pragmatism. Liz Truss has a similar approach from the other political direction.

You'd think someone asking such a question would make the least effort to find out the answer before posting it.

Truss.

She left Labour long ago (even while she was still technically a party member).

Graham Steinger is my bet (and wouldn't be missed). Rosie Duffield left Labour in 2024 (after being re-elected as a Labour MP). Mahmood is not an MP. Mann's a possible but I thought he'd gone long ago. Same for Austin.

If there really is a Labour MP defecting to Reform (as Farage claims), I so hope it is the embarrassment that is Steve Reed.

I've always thought any MP, or councillor, switching to another party should be subject to a by-election. This also applies to "Independents" joining or forming a political grouping.

That's a sentence that has never been written before.

ah

You're making the mistake of thinking Farage has any capability for shame or embarrassment.

Good to see they are still attacking "The Establishment."