Kier Starmer offered a dignified and full apology yesterday over his appointment of “Mandelstein” or “Mandy”. Subject to transparency via the investigation, that is sufficient in my view. Why do I say that, you may well ask?
Starmer actually sacked Mandy where others did not. He has persuaded M to step down as a Lord. In due course and subject to there being sufficient evidence, Mandy will be prosecuted and possibly jailed. Later on we are likely to see similar outcomes with Michelle Mone and others. All takes time, but the law moves at a very slow pace. Farage law is not a suitable replacement for the rule of law as some CONform nutjobs suggest (“Farage Law” amounts to saying “Your eyes are too close together” or “You have a bit of a tan … GO TO JAIL”).
James O’Brien asked the question why did we not know all of this when Mandy was appointed as “Ferrero Rocher Ambassador and Defence Against The Dark TrumPutin Arts” to face down Trump in 2025. I was in fact one person who did predict that this appointment would end in tears in time – it was not a question of if but when. If you work in HR, one normally has a list of essential and desirable qualities plus contra-indications for your selection process. Mandy did possess some qualities which will have been judged as postives, and I suspect that McSweeney et al did not use my checklist below to look at the massive list of contra-indications. Starmer’s weakness is perhaps that he listened to McSweeney. It’s a forgiveable leadership sin, especially when weighed against the actions that Starmer has now taken to rectify the error. I say this objectively as someone who is not a massive Starmer fan. At the time, we must remember that we were beleagured by Brexit, and therefore wanting to be friends with ANYONE and EVERYONE on the international stage. Although it’s not clever, I think I understand why Starmer may have come to the conclusion that Mandy was an essential evil to tame the 5 Ts : Trump’s Toddler (Todger !!) Temper Tantrums. Although I very much doubt that proper HR processes were used, a sober analysis of the situation may have revealed the looming problem of Mandelstein to those possessed with hubris when advising / lobbying Keir Starmer.
Dear Keir
Starmer stood up for decency and the rule of law yesterday and, for that, I give him a free pass. That said, it comes with some Terms and Conditions:
Morgan McSweeney must go. He is the architect of much of this and will have lobbied Starmer to accept Mandy, having also persuaded him to oust Sue Gray for opposing him.
Editor’s note. Starmer has now done this. Praise where it’s due. If he next manages to get Mandie banged up, he will cast a long shadow on Reform, The Tories and the populists polluting our politics on planet earth.
STOP PRESS 23 Feb 2026 – Mandy has been arrested. I may have to buy a hat to eat !!
Brexit must be ended as a priority, not in 2032, as some Labour MPs suggest. Fix the fundamentals as Keir likes to say a lot. Brexit lies at the heart of a lot of Britain’s problem as our Brexit Iceberg shows
Policy making which prays to the far right fascist fringe must stop. Remember, 90% of Reform accounts are bots. Many of Starmer’s bad decisions have been aimed at appeasement of the far right. It is ALWAYS a mistake to appease fascists.
More should be made of the good works that Labour are doing. This is a comms issue, which once again lies at McSweeney’s door.
Mainstream media
I was shoe horned onto LBC at 11.57 today (Fri 6 Feb) (thank you by the way) to try to explain all of this in ‘just a minute’. Find the playback on the LBC app or here on our radio interviews with MSM:
My friend Dr Raj Persaud also made this superb piece of analysis on the matter of Mandy.
Turn despair into action
Write to your MP, enclosing a hard copy of our book Brexit RIP, written by 60 British and European citizens, including two MEPs, a KC and many eminent experts .. Hard copy books have a much longer “social journey” than bleating about it on social media. They get passed around and so on. Gift copies to your circle of contacts, especially those soft leavers who are starting to doubt the idea that Brexit was a sticking plaster for all of our problems, and Rejoiners who consider the matter closed for a host of reasons. Relight the fire.
Starmer is still unlawfully prioritising personal comfort over the national interest. To hold him accountable, we must identify impartial legal figures; currently, it is unknown whether the likes of Jolyon Maugham are uncompromised. I suspect that you are more knowledgeable than me on this matter.
Mcsweeney’s removal is meaningless unless he is also held accountable to the fullest & harshest extent of the law. If Starmer knew of mcsweeney’s illegal behaviour, his head must roll too. Starmer must explain why NEC blocked Mayor Andy Burnham from a local seat, yet parachuted Mcsweeney’s wife into a Scottish seat despite her non-residence, and why he has targeted ethnic minorities contrary to his duties.
A trail of uninvestigated misconduct dates to 2022, including his and his cabinet’s refusal to reverse Brexit. Investigate figures like Graham Hughes for their role in excusing Starmer’s targeting of ethnic minorities and putting targets on our backs.
The Tories’ lack of accountability does not exempt Starmer from facing any. Both Corbyn’s authoritarian expulsions and Starmer’s interventions—such as blocking Burnham—are hypocritical. Corbyn voted against his whip over 600 times; Starmer has appointed seats to cronies despite them not even residing in the country where said seats are located.
Immediate accountability must be normalised: prosecute law-breaking officials, strip them of benefits, and recover costs caused by personal interests—rejoining the EU and Customs Union would save £90bn annually and address Small Boat issues. Their assets should be seized if they cannot cover these costs.
Sanctions should target oligarchs like Musk and Thiel, especially if involved in Brexit planning, along with MPs complicit in Article 50 triggers or refusing to oppose the referendum’s illegitimacy.
Until accountability prevails, freedom remains compromised. The time for justice is now.