lABOUR PSYCHODRAMA
10/02/2026
Psychodrama. A word that has, in recent weeks, become synonymous with Kemi Badenoch and her floundering Conservative party can now be more accurately attributed to the antics of Keir Starmer and the labour party.
Since the start of year both top dogs in politics have suffered from public disinterest and infighting between their own MP`s. Kemi has lost three strong political `allies` to Nigel Farage and Reform. She previously declared to Sky News she was “one hundred percent confident” there would be no more defections after Robert Jenrick, as the Conservatives were “a strong and united team” without him. But now with Suella Braverman and Andrew Rosindell also departing the Conservatives for Reform, Kemi Badenoch (with egg on her face) must try to maintain the support of party members and MP`s who may be looking to Reform and the prominent new members that now reside there.
Meanwhile, Keir Starmer was given another chance to save his political career with Morgan McSweeney, acting as scapegoat, offering up his resignation and followed shortly after by director of communication Tim Allen. The Downing Street chief of staff is said to have pushed for Mandelson to be given the position of US Ambassador despite being known to have links to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, while Allen resigned to “allow a new No10 team to be built”. Now with his right hand man gone and the vultures circling it should be an interesting test of the Prime Minister's political chops as to whether he can survive in post until the next general election, and indeed how soon that election will take place
One must question how much longer he is destined for public office. Public dissatisfaction with his leadership is growing after the Mandelson/Epstein calamity and now there appears to be a growing queue of current and former cabinet members that are ready to fight it out for the chance to grasp the poisoned chalice that Starmer currently possesses.
During PMQ`s on February 4th, Angela Rayner joined the revolt by the labour backbenchers in calling for Starmer to hand over the release of the files relating to the appointment of Peter Mandelson to the Intelligence and Security Committee to ensure “public confidence in the process”, thus taking away control of these files from Downing street. In the end the backbenchers won and the amendment was passed in Parliament adding to Starmers embarrassing number of U turns.
Worse still for Starmer, David Lammy distanced himself from his Prime Minister, insisting that he did not support Peter Mandelson`s appointment as US Ambassador.
The third thorn in the Prime Minister side: Wes Streeting, in yet another bid to place himself in the public eye has today released private messages he had sent to Peter Mandelson. In sharing these messages Wes Streeting has made headlines…for all the wrong reasons. Seemingly he hoped to appear transparent, but now he seems foolish, and if anything closer to Mandelson than anyone had previously realised. On July 24th 2025 at 11pm Streeting contacted Mandelson to “check in” on recognising a Palestinian state and how this would impact domestic politics. Is this not something he could and should have been asking his Prime Minister?
Now to tackle any further dissent, Downing Street has briefed its cabinet ministers that they should not publish any personal messages they may have had with Mr Mandelson. Perhaps, blinded by his own personal ambitions, Streeting did not see how terribly his actions would backfire and that in adding distance between himself and his leader he has in turn put a target on his own back.
Still, through all of the chaos, we can see how the “Prince of Darkness” powerfully influenced Labour politicians, this time to the detriment of the Prime Minister.
