Politics
Mandelson fix is the reason Starmer’s chief whip became an MP
As highlighted by journalist Michael Crick, Labour’s chief whip apparently got where he is today with a little help from the ‘prince of darkness‘ himself — Peter Mandelson:
Oh dear! According to the memoirs of former Stalybridge MP Tom Pendry, the selection of current Government Chief Whip Jonathan Reynolds as subsequent Labour candidate for the Stalybridge seat (and MP from 2010) was fixed by a chap called Peter Mandelson. pic.twitter.com/qmRJtSlUuc
— Michael Crick (@MichaelLCrick) February 7, 2026
Funny, isn’t it, how so many people in the Starmer government seem to owe their career to Peter Mandelson.
It’s almost as if Mandelson is actually the architect of this loathsome abomination of a government.
Mandelson — All coming out
The page Crick highlights reads:
I was of course a part, that a normal selection process could not take place – something that James almost certainly had planned on. The National Executive of the party convened a panel consisting of Tom Watson MP, Keith Vaz MP and a trade unionist member of the National Executive Committee to interview would-be candidates. The local party were informed that their panel’s decision on a shortlist of candidates was sacrosanct and appeals were not allowed.
The panel duly came forward with a shortlist that did not include James Purnell’s office manager, Johnny Reynolds – his favoured candidate. Not to be thwarted, Purnell, together with some assistance from Peter Mandelson MP, went over the head of the interviewing panel.
It was revealed in The Times Guide to the General Election of 2005 that Mandelson then surprised the National Executive to include Johnny Reynolds on the shortlist, which they dutifully did.
As Johnny Reynolds had managed Purnell’s office, he had a great advantage over the other candidates regarding access to the names and addresses of local party members, which greatly helped with canvassing and postal votes. Johnny became the candidate, and subsequently MP.
I was asked three times to go on BBC’s World at One with Mandelson to discuss whether there was any malpractice, but I refused as it could have harmed Johnny’s chances had I done so. Peter did go on and, as I understand, he said he didn’t intervene in the selection process – if that is what he said then that would be a blatant distortion of the truth, as pointed out in The Times Guide that stated that Jonathan Reynolds was ‘selected amid a huge row with Peter Mandelson’s involvement after failing to make the initial shortlist’.
In the Corbyn years, the media would call you a ‘Stalinist’ even if you carefully did the precise opposite of the above. You’ll notice they’ve turned a blind eye to how the likes of Starmer and Mandelson operate, however.
Or they did, anyway.
Obviously they taste blood in the water right now, so they’re noticing all the things they allowed to fly under the radar with Starmer.
Surprise, surprise
We’ve never cared for Reynolds, reporting in 2023:
We’re at a point now at which even the austerity-pushers in the media are looking at Britain’s crumbling infrastructure and saying ‘maybe we should spend the bare minimum on this stuff‘. Among the public there’s been a hunger for public spending for years; now we’re at a point at which you can voice that feeling without being dogpiled by the nation’s thickest columnists. And yet – and fucking yet – Labour are using this situation to promote – of all fucking things – more austerity – i.e. the thing which got us here in the first place – the thing which we know from history never works:
Jonathan Reynolds says the Tories were wrong to cancel a Labour program to refurbish and rebuild our schools, but he refuses to say the next Labour govt will refurbish and rebuild more schools that the Tories have committed to doing #TrevorPhillips pic.twitter.com/0ICvkJMLIZ
— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) September 10, 2023
Here’s what our own James Wright wrote on him in 2024:
The Labour Party has offered corporate bosses the “unique opportunity to become a commercial partner at our business policy round-table over breakfast” for up to £30,000 – in another cash-for-access scandal.
For £15,000, corporations would give a keynote speech, have photographs with business secretary Jonathan Reynolds and have a dedicated Labour Party staffer to make introductions. And for £30,000, the corporation could also decide who else would attend the breakfast.
Given Reynold’s track record, it’s entirely unsurprising to learn that the sulphurous stench of Mandelson has clung to his career from the jump.
Featured image via Number 10 (Flickr)
Luke Akehurst isn’t very well liked here at the Canary. Conversely, seeing Akehurst make a fool of himself is super popular, hence this:
Mate, do you genuinely think you’re helping here.
— (((Dan Hodges))) (@DPJHodges) February 6, 2026
Spy hard
Akehurst and Hodges are discussing Labour Together’s spying scandal. As Ed Sykes wrote on 6 February:
Labour Together is part of the shady right-wing infrastructure that, along with Peter Mandelson, helped to undermine the left and boost Keir Starmer into power. And a new report reveals how Labour Together spent tens of thousands of pounds getting a dodgy company to investigate journalists looking into all this. This behaviour shows it’s not just Mandelson that should never be near government again. It’s the whole sinister machinery that put Starmer where he is today, including his right-hand man and Mandelson protege Morgan McSweeney.
Is it good for political parties to spy on journalists?
No.
Is it creepy?
Yes.
Does the terminally unaware Akehurst realise any of this?
Not according to the conversation he had with Hodges:
But do you think attempting do defend Labour Together’s profiling of journalists in the current environment is really helpful to your party and Prime Minister.
— (((Dan Hodges))) (@DPJHodges) February 6, 2026
It’s objectively extremely funny that Luke Akehurst’s only objection to LT as front organisation, secret slush fund and journalist-hounder is not a moral one, but that he thinks that money would have been spent slightly better on the right-wing corporate ginger group he helms. pic.twitter.com/0CJooxsa61
— Scurial (@Scurial2940422) February 7, 2026
Akehurst didn’t respond to the above, suggesting someone with more than one brain cell advised him to cut his losses. No doubt the same genius advised him to delete all his pro-Mandelson tweets:
Sometimes I almost feel sorry for @lukeakehurst. Such a loyal attack dog for the poisonous version of the Labour Party spewed up by the likes of Mandelson & Blair, he’s now reduced to deleting his fawning tweets – like cleaning up the sick after a party he wasn’t invited to. 😳 pic.twitter.com/uhScyaCYpE
— Ben Sellers (@MrBenSellers) February 5, 2026
If only it was possible to pre-delete tweets (or to simply not tweet them):
Luke’s finished deleting “I love Mandelson” tweets to start a batch of “I defend McSweeney” tweets which will be deleted in the not too distant future I assume. https://t.co/aG34EdFEcK
— Mish Rahman (@mish_rahman) February 6, 2026
Laughable Luke Akehurst
Here’s some more of Akehurst looking ridiculous from the same day:
Luke Akehurst refuses to say where he keeps the children. pic.twitter.com/P0YXgbI9Ha
— HutchOnline (@Hutch_Online) February 6, 2026
He’s obviously the biggest laughing stock in British politics, and in this day and age that’s really saying something.
Featured image via Parliament
In an act of desperation, Labour deputy leader Lucy Power has asked the Green Party to stand down in Gorton & Denton:
This is staggering. @LucyMPowell writes to @ZackPolanski telling him to stand down @GreenPartyHan so Labour can win. Zack has a duty of care to Green Party members & voters, not to Labour. The arrogance from Lucy is staggering. Lucy give us something to vote for, that’s democracy pic.twitter.com/8vsKP5eP0X
— Cantona & Best (@bestcanton7) February 7, 2026
It’s an interesting tactic, but we’re not sure it will catch on.
Yours, Lucy
In the interest of transparency, here is Powell’s letter in full:
LUCY POWELL
DEPUTY LEADER OF THE LABOUR PARTYDear Zack,
I’m writing to you about the Gorton and Denton by-election and a number of misleading claims you and your party have made which may lead to Reform getting in through the back door – something I cannot stand by and let happen.
There is a lot at stake in this by-election which goes beyond the usual politics of who is up and who is down. For me, I am doing whatever I can to stop the nasty, divisive politics of Reform and Matt Goodwin getting a foothold and platform in my city. A city built on tolerance, openness and collectivism.
However, I fear you are being played by Reform and have a different agenda.
You know as well as I do, that the Green Party just doesn’t have the base or the breadth of support across the constituency to win the seat. The best you hope for is to take support from us to boost your profile nationally. This is exactly what Reform wants – it’s their only route to victory – split and suppress the long-standing Labour vote.
If just seven Green Party voters had backed Labour in Runcorn and Helsby, we wouldn’t now have a Reform MP in Parliament who made appalling comments about seeing too many Black and Asian people on TV. A Reform victory in Gorton and Denton would usher in an even more extreme candidate into Parliament.
What’s more, in seeking to push your agenda, you and your party have shared misleading election material and claims on social media.
Your bar charts would even make your former Lib Dem colleagues blush. The independent Full Fact organisation agreed, stating:
“The most recent projection from Election Maps UK for Gorton and Denton suggests the Greens will see the second largest increase in their vote share compared to the 2024 election, behind Reform UK. But it also suggests that Labour will still hold the seat.”
Your claims that respected academics Professor Rob Ford agrees with you are also not true. Prof Ford said that your latest leaflet is “misleading and out of context” and “that you have misrepresented his views”.
Your assertions do not reflect the reality on the ground. The evidence is clear. You have no councillors at all here. All of the councillors in Gorton and Denton were elected Labour, bar one.
Your briefings from doorstep to doorstep do not add up – which is extensive and more scientific – is clear: only we can beat Reform, your support is simply not anywhere near wide enough.
Labour has a strong Manchester Labour brand and organisation here, with Mayor Andy Burnham, the Labour Council and Labour Government delivering real change.
We all know what’s at stake here. Both Nigel Farage and his candidate in Gorton and Denton, Matt Goodwin, have talked repeatedly about immigration and the far right racist rhetoric in their campaigns. We need to defeat them.
This contest is bigger than you. It’s time that you stopped the bogus briefings and bar charts. The Greens can’t win here. If you really thought that, you would have stood here yourself (as someone from nearby).
Voters won’t forgive you and your disingenuous campaigning will come back to haunt you.
Only voting Labour’s Angeliki Stogia can prevent a Reform win. You and I both know that.
Yours sincerely,
Lucy Powell
MP for Manchester Central
Deputy Leader of the Labour Party
For further transparency, this is what polling says right now:
Interested to see an update poll, but polling is difficult in by elections.
One thing is clear, Labour can’t win. https://t.co/jXbRJUrsbv
— Curtis Daly (@CurtisDaly_) February 7, 2026
We can imagine the above Labour supporters going Green to keep Reform out; it’s harder to imagine the Green’s returning to Labour given everything that Starmer & co have done, as we’ll get into.
Labour — step down, please
Lucy Powell is arguing that the Greens need to stand down, because they used an improper bar chart. The Labour Party at large, meanwhile, is dealing with the following scandal:
We all knew that Peter Mandelson kept a close relationship with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein after his conviction.
Yet Keir Starmer appointed him US Ambassador and said he had “full confidence” in the bestie of a convicted nonce.
My full speech in Parliament: https://t.co/CwRcTpMUKe pic.twitter.com/et0ofls0qB
— Zarah Sultana MP (@zarahsultana) February 7, 2026
You can’t act like you’re the arbiters or good and moral behaviour when your man literally did the following:
Peter Mandelson sold Government secrets to foreign agents for personal profit.
He doesn’t need to be thrown out of the House of Lords, he needs to be thrown in jail. pic.twitter.com/ruBKPtQ16U
— BladeoftheSun (@BladeoftheS) February 2, 2026
Seriously — who do these ghouls think they’re kidding?
Featured image via Barold
Micheál Martin’s government is backing the criminal actions of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) brownshirts by allowing Shannon airport to be used as a refuelling point for illegal deportations.
A report by The Guardian highlighted the latest breach, in which a private jet belonging to a friend of US president Donald Trump flew groups of Palestinian men to so-called ‘Israel’. Once there, Zionist thugs transported them to the West Bank and dumped them at the side of the road.
One of the men is Maher Awad, a:
…24-year-old originally from the West Bank, who had lived in the US for nearly a decade.
He has a girlfriend and young son in Michigan where he lived. Awad was detained by ICE following a police arrest for a domestic violence charge a year previously. Despite authorities dropping this charge, he:
…spent [a] year being shuffled between immigration detention centres across the country, including in Michigan, Texas and Louisiana.
ICE — men illegally dumped in ‘active conflict zone’
ICE then deported him to the illegitimate Zionist settler-colony. Another man The Guardian spoke to was Sameer Isam Aziz Zeidan. He had been in the US for over 20 years. Before ICE kidnapped him, he was living in “Louisiana with his wife and five children”. They were among eight men shipped overseas in shackles, then left stranded with only a few belongings at a West Bank checkpoint on 21 January 2026.
Senator Patricia Stephenson, foreign affairs spokesperson for the Social Democrats, pointed out that the rendition amounts to leaving people in an “active conflict zone”. The terrorist regime based in West Jerusalem has killed over 1,000 Palestinians in the West Bank since 7 October 2023.
Land thieves — sometimes referred to as ‘settlers’ — have carried out a relentless series of ethnic cleansing raids in the last two years. 700 Palestinians have been subject to these pogroms in January alone. Deporting people to a territory where they are at risk of violence is illegal.
Stephenson said:
The government must now answer serious questions regarding whether they view this action as a breach of international law, and what action they will take to take control of the situation.
She continued:
The government claims it is a staunch supporter of international law, a beacon of hope when it comes to upholding human rights – it must now explain its hypocrisy.
This is not the first time the Irish government has assisted ICE crimes. In November The Ditch reported that US planes landed at the Clare airport to refuel while:
…carrying deportees to African countries they have no personal ties to…
Orville Etoria was one of those kidnapped, a Jamaican man with no connection to Eswatini, the country he was dumped in. His legal team say he was:
…illegally deported and imprisoned in Eswatini without charge or access to a lawyer for two months…
Government once again turning a blind eye to Shannon crimes
He eventually managed to make it back to Jamaica. The Irish government told The Journal that:
…stops at Irish airports by private aircraft and commercial charters for technical, non-traffic purposes (such as refuelling) “do not require prior authorisation from the Department.”
The government takes a similar lackadaisical approach to military planes stopping off at the airport before going on to assist Zionist atrocities in Palestine. Shannon Watch has documented the massive volume of these warplanes using the airstrip. Given the scale of US criminality on all fronts, it would seem a sensible policy would be to inspect all flights coming from the North American territory. This would invert the current policy of inspecting virtually none.
Gil Dezer was the man responsible for ferrying the kidnapped Palestinians thousands of miles away from their homes. A close friend and business partner of Trump, Dezer is also a:
…member of the Miami branch of Friends of the Israel Defense Forces.
The private jet used appears to be the property of Dezer Development:
…a real estate company established by the Israeli-American developer Michael Dezer and today run by Gil Dezer, his son.
The company has built various Trump branded properties and contributed to his presidential campaign. In the wake of the latest Epstein documents, this serves as another example of the sickening links between the ultra-wealthy, US politicians, ‘Israel’ and serious criminality. A class of truly wretched people causing harm to everyone they deem beneath them, with their racism and misogyny exacting particular suffering on women and people of colour.
Featured image via the Canary
The Manchester Jewish Action for Palestine (MJAP) group has condemned a local Israel lobby group for attacking Manchester City football manager Pep Guardiola.
Guardiola, who has a consistent record of solidarity with and support for the Palestinian people, spoke out against Israel’s slaughter again on 4 February. The BBC amplified the manufactured pearl-clutching of the — apparently entirely unelected — so-called ‘Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester & Region’ (JRCGM) that Guardiola should stick to football and not get involved in politics.
While it calls itself a council, JRCGM is in fact a company, registration number Company registration: 8953235. It is one of numerous self-appointed ‘representative’ organisations that act as lobbying groups for Israeli interests.
In a statement, MJAP condemned JRCGM for its whitewashing of the “horrors perpetrated by Israel”. It also pointed out the lack of condemnation by footballing bodies for the ‘right’ kind of political statement and their failure to take appropriate action against the genocidal colony. And it reminded the ‘council’ that as a city — Manchester, including many of its Jews — is united against the crimes of the ethno-supremacist occupation:
Manchester Jewish Action for Palestine (MJAP) welcomes Pep Guardiola’s recent comments decrying Israel’s pursuit of a genocide in Gaza and calling on us all not to turn a blind eye to the suffering of Palestinian children. Guardiola’s heartfelt statement that “to completely kill thousands of innocent people, it hurts me” captures our collective pain as we’ve watched the horrors perpetrated by Israel over the last two and a half years. Guardiola’s brave comments build on expressions of solidarity with Palestinians from many other prominent football figures, including Jurgen Klopp, Mo Salah, Cristiano Ronaldo and Eric Cantona.
MJAP disagrees profoundly with the Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester (JRCGM) in their criticism of Guardiola. They say that he “is a football manager” and “should focus on football” rather than “straying into international affairs”. It is not Guardiola who is bringing international affairs into football. The Premiership were quick to organise official displays of solidarity with Ukraine in grounds across the country, and FIFA suspended Russia from international football competitions within days of the invasion of Ukraine. Yet football supporters are not allowed to take any expression of solidarity with Palestine into games (not just flags, but even badges), and after two and a half years of genocide, FIFA has still not suspended Israel from international football competitions. Guardiola is simply expressing a different view on international affairs to those of the Premiership, the FA and FIFA. In doing so, he is giving voice to millions of football supporters, around the world, in the UK and in Manchester.
The JRCGM does not speak for all the Jewish people of Greater Manchester. Many of us are horrified by the genocide that has been pursued in our name by Israel, and have joined countless marches and rallies to oppose it. “Never again” means never again for anyone, including the Palestinians. In failing to call out the crimes of the state of Israel against Palestine the JRCGM have effectively acted as apologists for the genocide.
Israel has murdered thousands of footballers in Gaza – professional and amateur, adults and children – and has deliberately destroyed countless football stadiums, pitches and facilities. Israel has encouraged illegal settlers and their football clubs to operate in the West Bank, against the rules of FIFA.
MJAP supports the demand of football supporters around the world to “red card Israel”, calling on FIFA to suspend Israel’s national teams and clubs from international football competition until Israel ends its genocide, withdraws from illegally occupied land, drops the siege of Gaza and dismantles all its apartheid laws.
In particular, MJAP supports “A City United for Gaza”, a local campaign who have been rallying outside games at Old Trafford and the Etihad for the last two and a half years, collecting signatures for a petition to FIFA.”
Israel was condemned this week by one of its own top generals as modern-day ‘nazis’, doing to the Palestinians what Germany did to the Jews eighty-odd years ago. Solidarity with Pep Guardiola.
Featured image via Facebook
Politics
A MAGA push to erase a Dem House seat is triggering accusations of fraud and violence in Utah
National Republicans are throwing money and bodies at a down-ballot initiative to try to wrest back a congressional seat in Utah. Their efforts could blow up in their face.
With a looming February 15 deadline, Republicans have seen only half the number of verified signatures they need to move things forward. And the effort, which has the backing of President Donald Trump and support from multiple MAGA groups, has devolved into chaos.
Local county clerks are flagging hundreds of potentially fraudulent submissions. People have reportedly been repeatedly misled into signing the petition by signature-gatherers, with some telling local news outlets that they were told it was an anti-ICE petition. Those signature-gatherers have reported being assaulted by hecklers and their signature packets stolen or destroyed.
In the Beehive State, where politics are often seen by outsiders as cartoonishly friendly, this effort has turned so tumultuous that Republican Gov. Spencer Cox — who earned national attention for his pleas for civility after conservative influencer Charlie Kirk was assassinated in the state — called on Utahns to “resolve [their] disagreements peacefully.”
While the GOP groups insist they’ll have the numbers needed, they’re still far short — which would represent a major failure in a ruby-red state.
The effort aims to overturn a new judge-ordered congressional map that hands Democrats one safe blue seat by attempting to repeal an anti-gerrymandering law that would allow the Republican-controlled legislature to reinstall a more favorable map ahead of the 2028 elections. It has garnered support from Trump and his allies, who had already spent $4.3 million on the effort as of November — and have only ramped up since.
The signature-gathering initiative represents an early test of Republicans’ ground-game efforts in a midterm year where they face strong headwinds in the polls.
Trump and his son, Donald Trump Jr, have signaled support to the Utah initiative, with Trump recently encouraging his Truth Social followers to support the “very important effort” to ”KEEP UTAH RED.”
Turning Point Action — the 501(c)(4) founded by the late Charlie Kirk, who was killed in the state last summer — is “all in” on the effort, its COO said, and is canvassing the state with a half-dozen events over the next week. A fleet of about 700 paid workers, many of them from out of state, have been hired to gather signatures, bankrolled by Securing American Greatness Inc., a 501(c)(4) previously run by former Trump White House official Taylor Budowich. And MAGA celebrity Scott Presler parachuted in last month for a series of events.
But so far, those efforts don’t appear to be paying off. As of Friday, the initiative had garnered just over 76,000 verified signatures, about half of the more than 140,000 required statewide for a measure to be added to this November’s ballot. A daily analysis conducted by independent journalist Bryan Schott shows the initiative on track to fall well short of the required signature thresholds: eight percent of all active registered voters statewide, and eight percent in at least 26 of the 29 Utah state Senate districts.
“The only thing that will matter is on the very last day, do we have enough signatures, and I strongly believe that we will,” said Brad Bonham, a Republican National Committeeman and initiative sponsor.
The initiative’s Republican backers claim the lagging signature count is part of their strategy. Bonham said the initiative’s sponsors have “many, many thousands of signatures” they are independently verifying and have not yet submitted. Utah Republican Party Chairman Rob Axson said “many tens of thousands” more have been submitted to county clerks and are undergoing verification.
“We feel very, very good about the strategy that we are executing on and the momentum that we’re building,” Axson said.
Dropping a large tranche of signatures close to the February 15 deadline could backfire, said Elizabeth Rasmussen, the executive director of Better Boundaries, the anti-gerrymandering group opposing the repeal, as signers still have a 45-day window after their signature is verified to remove it.
Rasmussen said her group mailed nearly 8,000 letters last week to petition signers encouraging them to remove their names, and will continue to do so in coming weeks. Her groups’ previous efforts have led to over 500 signatures removed, Rasmussen said.
And she’s not so sure that Trump’s involvement will help the GOP in a heavily conservative state whose voters nonetheless have long been skeptical of the president.
“Trump’s approval rating in Utah is at an all-time low,” Rasmussen said. “We’re not seeing that as a value add, if anything.”
The ongoing saga in Utah is an odd addendum to the nationwide redistricting push. In 2018, Utah voters passed Proposition 4, a ballot measure that created an independent redistricting commission to prevent partisan gerrymandering. Earlier this year, District Judge Dianna Gibson ruled that the GOP-controlled state legislature failed to comply with Prop 4 when it drew four safe Republican districts in the 2022 map. The GOP submitted another map with four safe seats last fall, but the judge selected a different map, which includes a blue seat in Salt Lake County, in November.
The GOP-controlled state legislature is appealing Gibson’s decision to the state Supreme Court, and two sitting U.S. House members joined a federal lawsuit pushing for the current, Republican-friendly map to be used in 2026. The state GOP’s signature-gathering push would repeal Prop 4 and allow the legislature to redraw a map ahead of the 2028 cycle.
If they meet the requisite signature threshold, the initiative will go on the ballot this November, where voters will decide.
In Utah County, the state’s second-most-populous county, the clerk’s office has flagged hundreds of signatures for possible fraud. Some appear to be forged signatures, and when the clerk’s office called the signers, they denied ever signing the petition; others appear to be made-up names and addresses.
“I think it’s just the signature gatherers that are doing this are just trying to find an easy way to make money,” Aaron Davidson, the Utah County Clerk, told POLITICO.
The Salt Lake and Davis county clerks — the first- and third-most populous counties in the state — said they have not seen any significant irregularities. “The number of alleged fraudulent voters that Utah County has found, that is startling,” said Lannie Chapman, the Salt Lake County clerk. “We all take this very seriously.”
Axson, the GOP state chair, said some of the signature-gatherers under review were flagged by his team before submission, and several paid signature-gatherers who are under review for fraud have been fired. “I don’t want a single fraudulent signature counted,” Axson said.
“Are there going to be a couple of bad actors, or bad examples, or places where the process has fallen short, or whatnot? Of course there are,” added Axson. “But what’s not being talked about in all of these stories is the fact that out of 3,000 people engaged in this effort, you only have a small handful of bad actors.”
But as the signature push enters its home stretch, tensions have only accelerated.
“Violence is not the answer to any of this. I don’t understand anybody that would do that,” added Bonham, the initiative sponsor. “It brings me back to Charlie Kirk losing his life here in our own backyard. It’s like, what on earth is going on here?”
Here at the Canary, we’ve long criticised Rupert Murdoch and his grotty tabloid (the Sun) and his grotty broadsheet (the Times). We’ve got to admit, though; even we didn’t think they’d publish a puff piece on Peter Mandelson in the middle of his Epstein-stoked mega downfall:
I deleted my post from before…
I thought it was fake
So I went to WH Smith and here it is
An unbelievable attempt to sanitise this man and normalise what’s he’s done. pic.twitter.com/HXTgAn8D5C
— Marina Purkiss (@MarinaPurkiss) February 7, 2026
Just when you think the British media can’t sink any lower, the floor falls out from under your feet.
Mandelson — Good lord, what now?
To quickly get you up to speed:
Digitally, we’ve had access to the Mandelson interview since the 2 November. We also had access to the pictures. And while the interview seemed ill-judged at the time, it’s so much fucking worse to publish a printed copy several days later.
Just look at this cunt:
JUST IN: 🇬🇧 🇮🇱 🚨 Western media mobilises to SAVE pedophile rapists
The Times just conducted a “friendly” interview with Peter Mandelson (pictured half naked with young girls) that says he was “manipulated” by Jeffery Epstein.
Fucking disgusting.
Burn in hell @thetimes pic.twitter.com/nxKqNW51v3
— ADAM (@AdameMedia) February 7, 2026
People have tried to give a more honest impression of who Mandelson is:
I’ve managed to fix The Times Magazine cover for this weekend.
Hope this helps.
😊 pic.twitter.com/kptZIktBbL— Sir Michael Take CBE (@MichaelTakeMP) February 7, 2026
When we say the interview was ‘ill advised’, what we mean is it provided the notorious liar Mandelson with yet another opportunity to lie to the public:
In The Times gushing paedophile apologia puff piece on Peter Mandelson by @katyballs, he claims Epstein lied to him about his indictment for trafficking children.
Here’s Mandelson advising Epstein on how to devise an “alt story” to his indictment for trafficking children. pic.twitter.com/VMkaxWGGkN
— Eyup Lovely (@eyuplovely) February 7, 2026
We detailed Mandelson’s slimy excuses here.
As we also reported, Mandelson sent a notice out to media outlets on 6 Feb begging the press not to hold him to account. And yet a day later:
Friday night / Saturday morning pic.twitter.com/ZkdhxQS1pN
— Count Binface (@CountBinface) February 6, 2026
Stop giving him oxygen
The only further opportunity Mandelson should have to lie to the public is in court, where he will be put on trial for the soon-to-be-unveilled crime of ‘Mandelsoning with intent‘.
Oh, and also for misconduct in public office (a crime which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison 🤗):
Police raid Mandelson’s Wiltshire home over misconduct in public office allegations. Another great day for Labour! 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/bZQSytetng
— Peter Lloyd (@Suffragent_) February 7, 2026
Featured image via Times scan
There’s a seemingly endless array of quippy terms to describe rising travel trends and preferences.
One particularly interesting term is “inheritourism”, which really gets to the heart of why different individuals travel the way that they do and how family plays a role.
Below, travel experts break down the meaning of “inheritourism”, as well as the benefits and drawbacks of this holiday phenomenon.
What is ‘inheritourism’?
“Inheritourism reflects how travel preferences are passed down across generations,” said Jess Petitt, senior vice president or strategy, insights and full service brands at Hilton.
“Many people inherit travel preferences from their parents, with family experiences often shaping how people travel well into adulthood.”
A 2026 travel report from Hilton identified “inheritourism” as a notable trend for the new year – with 66% of travellers surveyed by the hotel brand saying that their parents have influenced their choice of accommodations, 60% saying they guided their choice of loyalty programs and 73% saying they shaped their general travel style.
“I think inheritourism shows up most clearly in how people define what ‘comfortable’ travel looks like,” said travel blogger Esther Susag. “Many travellers inherit not just destinations, but entire travel styles from their parents. For example, I often notice that people who grew up only doing cruises or all-inclusive resorts tend to gravitate back to those formats as adults.”
Travellers accustomed to the ease of having everything in one place might be more hesitant to go off the beaten path with independent accommodations, hidden gem destinations or locations that require more planning or cultural navigation.
“That same pattern extends into how people pay for travel,” Susag said. “I’ve noticed that travellers whose parents used travel credit cards and understood points and miles tend to feel much more comfortable navigating loyalty programs and booking elevated experiences. On the other hand, people who grew up saving for years for one big trip and paying mostly in cash or with a single credit card often carry that same cautious mindset forward and are hesitant to open multiple cards or experiment with points strategies.”
She added that many parents remain deeply involved in their adult children’s travel decisions, often financing trips with their own loyalty points or preferred brands. Multigenerational travel is increasingly popular, thus exposing new generations to the same kinds of choices.
“Over time, that becomes their baseline for what travel ‘should’ look like,” Susag said. “As travel has become more expensive and more intentional, people are less willing to experiment and more likely to stick with what they know works. That often means repeating the travel patterns they grew up with, whether that’s specific destinations, hotel brands or trip formats.”
Flashpop via Getty Images
It’s only natural that people who grew up travelling in a certain way as children would adopt similar preferences. Katy Nastro, a spokesperson and travel expert for the flight alert service Going, pointed to the cliché “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree”.
“I personally grew up going to warm beach destinations to escape the New York winter every February,” Nastro said. “I wholeheartedly believe that the desire for a warmer weather destination during the month of February versus a cold weather trip is not just a preference but is now a personality trait inherited from my family travels as a child.”
She believes the same pattern is evident in the families attracted to “the magic of Disney” with Disney theme parks vacations over multiple generations. Our early memories can inform what we find meaningful and rewarding as we grow up.
“My family chooses the mountains over the beach always, because it’s where I grew up vacationing – and if you ask me, it’s just better,” Petitt said. “Those experiences are also what I’m excited to share with my kids, building on those memories. If we never visit a beach as a family, that would be OK by me.”
Family travel habits strongly influence people’s choices – but is that a good thing?
“Any travel is beneficial in my opinion,” Nastro said. “And in theory, inheritourism can create generational travel because people are inclined to continue the tradition of travel to a certain place, hotel, etc. The only downside may be that this perpetuates a blinder affect where people don’t tend to branch away from what they know, and thus never really explore beyond their comfort zone.”
She added that inheritourism might lead people to miss out on good deals if they can’t look beyond the specific brands or locations they’ve “inherited”.
“Travellers may avoid less popular destinations or more immersive experiences because they feel less predictable or convenient,” Susag said. “That said, awareness is growing, and many people are starting to challenge those habits once they realise there are other ways to travel that still feel safe and rewarding.”
Overall, she sees a mix of downsides and benefits to the influence of inheritourism today.
“On the positive side, inheritourism makes travel more accessible and lowers the barrier to entry for a lot of people,” Susag said. “It also encourages multigenerational travel and shared experiences, which can be incredibly meaningful.”
Inheritourism can serve as “a foundation, rather than a fixed path,” she emphasised. Travellers can carry forward meaningful traditions but also cultivate their own.
“People tend to start by recreating the trips and habits they grew up with, then adapt them as their confidence grows and their priorities shift,” Susag said. “Whether that means exploring less traditional destinations, traveling more independently or becoming more intentional about how they spend on travel, many travellers eventually build on what they inherited rather than abandoning it altogether.”
As in other areas of life, parents tend to set the norms and serve as trusted sources for young adults as they make decisions.
“In a world of digital overwhelm and an abundance of choice, travellers are looking to their inner circle to inform their travel decisions,” Petitt said.
“When seeking an experience beyond what is familiar, inherited preferences and trusted travel habits serve as a starting point for discovering something new. The key is balance – while inheritourism offers comfort and confidence, the greatest benefit comes when those familiar influences open the door to exploration, rather than limit it.”
Despite pressing public concern, Keir Starmer is saying the ‘materials’ linked to the thrice-disgraced Peter Mandelson will not come quickly. And as you might expect, people are not happy:
He will try to buy time and get this kicked into the long grass with investigations and enquiries reporting years hence. And even then likely delayed until a summer recess in years time. This is what all guilty PMs do.
— Freamon’s Burner (@FreamonB) February 6, 2026
Mandelson cover up?
On 6 February, Skwawkbox reported for the Canary that the police raided Mandelson’s properties. If you’re a longtime Mandelson disliker, it will warm your heart to see the following image (although we would have preferred riot cops booting down his doors):
BREAKING: police raid Mandelson’s properties in Epstein hit
Police have raided two properties belonging to disgraced former Starmer adviser Peter Mandelson over his Epstein linkshttps://t.co/0xerIGeX6S
— Canary (@TheCanaryUK) February 6, 2026
God knows what the police will uncover in Mandelson’s lair.
At the same time, the security services are looking into Starmer’s decision to make Mandelson the ambassador to the US. As Sky News reported above:
We’re hearing that Sir Keir Starmer has warned a very significant volume of material will likely need to be reviewed in relation to Lord Mandelson’s appointment as ambassador to the US. But the Prime Minister said the government wanted to ensure that Parliament’s instruction is met with the urgency and transparency it deserves. That’s coming in a letter to the intelligence and Security Committee this evening.
So, the Prime Minister warning that a significant volume of material will have to be reviewed in relation to that appointment of Lord Mandelson as ambassador. And the government wants to ensure that Parliament’s instruction is met with the urgency and transparency it deserves.
The first thing to point out is that when Starmer made Mandelson the ambassador to the US, he knew that the guy had maintained a relationship with Jeffrey Epstein after the paedophile was convicted for sex crimes.
This, by itself, should be enough for Starmer to resign.
Last September, Keir Starmer told the Commons that he had “full confidence” in Peter Mandelson.
Well, the public has no confidence in him.
He must resign. pic.twitter.com/h5YbuhL1I3
— Zarah Sultana MP (@zarahsultana) February 6, 2026
And as we’ve highlighted over and over again; it wasn’t just Starmer who knew — everyone knew. The reason it wasn’t a scandal then is because the British media is a freakshow with a selective memory:
This article came out in the FT over a year before Starmer appointed Mandelson
Starmer knew everything
Another powerful man who failed Epstein’s victims because he didn’t care
Starmer has to go. Now https://t.co/aSYRHCPbLk pic.twitter.com/ICn9OUWsX0
— Matt Kennard (@kennardmatt) February 5, 2026
People are worrying that these Mandelson Files will be full of unjustifiable redactions:
Right from the Trump playbook. https://t.co/BMLe5Piuec
— Tammy Twotone (@TheTammyTwotone) February 7, 2026
As we’ve covered, this is precisely what’s happening with the Epstein Files (although even then, enough got out to finish Mandelson; imagine what we’d know about him without all those black bars).
How long can this drag on for?
There could be good reason for security services to spend time vetting these files. The problem for Starmer is that no one trusts him, so this all just looks like a cover up.
If Starmer remains in position, he’s going to suffer months of devastating new revelations which further dent his rock-bottom popularity. Labour MPs know that; the question is do they have the backbone to give Starmer the boot before he can inflict maximum damage?
Featured image via Epstein Files
As reported by the Canary, six of the Filton 24 prisoners recently walked free after being acquitted of the charges against them. Now, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has announced its intent to seek a retrial against these activists:
A CPS spokesperson said: “Prosecutors are now considering the precise basis on which that retrial would proceed, including the form of the indictment, in accordance with CPS legal guidance.” pic.twitter.com/oauNsFTMct
— Crown Prosecution Service (@CPSUK) February 7, 2026
Filton 24 triumph short lived
On 4 February, Skwawkbox reported for the Canary:
Six members of the Filton 24 have been acquitted by a jury in a major victory for anti-genocide protesters. After an 8-day deliberation Charlotte Head, Samuel Corner, Ellie (Leona) Kamio, Fatema Zainab Rajwani, Zoe Rogers, and Jordan Devlin were cleared of charges brought against them by the Starmer regime. The ‘Filton 24’ are a group of political prisoners held for action to inhibit the manufacture of Israeli weapons used against Palestinians.
The case of the Filton 24 activists was used as justification to proscribe Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation. Commenters have now argued this should challenge that proscription:
Palestine coalition welcomes Filton case outcome as significant defeat for the government which used the case to justify its disgraceful proscription of Palestine Action🧵 pic.twitter.com/1MbL5JbTfh
— Stop the War Coalition (@STWuk) February 6, 2026
The UK government pinned its case for declaring Palestine Action a terrorist organisation largely on the trial of the so-called Filton Six, claiming they had proved the group to be violent.
A jury today found none of them guilty of any of the charges. pic.twitter.com/pytV3HIJcl
— Jonathan Cook (@Jonathan_K_Cook) February 4, 2026
The case also challenged earlier assertions that activists “smashed” the spine of a police officer, although some journalists have continued to make the claim:
Allison Pearson is now flat-out lying about the #filton24 case: not even the prosecution claimed the officer’s spine was “smashed” – shameful deception, a complete betrayal of her journalistic ethics and possibly criminal contempt of court https://t.co/BqdyjNXfJE
— Man in the High Castle (@mcelderrytruth) February 5, 2026
Although the government attempt to portray the Palestine Action activists as violent criminals, this body-cam footage, shown to the jury during the first Filton 24 trial, shows an Elbit security guard attacking two defendants with a sledgehammer. pic.twitter.com/pY2FWctcfp
— Asa Winstanley (@AsaWinstanley) February 4, 2026
Following the acquittal, Naila Ahmed (Head of Campaigns at CAGE) said:
This is a huge victory for the movement but nationally and abroad who campaigned on behalf of the defendants, and a powerful affirmation of jury independence and moral courage in the face of extraordinary political pressure.
Though they cannot get back the 17 months of their life taken from them unlawfully, they should all be compensated and the remaining 18 defendants of the Filton 24 should also be released on bail. This case was used to justify the ban against Palestine Action, a decision that should now be overturned.
CAGE calls for full compensation for those acquitted, a lifting of the ban on Palestine Action, an independent review into the political handling of the case, and the abolition of terror laws. The acquittal should prompt serious reflection on how easily due process can be eroded when political interests are at stake.
This case from the start has been heavily politicised.
The CPS are now publicly declaring, before the court hearing, that they’ll seek a retrial, despite the defendants having already spent 18months in prison without a single conviction.
This is political theatre. https://t.co/VdUw9wLjyG
— Huda Ammori (@HudaAmmori) February 7, 2026
Huda Ammori, the cofounder of Palestine Action added:
This case from the start has been heavily politicised.
The CPS are now publicly declaring, before the court hearing, that they’ll seek a retrial, despite the defendants having already spent 18months in prison without a single conviction.
This is political theatre.
Indeed it is Huda, indeed it is.
Featured image via CPS
As we reported on 6 February, Donald Trump posted an explicitly racist video to his Truth Social account:
BREAKING: Trump just posted an incredibly racist photo of the Obama’s faces photoshopped on to the body of apes.
Every day is a new rock bottom for this ugly pig. pic.twitter.com/GlMM7Cfjoe
— Dean Withers (@itsdeaann) February 6, 2026
There have been several developments since then, with the end point being that Trump admitted to being the one responsible.
Trump-anzee
After the US President posted his hate crime, several of his supporters claimed ‘he didn’t post that, actually‘.
This is how that went (see the community note at the bottom):
FAKE NEWS ALERT! Trump Didn’t post this monkey video of the obamas
Lying Democrats
It’s not on his page
Fake screenshot pic.twitter.com/91zsEo4L7t
— Terrence K. Williams (@w_terrence) February 6, 2026
Trump’s more cautinary boot lickers suggested it was all a big mistake:
I sincerely hope President @realDonaldTrump didn’t realise this 60-second clip he reposted last night didn’t end with the vile racist imagery of the Obamas as apes. He should delete it immediately. pic.twitter.com/jHZln3u98Q
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) February 6, 2026
Karoline Leavitt (White House press secretary) would later claim the following:
This is from an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle & Democrats as characters from The Lion King. Please stop the fake outrage
Bullshit aside, why is the White House producing so many memes? Shouldn’t they be busy undoing the havoc that Trump has wrought on the economy?
Later in the day, the American President’s team actually deleted the video — suggesting the “outrage” was warranted, actually:
Donald Trump has finally deleted that racist post depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as monkeys from his Truth Social media account. But not before the White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called it a meme. pic.twitter.com/aouLXMavGW
— Mukhtar (@I_amMukhtar) February 6, 2026
They’d also claim that actually a staffer posted the video:
First the WH @PressSec defended Trump’s racist tweet and mocked “fake outrage” coming from critics. Now they’re saying a staffer posted it around midnight and that the tweet has been deleted. Tell us another one! pic.twitter.com/tjU3r8fws7
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) February 6, 2026
Ultimately, Donald made a mockery of all his defenders by simply admitting he was the one responsible:
Reporter: The WH says a staffer sent that video. Are you going to fire the staffer?
Trump: No. I looked at it. I didn’t see the whole thing. I gave it to the people, they posted it.
Reporter: Are you going to apologize?
Trump: No, I didn’t make a mistake. pic.twitter.com/VH1qmEOmb2
— Acyn (@Acyn) February 7, 2026
Shameful
So the meme that someone else chose for Trump and then they deleted; the president chose it himself, actually, and also he was right to do so.
Clear?
We understand Trump’s loyalists don’t care about the racism, but aren’t they sick of being embarrassed?
Featured image via Truth Social
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