Starmer cannot survive the Mandelson debacle

Starmer knew.

And now we know Peter Mandelson was fast-tracked into government despite explicit warnings that his “particularly close” friendship with prolific paedophile, Jeffrey Epstein made him a “general reputational risk”.

Keir Starmer chose to ignore red flags about a man who stayed at Epstein’s house after his conviction.

And Starmer knew.

Mandelson’s vetting was rushed; Keir Starmer ignored and overruled his own vetting team. And the sleazy peer walked away with a hefty £75,000 payoff, after asking for £547,000.

In any other walk of life both Starmer and Mandelson would be toast. But it seems running a protection racket for the predatory elite comes with very little in the way of consequences these days. This is a whole lot more than just a typical Westminster sleaze story, isn’t it? Starmer’s Labour is recycling the very worst of Blairite cronyism instead of breaking with it, once and for all.

Seriously, how can anyone take morality lectures from this deeply flawed government on violence against women and girls whilst the victims of the Epstein cult are being re-traumatised by the drip-feed of damning revelations?

A government that weaponises #MeToo rhetoric while shielding Epstein-adjacent insiders is not the progressive force that it claims to be. It is utterly contemptuous.

Starmer is forgetting that the victims deserve better

Epstein wasn’t some eccentric billionaire. He was a convicted sex offender whose island and little black book were central to one of the most horrific trafficking scandals of our lifetimes. Women and girls were abused, exploited and silenced. Victims and survivors are still fighting for justice today.

The guy that positioned himself as the anti-corruption prosecutor looked the other way because Mandelson is one of them – that toxic Blair-era network of lobbyists, multi-millionaires, and influencer-peddlers who turned Labour into a vehicle for the super-rich.

This is the same Starmer who purged socialists to the glee of the pro-Israel parliamentary Labour party, ditched public ownership, and told poor and working-class voters their demands for wealth taxes and rent controls were unrealistic.

Yet protecting a mate with extremely fucking grubby Epstein ties? That was apparently non-negotiable for Keir Starmer. It can be so very easy to mistakenly assume this is down to Starmer’s incompetence and horrific lack of judgement. But this is elite impunity baked into his DNA.

Starmer and Mandelson aren’t redeemable. They’re symptoms of a Labour party that lost its soul a long time ago.

The British people really don’t need more apologies to Epstein’s victims from the man who enabled one of Epstein’s closest friends.

What we do need is a fully independent public inquiry – not another closed-door stitch-up into how Epstein’s paedophile network infiltrated British power under successive UK governments. We must also claw back every single penny of Mandelson’s outrageous payoff. Revoke his peerage and demand full transparency on any other Epstein associates lurking in Labour circles.

Come on, you call that an apology?

Where is the accountability for the elite? Families are scraping by on food banks and charity, yet Labour hands golden parachutes to Epstein’s pals.

Britain needs public ownership, wealth taxes, council houses, green investment, social justice and an end to the revolving door between government and the super-rich. No more rehashed Blairism and no more Blairite retreads.

And for me, Keir Starmer has to go.

Starmer’s resignation is essential because his judgement is irreparably shattered, destroying trust in Labour at a time when Britain needs unity against fascism. His leadership is morally and politically bankrupt. How can he credibly fight for justice, equality or safeguarding when he’s complicit in elite protection rackets?

And what of Starmer’s mealy-mouthed regret for his “mistake”?

This isn’t contrition. It’s the classic elite dodge – admit just enough when the evidence is public, shed a crocodile tear for victims, then carry on as if nothing has happened. The victims of Epstein’s network of abusers – working-class girls groomed, trafficked, and discarded – really don’t need platitudes from the man who knowingly rehabilitated one of Epstein’s inner circle.

They need accountability and justice. Survivors deserve so much better than a prime minister who ignored glaring child-trafficking red flags. Every day Starmer clings to power he normalises this filth, erodes trust in politics and hands ammunition to Reform UK.

It’s not a one off when it’s all the time

And to every cynic who says “they’re all the same” – this isn’t just about one very bad appointment. It’s the obituary of Starmer’s fake-progressive centrism project that protects the elite whilst betraying the many. Labour was built as a weapon for workers, not a shield for paedophile-network enablers. Starmer has proven he won’t deliver progressive change, or even decency.

The Labour party may well be waiting for the outcome of the local elections in May before deciding what to do with Starmer.

Spoiler: Labour are facing an epic obliteration and will lose scores of council seats to a truly progressive force like the Green party.

Justice demands immediate and decisive accountability. Not an internal power struggle between the centre and right-wings of this broken Labour government.

Keir Starmer knew.

And now Keir Starmer has to resign.

Featured image via the Canary