Afternoon music
Talking point
Tweets seen
Our animal friends.
[“Extraordinary testimony from Oliver Robbins to the foreign affairs select committee:
- he was subject to “constant pressure” from No 10 when he arrived in the foreign office to get Peter Mandelson in post asap.
- fcdo was urged to allow Mandelson’s appointment as ambo without usual vetting process – but dept pushed back and it eventually went ahead.
- Downing Street took a “dismissive” attitude to vetting & Mandelson was given access to fcdo, low classification ID & higher classification briefings before he was actually granted clearance.
- he confirms he had not told anybody in No 10 about the UKSV decision.”]
That translates to a Commons with about 355 Reform UK MPs (solid majority), 78 Greens (very weak official Opposition), 74 LibDems, 49 Cons, 45 SNP, and 23 Lab, meaning that 380 persons currently sitting as Labour MPs are not so far from losing their jobs, losing their status, and losing their salaries, expenses, perks etc. Once again, on those figures Starmer would lose his own seat.
Ian Robert Millard 