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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Peter Walker and Pippa Crerar

Last chance, Keir? MPs in despair as crisis engulfs Downing Street

Peter Mandelson and Keir Starmer look at each other as they walk and laugh
Peter Mandelson (left) and Keir Starmer at the British embassy in Washington in February 2025. Photograph: Simon Dawson/No 10 Downing Street

The debacle of last summer, when Keir Starmer caved in over welfare changes after promised concessions failed to convince his mutinous backbenchers, was viewed as a low point for his government. Now, amazingly, it has happened all over again.

If the repetition of history was not already enough, with the ructions over releasing government documents about Peter Mandelson, once again Starmer has a certain Angela Rayner to thank, in part, for digging him out of a political hole.

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