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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Helen MacNamara and Cleo Watson

The one person who should be in the Mandelson files – but barely features

Peter Mandelson Sir Keir Starmer

The latest drop of Mandelson files has been humiliating for Keir Starmer. As private emails and messages between Peter Mandelson and MPs were published, his government was branded "pathetic", "disappointing", and "beleaguered".

But the most alarming revelation about Starmer came not from what others said about him, but what the documents show he had to say for himself – very, very little.

In this clip from In The Room, Helen MacNamara and Cleo Watson analyse how weird it is for a prime minister to be so absent from government business, and what it means when a PM is so quiet.

New episodes of In The Room drop every week. You can listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or watch on YouTube.

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