Lord Mandelson: ‘Dark lord’ of New Labour strikes back as UK ambassador to US The peer’s ability to manipulate the levers of power from the shadows earned him monikers such as ‘the Prince of Darkness’. Evening Standard · Dec 20, 2024
Trump team warns Starmer’s ‘horrible, arrogant’ ambassador pick means Britain will be ‘locked out’ of key discussions President-elect’s team deeply unhappy at Starmer’s choice for Britain’s new top diplomat The Independent UK · Dec 20, 2024
Who is Peter Mandelson? The controversial Labour grandee who called Epstein his "best pal" From Young Communist League member who sold the Morning Star outside Kilburn Tube Station to Tony Blair’s ‘Prince of Darkness’ Evening Standard · Dec 20, 2024
High profile, high risk: could Mandelson help tame Donald Trump? Labour veteran Peter Mandelson is the first political appointment as ambassador to Washington in 50 years The Guardian - UK · Dec 20, 2024
Why was Peter Mandelson arrested and what is his history with Labour and Starmer? The Labour grandee has held some of the most senior roles in British politics The Independent UK · Dec 20, 2024
Lord Mandelson ‘good fit’ for ambassador to US, Cabinet minister says Lord Mandelson is expected to be made the UK’s top diplomat in Washington in a political appointment as Donald Trump returns to the White House. Evening Standard · Dec 20, 2024
Allow teachers to fine parents over pupils’ bad behaviour, says Tony Blair’s thinktank Report argues for more powers, but teachers say this could strain already fraught relationships with parents The Guardian - UK · Dec 20, 2024
Have those who say Starmer is failing forgotten the madness of the Tory years already? The PM can’t simply sit back and hope things will settle down. But look to history: there is an inevitability about his predicament, says Guardian columnist Andy Beckett The Guardian - UK · Dec 16, 2024
Tony Blair calls for roll out of digital ID to tackle immigration and spiralling NHS costs The former prime minister warns politicians that anyone who tries to manage the status quo will lose The Independent UK · Dec 12, 2024
The Guardian view on politicians using business logic: public services aren’t startups Editorial: When an insecure government borrows credibility from business leaders, a lot can go wrong The Guardian - UK · Dec 11, 2024
Wednesday briefing: Everything you wanted to know about the spending review (but were afraid to ask) In today’s newsletter: All governments do them. But what exactly are they and how can you tell if they worked or not? The Guardian - UK · Dec 11, 2024
Best books 2024: Our writers pick their favourite reads from 2024 All the books we loved in 2024 Evening Standard · Dec 9, 2024
Bullies can sense weakness – which is why Labour must not shy away from taking on the global far right By failing to challenge extremist narratives around immigration, Starmer is weakening, not strengthening, his government’s position, says Guardian columnist Andy Beckett The Guardian - UK · Dec 9, 2024
UK's Aristocratic Lawmakers Prepare For Life After The Lords UK hereditary lawmaker Richard Fletcher-Vane, better known as Lord Inglewood, will soon no longer commute the few hundred miles from his country house in northwest England to the House of Lords in London -- and he is not happy about it. International Business Times · Dec 9, 2024
The Guardian - UK · Dec 8, 2024 Britain has never looked more exposed, adrift in the Atlantic in a world pulsing with perils Sir Keir Starmer is confronted with several stark strategic dilemmas and they won’t be resolved by wishful thinking
The Guardian - UK · Dec 7, 2024 ‘I feel I’ve upset a few people over the years’: actor Brian Cox on overrated co-stars, charmless politicians and the joy of smoking weed He’s famed for grumpy roles and outspoken views, but don’t be fooled – the Succession star is a pussycat at heart. He talks about growing up in poverty, falling in love with his wife – and out of love with Labour
The Guardian - UK · Dec 6, 2024 We cannot afford for Starmer’s government to fail. Because Farage is lying in wait It is not enough for the Labour leader’s ‘milestones’ to be achieved. Voters must feel the improvement in their daily lives, says Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland
The Guardian - UK · Dec 3, 2024 After months of dysfunction and miscommunication, is the Starmer method finally working? The prime minister won’t learn charisma, but he has a record of going places by doggedly clearing the obstacles in his way, says Guardian columnist Rafael Behr
The Independent UK · Dec 2, 2024 Chernobyl effects ‘overestimated’ says Blair Institute as it pushes for nuclear energy The Tony Blair Institute said global emissions would have been lower had an “inaccurate” portrayal of the technology’s safety had not taken hold
The Guardian - UK · Dec 2, 2024 Blair thinktank criticises ‘unfounded’ nuclear fears after Chornobyl Tony Blair Institute says global carbon emissions would be 6% lower if not for ‘inaccurate narrative’ over 1986 disaster
The Guardian - UK · Dec 2, 2024 ‘Why would Prince Andrew defend Epstein?’ ex-Newsnight editor Esme Wren on scoops, the queen and Brexit Wren has been at the forefront of broadcast news for 25 years, editing Newsnight and now Channel 4 News. She talks about slippery politicians – and the blockade on journalism in Gaza
The Guardian - UK · Dec 1, 2024 Keir Starmer’s new delivery targets are intended to give an electric jolt to Whitehall The view in Number 10 is that work on the government’s missions has been too sluggish and now needs to be driven harder and faster
The Independent UK · Nov 30, 2024 Voices: Blairites are in despair over Keir Starmer’s flailing leadership COMMENT: A person close to the former PM said the current government is like a bunch of unimaginative ‘librarians and academics’ but, writes John Rentoul, for some Starmer is not just a librarian or an academic but a funeral director
Evening Standard · Nov 25, 2024 John Prescott ‘got a reception like Beatlemania’, Prime Minister says in tribute Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle led tributes to Lord Prescott, who died last week, calling him a ‘towering figure in the Labour movement and in this House’.
Evening Standard · Nov 25, 2024 OPINION - Labour looks set to overpromise and underdeliver on housebuilding I'm instinctively suspicious of restaurants with large menus. How on earth can anything actually be fresh? And I feel the same way about writers who will happily offer an opinion on any subject. Surely they can't be an expert on everything? It is for this reason that I try to…