Newspaper Reader.
Feb 11, 2026
Alexander Mercouris
Starmer Clings On As UK Gov Unravels;
0:00 – Introduction and reminder to like and subscribe
0:31 – Overview of the British political crisis involving Peter Mandelson and Keir Starmer
3:15 – Starmer’s admission of knowledge about Mandelson’s Epstein connections
6:50 – Starmer’s chief of staff Morgan McSweeney scapegoated and resignation
11:32 – Analysis of McSweeney’s resignation letter and implications for Starmer
18:01 – Responsibility for Mandelson’s appointment likely lies with Starmer
25:47 – Additional resignations and growing crisis in Starmer’s government
28:21 – Impact of upcoming Manchester by-election on leadership change timing
30:39 – Prospects for policy change under potential new Labour leadership
33:19 – Insider information on Rishi Sunak’s views on Ukraine policy
36:00 – Critique of Starmer’s character and political actions
…
Headline: Starmer Has an Epstein, Not Truss, Moment
Sub-headline: Personal probity is the very least of the British prime minister’s problems, and markets are in for a period of uncertainty.
Epstein’s Political Victims
The Jeffrey Epstein scandal is poised to bring down its first major political leader. That’s not surprising. But it’s amazing that the head to roll looks likely to be that of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Unlike US President Donald Trump, there is no evidence that he ever even met the convicted pedophile. Personal probity is the very least of his problems.
And yet he is in terrible political trouble. His House of Commons majority is unassailable and his mandate runs until the summer of 2029, but bettors predict he will be out of office by the end of June:
…
Editor: This collection of ‘data’ titled ‘A Prime Minister in Trouble’ is political window dressing, a holdover from John Authers time as ‘A former chief markets commentator at The Financial Times’ .
…
The catalyst was his 2024 decision to make the Labour Party grandee Peter Mandelson ambassador to the US, in the hope that he could smooth the relationship with Trump. Mandelson was fired after his gushing correspondence to Epstein came to light, and the scandal rose to a far more dangerous level last week when the latest downloads revealed emails he had sent to the disgraced financier when he was deputy prime minister, alerting him to market-sensitive policy decisions. This is extremely bad for Mandelson; but there’s no suggestion Starmer knew this when he hired him.
The appointment attracted much commentary at the time, but little condemnation. However, in the last two days, Starmer’s chief-of-staff and head of communications have been forced to resign over the issue, with his chief civil servant now likely to follow. Monday brought a call from Anas Sarwar, the Labour Party’s leader in Scotland, for the prime minister to stand down.
How can a long-dead American pedophile possibly bring down a British prime minister he never met? Tina Fordham of Fordham Global Foresight offers two explanations:
I can’t decide is this just the latest example of the particular disease we have here in the UK, where our politicians are seemingly simultaneously comparatively cheap to bribe…and our political culture is deeply self-righteous…or if the UK government is merely the first casualty in what will become a wider Epstein-induced decapitation strike on the Western political and business establishment.
Editor: John Authers then trades in ‘Market Metaphysyics’? Though it resembles Miss Havisham’s wedding cake!
Markets must now tolerate protracted uncertainty. Labour Party elections take about two months, and there’s no clear front-runner. The most plausible candidates are ideologically to the left of Starmer, and more likely to stoke fiscal problems. Gilt yields jolted up noticeably after Sarwar called for him to go.
…
Editor: With only 304 more words and graphs, that awaits the reader attention, and waining patience!
Newspaper Reader.
StephenKMackSD's Blog 