PM clings to power after a day when Commons mutiny filled the air, as fallout over Mandelson appointment continues
The most dangerous moment of Keir Starmer’s premiership came just after lunchtime on Wednesday, when mutiny was the talk of the Commons tea room.
Anger is widespread across Labour – but it was at its most palpable among the party’s new MPs, as the Conservatives used a humble address to force the disclosure of the vetting documents and communications linked to Peter Mandelson, disgraced by his close association with Jeffrey Epstein.
“At about 2pm yesterday, if someone had pulled the trigger, we would have moved,” one 2024 intake MP said on Thursday. “No one dared. I think that says a lot.”
Another new MP said they had “contempt” for leadership contenders who had not taken their chance. “Sometimes in politics, it’s about leadership. We needed leadership.”
