Mini penne With a photo of a mall miniature penne pasta

*Sean Connery voice

Plague of ladybirds in 1976 (I was also 10). 🐞

Keir Starmer is running out of people to throw under the bus The dismissal of Olly Robbins adds to a sense of ricocheting instability within the prime minister’s office

Keir Starmer is running out of people to throw under the bus - my piece for @theobserveruk.bsky.social observer.co.uk/news/politic...

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He’d already appointed him!!! STOP DIGGING KEIR!

Here’s some of the senior officials that Starmer has sacked. Just trying to work out what seems to be the problem here.

open.substack.com/pub/arthursn...

Inspirational stuff.

Unbelievable stuff. 👀👀👀

NEW: Simon Case, the former cabinet secretary, advised Keir Starmer to do Mandelson’s security vetting *before*
his appointment as UK ambo to US.

Docs were buried in those released for humble address - but there doesn’t appear to have been a response.

In a crowded field, quite the most smackable face in world politics.

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The decision of a Prime Minister Only one person decided to appoint Lord Mandelson

'When the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom makes a bad decision it always seems that others must take the blame.' Excellent summary of the increasing political weakness of Starmer's position over Mandelson @davidallengreen.bsky.social emptycity.substack.com/p/the-decisi...

Or having semi-retirements instead of holidays.

The author of this article refused to sign an NDA, giving up severance and healthcare benefits to tell this story.

If you didn't read it already, read it.

Because he refused, we may be able to stop the Kennedy Center from being sold for parts and turned into a gaudy MAGA fundraising warehouse.

100% agree. Magnificent.

Absolutely first class.

And how many started you moronic orange baboon??

Picturing a Boris Johnson diehard is the stuff of nightmares.

Look at the clems on Gordon Milne.

Post the best picture you have ever taken of your pet.

@ciaranm.bsky.social was my private secretary at HM Treasury before going on to be the Cabinet Secretary's right hand man. I can confirm he is right on this, as he invariably is on everything else. #badbusiness

Just listened in the car to the first two episodes of the series, also featuring Eugene. Fantastic stuff. 👏👏👏

That is, indeed, a fundamental judgement point. We had a well-established, highly competent ambassador in place. Utter idiots.

If you step back, it is truly extraordinary that so many people went to such great lengths and broke so many conventions and risked their political careers and the only outcome of all these efforts and risks was appointing a washed-up old spinner to an ambassadorial post

Agree with much of what David says, and speak with a degree of insight having also been through the DV process a couple of times. Hard to believe, still, that OR didn’t feel it necessary to flag to Number Ten in spite of expected secrecy around the process. Road to Hell etc.

Coventry getting promoted??

If true, still pretty unbelievable. Robbins would have understood broader political sensitivity around Mandelson. Let’s see what Starmer has to say on Monday, and what Robbins says at FCDO Select Committee on Tuesday.

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To say he’s been around the block over the course of his government career would be a massive understatement. There is no way he would have done this without cover.

It is, indeed, quite the call, if true.