Keir Starmer leaves 10 Downing Street on Monday to make a statement on his visit to China as his government comes under pressure over former Washington ambassador Peter Mandelson's ties to Jeffrey Epstein. © ZUMA Press, Inc. / Alamy Stock Photo
The Prime Minister has had possibly the toughest week of his time in office so far, with the fallout from Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes continuing to irradiate more public figures. This time, Peter Mandelson has been back at the centre of scrutiny, resigning from the House of Lords on Monday after more revelations of the depth of his relationship with Epstein came out in the latest batch of files released by the US Department of Justice. The files show Mandelson received $75,000 worth of donations from Epstein between 2003 and 2004, and that he offered to help Epstein secure a Russian visa. He now finds himself under investigation by police over suggestions that he leaked sensitive information to Epstein while serving as Gordon Brown’s Business Secretary, including a confidential briefing on the proposed sale of government assets, a forewarning about the EU’s €500bn bailout to prevent the Euro collapsing, and attempts to make changes to a planned tax on bankers’ bonuses. The storm over Mandelson has caused significant difficulties for the Prime Minister this week, who has faced an avalanche of questions over his decision to appoint him as ambassador to the US, and the role of his Chief of Staff, Morgan McSweeney, in the appointment.
Pressure on the PM intensified in PMQs after he revealed he was aware of the relationship continuing after Epstein’s conviction (cue gasps from the Chamber), and that Mandelson did in fact undergo security vetting that included questions on this very issue… On Wednesday, the Government confirmed it would publish information relating to Mandelson’s appointment in a major win for opposition parties, after the Conservatives brought forward a ‘Humble Address’ calling for the documents’ release. It is of course unlikely to have escaped the Tories’ notice that this rather dusty piece of parliamentary procedure, which takes the form of a petition to the King voted on by the House, was a favourite of the Prime Minister when he was Leader of the Opposition… Despite this, the Government managed to include an amendment to the Address maintaining that information prejudicial to national security would not be released, sparking off yet more controversy in a situation that seems unlikely to calm down any time soon. Pressure is also mounting on the Prime Minister to sack his Chief of Staff Morgan McSweeney for the role he played in Mandelson’s appointment, despite Starmer having “full confidence” in McSweeney. This one has still got a long way to run…
61 – number of years it could take to refurbish the Houses of Parliament, under proposals presented to MPs and peers.
53 – number of athletes Team GB have sent to the Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina.
3,000 – number of people the Government estimate could be eligible to be removed or deported following Shabana Mahmood’s threats of visa penalties to Angola, Namibia and the DRC.
55,000 – number of Ukrainian soldiers killed during Russia’s invasion so far.
£5.50 – increase to the cost of a TV license from April.
7 – number of Labubu shops opening in the UK following Keir Starmer’s trade deal with China.
3.75% – interest rate held at the Bank of England vote this week.
11.48 million – number of people who beat the self-assessment deadline.
30% – percentage increase in the minimum unit price of beer and wine in Wales from October.
The Prime Minister visited Japan at the tail end of his trip to East Asia last weekend, reinforcing the UK’s friendly relationship with the country. The PM and his Japanese counterpart, Sanae Takaichi, spoke on international security, agreeing a new cyber security partnership and underlining their commitment to the GCAP jet programme, as well as on trade and technology.
Health Secretary and Leadership hopeful Wes Streeting announced the National Cancer Plan, which pledges that from 2035, 75% of patients will be cancer free or living well after 5 years. It also plans to meet all cancer waiting time standards by 2029, with hundreds of thousands more patients to be treated within 62 days.
Shabana Mahmood has now struck deals with three African countries: Namibia, Angola, and now the Democratic Republic of Congo over their cooperation on returns of illegal migrants. She pursued the slightly more aggressive strategy of threatening them with visa penalties; however, it has seemingly proven successful for striking these deals. It’s reported that India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Somalia and Gabon are all resistant to similar deals and that Mahmood could pursue sanctions on these countries in the future - so watch this space.
The Government’s Pride in Place programme will be expanded to 40 new neighbourhoods across England, giving local people direct control over how up to £20m is invested in their communities. The new package, worth up to £800m, builds on the existing £5bn programme, and aims to support areas revitalise high streets, protect community assets, and strengthen local life. The Prime Minister delivered a speech on the cost of living on Thursday morning to announce the funding… which landed like a small bird atop a Mandelson-shaped skyscraper.
A new Green Book from the Treasury was released, aimed at better supporting growth in areas outside of London and the South East and ensuring decisions are not based solely on single metrics such as benefit-cost ratios but instead have to take ‘into account the full range of impacts of different investment options’.
And beginning that process… the West Midlands will be the base of a new Transport and Infrastructure Campus, bringing together transport, property and housing infrastructure expertise from across multiple departments throughout the West Midlands. Expertise from the DfT, MHCLG and Cabinet Office will be combined to ‘accelerate infrastructure projects, and support the investment of at least £725bn in public infrastructure over the next decade under the National Infrastructure Strategy.’
The Government took a leap forward in its “golden age” of nuclear as it released the Advanced Nuclear Framework. The Framework entails plans to power the AI boom through nuclear technology, enabling economic growth, the creation of thousands of jobs, and protect billpayers by using British clean energy.
The Department for Work and Pensions announced pension scheme reforms to tackle the gender pension gap. These reforms will come into force in April and will make gender pension gap data reporting statutory, as well as unpaid additional maternity, shared parental or adoption leave automatically pensionable.
Nigel Farage picked Dan Thomas, former Tory leader of Barnet council, as Reform UK’s leader in Wales at a party event in Newport on Thursday. South Wales-born Thomas, referring to his time in London, said that he’s “back to where I belong” upon taking up the role. He and his new boss criticised the current Welsh Government’s handling of the NHS in Wales, as well as its controversial policy on speed limits.
The never-ending yo-yo of US foreign policy continued this week, as President Trump swung back around to supporting the Government’s deal with Mauritius over the Chagos Islands. Trump had previously caused a significant headache for in Downing Street by loudly blasting the deal as an ‘act of great stupidity’ on Truth Social. It will no doubt be a relief, then, that he has changed his tune following a call with the PM, calling it the “best [deal] he could make”, but reserving the right to defend US interests in the territory however he sees fit.
The US and Iran are engaging in talks after a weeks-long military standoff, with American warships and other assets gathering in the Middle East. The negotiations, taking place in Oman, will likely cover Iran’s nuclear weapons programme, the principal source of the two countries’ sporadic confrontation over the past year.
Consultations, consultations and more consultations were launched this week, as the Government unveiled its proposals to establish a development corporation to improve economic growth in the Oxford-Cambridge corridor; 14 consultations have been launched on local government reorganisation proposals from local leaders in areas such as Hertfordshire; Kent and Medway; Lancashire; and Warwickshire; and consultations were also launched on improving access to flexible working, and on strengthening the legislation around tipping. Good luck to all those now drafting responses…
The Prime Minister updated the Commons on his trip to China and Japan on Monday, during which the name Mandelson, would you believe it, was barely uttered (a week is a long time in politics etc., etc.). Aside from domestic dramas, foreign affairs was a running theme in the Commons: the Shadow Foreign Secretary attained an urgent question on the situation in Iran, while the Foreign Secretary updated the House following her visit to the Sudanese border. Meanwhile, a Backbench Business debate on the risk of genocide in Gaza was also held.
The Lords had a busy week scrutinising legislation. The Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill completed its second reading, while the Crime and Policing Bill continued into its fifteenth day in committee. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill progressed through report stage, where a Conservative amendment to ban students from using mobile phones during the school day was agreed by 178 votes to 140. Peers ended the week debating the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which is now on its ninth committee day – with no clear end in sight.
Reform UK are holding an 8 point lead, according to Ipsos’ latest poll, though, unfortunately for the new defectors, this is down from its +15 in November last year. The poll concluded that there is shrinking confidence in Reform UK’s readiness for Government, as 58% of respondents said that they disagree that Farage’s party is ready to take office (up from 53% in September). Confidence in Farage is also dwindling, as 55% of respondents said they were unsatisfied the Reform UK leader is doing a good job (+3 from November). The latest voting intention poll puts Reform UK on 30%, Labour on 20%, the Conservatives on 19%, and the Lib Dems and Greens on 12%.
Policy makers ‘mustn’t shy away from the challenge’ of decarbonising agriculture concluded a Resolution Foundation report titled ‘Green Your Eats’, as the sector remains of one the most difficult to decarbonise. The report details the current strain on the agriculture sector, as they are being asked to halt species decline, improve water quality, and restore degraded habitats, alongside struggling with low productivity, with farmers working for on average £6 an hour. It argued the cost of decarbonising should be passed onto consumers, as it will lead to less than a 1% increase in the cost of food by 2025, and ‘the urge to increase subsidies in order to protect farmers from such costs should be resisted.’
The Great North must be the centre of the UK’s economic strategy, argued the latest briefing from the IPPR, which looked at northern regional growth. Assessing how to increase living standards and grow investment six months into the launch of The Great North mayoral-led partnership, the think tank recommended that: the Great North Partnership should explore options for a financial mechanism to share risk and reward at the pannorthern level; an investment board should be set up to advise the Great North leadership, which should collectively conduct a gap analysis to determine if investment lacking by sector, by stage and or by type across the North; and there needs to be greater collective pan-northern investment in project development capacity and pipeline building.
Peter Mandelson is not facing any action over a photo of him publicly urinating in the street due to a ‘lack of evidence’ (go figure…) despite profusely apologising for the incident in November, saying he was “bursting”.
Nigel Farage has confirmed that Jeremy Kyle is media-training Reform UK’s candidates. The former talk-show host’s programme, which ended in controversy in 2019, infamously bought years of shocking revelations to our screens, always involved security and regularly ended in fights. Honestly, these write themselves sometimes.
Recent Reform recruits Suella Braverman and Robert Jenrick went through the wrong lobby and accidentally voted to lift the two-child limit benefit cap on Tuesday night, whilst their fellow new Reform MPs voted against. Upon realising their mistake, they apparently tried to leave but the doors were already locked… much to the enjoyment of their former Tory colleagues no doubt.
Not rid of the rodents yet, Kemi Badenoch’s ITV interview was gate-crashed this week by a mouse running across her parliamentary office in the background. With Parliament’s heating system on the brink, rodents merrily scuttling about and refurbishment plans to take 61 years… one wonders if it’s time to just move out?
