"There has been a joke going around Labour MPs over the past week about three envelopes in Soviet Russia. Whenever you run into trouble, open them in order, the instructions go. Envelope one says: Blame your predecessor. So he does and it works. The party officials are satisfied. A year later, problems arise again. He opens envelope two. It says: Restructure the organisation. He does a big reshuffle, changes some titles, and again buys himself some time."
"When ministers warned that his scandal-ridden history indicated he was more of a risk than an asset even when the security services allegedly shared concerns Starmer went ahead and appointed him. Then, even though Mandelson had warned publicly that more embarrassing emails from him to convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were about to be published, Starmer defended him at prime minister's questions."
Labour MPs use a joke about three envelopes to describe a pattern of short-term fixes: blaming predecessors, restructuring, and preparing further measures. Attempts to address multiple difficulties over the past year, including the winter fuel duty decision, the freebies row and the handling of welfare cuts, have often produced more chaos. The sacking of Peter Mandelson followed concerns about his scandal-ridden history and alleged security worries, yet he was appointed and defended by the prime minister even as more embarrassing emails to Jeffrey Epstein were reported. MPs struggle to identify a clear ideological vision from the prime minister.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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