It's been brewing for a long time.

The major factor is polling, which has seen Labour outstripped nationwide by Reform UK Ltd (which party hasn't been delivering on polling's promises in recent real elections, but the trends' effects on Labour Party morale will take a long time to settle down, if they ever do).

That polling reflects the political ineptness of the first year or so of Starmer's tenure. His government began by trumpeting about an "unexpected economic black hole" (whose very existence is debatable) left behind by the Tories and heralding an outlook that sounded too close for comfort to the Tories' adventures in austerity in the previous decade. Punitive targeting of groups such as state pensioners, not infrequently followed by belated and humiliating U-turns in the face of widespread public opposition, set the seal on a totally uninspiring, visionless approach to governing only worsened by the fact that Starmer is utterly lacking in charisma and, in public at least, human warmth and spontaneity.

During the general election Labour won, there was much talk of the "Ming vase approach", on the basis that Labour could win because the Tories were terminally discredited and unpopular, and the vital overriding consideration was to avoid saying or doing anything or making any firm commitments that might make unwelcome waves.

It shouldn't come as a surprise, but it seems to have done for surprisingly many, that the resulting government seems rudderless and flatfooted, and has very little in common with what are generally regarded as Labour traditions (apart from the well-practised one of perpetual infighting).

Faced with early divisions in the party, Starmer was very trigger-happy in retaliating against MPs who didn't follow the party whip - ironically on some of the issues on which he later U-turned.

All this, more than specifics like the Epstein/Mandelson revelations (which were just another set of examples of ineptness, albeit on a relatively grand and grisly scale), has added up to a riven party with many desperate for new leadership.

Whether a new leader will be enough to turn things around is anybody's guess, but I suppose it's unlikely to hurt more than the current turbulent doldrums.

Food for thought:

"It's impossible to know what Trump would treat as an established fact."

I've been catching up on reading the UK coverage of King Charles' visit to the US, and the line above from an Independent article had me chuckling, both for its obvious accuracy and for its dry, catty diplomatic understatement worthy of an episode of Yes, Prime Minister.

It came from royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams, among many other reactions from the UK's ranks of Royal Whisperers. The whole article's worth a read if you're a fan of British protocol and the country's long-suffering ennui with Trump's antics:

Brian Bilston (pen name of Paul Millicheap) was dubbed "The Poet Laureate of Twitter" some years ago

for his pithy rhymes at a time when it had a more restricted character limit. He's since published several collections of his works and a novel, and staged a number of speaking tours. A bit more about him here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Bilston

Probably his best-known work is the poem "Refugees", written in 2016 and since published as an illustrated book aimed at children, which has featured in many British schools' and universities' curriculums:

CATcerto. ORIGINAL PERFORMANCE. Mindaugas Piecaitis, Nora The Piano Cat

Apparently, this has been doing the rounds since 2009, but I only saw it last night.

RIP Dave Mason - "Feelin' Alright"

The stellar guitarist and songwriter passed away on April 19 at the age of 79, having retired from live performance last year due to ill health.

He leaves quite a legacy, having started out with Traffic, and played with many big names over the years, including Hendrix, Clapton, Fleetwood Mac, The Rolling Stones and Delaney & Bonnie, for whom he wrote their seminal song, "Only You Know and I Know".

If he hadn't crossed your radar, his Wikipedia article gives his backstory: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Mason

Here he is with an all-star band with parts recorded individually during the COVID lockdown, playing one of his more famous compositions, "Feelin' Alright".

Writing off Trump is one thing.

Hopefully this will once and for all put the kibosh on the idea that Ukraine has to gift Putin with territory he's failed to "win" through war. The only enthusiastic proponents of that scheme were Trump and his cronies and a few half-assed nominal Ukraine supporters or blatant fellow travellers of Russia. Putin would no doubt have been glad of the gift, but there's no reason to imagine it would have led to a sustained end to hostilities, quite the reverse.

But as for writing off the United States, I think that's throwing out the baby with the bathwater. Despite the spiteful rhetoric and actions from Trump, and especially Vance, along with others among Trump's cabal, we know that American public opinion has consistently favoured supporting Ukraine by substantial margins. The next Congress is likely to be far less slavishly loyal to Trump, and ways could be found to offer concrete support and fewer favours to Putin, and maybe start undoing some of the harm Trump's tried to do in the last couple of years.

Meanwhile, it will be no bad thing if the rest of NATO and Ukraine's allies work to be far less dependent on the US's agenda and firepower.

Has the Forward March of Populism Been Halted?

Has the Forward March of Populism Been Halted?

EXPOSED: How Viktor Orban Bankrolled the Network Around Reform UK

As Hungary’s Prime Minister suffers a historic electoral defeat, Byline Times maps out how his government’s funding arm channelled hundreds of thousands of pounds into organisations at the heart of Britain’s hard right.

James Orr, Head of Policy for Reform UK, occupies key roles across a cluster of organisations that have received substantial funding from Viktor Orbán’s government – a network whose reach into British conservatism is now thrown into sharp relief by the Hungarian Prime Minister’s defeat at the polls on Sunday.

Orr is a trustee of the Roger Scruton Legacy Foundation (RSLF), which the Good Law Project has revealed receives most of its funding from Orbán’s Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC) think tank.
...
Orr is also UK Chairman of the Edmund Burke Foundation, which organises the National Conservatism (NatCon) conferences, events that have consistently held up Orbán’s leadership as a model for British conservatives to follow.

Byline Times previously reported that Orr secured the backing of Palantir founder Peter Thiel in co-founding the Free Speech Union (FSU) with Toby Young.

Thiel – who, as Byline Times has separately reported, maintained a confirmed business partnership with Epstein through a shared venture fund – has spoken at and funded NatCon, as has Orbán, with funding routed through MCC.



https://bylinetimes.com/2026/04/14/exposed-how-viktor-orban-bankrolled-the-network-around-reform-uk/