Nish Kumar

Keir Starmer started, I don't know what number we're at, number 78 of his weeks from hell.

He lost his Chief of Staff and Head of Communications in less than 24 hours.

But his cabinet and Angela Rayner came through with a flurry of supportive tweets and messages that really had the ring of, do not just copy and paste, please turn into your own words.

He's managed to hang on at the time of recording on the 11th of February.

At this moment, he remains in post.

It's quite weird to talk about the turmoil of politics like it's something that's sort of happening to him.

But look, let's briefly summarise this latest chaotic week that he's referring to.

So Morgan McSweeney took the hit for the decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as our ambassador to the United States of America.

He stood down on Sunday.

In his resignation letter, he said, I advise the Prime Minister to make that appointment and I take full responsibility for that advice.

The only honourable course is to step aside.

And then another hit for Starmer, his decision to send his former communications chief, Matthew Doyle, to the Lords, despite knowing that he had campaigned for a counsellor charged with sex offences.

Number 10 say that Starmer wasn't aware about the connection and they've not stripped Doyle's peerage.

As we record on Wednesday, they're pointing to an ongoing investigation.

It does feel like their vetting process is, are you left wing?

And if you answer yes, then you're gone.

And even if you answer no, but I am an enormous paedophile.

That seemed to be like, listen, as long as you take yes, we'll just move you through.

I'm not left wing, but I have consorted with an international sex track.

Hey, hey, you said no.