Are we stuck in never-ending political scandal? w/Ash Sarkar
episodePreviously titled “143: Are we stuck in never-ending political scandal? w/Ash Sarkar” — renamed by the publisher on Aug 4, 2026
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Hi, this is Pod Save the UK. I'm Nish Kumar and I am coming to you from a land down under. I'm in Australia on what was supposed to be a holiday, but the news never sleeps. And so I'm here raring to go.
And I'm Coco Khan. I'm coming to you from my flat, which is not quite as glamorous. Maybe I should have gone first. I feel like that was a nice surprise that you were in Australia. Anyway, this week we are looking at Keir Starmer. I'm wondering how many ways it can go wrong for him.
The reason that I'm in Australia holidaying is because I was actually working last week in New Zealand. I was filming a small part in a sitcom that I'm very excited about. I think it's going to be a really funny show. And most crucially, my hair was blow-dried straight. We can all look forward. Oh my God! to that visual later in the year. Between now and the hair straightening, we've got very exciting things coming up. Most notably this week, we are joined once again by our great friend Ash Larker from Navarra Media, who is going to discuss with us the impact of Peter Mandelson's arrest, the by-election and a stream of endless bloody inquiries and investigations.
Also, we do want to mention that we actually have some good news to discuss. Do stick around right at the end.
First up, Peter Mandelson was arrested on Monday on suspicion of misconduct in public office. Bizarrely, his lawyers then claimed that the arrest had only happened because the police wrongly believed that he was going to flee the country.
This all follows the release of emails from the Epstein files. They led to allegations that Mandelson forwarded market-sensitive government information to the convicted sex offender at a time when Mandelson was serving as a cabinet minister.
What are the latest political scandals involving Keir Starmer?
Mandelson has always denied any wrongdoing. And we have to mention, because our lawyers have told us we have to, we have to mention that arrest is not a charge and we are still very far from any possible court case.
But the arrest alone puts the story back on the front pages, which is a headache for Keir Starmer. Joining us to discuss it all is Ash Sarkar, the contributing editor of Novara Media and author of Minority Rule, now out in paperback. Ash, welcome back to Pod Save the UK. So let's get into this. Starmer, I think he was hoping... You know, he had a parliamentary recess. I always find it funny when we say that. Who cares about your half terms anyway? Starmer might have hoped to ease back into things. Probably they wanted to talk a lot about SEND provisions. They've been sending the education minister out. Or at least talk about unaffordable student loans. I'm sure you've seen that. It's also been in the headlines.
But instead, he's back to talking about Peter Mandelson. I know it's hard, Ash, but can you sympathise with him? We've all had a first bad week at work, haven't we?
No, not really, because this is... Ash, let he who is without sin, let he who has not hired a man who many people warned him was a close affiliate of an international sex offender cast the first time.
And who had to resign in disgrace from government not once, but twice already. I mean, this is the thing.
I know, but look, he's, you know, he's come back from his holly bobs.
Oh.
From his holly bobs.
Always holly bobs. I mean, like, in a way, I feel sorry for him in the sense that he knows that he's only in the job right now because nobody else wants to take it on before the May elections. So a couple of weeks ago, when you had that super overheated news day, when Anas Sarwar said that Keir Starmer should resign, and it was sort of expected that maybe there'd be some cabinet resignations or something, Keir Starmer ultimately stayed in place. Now, the official line was that was because nobody wanted to destabilise the government. So that's just complete horseshit. That's just from bean to cup, completely made up. The real reason is, if you anticipate... a completely humiliating election result, which Labour do in May.
Why would you want to be the leader for that, right? If you're West Street or Angela Rayner or Ed Miliband or whoever else, why would you want that to be your face in charge of the calamitous fuck-up?
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:02–1:45
2
What are the latest political scandals involving Keir Starmer?
1:45–5:27
3
How does Ash Sarkar view the impact of Peter Mandelson's arrest?
5:27–10:12
4
What are the implications of the Labour Together scandal?
10:12–13:54
5
How does the current political climate affect voter trust?
13:54–24:12
6
What are the proposed changes to the SEND system?
24:12–24:37
7
What good news is shared about protest groups?
24:37–56:29
Speakers
6 identifiedMore from Pod Save the UK
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