Starmer's Scandals Pile Up
Craft Politics16 Sep 2025

Starmer's Scandals Pile Up

This week on Craft Politics, we kick off our latest Issue Scan with a Prime Minister in crisis, a Conservative Party in retreat, and a Canadian housing announcement that somehow manages to add more bureaucracy to solve… bureaucracy.

Plus, our favourite comms segment—Lipstick on a Gerbil—features an impossible task: defending Peter Mandelson.

With Percy mostly frozen on screen (literally), Joseph and Holly carry the show. Here’s what’s inside:

🇬🇧 UK: Mandelson, Epstein, and the Labour Meltdown

  • ❌ Peter Mandelson is sacked as UK ambassador to the US after emails surface linking him to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein

  • 🧨 Starmer’s judgment under fire—did he know more than he admitted during PMQs?

  • 🗳 Backbench muttering begins. Is May 2026 the unofficial deadline for a leadership change?

  • 📉 Labour infighting, ministerial fatigue, and growing pressure from Andy Burnham



🔁 Meanwhile, the Conservatives lose… to Reform

  • 🧍‍♂️ MP Danny Kruger defects to Reform UK, declaring: “The Conservative Party is dead.”

  • 🤷‍♀️ Holly isn’t so sure: is this the start of a cascade, or just posturing between conferences?

🇺🇸 US: The Shooting of Charlie Kirk

  • 💥 A high-profile act of political violence rocks the U.S.—and spreads globally

  • 📱 The power (and danger) of social media virality in shaping public fear

  • 🛑 What it means for public office, political recruitment, and the future of civil discourse


🇨🇦 Canada: The PM’s Housing Blitz

  • 🏘 Mark Carney launches Build Canada Homes, a new federal agency with a $13B mandate

  • 📈 Goal: 4,000 factory-built homes across 6 sites, using federal land and Canadian materials

  • 🏗 But is launching a new bureaucracy really the best way to fight bureaucracy?


💄 Lipstick on a Gerbil: The Matt Tapp Clip

  • 🎤 Labour Minister Matt Tapp sent out to defend Peter Mandelson’s appointment… hours before the sacking

  • 🐽 Did he even try to apply lipstick? Or did he wisely avoid putting his fingerprints on the mess?

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Episoder(72)

One Country, Two Fires

One Country, Two Fires

A week ago, the Henry Nowak case was the story dominating the news agenda. Then Belfast caught fire — literally — and two separate stories became one. Percy and Joseph work through how a murder in Sou...

11 Jun 38min

The Purity Test

The Purity Test

Over the weekend the BC Conservatives picked the candidate the smart money had written off — and half the commentariat instantly called it a gift to the NDP. We're not convinced. A party that went fro...

2 Jun 34min

37 Words: How Alberta's Ballot Question Tilts the Field

37 Words: How Alberta's Ballot Question Tilts the Field

Last week, we recorded with Evan Menzies about the brewing Alberta referendum — and within hours of us hitting publish, Premier Smith unveiled the actual ballot question. So we're back at it.It's also...

27 Mai 42min

Alberta Separatism with Evan Menzies

Alberta Separatism with Evan Menzies

In February, Dave Cournoyer told us Alberta was sliding toward a separation referendum the pro-Canada side wasn't ready to fight. Three months later, the referendum is both stalled and very much alive...

21 Mai 51min

James Wharton on Reform's Surge and Starmer's Survival

James Wharton on Reform's Surge and Starmer's Survival

Sixty episodes ago, James Wharton came on the show with a Labour government struggling to find its sea legs. 15 months later, Keir Starmer is fighting for his job.So we brought James back. Lord Wharto...

12 Mai 42min

Kyla Ronellenfitsch on the Conservatives' brand problem

Kyla Ronellenfitsch on the Conservatives' brand problem

For forty years, the Conservative Party owned cost of living. Not anymore — and Kyla Ronellenfitsch has the polling to prove it.This week on Craft Politics: pollster and data scientist Kyla Ronellenfi...

30 Apr 39min

Rudy Husny Breaks Down Quebec's Political Landscape

Rudy Husny Breaks Down Quebec's Political Landscape

We brought in Rudy Husny — former senior advisor to Ed Fast at International Trade, two-time federal Conservative candidate in Outremont, 2020 Conservative leadership contender, and one of the most th...

22 Apr 40min

Majority Rules

Majority Rules

Carney has his majority — 174 seats after sweeping all three by-elections. First time a Canadian minority has become a majority through floor-crossings and by-elections. But the bigger story is the Co...

16 Apr 39min

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