The heat is on

+Keir Starmer was found to be in breach of parliamentary standards for not reporting income when he should have done. Now, Labour frontbencher David Lammy has also been caught out for the same offence, to the tune of £40,000. In the latter case he claimed it was due to ‘administrative errors on my behalf’ - in other words, blame my staff. But to me, these ‘oversights’ smack of a casual approach to standards which politicians in senior positions should find inexcusable, especially after the MPs ‘expenses scandal’ which permanently damaged what was left of MPs reputations. In Starmer’s case the problem is more serious, since he has already blown his image for being trustworthy and honest after it became clear he had misled Labour’s membership with a policy platform he had no intention of sticking to. And whilst Durham constabulary may have let him off over ‘Beergate’ many people will have concluded he is exactly the kind of person to get away with it, with all his much touted lawyerly skills. We probably don’t need reminding that some MPs went to prison for making ‘administrative oversights’ (in their own minds, at least).
 
+Jeremy Corbyn has recorded an interview on Doubledown News ( TOP SECRET: Jeremy Corbyn on the Report Mainstream Media Doesn't Want You to Know About (doubledown.news) ) which I think makes it pretty clear that he will be standing as an independent candidate at the next general election. There is no sign that the grovelling apology Starmer seeks for Corbyn’s response to the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s report on anti-Semitism in the Labour Party will be forthcoming. Quite the contrary, Corbyn (rightly in my opinion) has doubled down on his view, borne out by academic research, that the problem was overstated for political purposes. Should Corbyn be forced to stand as an independent candidate in a year or two’s time, I am sure there will be severe consequences for the Labour Party. There will be an alternate focus (and widespread campaign) in the next general election, with a great many Labour members and supporters ceasing to back Starmer’s increasingly authoritarian, right wing shadow of an opposition. The Tories will certainly be hoping for such an outcome, since splits in the ’progressive left’ vote (can we possibly include the LibDems in that category?) always benefits the Tories. Perhaps this is Starmer’s game plan?