The Rest Is Politics – Ep. 499: Is It Game Over for Starmer?

Date: February 9, 2026
Hosts: Alastair Campbell (A) & Rory Stewart (B)

Episode Overview

This episode sees Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart urgently address the mounting crisis facing UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. With the dramatic departure of key aides, relentless media scrutiny declaring his “48 hours to save his premiership,” and bitter internal party dissatisfaction, Campbell and Stewart debate whether Starmer’s leadership can survive. They dissect the Westminster soap opera, the personalities and power dynamics behind recent scandals (notably Peter Mandelson’s links to Epstein), and reflect on the broader culture of influence, hypocrisy, and network-driven politics in Britain and beyond.

The tone is candid, sometimes confessional, with both hosts grappling with ethical ambiguities and the messy reality of political power.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Starmer’s Leadership Crisis: Cause, Symptoms, and Prospects

The Crisis Unfolds

• A major reshuffling: Morgan McSweeney (Chief of Staff) resigns amid scandal, swiftly followed by comms director Tim Allen [01:20].
• Media environment is exceedingly hostile: Headlines everywhere proclaim Starmer’s impending downfall [02:18].
• Internal party reaction: “A lot of very, very angry Labour MPs who just feel the government has not been operating the way that it should” [03:06].

Origins of the Turmoil

• “Sometimes it does take a sort of tipping point… the Mandelson Epstein relationship and the appointment and all the debate about who vetted and who didn’t vet…” (Campbell) [03:06].
• Causal web: A background of mishaps, policy U-turns, discontented new MPs, and now a scandal acting as trigger.

Media’s Role & Manufactured Crisis?

• Campbell criticizes the media’s tendency to escalate issues for drama and scandal: “The media can only do one volume and it has to be louder and louder and louder… part of the game… is try and create… a problem into a scandal, a scandal into a crisis, and then get a scalp” [03:51].

Comparisons & Historical Parallels

• Stewart points out the irony that “If Starmer was brought down by Epstein when Trump was a good friend of Epstein’s... that would be very odd.” He notes removal of a Labour leader is structurally difficult (see: Corbyn) and ultimately depends on will to resign [05:57].

What Next for Starmer?

• Campbell: “I’m not convinced right now… I think if Labour was suddenly to lurch now into a leadership contest… it could make things even worse” [04:47].
• Stewart is skeptical Starmer can find the necessary direction: “If he hasn’t done it yet, I can’t see that he’s going to be able to do it” [17:07].

The Morgan McSweeney Factor

Role and Power

• McSweeney seen as key architect: won Starmer the leadership, purged the left, designed strategy, and ran No. 10 [09:38].
• Campbell is critical: “If the person who is credited as the main strategist and the strategy’s not working, that is a real problem” [13:16].

Toxic Narrative

• McSweeney’s allies feeding the press creates sense Starmer can’t function without him: “It’s almost like he’s been put in there, but actually it’s these guys over here, in particular Morgan, who are running the show. That is terrible for a leader” [09:58].

Campbell’s Inside View

• Campbell clarifies he’s voiced concerns privately to all involved for months: “I think there is a fundamental problem inside that operation… We don’t really know what the… big picture is” [13:43].

Memorable Moment:

• [15:36] “When I resigned, the papers said ‘Blair loses his brain.’… Ultimately, we have so much focus in this kind of soap opera political world on advisors… ultimately it is about the politicians. The politicians have to show that they have it.” (Campbell)

Policy Drift, Lack of Clarity & Internal Discontent

• Stewart critiques Starmer’s inability to define and stick to a clear agenda: “It was about growth and then it wasn’t about growth… he’s done that a third, a fourth time, and that’s really weird” [17:07].
• Both agree new MPs, unused to adversity, feel ignored and disillusioned [08:11].
• Need for cabinet empowerment and direction: Stewart suggests “first among equals” model, not the tightly controlled McSweeney era [24:07].

The Mandelson-Epstein Scandal

Scandal Details

• Stewart summarizes the damage: “It’s not just a lapse of judgment. It’s appointing as your ambassador to Washington somebody who was tied in financially and in intelligence terms to an international criminal network” [05:57].
• Links to wider culture of influence: Mandelson’s reputation as a hyper-networked power broker is exactly what made him attractive for the appointment, and also what proves toxic in scandal.

Broader Implications

• For Campbell, this is about the “reputational currency bank” – Mandelson’s account finally drained by years of risky associations [19:48].
• Both hosts connect the episode to a culture of elite “network-driven” politics (see below).

Influence, Corruption, and Networks: The Epstein Files

Systemic “Networking”

• Stewart discusses how Epstein functioned as the hub for a global power elite: “it’s a story of more than 10, 12 years of [Epstein] having this person who he’s trying to put. So he actually set up something called Project Jez to get this guy in (referring to Joe Staley, Barclays CEO)” [34:10, 36:26].
• “This isn’t just beating up Labour… Cameron in the Greensill scandal… Boris Johnson with Lebedev… It’s a world very… dependent on people with informal networks peddling influence” [48:08].

Hypocrisy and Social Change

• Stewart: “A lot of these figures were literally making speeches condemning violence against women… then getting on planes with Epstein straight after their speeches” [41:27].
• Campbell: “I hope that this… will maybe regenerate some of that energy around the MeToo movement” [39:12].

Cultural Reflection

• Stewart: “When you know people and you’re friends with them, there are natural instincts to try to avoid talking openly about this… I should be pointing the spotlight at myself. A lot of my life has benefited from contacts and connections” [54:24].

Reform: Transparency, Rules, and Limits

• Stewart: “My solution: very, very clear rules to make it absolutely legally clear what the punishments are for taking gifts, jobs, emoluments, contracts, lobbying after leaving government… There are probably a thousand other people… who, if you release 3 million of their emails, could bring down another 20,000 people” [54:56].
• Campbell reflects on transactional nature of politics: “In politics, in every relationship, there’s always an element of transactionalism… That’s, I think, what turns a lot of people off the whole damn thing” [56:47].

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• [03:51] Campbell: “Part of the game of political media is try and create a… turn a sort of problem into a scandal, a scandal into a crisis, and then get a scalp.”
• [05:57] Stewart: “The Mandelson appointment is very, very damaging because it’s not just a lapse of judgment… it’s appointing as your ambassador to Washington somebody who was tied in financially and in intelligence terms to an international criminal network…”
• [13:16] Campbell: “If the person who is credited as the main strategist and the strategy's not working, that is a real problem.”
• [15:36] Campbell: “The Sun… headline was ‘Blair Loses His Brain’. … Ultimately… it is about the politicians. The politicians have to show that they have it.”
• [17:07] Stewart: “If he hasn’t done it yet, I can’t see that he’s going to be able to do it… I've been bewildered… by these endless changes.”
• [19:48] Campbell: “The importance of this thing that I call the reputational currency bank… to refill that currency reputational bank, he [Starmer] has got to give the PLP… the sense he knows how to get a grip.”
• [41:27] Stewart: “Some of these figures literally were making speeches condemning violence against women… then getting on planes with Epstein straight after their speeches.”
• [54:24] Stewart: “Instead of pointing the spotlight at others, I should be pointing the spotlight at myself. A lot of my life has benefited from contacts and connections in many, many ways.”
• [56:47] Campbell: “In politics, in every relationship, there's always an element of transactionalism. There's always, you know, what can I get out of him? What can I get out of her?... That's… what turns a lot of people off the whole damn thing.”

Structure & Important Segments

• [01:20–05:00]: Starmer’s crisis, departures, and media climate.
• [05:00–09:40]: Mandelson appointment, Labour disarray, mechanics of party leadership.
• [09:40–16:00]: Analysis of Morgan McSweeney's outsized role, media manipulation through leaks/off-the-record sources.
• [16:00–20:00]: Policy drift—why Starmer can't seem to set or stick to a clear direction.
• [24:00–28:00]: Alternatives: Party succession, prospects for a new model of Labour leadership and governance.
• [29:55–43:00]: Epstein files—how networks and power work, the toxic overlap of money, politics, and institutional capture.
• [43:00–51:00]: Historical scandals, Mandelson’s recurrent roles, perils of Britain’s elite political networks.
• [54:00–58:50]: Personal reflections, the challenge of friendship vs. transactional relations, final thoughts on ethics and transparency.

Final Thoughts

• Both hosts express a sense of weariness and sadness at the depth of cynicism and dysfunction these scandals represent.
• Major takeaway: Britain’s political culture is deeply embedded in patterns of influence, mutual back-scratching, and blurred lines between public service and private gain. Reform is urgent.
• On Starmer’s future: The crisis is existential but survivable—if (and only if) Starmer reclaims direction, empowers talent, and makes a clean break from the toxic patterns laid bare by these scandals.

Summary produced for listeners seeking a comprehensive, moment-by-moment understanding of the episode’s critical arguments, revelations, and tone, preserving the original candor and irony of Campbell and Stewart.