Has Starmer become the problem he promised to fix?
The News Agents
Global
4.1 • 5.4K Ratings
🗓️ 22 April 2026
⏱️ 35 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Keir Starmer came to power promising to clean up politics and end the games at the top of Westminster. Yet this week has brought another sacking, linked to the handling of Peter Mandelson’s appointment, alongside reports of efforts to secure an ambassadorial role for the Prime Minister’s former communications chief, Matthew Doyle.
As more details emerge, the picture looks increasingly complicated. So is Starmer creating the very problem he wanted to eradicate? And can he keep putting the blame on everyone else?
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The Newsagents podcast is brought to you by HSBC UK Private Bank, opening up a world of opportunity. |
| 0:10.1 | This is a global player original podcast. |
| 0:13.4 | Tia Stama, not exactly denying the story, but then he kind of thought, geez, I've just had two weeks of really crappy headlines for apologising. |
| 0:21.3 | I'm not going to be doing apologising much more. |
| 0:23.7 | I never turn on my staff and you should never turn on your staff. |
| 0:28.1 | Starmer was a very different man six years ago. |
| 0:31.1 | We're in government. Shit, mistakes happen. |
| 0:32.8 | It's a kind of nightmare trying to keep all the plates spinning. |
| 0:36.2 | I had 8,000 staff for five years as the director of public prosecutions. |
| 0:41.3 | And I acted, I hope, in the right way with them, which is when they had victories, I celebrated |
| 0:46.3 | on their behalf. I picked up awards on their behalf. And when they made mistakes, I carried the can. I never turn on my staff and you should never |
| 0:57.7 | turn on your staff. Well, what a difference six years makes. That was Kirstama in 2020. In |
| 1:08.1 | 2006, it all looks like it's been a bit of a bloodbath. |
| 1:13.2 | Four comms directors, two chiefs of staff, two cabinet secretaries and one top civil servant. |
| 1:19.5 | Is it still everyone else's fault? |
| 1:22.6 | Welcome to the newsagents. |
| 1:28.2 | The Newsagents. Thank you. news agents. The news agents. |
| 1:31.2 | It's John. |
| 1:32.3 | It's mateless. |
| 1:33.5 | And at Prime Minister's questions today, huge amount of anticipation that this could be |
| 1:38.9 | the final act in which Keir Stama is brought down by Kemi Bade Knock in a kind of grand ritual |
| 1:47.3 | bloodletting in the House of Commons. It didn't quite work out like that because Kemi |
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