Minister’s Starmer-Mandelson defence has one big problem

On Sunday 26 April, Labour minister Darren Jones attempted to defend his scandal-struck boss Keir Starmer. His argument was that the public care far more about other issues than the ongoing Peter Mandelson affair:

On Mandelson, Darren Jones says there are legitimate questions around process failings but the public are more worried about other things & the issue is being used by opposition parties. pic.twitter.com/hzGiG208Lp

— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) April 26, 2026

To be fair, it is true that everyday voters care more about issues which directly affect them. The problem is they’re also very unhappy with the government on those issues too.

Failcraft

In the clip above, Jones says:

I also had a constituency town hall in my own constituency yesterday with 150 people, two hours. Peter Manderson didn’t come up once.

We imagine Jones was very grateful for this given his own links to the scandal:

Jones rejects the suggestion that the message he sent to Mandelson after he'd been sacked was 'warm'

Why was Jones answering any question from Mandelson? We know why. They're political allies & Mandelson was a key player in the secret campaign that brought Starmer to power pic.twitter.com/eXtAUhgf6p

— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) April 26, 2026

Let’s be real — any letter is somewhat ‘warm’ at this point. If Jones wanted to show neutrality, he would have sent a text (that or simply ignored the thrice-disgraced weirdo Mandelson).

Back to the Sunday interview, Jones continued:

I mean, there are legitimate questions here around process failings. It’s right that Parliament looks at that. But when I was abroad – when I was with members of the public here in the UK – people are more worried about the impact of the Middle East on their energy bills, about the functioning of the National Health Service, about giving their children or grandchildren the best start in life.

Unfortunately for Jones, the public think Labour is doing a bad job on these issues too. As this YouGov poll shows from the end of 2025 shows, the number of voters saying Labour is doing ‘badly’ on key issues has only increased:

Accordingly, this is what Starmer’s approval looks like:

So yes, we are in favour of voters demanding answers on the topics which actually affect them. We just don’t think that will benefit Labour, as Saul Staniforth explained:

"The opposition are using tactics to try to distract from the fact the govt is doing good work"

Forget Mandelson, focus on us targeting the disabled, scapegoating refugees, siding with the profiteering private utilities, arming a genocide & helping the US impoverish you instead! pic.twitter.com/uo20pLHr16

— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) April 26, 2026

Starmer’s stool boy error

This isn’t the first time Jones has come out to defend Starmer’s indefensible actions:

So we're being asked to believe that Starmer announced the appointment of Mandelson before the security vetting had been completed and didn't then enquire about the vetting at any point subsequently, and according to Darren Jones this means due process was followed at all times pic.twitter.com/WckCGE8rbC

— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) April 17, 2026

At this point, Jones is essentially Keir Starmer’s ‘Groom of the Stool’. And if you’re unfamiliar with that term, it was the guy who wiped Henry VIII’s arse.

Featured image via BBC