Robert Jenrick has launched a blistering assault on Sir Keir Starmer over the Peter Mandelson controversy, suggesting the Prime Minister must either be “dishonest” or fundamentally incapable of leading the country.
Speaking to the Camilla Tominey Show on GB News, the Reform UK’s Treasury spokesman declared: “I don’t know whether he has lied or is just grossly incompetent. Neither is good from our Prime Minister.”
The former Conservative minister went further, arguing that even the most charitable interpretation of events paints a damning picture of Starmer’s leadership.
“If the best that he could hope for is that the country concludes that he’s just utterly clueless, a sort of passenger who has no idea what’s going on in Government, then either way, he needs to go, doesn’t he?” Mr Jenrick said.
Mr Jenrick also claimed that Labour MPs representing Red Wall constituencies are acutely aware their political futures are bleak while Sir Keir remains at the helm.
The Reform UK spokesman noted that both he and fellow MP Lee Anderson hold seats in northern Nottinghamshire, placing them in close proximity to numerous Labour representatives.
“They know that they’re finished as long as Keir Starmer remains as Prime Minister,” Mr Jenrick stated.
He went on to portray Sir Keir’s continued leadership as an electoral liability for the governing party.
Robert Jenrick has declared that Labour is ‘finished’ under Keir Starmer amid the Peter Mandelson row
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GB NEWS
Mr Jenrick sought to broaden his critique beyond the immediate controversy, arguing the Prime Minister has become consumed by Westminster intrigue whilst ordinary Britons face mounting pressures.
“It’s a sunny day. Hundreds of people are crossing the English Channel in small boats. If you go to fill up your car at a service station today, you might be charged two quid for a litre of diesel,” he observed.
The Reform spokesman pointed to widespread redundancies driven by what he described as “crazy energy prices” being created by Rachel Reeves.
He said: “You’ve got jobs being lost left, right and centre because of crazy energy prices and the economic climate that’s been created by Rachel Reeves.”
Two of Sir Keir Starmer’s aides in the Civil Service knew Lord Mandelson had failed vetting weeks before the Prime Minister | GETTY
He characterised upcoming parliamentary debates about the Mandelson appointment as a “charade,” insisting the Government has become “completely paralysed when the country is in a total mess”.
Mr Jenrick argued: “Now obviously it matters getting to the truth of what actually happened, but the real problem here is that the Government is completely paralysed when the country is in a total mess.
“And Reform is not interested in the Westminster games, the charade that’s going to happen next week.”
Looking ahead to the local elections on May 7, Mr Jenrick expressed supreme confidence in Reform UK’s prospects, forecasting results that would reshape British politics.
Mr Jenrick told GB News that the Government is ‘completely paralysed’
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GB NEWS
“I predict that the results on that day will be seismic,” he declared, describing the anticipated outcome as “an absolutely unprecedented moment in British political history”.
Mr Jenrick drew comparisons to the Liberal Party’s decline and replacement by Labour in the early 20th century, suggesting the current political realignment may prove even more significant.
He predicted: “This will be an absolutely unprecedented moment in British political history. You have to go back to the Liberal Party’s disappearance and being eclipsed by the Labour Party at the beginning of the 20th century.
“Reform, after May 7 will be the only truly national party. We’ll be winning in big cities, in rural areas, in Scotland, Wales and England.”