UK and Epstein Files

Another week, another run-off of sleaze-slurry from the new Epstein Files. This time it’s Lord Peter Mandelson in the spotlight.

I know it hurts the eyes, but you’re looking at a photo of a man who has political power for the rest of his life. Yes, it also hurts to think about it, but it’s thanks to our rotten House of Lords. And there’s nothing us mortals can do about it...

Yet.

I want to get serious for a minute. There are hundreds of innocent victims whose lives are in ruins because of the actions of Epstein and people like Mandelson who enabled him. It’s hard to think about those girls - hundreds of them - some as young as 13.

Not only that - this week we learned that Mandelson actually leaked secret UK government documents to a man he knew was a billionaire convicted sex trafficker and financial trader. And who knows who else those documents went to from Epstein’s gilded address book of world leaders, bankers and tech CEOs. Lord Mandelson has now been reported to the police for possible misconduct in public office.

[1]These are just two in a line of dozens of scandals that stretch out behind Mandelson like a post office queue. He had to resign from the cabinet twice. He got dismissed as US ambassador last year. Now he has resigned from the Labour Party.

But he is still entitled to influence the laws we all must abide by! The elite have made it so hard to get rid of him that MPs would need to pass an act of parliament to do it!

[2]But what if Prime Minister Keir Starmer got rid of the House of Lords all together instead? How about we push the Prime Minister to make good on his manifesto promise to replace the Lords?

His original words stated it should be a chamber “more representative of the regions and nations.” And we reckon (along with the majority of people according to polls), the best option would be a House of Citizens. The most representative chamber would be one made up of nurses, engineers, teachers, office workers - ordinary people selected by lottery, like a jury that we can trust.

Our campaign relies on the generosity of people all over the UK who believe we deserve a better political system. Who believe ordinary people should have the right and power to make decisions that affect all of us. Who trust each other far more than corruptible politicians.

From Alastair and the 858 Sortition Team

Notes:

[1] bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgm4rk…

[2] theguardian.com/politics/2026/…

New data show where the parties got their money from in the lead-up to the 2025 election

Australia has a multiparty system, but two parties dominate: Labor and Liberal (right-wing). The Libs get significant campaign contributions from industry, in particular mining. Labor gets significant donations from unions, in particular mining unions. This national division of Australia has been the case since I moved here over thirty years ago.

This means people who are not part of mining industries, or large companies in general, tend to get little representation in parliament. In 2010 it was shown how much of a difference advertising money makes as to who wins office when big mining decided to oust the Labor government over mining taxes. Parties will work primarily to please their paying constituents as a tactic for gaining power. A Labor government is a terrible opposition to one representing big business. Why? Because they need big business in order to have big unions in order to get the donations they need to get into power. They will work to keep mining corporations and the like rolling. So what about small businesses, medium businesses, schools, arts, independent farmers, etc, etc? Who cares?

Australia is unlikely to ever have an authoritarian take-over like in the US. But it could dissolve into a civil war. When events like the Bondi Beach shooting start occurring on a regular basis, that's guerilla warfare in the simmering beginnings of something much worse.