Starmer controversy prompts Torbay MP response

Last week, it was deeply disappointing to see that Keir Starmer admitted that he had known Peter Mandelson carried on a friendship with Epstein after his conviction, when he appointed him as ambassador to the US.

Over the weekend we saw that this news has been fatal for Keir Starmer’s chief aide Morgan McSweeney and for his Director of Communications. Westminster is now waiting with baited breath to see if this will mark Starmer’s downfall as well. 

It is disturbing to see that Starmer completely overlooked Epstein’s victims when making this decision, but it is also troubling that Mandelson leaked state secrets to Epstein, whom the Polish Government now suspect was a Russian spy, passing information on to Vladimir Putin.

Clearly, there is a web of corrupt despots who encourage and permit sexual assault, including Donald Trump repeatedly boasting about successfully sexually assaulting women. 

This is exactly the sort of institutionalised corruption which Starmer claimed to oppose; however, it is clear he is simply bolstering the powerful and corrupt, such as by refusing to call out Trump. Sexual assault is ingrained in our establishment, and we must not be too afraid of power to challenge this. 

In Torbay, this weekend, I attended the Barton Hill Careers Fair. 47 different jobs were represented there, including airline cabin crew, the merchant navy, an insurance broker, the armed forces, Boulder Bunker, EF and many more. It was a pleasure to hear from the students about their plans for their future lives and also to share with them what my world is like.

I was also able to share with students that a large part of being an MP is making sure that their voices are heard in Westminster, such as their worries about the cost of living crisis and how it is impacting their young lives.

Specifically, last week I spoke in Parliament to raise students’ concerns about how their families were struggling to cope in this economy, including noticing that their mother was struggling to afford petrol, or no longer being able to do as many “nice things” as before, such as going out for a meal. I will continue to provide a voice for these children and make sure their concerns will not go unnoticed. 

Torbay is a haven for rare wildlife such as cirl buntings and greater horseshoe bats. Sadly, our Coast and Countryside Trust in Torbay is no longer active, which means that those of us with a voice in Torbay must fight harder for our wildlife. To this end I submitted a Freedom of Information request to inquire where the tens of thousands of pounds given to the Trust by developers to protect cirl buntings and greater horseshoe bats has gone in the wake of the dissolution of the Trust. 

Protecting animals across Torbay and nationally is close to my heart, so in Parliament last week I supported PETA’s campaign to replace animal testing with human-relevant research methods. One of the reasons this campaign is so important is that testing drugs on animals does not actually produce effective treatments or cures for humans.

One fact that stuck with me in particular was that Penicillin was first tested in rabbits in 1929, but as it had no effect on them it was ignored for more than a decade. Researchers later remarked that it was lucky the drug was not tested on guinea pigs as for them it is fatal.

There are alternative methods for testing and introducing new drugs, chief among them being organs-on-chips, sophisticated uses of human stem cells, genomics and proteomics, and imaging and computer modelling. We can therefore protect our animals and increase the likelihood of developing life-saving drugs by supporting PETA’s Research Modernisation Deal. 

I will keep fighting to ensure that animals in Torbay and in our country generally are protected from abuse and are safe and secure in their habitats. 

As always, if you need assistance or would like to share your thoughts, please get in touch. You can reach me at steve.darling.mp@parliament.uk or on 07908 349347. For regular updates, sign up to my weekly e-newsletter at www.torbaylibdems.org.uk/newsletter.