The government’s latest scandal revolves around Keir Starmer’s ex-chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, and his allegedly stolen mobile which could have contained messages between him and Peter Mandelson.
The government attempted to put this scandal to bed by accusing doubters of being conspiracy theorists. Now, a poll from the non-profit, More in Common, has revealed there are a hell of a lot of doubters out there — 74% in fact.
New in today’s Playbook. In a sign of how low trust in politics has become, presented with suggestions Morgan McSweeney faked his phone theft 74% of Brits say that is at least probably true. Agreement spans voters of all main parties. pic.twitter.com/L3lz2YlrGW
— Luke Tryl (@LukeTryl) March 31, 2026
The McSweeney conspiracy
The TLDR on the McSweeney scandal is as follows:
- The government sacked ambassador to the US Peter Mandelson because of his ties to Jeffrey Epstein
- People began to ask questions about Mandelson’s protege Morgan McSweeney
- McSweeney’s phone was conveniently ‘stolen’ not long after Mandelson’s firing
- McSweeney gave incorrect details to the police and failed to tell them he was a key member of government
- The government launched an investigation following the revelation that Mandelson was leaking UK government information to Epstein
- We learned that many of the potential messages between Mandelson and McSweeney were missing or not being investigated
Keir Starmer and the education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, have attempted to dismiss anyone who questions the official narrative.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer tells reporters it is a “little bit far-fetched” to suggest that the theft of Morgan McSweeney’s phone was to hide Peter Mandelson’s messages.
Live updates: https://t.co/TSaU225tEe pic.twitter.com/rzhuJZAwMn
— Sky News (@SkyNews) March 26, 2026
Phillipson: the wider coverage around McSweeneys phone is drifting into conspiracy theory
Because the PMs chief of staff ringing the police like any ordinary person, not identifying himself, giving false details, no apparent govt security protocols, thats all perfectly normal! pic.twitter.com/hXlOcoSaUQ
— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) March 29, 2026
As the Canary said at the time, if Labour didn’t want conspiracy theories, they shouldn’t have appointed Peter Mandelson — a politician who was best pals with Jeffrey Epstein — the man at the centre of the 21st century’s most far-reaching conspiracy.
The More in Common polling showed it’s not the case that Britons are just conspiracy minded. Its UK director, Luke Tryl, wrote on X:
To benchmark against any tendency to agree when presented with conspiracy theories we also asked about a series of other conspiracies including whether the moon landings were faked or the pandemic was exaggerated. Significantly more people agreed that the phone theft was faked. pic.twitter.com/oYwei4PMx3
— Luke Tryl (@LukeTryl) March 31, 2026
Simultaneously, the polling provided data on how the public feels about disappearing messages.
In what is likely a mismatch between SW1 and the wider public just 15% of Brits have disappearing messages turned on compared to 71% who don’t. Though 22% of 18-24 year olds do have disappearing messages turned on. pic.twitter.com/le6TPbSbLQ
— Luke Tryl (@LukeTryl) March 31, 2026
In a corner
It was always insulting for the government to paint its critics as conspiracy theorists. Now we know it wasn’t just insulting, it was deeply, deeply stupid.
Starmer can slander 74% of the public if he likes, but it won’t do his own polling any good.
Featured image via Stats for Lefties
